New Hope Community Church

Standing with the poor. Giving a hand up not just a hand out. Compassion, development, partnership. These words and statements have been the heart of our trip. As we stepped into the various areas of service this week, we were met with despair and hope, extreme poverty and richness in spirit, the disenfranchised and the desire to learn new skills.

During the year our team prayed for our own hearts, abilities, and attitudes. We prayed for soft hearts, humility and strength. We prayed for an attitude of being guests and not arrogance in doing things better. We also prayed that we would be received warmly, openly - that through the people we encountered God would be present and that we would both get to experience all that He had for us; that the God of love and the God of Justice would be merciful and demonstrate His sovereign grace in all circumstances.

We could not have asked for a more perfect trip.  Our prayers were answered and surpassed all expectations.

Our trip was about living out our faith in action and continuing in the good work already in process from God through Ric and Joy and their church. It was a privilege for us to share in the lives of the people of Puerto Vallarta. Ric and Joy have followed their calling of ministering with the poor, partnering with the local churches, and providing a way out. As they continue to establish micro credit loans, they have helped so many to seek their skills, gifts and interests and then to train, develop and apply it to small businesses within Puerto Vallarta. Their ministry and model to give a hand up and not just a hand out is so right on. They not only help those in need today (giving a blanket, a meal, a bottle of water on a hot day) but also in helping families grow in their own human dignity of providing a life for themselves as well being able to remain together. Too often families are separated by long distances or torn a part due to employment or financial difficulties. 

We are not all on the same playing field. We have not all started the race in the same place. Our luxury of being born in the United State or Canada has automatically given us privilege and access that we don’t completely appreciate or comprehend. The simple things of access to safe drinking water, to healthy food, to an education are a luxury to many. Most of the time we here in upper North America, go to bed safe and warm and without our children crying because they are hungry. We are free to worship, to walk, to build. 

We are so proud of Ric and Joy for their dedication, their commitment, their honoring of partnerships. They are tirelessly working and serving with God to bring HIS kingdom here on earth. Their compassion and development are about expanding the choices people have to lead lives that they value. With the partnerships of people like you and me, they are able to provide opportunities for people to dream for the future. Some of their current initiatives include building homes, home improvement, interest-free mortgages, Vallarta Book mobile (reading program), interest-free small business loans, English classes and emergency food/medicine.

You can join their network of compassion and be part of resourcing the under-resourced! If everybody gives $10 a month it will add up to many interest free, small business loans, more books for the library, more CompassioNet Homes being built, English classes. Mother Teresa said, “Small things done with great love will change the world."

You can go to Justgive.org and select Compassionate Impact International based in Loveland, Colorado. You can select recurring donations or a one-time donation.

Thanks for walking with us through our journey this past week and for helping us to share in the vision and  plant seeds of hope for the future. Your partnership with us cannot be replaced!

Love and Peace to you-Team Nuevo Esperanza (Team New Hope)

Just in case you thought we didn't have any light moments on the trip...

Marty has discovered a new ministry - to support the local food service economy

Rob led the team in morning calisthenics

Debbie, when you are encouraging the rest of your team to take breaks, listen to your own advice!

Did someone spike the agua?

No more tacos; please!!!

Looks like Rob and Jan's tacos al pastor are making a repeat appearance

Chrs and Rob invent their own form of tai chi

What a ladies' man!

Listen young man, this is my seat and I am not giving it up!!

Is it breaktime yet?

Another romantic moment ruined by the hobbit-footed troll

You mean I'm not supposed to take a bath in the sink?

Debbie and her zipline guide get to know each other better.

Guide: Are you ready to go "Superman style?"

Kellie: Um; no...

Guide: OK; here you go!

Kellie: Aaaaaahhhhhhhh!

Chris has discovered Mexican pantyhose, which are made out of pure dirt.

Looks like Bruce has some competition

Nathan found a part time job as a snake wrangler

This shower seems awfully small...

Hola seniorita. If you give me a sip of your Coca Cola, I will sing for you.

We spent the day seeing the sights of Puerto Vallarta and enjoying a final celebration dinner with Ric and Joy. Ric then debriefed the group, asking us how we think our group impacted the people we served this week and what we ourselves gained from the trip. He reiterated how important support from churches like ours is, and how beneficial these mission trips are to the ministries of Paradise Church, not only for the work done while in Mexico, but for the relationships forged and for spreading the word and inspiring others back home.

