A 2 Week Miracle (Part B)

The picture from the last post shows the building in Juarez, Mexico after a small crew had worked on it for one day. This picture shows the building 5 days later towards the end of the day. All of the block walls are up and most of the roof system is in place. Later in this day, half of the roof insulation and metal was put on and the roof was finished on Friday morning. Quite a miracle!

On Thursday morning I went with one of the welders to purchase more of the steel beams for the roof. My expertise is in knowing Spanish, not in building skills. After we made the purchase of 24 very heavy 20' beams, we strapped them to the top of a van with a rack on it. We didn't realize that one of the beams was standing on end, rather than flat, and it prevented the strap from fully securing the beams. We set out on a busy (3 lanes each way) street, back to the building site. At the first stop light my partner noticed the beams on his side of van started sliding forward, he yelled "we better stop" and by the time I tried to stop slowly, it was like a slow motion replay, all of the beams slid off the roof rack and landed in front of the van. So here we are in the middle lane of this very busy street. Buses and cars are whizzing by on both sides and we have no idea what to do. Fortunately, a Mexican man (duh, we're in Mexico) came out of his business, climbed on top of the van and helped us slide the beams back on the rack. We were able to stop traffic and back into a parking lot and re-secure our load. It wasn't too funny then, now we can laugh about it. I think we really experienced God's protection, and help. And the miracle continued...

A 2 Week Miracle

Last week I was part of a 2 week miracle. Each year our church builds a complete building for a church in Mexico. This year we built a 50' by 100' block building with a metal roof. In week one we started with a flat, cement slab, built 12' block side walls, peaked front and back walls, added an interior office and 2 bathrooms. We also poured several walkways, graded some of the property, added 200 amp electrical service and upgraded the plumbing. The 2nd week crew finished all the interior electrical work, put in sinks and toilets, put in windows and doors and painted a lot of the metal and block surfaces. They also finished the platform area of the sanctuary that the 1st week crew started. By the end of the 2nd week, the congregation of Iglesia Paz Nueva, (Church of New Peace) will be meeting in their new sanctuary. I asked the pastor how long it would have taken them to fund and build a building like this. Pastor Armando said "40 years", in other words, never. Over and over again he said, "it's a miracle." It is so much fun to be part of a miracle! In my next post I'll show you the nearly completed building and share a couple of funny stories...on the way to the miracle.

Mexico's Mother Teresa

I met Mexico's Mother Teresa last week. Her name is Sister Josephina. The term "sister" demonstrates Christian respect. She is the director of an orphanage in Juarez, Mexico. She currently has 103 children that range in age from 8 months to older teens.

As I sat with her last Thursday, (Feb. 21), and listened to her talk in Spanish, I felt like I was in the presence of a saint. She told me about children and events from the 19 years that she has directed the orphanage. As she spoke, humbly and without boasting, I kept thinking that angels would reveal themselves at any moment or least bright light would begin to shine around her. Her entire life, 24/7, is consumed by raising these children. While she has both volunteer and paid staff, she is the "mama". She was affectionately called "Mama Josephina" by the children during the time we were there. Life in Mexico is much more difficult than it is in St. Louis. Donors in that country are not as wealthy nor as generous as they are in the U.S. She must pray in and trust God for everything they need to exist. Her positive outlook and vision casting didn't reflect her meager surroundings, only the great things that God was going to help her accomplish.

I was disappointed when it was time to go, there was so much more I wanted to ask her. It isn't very often that I get to spend time with a saint...

(we have some great pictures of many of the children, and I would love for you to see them, but we need to protect their privacy)