Tuesday, January 29, 2013

Opportunities to Serve

Every week of the year we have opportunities for you to be involved in our work in México and Guatemala.  However, we know that you don't always have the time or the commitment from others to create a team and organize a build on your own.  For that reason, we want you to know of other opportunities that you have to serve with us throughout the year.

We have trips scheduled in every city in which we build, specifically over long weekends or holidays, so that you can come as an individual and build with a team that we organize. We cover the details of food, transportation and everything else that you need.  All you have to do is get to where we are.  Those trips are called Team Casas. We want you to know our schedule for 2013 so that you can plan to join us throughout the year!


February 15th-18th | Juárez, México
  June 10th - 14th | Juárez, México
  June 23rd - 29th | San Raimundo, Guatemala
  June 30th - July 6th | San Raimundo, Guatemala
  August 30th - September 2nd | Acuña, México
  October 14th-17th | Juárez, México
  December 27th - 30th | Acuña, México
  December 29, 2013 - January 4, 2014 | San Raimundo, Guatemala

We also provide opportunities throughout the year for internships.  This is for anyone that has come on a build with us and wants to take it a step further by learning to lead teams and build homes in México or Guatemala.  Right now we are still looking for interns for Summer 2013! For more information, check out the link below.

When: May-August 2013
What: Leading teams, building homes and office responsibilities
Where: San Raimundo, Guatemala or Juárez & Acuña, México
Who: Anyone 20yrs or older that has been on at least one Casas build
Application Deadline: April 1st, 2013







Thursday, January 24, 2013

Thank You God, Thank You God, Thank You...


Words that I have uttered over and over again in my life. Words that I have uttered after witnessing God do the impossible in someone else’s life. Words that I have uttered in response to Him answering the earnest cries of my heart. Words that I have uttered when I have realized that God has always been right there with me. He has not abandoned me. In fact, He’s been there through it all and pulled me through even when I didn’t know that I needed Him to. However, these words fall so far short of what I actually want to say to Him.

How can I ever truly thank Him for His incredible faithfulness to the ministry of Casas por Cristo? In October we entered our 20th year of ministry and in September of 2013 we will officially celebrate the completion of those 20 years (watch for details throughout the coming year). One thing that I have been able to look back and see throughout those years is God’s amazing faithfulness.

God has been faithful to us by providing us with YOU! Throughout our history, you, our supporters, have been right here with us. You helped a struggling little family ministry get off the ground and begin to realize her vision of changing people’s lives here in the desert surrounding Juárez, México. You have sent your sacrificial support. You have come and built homes and relationships with families in need. You have covered us with your prayers.

When we shared with you our desire to expand this ministry into Acuña, México, you were right there alongside us. You provided the funds so that we could begin ministering with new pastors, to new families, in a new city. You came and built the first homes with us. You listened to God’s call on your heart and YOU were faithful.

When we shared with you our huge goal of expanding this ministry to another country, you didn’t balk. Once again, you were right there along the way. You prayed with us as we sought discernment on which country to expand to. And when we chose to grow into Guatemala, you made it happen. Your prayers paved the way. Your gifts provided the resources, the building materials and the tools that we needed. When we needed to secure vehicles in order to be able to get out and minister with these families, once again you were there to answer the call.

God provided YOU!

Along the way, God has been faithful to us as we have continued to minister in Juárez. In fact, He has been more than faithful. Throughout the turbulent drug war that has been raging, God has allowed us to continue spreading His hope, His love, His mercy and His grace with a community that most of the world has given up on. Over the past four years we have facilitated over 12,000 volunteers crossing into México without any adverse affects from the drug cartels. Our people have been safe and the families that we minister to have been more receptive to the Gospel than ever before. Families have seen strangers leave the “safety” of their homes to step into the “hopelessness” of their world and shine the love of Jesus into their lives. How could they not respond to Jesus after that?

The homicide rates topped 3,600 in 2010 and the media coverage was intense. However, God has been faithful and we have seen peace returning to Juárez. At the end of September, the homicide rate was below 600 — rates that are more in line with those before 2008.

I want to do something that I haven’t done in four years. I want to boldly invite you to come back to Juárez. This community that so many have given up on is ripe for the Harvest. God has prepared these people to be very open to His message of love and grace that He chooses to share through YOU.