The rains held off this morning, so our team was anxious to meet the backhoe driver.  So anxious in fact that we were told that we were funny Americans trying to rush.  You see, the saying down here is "No hurry, no worry".  Since we were late, we were sure that the driver would be waiting for us... not so.  We still waited for him, but it was well worth the wait.  Eduardo was a artist with his backhoe and completed in an hour and a half what would have taken us another week to do by hand.  He finished off the hard part of the backfilling leaving us only the finishing touches. 

Our team leader has been David Zude, a faithful servant from Colorado who returns to Vallarta around eight times a year.  David is fluent in Spanish and we quickly realized how frustrating it would be to work in a foreign country without someone like him.  He was only gone from the work site for a half hour and the language barrier between us and Faviola became very evident. 

Once David returned, we realized that her family had paid for this fill dirt and she wanted to make sure that it stayed on her property.  At that moment, truly serving and loving Faviola meant letting her know that what was important to her was important to us. 

The drywall crew returned to Manuel's church to complete as much of the nursery as possible. We made surprising progress, finishing the framing, hanging the drywall, taping and plastering.  We were a well oiled, drywalling machine.  After the plaster dries, Manuel will stucco the walls to match the rest of the church.  Manuel's process of completing this project was different than ours but one of the lessons we learned was that we have not come here to teach them how to do things our way but to serve.  The relationships are more important than the amount of physical work that is completed.  That is something Paradise Church is passionate about. 

A few of us visited Agape, a shelter for abandoned and/or abused girls.  It is owned by a Mexican, Christian couple and houses about 20 girls ranging in age from 8 to 18.  They are assigned to Agape from the state but since it is a privately owned facility they are allowed to provide biblical teaching.  The girls arrive there for various reasons; abuse, neglect or simply being found living on the street.  While we were there, most of the girls were at school.  The ones that were left are not in school because they have not attended for so long and are unable to return at the grade in which they left.  Dennis and Faye, a couple from Paradise Church, go to Agape daily to teach the girls English, scripture and God's truth of who they are in Him.  Debbie and Lindsay were able to talk intimately with a few of the girls who were very open about their horrific past. 

Marty and Lindsay were able to meet with pastor Pedro and his wife Teresa who are in charge of the kid's after school computer club.  During the meeting they were able to teach them more about how to operate the computers so that they can use them after we are gone.  One of today's lessons was how to make and save a word document.  A few of the students were already able to come in and work with Teresa to use the computers for research needed for their homework.  David has been instrumental in helping at the computer lab as well.  He is cheerful and untiring.           

This morning we awoke to pouring rain which necessitated some flexibility in our plans. The team divided into two groups. One group went to help frame and drywall a nursery for a Mexican church whose pastor, Manuel, has developed a relationship with Pastor Ric. It seems the renovating we did at Stone Chapel for our children's ministry area was great training!

The second group visited a local orphanage where members of Paradise Church regularly go to love on the children who live there. Some of us played games with and read to the toddler-aged children, while others got their "maternal fix" cuddling babies.

By late morning, rain had stopped, the skies had cleared, and we reconvened in a neighborhood near the city dump. A Canadian couple from Paradise Church, Andy and Janet, have begun a ministry in this neighborhood called New Beginnings. When they are in Puerto Vallarta (their visa allows them to stay six months at a time, then they have to return to Canada for six months where they work and raise funds), Andy and Janet are serving in the neighborhood every day, offering Bible studies, helping some of the residents develop small hand-craft businesses, and in general serving the community. At lunchtime, we brought a mobile kitchen to the neighborhood and served lunch to more than 100 mothers, fathers, and children. While there, our team enjoyed talking with the parents, playing with the children, and loving the babies -- the youngest was eight days old!

In the afternoon, some people returned to work on the framing and drywall. We're hoping to be able to finish this project tomorrow. The computer lab team returned to run the computer club again. The emphasis today was teaching the kids how to search on Google (they pronounce it "Googleeee"). One seven-year old girl found on her own a site for learning English.

Today we were also able to line up a backhoe operator at a very reasonable price. So, weather permitting, we hope to be able to finish the backfilling on Faviola's house tomorrow. 

