Give a Gift to Change a Life

The 2009 Christmas Giving Catalog is now available online and in printed form.  Those of you who wish to reach out with God’s love to the poor this Christmas will find 17 ways to do so here.  With your help, YLM will be blessing 1,500 children with Christmas presents this month.  Also we plan to build three homes in Juarez and distribute 1,470 food baskets, 836 jackets, 600 hygiene kits and 1,200 blankets.  Reach out to the people of El Paso and Mexico by giving a gift today:

Choose from 17 ways to

help others this Christmas

1,200 Meals Served on Thanksgiving Weekend

“Blessed to Serve”…and that is what they did. On Wednesday, November 25, a group of 25 from Our Father Lutheran church in Centennial, CO, made their 15^th annual pilgrimage to El Paso. They joined up with Servant Event Coordinator Erin’s parents, brother, and sister from St. Paul’s Lutheran Church in Des Peres, MO, to serve the Lord on the border. The theme for the week was “blessed to serve.” The group cooked, transported, and served over 1200 Thanksgiving meals of turkey, mashed potatoes, gravy, corn, ranchero beans, salsa, rolls, and cake at San Pablo on Thurdsay, Cristo Rey and San Lucas on Friday, and Santisima Trinidad on Saturday. Each meal followed a brief worship service honoring the real reason everyone was gathered together to enjoy a fantastic meal. They also cooked for the over 100 volunteers who come toYLM every Saturday and left behind enough food for the attendees at this Wednesday’s King’s Table luncheon at Sin Paredes to have Thanksgiving too.

To many, that would be enough to keep everyone occupied for the three work days that were put in, but not for this group. Not only did they feed 1200 hungry people, but they also painted YLM building #1, formerly leased to the El Paso County General Assistance program and now home to Mariachi San Pablo and San Pablo’s Sunday school classrooms. The building really does look sharp, and our hope is to paint the rest of the campus buildings with the same colors eventually.

Just in case that still wasn’t enough, 6-7 people also helped “winterize” a trailer in Horizon City on Friday and Saturday mornings. The family, a mom, a dad,  their 2 young sons, and another one on the way, basically live in an 8 foot by 26 foot trailer that you would tow on the back of your truck when you went camping. Leaking roofs, a plywood floor, and broken windows were all tackled by the crew. A new roof was built over the trailer (and sealed to prevent water and cold air from getting in through the top), windows were sealed with black plastic, and new tile was laid on the floor. Please pray that we will be able to build this family a new home in the coming months.

The group also went to the market in Juarez on Thanksgiving Day, and spent each evening in a Bible study that tied the lives of 2 “minor” characters in with the “blessed to serve” theme. They departed early on Sunday morning, November 29.

Their dedication was truly inspiring; we praise God for this ongoing tradition at YLM and can’t wait to do it all over again next year!

Week of August 15-23

Who better to close out the summer servant event season than our friends from North of the border? A veteran group of 16 youth and adults from Sherwood Park, Alberta, Canada, left the land where the sun shines for around 6 hours a day at this time of year and spent the past 5 days working in Sun City at 2 sites in Sparks.

Two thirds of the group was assigned the task of finishing a build that was begun back in June; stuccoing the exterior, finishing the drywall—or “gyp rock” as it’s called in Canada—taping, mudding, sanding, painting, and tiling is what remained to be done. Having brought two carpenters by trade and several other group members with sufficient knowledge and experience, these tasks did not pose a challenge for them; they nearly completed then entire list and were also able to install ceiling fans, rebuild the ramp on the front of the house to make it sturdier for the woman’s handicapped son (and build a handrail!), and add another layer of OSB to the deck between the new house and the existing trailer. They even contributed to the décor of the home’s exterior by hanging a Canadian flag on the front! Friday afternoon saw an emotional dedication service accompanied by the presentation of several gifts to the new homeowners.

The remaining third of the group had to draw upon their expertise to fix a trailer roof that had been plaguing owner Rosa Chavez for months. Even after a previous YLM group worked there in June, she still reported a leak. A section of over-roof along with some new insulation and paneling inside turned out to be just what the doctor ordered…just hope the leak is underneath the over-roof! In between enjoying Rosa’s incredible iced tea several times a day, these individuals were also able to go above and beyond the call of duty, fixing faulty wiring that posed a serious fire hazard and hanging a section of cabinets that Rosa had been given but was unable to hang herself.

