ACUÑA, Mexico – Three families from different Mexican churches received newly built houses during the last week of May.
Fifty-eight people from 11 churches and five denominations worked together to frame the houses, set a metal roof, set windows and a door.
“What they call houses, we might call sheds,” Michael Hunt, associate pastor at First Baptist Church, Moberly, said. “They are 18×21 feet. They are like a lean-to with a metal roof. There is a living area and two bedrooms. They have electricity, but no plumbing. The houses are stucco and on a concrete floor. They have vinyl double hung windows and a steel door with a dead bolt lock.”
Hunt explained the windows and locking doors are a big improvement for the families.
“Some of what they live in has open windows with blankets over them. They don’t know if their things will be there when they get back.”
The team worked with El Paso, Texas, based Casas por Cristo (Houses for Christ), which also works on similar projects in Juarez, Mexico; Nicaragua, Guatemala, Honduras, and the Dominican Republic.
Hunt said the agency looks to build 400 houses this year.
“People do not have to be followers of Christ for a home. They only have to prove they own the land. In the last nine years, there have been 1.7 salvations per house (after a house is constructed). We left for the trip, May 26, and already (as of early July) the father in one house has been baptized (after professing Christ as savior),” he said.
The gospel message is shared with families through an interpreter on site. Because the house building draws attention, it’s not uncommon for neighbors to hear the word proclaimed.
“When we dedicate the houses and hand the keys over, the pastor and representatives from the group share the gospel in English and Spanish,” he said. The houses will often be used for community Bible studies.
Hunt has made more than a dozen trips to help build houses with Casas por Cristo. Some who’ve gone with him before come back and tell their friends, and that’s one reason the mission team numbers are so high.
“The reason we do this is because God loved us enough that he sent His son,” Hunt said.
Those interested in participating in Casas por Cristo, can do a scouting trip with the organization helping cover the costs. They can get more information from casasporcristo.org, or call or message Donnie Stubblefield at 630-388-8628.
Hunt and a mission team from FBC Moberly also helped Fellowship Baptist, Centerville, Iowa, July 6-12. They helped with an addition to the sanctuary, conducted a Vacation Bible School and helped with an ongoing church replant.