Laredo Stepping Stone was a quick overnight stop. The POWER team was back up and on the road early with work projects at Faith Mission in El Cenizo today. David and Amy Burkett have dedicated their lives to serving God through the people in colonias on both sides of the border. Last year, the teams worked in Nuevo Laredo. This year they worked on the US side of the border at the El Cenizo mission center.
The largest project today was building dorms, starting with a base of an existing mobile home that had been donated to the facility. A raised floor was positioned right next to one side of the mobile home. Walls went up, and then roof trusses — right over the top of the old mobile home. This was one building project few on the team had seen before. When next week’s team arrives, the trailer will be the foundation of part of the building, but it will no longer look like an old trailer sitting on the lot.
Another transforming project today involved painting the church. It’s amazing what a little paint can do. Just ask Sam Hieronymus of Riverside, who ended up himself coated in paint. “They said we were going to paint the church,” he said, “and, hey, God’s people are the church!” he laughed. Other projects, today, included drywalling a bathroom, and building an interior wall.
After lunch, David Burkett introduced the team to Raul Reyes, mayor of El Cinezo, who along with the City Council proclaimed January 13 POWER Ministry day in the city. Mayor Reyes, the youngest mayor in the state of Texas, told of growing up in a Christian home, and the impact that made on his life. After the proclamation was read, the POWER team prayed over Mayor Reyes, and then the young mayor had his photo taken, flanked by the youngest member of the team at 18, Harrison Freedman of Long Beach and the oldest member at 92, Vance Luke of Rome, GA.
With projects completed for the day, the POWER team made the long drive south to Brownsville. Tomorrow they make their way across the border to the Magdiel Bible Institute in Matamoras. This will be a day of spending time with the student, who are the future leaders of the Christian Church in Mexico. And if it’s not raining, there will be an opportunity for the POWER team to prove itself on the soccer field! More on that in tomorrow’s blog.
Tomorrow the team heads across the border.