You're Invited! Samaritan House @ Siempre Para Los Ninos

Samaritan House Walk Through 8-6-08 @ Yahoo! Video

Wednesday afternoon we'd been hanging out with Siempre's kids when I suddenly remembered my camera was still in my pocket! No photos! I quickly handed it off to the children and asked them to take a few quick shots. When they were done, I asked Pastor Israel to walk me through our newest building, our newest ministry - Samaritan House @ Siempre Para Los Ninos. What a blessing.

The video's nothing special... but the images... your work... your investment... your gift to a community in poverty, the children of Siempre, the church and so many others waiting to serve. Thanks so much. Some day our new missionary will live in the missions house 3-4 days a week and travel the rest of the week in the US telling the story of Siempre -inviting people to come and serve at Samaritan House @ Siempre.

Until then... it's still me doing the inviting... Debi and I are going down Labor Day weekend. No big hotels, big plans or big expenses... just work. We'll stay in Samaritan House- bring sleeping bags and blow up mattresses to set on the ground. We'll wrap up the last days of summer the same way we opened our summer- working at Samaritan House. In the evening we'll head out to Rosarito for dinner- we might even bbq. We plan on having fun! We plan on serving Him.

Best part of the whole deal? You're Invited!

Watch the video- the song is Healer, by Hillsong. Then email me- or call -we'd love to close out the summer with you.

blessings,

Eric

after 5 years of work...

Siempre Para Los Ninos - September, 2004- the gray building was our first church, built in 2001, replaced with the new beautiful church in 2006. The little yellow house was Pastor Israel's old house, replaced in 2007, with his beautiful upstairs apartment. That's Siempre... the little flat roofed building in the back of the shot. This photo was taken from just about where the newest building, below, now sits.


Samaritan House @ Siempre Para Los Ninos - as we wrapped things up Sunday night of Memorial Day Weekend, 2008.

Building dreams with your life requires time, patience, hard work, faith and most of all God's Grace. Without The Grace of God to guide and undergird us in our work, where would we be?

Occasionally we'll take someone to Siempre on a Wednesday afternoon and they're overwhelmed by our 12 or 13,000 sq ft of work - at work for God in the little community we serve on the edge of Tijuana, Mexico. Looking at it all, getting to know the kids, our staff... shaking their heads, they'll say "How'd you do it?"

Smiling, I usually think of the five years of work before Siempre was ever built. I reflect back on names and faces of people who worked hard, gave sacrificially, drove trucks filled with food, tools, luggage across the border in the middle of the night when customs agents decided not to let it in. I remember the first families we built for, their children, the mom raising her kids under a tree... what it felt like to give away a home... the miracles... Pastor Israel and his family, Alejandro, Aracelys, Hernan, Alejandra, Bianka, Brenda... Mickey... so many miracles... most of them with names and faces.

Then I remember... we didn't do it at all- God did -we were just blessed to be used by Him. In those first 5 years we never imagined what these last 4 years have brought into our lives... so many wonderful children... the miracle of Siempre... it means always.

Sometimes, when people ask what we'll do next year, I get a little anxious and again I remind myself- this is God's Work -we'll do whatever He has in store. He hasn't failed us yet. Most people go a lifetime without ever genuinely experiencing the opportunity of sharing a work that's guided by The Hand of God... to know that they played a part in something that pleased Him in ways that we can't begin to imagine. To be touched by His Eternal Spirit in our work- and know it -know HIM- His presence in all we do.

At the end of each two day building trip we get a little cocky and say "We Built That!" and it feels great! But the longer we serve Him the easier it is to see that He's been using us to build all along... we've been tools in His Hands... He built that! and He invited us to share the miracle.

Miracles still happen. Some of us just take 5 years to see them coming. Now that Siempre's up and running you can come and share the miracle any Wednesday afternoon. Lord willing, we're going this week. You're invited!

siempre,

Eric

or check it out at siempre's web site

a few "raw" reflections

I took the little video at the start of this blog, Friday morning, May 23, 2008 - as they prepared to unload materials for our Memorial Day Weekend build at Siempre Para Los Ninos in Tijuana, Mexico. The photo was taken Monday morning, May 26, 2008 -shortly after we dedicated the building... 2 days, 3500 square feet, months in the planning, tens of thousands of dollars in fundraising... today, not completely finished but pretty darn close... not furnished or painted... but ready for the pioneering groups who'll be the first to lead mission's trips to Samaritan House at Siempre... it's hard to imagine another Memorial Day Weekend is behind us.

When we built our first church it took months to actually have a congregation- today -that little church has been torn down and rebuilt as Pastor Israel leads a thriving, growing congregation... they're planting a new church on their own in a new community. It took months after we built our children's home, Siempre Para Los Ninos, before we had our first children- today, our directors, Alejandro and Aracelys have their hands full with over 30 children, a full staff and face the challenges of who can get into Siempre... Don't know how long it'll take us to find a new bridge building missionary to live in the apartment we built atop the new building... or how long until each week is filled with work groups... but I know it will happen... God is faithful... even when we're faithless... but we're doing our best to remain faithful.

Watching the faithfulness of the workers- listening to the witness of their faith in a hammer's fall, the swoosh of a paintbrush, the constant cry of our generators producing electricity for the worksite... I was blessed just to partner with so many fantastic people... people with a heart for God, a heart for children at risk, a heart for people living in poverty... we had such fun... we shared a miracle... hope you can catch just a bit of it in the video and photos.

many blessings... many thanks...

siempre,

Eric