Today the group is taking advantage of the fact that they are the last servant event of the summer and spending the day at Carlsbad Caverns, meaning they fly home tomorrow on a Sunday instead of the usual Saturday. It’s been a joy to host our Canadian friends this week—and to learn a bit about construction and a bit about Canadian culture in the process—and they’ve already rebooked so we’ll see them again next year!

Week of August 1-8

The first week in August, which also happened to be summer volunteer Kristine Neu’s last week in El Paso, brought a mix of old faces and new to the mission. Russ Zage’s group of seasoned veterans from Illinois and Wisconsin—the two congregations have been traveling as one group for years now—were joined by Justin Gudel’s rookie group of fellow Wisconsinites, from Hope Lutheran in Fond du Lac, to be exact.

Russ’s group worked across the border at Pastor Hernandez’s San Pedro y San Pablo mission site; currently this is a house church that does not host any regular activities, although the hope is to eventually do so. The team labored all week with very little shade to build an addition for the family who has opened their home to this ministry. Unbeknownst to them until they arrived on Monday morning, they actually worked in the same area last year and so were able to recognize and be recognized by many of the people who were around their worksite all week!

Justin’s crew worked on the U.S. side of the border in Sparks—although with a similar lack of shade!—putting a new roof on the Caballero home and putting some finishing touches on the Morales home. The five or so people who went to the Morales’ braced one last section of floor, sealed any remaining gaps to prevent unwanted critters from getting in, and installed baseboards. Everyone else spent the week demolishing an old roof—and the rotted insulation and ceiling panels that resulted from it—then rebuilding everything that they tore down! Looks like they did quality work…thus far no leaks have been reported!

The week drew to a close with an outdoor barbecue/farewell celebration for Kristine on Friday night, which climaxed as Stephen presented her with the “Siervo de Cristo” award for her 3 months of dedicated service to YLM. We miss her and wish her well as she begins her sophomore year at the University of MN-Crookston!

“Whatever You do for the Least of These Brothers of Mine’: Week of July 26th-August 1st

It was yet another week of groups who were small in number, but large in what they had to offer to offer YLM and the people they served.

Coming from Des Peres, MO were Bob, Barb, and Kara Mackenzie of St. Paul’s Lutheran Church. This was a special servant even week for them as they are the family of YLM servant event coordinator, Erin Mackenzie. The family has been coming for several years with their church group who usually works in Anapra. Although their work was in the States for the week, the family still attended the service at San Lucas. Afterwards they passed out treats, small toys, and tennis balls; the whole sanctuary was filled with bouncing balls that the kids got a thrill out of. Another way the Mackenzie’s brought some extra joy was through the purchase of one hundred dollars worth of school supplies, thanks to a donation from local Girl Scouts in their community. The supplies are being used to ready the backpacks that YLM has to distribute. For the rest of the week the entire Mackenzie family along with construction manager, Chris Hill, who was joined by his parents later in the week, worked on furthering the completion of the Ruiz home in Horizon City. Work included lots of drywall hanging, mudding, and painting. For both Erin and Chris, it turned into quite the family affair.

A novice group hailing from Sugar Land, TX, the group of eight Faith Lutheran members lead by John Weesner worked like pros. Past mission trip connections saw the addition of Mission Institute Pastor Robert Schlak’s wife and two daughters to the group. The three ladies were certainly a blessing as the group worked in Anapra, and interpreters are always an added bonus! While the men of the group worked to lead the house construction and teach some of the young apprentices, the ladies were busy making ties with the mothers and children of the area. This led to a makeshift vacation bible school on both Tuesday and Thursday. What began as twenty kids on Tuesday easily became fifty on Thursday! Panchis, congregation president helped to engage the kids in some singing and dancing before stepping in with a bible study for the mothers. Meanwhile, there were stories, lessons, crafts, and a much anticipated lunch for the children. Thanks to the efficiency and eagerness of the group, they had time to paint the home they constructed in true Mexico fashion- a nice bright blue on the outside, with blue and pink rooms inside. Pastor Schlak ventured into Anapra on Friday to perform a house blessing, and John Weesner put forth his best Spanish to hand over the keys, thus completing a wonderful week of work.

As our summer of groups is beginning to see a slow down, it is still a great blessing to Ysleta Lutheran Mission to have the groups that do come be so willing to work hard! Thank You!

Numerous Hands Witnessing for Christ: Week of July 19th-25th

This week saw the presence of the veteran group from Barrington, Illinois. With forty enthusiastic members from the churches of St. Matthew’s and St. John’s the group came prepared to forge a new vacation bible school frontier in the El Paso area.

