By Brian Koonce
Staff Writer
JEFFERSON CITY – Three families in El Salvador are saying “muchas gracias” to Missouri Baptist churches after their homes were rebuilt through Mi Casa es Su Casa.
David Tolliver, executive director of the Missouri Baptist Convention (MBC), introduced the Mi Casa es Su Casa (My House is Your House) campaign to help El Salvadoran Baptists rebuild homes that were destroyed last year by Hurricane Ida.
“We have a tremendous opportunity to encourage fellow believers in a time of great need and to further strengthen the Missouri-El Salvador partnership,” Tolliver said
Each home costs approximately $3,500. To date, the MBC has raised more than $20,000 for Mi Casa es Su Casa. There are seven more homes lined-up for construction, but Tolliver said the MBC will continue to work until the Association of Baptists in El Salvador (ABES) says all the homes of Salvadoran Baptists have been rebuilt. There is no “goal” for the campaign; if more money than is necessary is raised, those funds will go toward the partnership between the MBC and ABES.
Three teams from Missouri churches have already been to San Vicente, El Salvador in 2010 to build the homes. They have two bedrooms, a small bathroom and an outside kitchen.
“These houses are not fancy, but imagine the blessing they are to a person who has lost everything,” Tolliver said. “Please pray about ways your church can participate in Mi Casa es Su Casa. This could mean a special offering, a Sunday School class ‘sponsoring’ a single home, or maybe a Vacation Bible School project. Regardless of how we raise the money, I am convinced that God brought us into the El Salvadoran partnership ‘… for such a time as this.’ It is my prayer that God would use us to bring Glory to His name in the midst of tragedy.”
For more information, contact Mauricio Vargas at jmvargas@mobaptist.org or Rick Hedger at rhedger@mobaptist.org. Bulletin inserts are available at on the MBC’s website at www.mobaptist.org/micasa.