The first of the few and far between fall servant event groups was made up of 5 familiar male faces from St. Matthew Lutheran Church in Barrington, IL. Their trip started off with a party in Juarez at Santísima Trinidad Lutheran Church on Sunday to celebrate Pastor Hernandez’s 20th anniversary in the ministry. Following the festive service, the whole group was invited to sit at the head table for the dinner and party afterwards; Pastor Hernandez kept reminding everyone that they got to eat first because they still had a long bridge wait ahead to get back to the mission!
Monday was the end of the partying and the beginning of the roofing on the home of Olga Reyes and her husband Tony in Horizon City. They came to YLM several months ago with a slab and the plans for their dream home, and little by little we’ve been doing what we can; so has Tony, a plumber by trade. This week, the tasks consisted of finishing the tar paper on the roof and shingling it as well as running Romex inside. Energized by a circle prayer each morning, YLM Project Facilitator/Development Director Chris was the Romex runner extraordinaire, while the roofing crew, under the watchful eye of the group’s resident former roofer, finished in a whopping TWO DAYS!!! With the project they had committed to nearly finished…there was still almost a full day of wiring left that Chris took it upon himself to finish…the group decided to work with Pastor Hernandez for the rest of the week, purchasing their own materials out of pocket.
The decision came on the heels of a long talk with Pastor Hernandez on Sunday over dinner, in which they came to realize that while the need in Sparks and Horizon City is at times overwhelming, God is calling His servants to Juarez in the midst of the evil violence, and its citizens need to see and hear the Gospel being proclaimed now more than ever. The five guys set their hearts, their minds, and their wallets on building a porch at Pastor Hernandez’s San Pedro y San Pablo mission site, something he has dreamt of for a long time that will make the site ever more ready to host weekly worship and instruction there. Pastor Hernandez plans to dedicate the porch on Reformation Day, Saturday, October 31, 2009, at 3:00 pm and begin weekly ministry there in January.
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