When the threat of violence in Mexico kept the group’s churches from allowing them to go to do their usual VBS at Santisima Trinidad, God gave them another opportunity here. Not wanting to completely abandon Blanca and Pastor Hernandez, Barrington provided financial and moral support for the church. To their delight, the youth who used to take part in their vacation bible school now became the leaders for the children of their church. The solid base that Barrington built up over the last several years proved to be sufficient as over 200 children attended the Santisima Trinidad vacation bible school.

Stateside the St. Matthews and St. John’s group had thirty of their group members run vacation bible schools at the Kennedy’s in the morning and in Sparks in the afternoon. This was the first vacation bible school that YLM has ever been able to sponsor in the Kennedys Government Housing. The separation of church and state has kept the church out of the area right next to the mission, so it was a blessing that Barrington was able to reach over sixty children who live there. The Sparks vacation bible school saw over forty enthusiastic children who were eager to hear the word of God. Through creative skits, enthusiastic songs, engaging crafts, and fun games the kids at both sites learned about the love of God.

Ten other members of the Barrington team decided to witness God’s love through swinging hammers instead. Their message of love was given to Juanita and her grandson Christian who received a new home in the Sparks colonia. It was truly beautiful to see the relationships formed at both vacation bible school sites and at the construction site as well.  The opportunities in the United States just go to show that witnessing for Christ can take place on either side of the border!

Patching, Painting, and Putting at House at San Pedro y San Pablo: Week of July 12th-18th

This past week’s labor was very well rounded thanks to three ambitious groups. Through their labors, work was completed on both sides of the border and at the YLM campus.

St. Peter Lutheran Church from Arlington Heights, IL found themselves venturing deep into the Zaragoza region of Juarez to work with one of the new missions know as San Pedro y San Pablo. The longer drive into Mexico did not deter the group of five, led by Pastor Micah Greiner, from completing a house for a family in need. Pastor Hernandez, who oversees San Pedro y San Pablo was especially grateful for the group’s efforts. He emphasized in his Sunday sermon at Santisima Trinidad the importance of the work YLM servant events do for the congregations. When he asked all of the families at the service to raise their hand if they had received a house, at least fourteen hands were in the air. Encouraged by Sunday’s service, the Illinois group pushed to complete the house in three and a half days.

Coming to YLM for the third trip of the year was MOST Ministries. The team of seven, led by Kathy Nickodemus , worked light construction in Sparks as well as hosting a vacation bible school. Earlier in the week they worked to finish work on a Sparks’ home that had been started a few weeks prior. MOST not only repaired and put new tile in the hallway and kitchen and replaced ceiling panels, but they repainted the green living room with a much nicer cream color. The homeowner Rosie was overjoyed that the group was able to do the extra painting project for her. Furthering their painting skills, the MOST team spent the remainder of their construction week painting all of the rooms and the outside of the Valzquez home in Horizon City. Painting there became a family affair with the wife, three kids and even their puppy joining in. Breaking up the construction day slightly was a morning VBS. The team members took turns leading bible stories, games, and crafts which allowed them to expand their witness to over twenty children stateside.

Working at the YLM campus was the group from Hope Lutheran Church of Des Moines, Iowa. Led by Dave a Paige Rohlf, who are YLM winter residents, the group of seven wanted to give back to the mission site itself. Their pet project for the week was revamping building number one, which was formerly the El Paso Country General Assistance. When the General Assistance moved out, YLM was left with a building full of potential. Hope Lutheran spent the week fixing and painting the ceilings, cleaning and giving the walls fresh coats of paint, and retiling the floors. The final touches included blinds on the windows and bible verses on the walls. The building was thus transformed into a beautiful site for Sunday School classes, the mariachi music ministry, and a private office for the pastors.

The dynamic talents of the three groups present were truly a blessing that allowed a plethora of tasks to be completed. Their willing hearts and hands were appreciated as always!

Tearing down & Building Up: Week of July 5th-11th

This was a week of demolishing in Sparks and building new houses in Anapra through the efforts of three different, but talented groups.

The group from Fort Lone Tree, lead by Simon and Maria Lawson was here nice again leading work efforts in Sparks.  This time the camp brought a group from a church in Colorado. They were given the task of demolishing two trailer houses that had tragically been engulfed in flames and destroyed earlier in the summer. The efforts of the group to fill several commercial sized dumpsters made way for later servant event groups to rebuild the two houses. Thanks to some speedy demolishing, the group even had time to prepare the forms for the future concrete slab. While a dirty and trying task, the demolition was an important piece of the rebuilding process.

