For those of you who want to help meet the need but aren't able to fund an entire house, we are creating a special crowdfunding process! We will be featuring one family at a time who is waiting to receive the gift of a home. Please understand that in order to respect the privacy of each family, we will be limiting the information we share about them publicly, but we will gladly send a copy of the official family story at the request of individual donors. Just email our team coordinator, Toni Chalmers, at toni@missionsministries.org. We will also provide updates on our Facebook page, including video of the home dedication (hopefully via Facebook Live, dependent on cell service in the particular area).

In order to do our part to stop the spread, we began by suspending all teams through the spring. As the pandemic gained momentum, spring was extended to summer. Eventually, to ensure the safety of teams and the community we serve, and to comply with Mexican laws, we had to make the difficult decision to suspend all teams through December 2020. Our official statement can be found here: https://www.missionsministries.org/covid.html.

So then we were left with the questions: how do we continue to do ministry in our community with so many restrictions in place? How do we continue to build community during a time when community poses a health concern? We are still praying and seeking answers to these questions, but with the support of our partnering churches, we have begun taking steps down new avenues of ministry. 

We look forward to the day that we can host and serve alongside our friends like old times, but in the meantime, here's what's been going on south of the border! 

Two of our partnering churches, Cherry Hills Community Church in Highlands Ranch, CO and Redemption Church Gateway in Mesa, AZ, held food drives to collect non-perishables for those in our community with the greatest need. It took three trailers to get all this food across the border (one more on the way), and the sheer weight of it made for some interesting transportation challenges! We are constantly blown away by the generosity of these dear friends in ministry. Since our hospitality and library staff are unable to fulfill their normal duties right now due to the restrictions in place, they will be partnering with our five pastors to organize and distribute this food to our neighbors who need it most.  This project begins on Monday, so stay tuned for updates!

Even though teams are suspended, many groups have donated for homes to be built by our crew! Patricia and her family were set to receive a home pre-corona, but their wait was extended indefinitely when teams had to be canceled. Thanks to Journey Church, our crew was able to partner with Pastor Martin this week to finally build Patricia's home. Several more homes are set to be built in the coming weeks, thanks to the selfless support of other teams like Journey Church, so keep an eye out for updates!