So, are you wondering how we are all getting along?  Well, we are very much enjoying eating, working and laughing together all day long.  Our year long process of experiencing God as He knit our team together has made it very easy to work together in physically and emotionally challenging environments.  As stated by Marlene Erdmann, "I feel like I'm in the middle of a Saturday Night Live skit" =)

The house that we are helping to build will be owned by Faviola and her husband Domenicio. Faviola and her children attend the church "Pan de Vida" (Bread of Life), a small Mexican church in a very poor neighborhood close to the city dump. Pastor Ric has developed a relationship with this church and its pastor Luis Miguel. Through Paradise Church's partnership with Compassionate Impact, Faviola's family is receiving an interest-free loan to build a home on the land they already own.

After lunch Pastor Ric took us and 9 cases of bottled water to the Puerto Vallarta dump where we distributed water and blessings ["Dios le bendiga"] to the workers who spend their days sorting through the trash and retrieving any materials that can be recycled. Following this, Pastor Ric took us to meet a couple of needy families with whom he has built relationships. We distributed much needed [and appreciated] staple foods. At the home of Carlos the team enjoyed visiting with Carlos' wife Isabella and playing with several of Carlos' 9 children. Marlene's Hoppity Hop was a big hit with little Juan.

In the afternoon the computer lab team once again hosted computer club. The kids were equally enthusiastic today and a couple extra Spanish speakers on the team [Pastor Ric's son Tucker and our resident team leader David helped out today] helped the time go much more smoothly. When David asked one of the girls, Fatima, what she'd like to learn with the Internet, her response was, "I want to learn English!" 

In closing, please join us in praying for God to provide computer teachers who can keep the computer club running in the weeks and months to come. Pray too for Faviola and her family. Her husband Domenicio does not currently attend church. We're also asking that God would help us procure a backhoe to help us be able to finish the backfilling work by week's end. Thanks for partnering with us while we're here!

Early in the morning we met for prayer and planning for our day.  Matthew 22:36-40 helped us to put ourselves in the right frame of mind. "Teacher, which is the greatest commandment in the law? Jesus replied, "Love the Lord your God with all  your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.  This is the first and greatest commandment.  And the second is like it:  Love your neighbor as yourself.  All the Law and the Prophets hang on these two commandments."  

Driving to the work site meant bumpy, dirty roads, and scenery consisting of shacks built from various materials salvaged from the city dump.  Our spirits were high as we were anxious to begin our work, but it was humbling all the same.  The foundation of the outer walls were previously finished by a local craftsman, and our team's task was to backfill dirt around the foundation walls.  The tools in hand consisted of shovels, picks and the blessing of two borrowed wheel barrows. It was hot, dirty work and after three hours (which felt like eight) our bodies were calling it quits. 

"It's awesome to think that we helped to work on a house that will most likely be passed down to the next generation in that family."  Rob Hobson  

For lunch we went to a small local church where three women had been working to prepare our lunch. (One of the women is the future owner of the house we were working on).

"I have never felt such gratitude for a meal in my life. I was overwhelmed by the entire experience and more than once found tears in my eyes.  That moment, sitting with the team, knowing how hard every single person worked, there was a sense of true peace. That this sort of thing is what we are made for.Just simply being there, the work that was done, the people we were serving, the women who cooked for us, it was being in the presence of God after having followed Him step by step to this point. I'm reminded of Ephesians 2:10, "for we are God's workmanship created in Christ Jesus to do good works which God prepared in advance for us to do.""  Chris West 

Our team split up for the afternoon, with five of us going to the newly installed computer lab and the rest of the team heading off to a portable library. The computer lab team was led by Marty's computer expertise and Lindsay's Spanish skills.  They installed cables, readied monitors and set up a network to receive the internet. They were now ready for students, and thirteen children ranging in age from about 6-12 years were very excited about the new lab. Our team assisted the students in loading their own personal pictures into a power point presentation, navigating through Google Earth to find our home and theirs, and looking at YouTube videos.  

Meanwhile, the portable library team met at a small open air pavilion where mothers and their children were finishing up a free lunch provided by the Rotary Club.  We tried our best to read Spanish books to children of all ages and even had the pleasure of having some of them read to us.  We colored pictures with them, played games with them and just loved them. 

Our first full day of service was finished off by having the best tacos in town, Tacos Al Pastor!