2007 Mission Trip to Juarez

Imagine - A Reflection on the Mission Trip to Juarez

    "Imagine", a song which John Lennon wrote, has been reverberating in my head since returning from Juarez, where we built our fifth house.  

• Imagine living in a structure which is so unstable that you send your children to live with distant relatives so that they will not be injured or killed if the walls cave in during one of the frequent wind storms.
• Imagine having no clean water and keeping your water in 55 gallon drums, which quickly become contaminated by the dust and insects.
• Imagine having no plumbing and climbing the hillside to the outhouse.
• Imagine having no reliable electricity, no tv, no lights, no stove, no refrigerator, no heat, and no air-conditioning.
• Imagine living in a city of over 1 and 1/2 million people, where only the major streets are paved.
• Imagine living in temperatures of over 100 degrees in the summer, and below freezing in the winter.
• Imagine living in these conditions while watching the trucks pass by on I-10 just across the border in the US.

We were able to fulfill our family's dream of reuniting their family by building them a home. The home is two rooms, with sheet rocked walls, wiring for electricity, and a stucco exterior.  While modest by American standards, it provides safety and shelter for this family.  This house was the 40th Casas por Cristo home built in this Juarez neighborhood and the 3000th since Casas was founded in 1993.  This neighborhood and the lives of its residents have been truly changed for the better.

We again provided free medical care for the congregation and neighborhood of Pastor Samuel's (who has adopted our group) church.  We performed blood pressure and diabetes screening. Samuel's doctor friend again saw everyone that night who needed medical attention "gratis". 

The faith of the people we have met in Juarez strengthens our own faith.  This trip has been a blessing to everyone who has participated.  I hope that you all will prayerfully consider joining us next year. Your life will be greatly enriched by the experience. Next year's trip will be June 1 - 7, 2008.
Terry Franzen