Hands-On Mission Projects
Building Houses in Mexico
In recent years, our congregation has taken on a mission project to the people living in substandard housing on the outskirts of Tijuana, Mexico. Families come to Tijuana every day, looking for work. Many end up living in shacks composed of discarded garage doors, pallets, even cardboard. Lutheran Border Concerns Ministry (LBCM) encourages church groups to come to Tijuana to build more suitable housing for these people. The houses built are the most basic shelter, but such a blessing to the families in need. They are 12 foot by 12 foot wood-framed houses with one window, one door with a lock, a cement floor, and a solid roof -- no plumbing, electricity or inside wallboard -- easily built in one day. The recipient families are chosen by the Lutheran church in the area. Each costs about $2200 for the cement slab and building materials.
We send crews of volunteers to Tijuana several times a year. On a typical mission trip, the workers leave for Tijuana very early on a Saturday morning. When they arrive at the building site, the supplies have already been purchased and delivered by LBCM with funds we have sent in advance. The cement pad is ready and waiting. There is a devotional and prayer time with the family before work begins. The morning is spent priming and painting the plywood for the exterior walls and framing the walls and roof.
During the day, crew members reach out to the neighborhood children, passing out goody bags containing school supplies, toiletries, balloons, small toys, candy, a Spanish gospel booklet and more. We also send used clothing and let the neighbors take what they like and need.
The house is finished in the afternoon, and the family is presented with a house-warming basket filled with canned goods, toiletries, rice, beans, towels, quilts, etc. The crew will then head back across the border, tired but blessed.
We encourage you to join us on one of these trips. Be advised that a passport or other WHTI approved document is now required. For more information on U.S. Border Crossing requirements, click here.