Crossing over daily into Anapra was a group of 17 led by Cindy Anderson. Consisting of a medley of workers of all ages the group from Immanuel Lutheran in Belvidere, IL constructed a new home for Pastor Martinez of Cristo Rey. Unfortunately, there was a setback involving a missing concrete slab for the first day, but the group worked hard to pour the slab and build walls so they could stay right on track for the week. Several group members were able to step up and take charge of the building project, drawing on experience from previous servant event trips. They were willing the share their knowledge with the younger members of the group, especially when it came to roofing. During downtime on the building site some of the ladies and children helped host “makeshift VBS” for kids that were in the church as well as a “spa day” on Thursday afternoon. It is truly a beautiful thing to see a diverse group of servants band together, grow in their skills, and reach out to a fellow servant of the Lord.

House building record seekers beware! The bar has just been set to the new height of three days! You have a group of eight dedicated workers from St. John Lutheran Church of West Bend, Wisconsin to thank.  Led by Karen Schmidt, the group spent the week in Anapra constructing a house about four blocks away. They were one member short due to a missing passport, but the young man who stayed behind was a valuable asset to the music ministry. Even though they were missing one of their hardest workers, the group banded together to finish their house in record time, thus allowing them to paint both the inside and outside walls. The family of four was ecstatic and St. John’s was glad to have shared their time with the family and children of Anapra. A work ethic such as theirs was truly a blessing to behold.

Although only here for a short time, Mark Kluzek definitely deserves mention for his weekend of evangelizing. He arrived here on Thursday evening and spent Friday and Saturday reaching out to the people surrounding Santisima Trinidad and San Lucas. Through his efforts over 680 people were reached! This is truly outstanding that so many people were eager to hear the words of Christ! It is selfless efforts such as his that truly reach out to the unbelievers of Juarez!

Once again, it was a fabulous and fruitful week at Ysleta Lutheran Mission that allowed the love of God to be brought to more of his people!

Servant Event from Fort Lone Tree, June 3-8

The mission’s hectic summer season officially kicked off on Wednesday, June 3, with the arrival of our old friends at Fort Lone Tree. The New Mexico based camp has brought three teams so far this year and has plans to bring another in July; the kids spend a few weeks learning things like leadership and teamwork and then test drive their newfound skills by participating in a servant event. This time, the group was composed primarily of youth from South Dakota and Nebraska who all attend the same Christian boarding high school in South Dakota.

They concentrated their efforts on beginning a 14 x 48 foot build in Horizon City for a family of 5 whose trailer is going to be repossessed in a few weeks because they couldn’t make the payments. It was incredible to witness the bond that was formed between the 3Velasquez kids and the 20 group members in such a short period; aside from lots of reading, Frisbee, and soccer around the jobsite, they went to the oldest daughter’s soccer practice one evening, hosted an impromptu birthday party for one of the other kids, prayed with the family before they left for the last time, and invited the family to church with them on Sunday.

It is going to take several weeks to finish such an extensive undertaking, but the entire structure is framed, sided, roofed, and wired for electric. The group also hosted an afternoon of outreach on Sunday with hot dogs and soccer in Sparks’s tiny park. We had them try out a new, bolder method of publicizing the event—handing out flyers in the doorway of the Del Rey grocery store and canvassing the neighborhood—which appeared to work as they reported a turnout of around 120 people!

Servant Event from Fort Lone Tree, April 13-17

Following a joyous celebration of our Lord’s resurrection at San Pablo Lutheran Church, Easter Monday saw the arrival of Fort Lone Tree, a returning group who works with the mission as part of a leadership camp program in Capitan, NM. They left on Friday morning after breakfast. Plans are in the works for them to bring several other groups here throughout the summer.

This particular time, the crew of 12 in addition to the leader and his family set to work in Sparks on the home of Benita Arellano. She is currently living in a trailer home, but the group was working to make a free-standing structure also on her property liveable; she plans to move there when it is completed. In their 3 full days of work, the Lone Tree participants sided the exterior of the home, nearly finished drywalling the interior, and also wired the home for electricity.

Additionally, they conducted a 2 day after-school VBS at the community center. Attendance was unexpectedly low, but those who came heard the story of Noah’s Ark, learned a Gospel analogy using the various components of a watermelon (seeds, flesh, rind, etc.), and made crafts to take home.

We look forward to having Fort Lone Tree with us again the next time in June!