God has been so faithful to us over the years, and He has done so through each one of you reading this article. Your prayers…your support…your involvement…your commitment have kept us going. So I say, “Thank You,” and once again, I find my words to be lacking.

You are going to read some articles and some stories in this issue of Beyond Building that scream of God’s faithfulness. In the process, I pray that you will feel encouraged…that you will feel appreciated…that you will feel challenged…and that you will feel motivated. And that maybe as a result, you will join with my inadequate words and cry out….

“Thank you, God. Thank you, God. Thank you...”

David Robertson
Executive Director
Casas por Cristo


Friday, January 18, 2013

Faith Like a Child

by: Brittany Girle

Maylee was born two weeks before I moved to El Paso to work full-time with Casas por Cristo. Her parents (David and Michelle) are two of my best friends from college and I was with them when Michelle went into labor. I sat outside the hospital room and heard Maylee’s first cries as she entered this world. 


I never knew how much this little girl would change my life.

Maylee is eight years old now, but she came on her first Casas trip when she was six. She has been hooked ever since. She constantly tells her friends about her experiences in México and drops her parents hints, asking when she can return. She prays every night for the friends that she has made across the border.


In March of 2011, Michelle, David and Maylee joined a group of friends to build a home for Guadalupe Anguiano and her family. During the week, Maylee formed a bond with Guadalupe’s niece, Stephanie, that has since changed all of our lives. Stephanie is the same age as Maylee and lives with her family (Guadalupe’s sister Brenda and brother-in-law José) across the street. They were with us each day during the build and became as much a part of our team as the immediate family that we were building for. On the last day of the build during the dedication ceremony, Maylee and Stephanie were standing next to each other holding hands. All of a sudden Maylee looked up and asked, “Mom, why is Stephanie’s hand so cold?” Stephanie’s hands were freezing because the house she lived in was made of cardboard and pallets and filled with holes in the roof where the rain poured through. Ever since Michelle explained this, it has been Maylee’s prayer that one day they would return to build Stephanie a home.

Knowing about the unrest in Juárez and the amount of families waiting for homes, sadly, I knew that more than likely this was not going to become more than a dream and a prayer of a young girl. I told Brenda that although her family of six is large enough to receive a double, they likely would receive a home sooner if she applied for a single. The waiting list for singles is shorter than that for doubles, but at the time in her colonia, we weren’t accepting applications for either. I felt like I left them empty handed, with little more than a flickering hope and a prayer.

Maylee returned from the build to her home in North Carolina with a piece of drywall covered in signatures in the shape of a cross. She put a picture of her and Stephanie and a picture of Stephanie’s pallet and cardboard house next to the cross and every night she prayed that they would return to build a new home for Stephanie and her family.

Three months later I returned with Michelle to Brenda’s home to check up on them. As I pulled up to their gate, I almost burst into tears. What I saw with my eyes was not possible in my mind. Nailed to their front gate was a plaque from Casas por Cristo, signifying that they had applied for and were on our waiting list to receive a home. Their pastor had taken an application for this family to our monthly pastor’s meeting the minute we started accepting applications again. He knew how desperate their need was and made sure that theirs was his first application submitted.

Although I couldn’t control my excitement that they were now on the list, the truth haunting my mind was that their home being built was probably still at least a year away. This would mean at least one more freezing winter that their family would have to endure.

Without getting lost in the details of waiting lists and “impossibilities,” Maylee simply prayed to the God that she believed in, that her friend Stephanie would receive a home. I’m not sure what happens in the world that we don’t see, or what God has to do to make the prayers of the faithful come true, but in September of this year (less than a year from the date that Maylee began praying this prayer) a team came together to build that home. The group came from three different states to build not just the single that the family had applied for, but rather the double that Maylee had prayed for.

More than likely those two little girls will never understand the impact that their friendship and their faith had on the 21 adults that came together. All they knew was that we had returned to build this home; this “impossible home” that was never, ever impossible to them. Brought together by the faith of a child and a friendship that transcends language barriers, we watched — humbled and in awe.

During the dedication ceremony, we were reminded again that this is so much bigger than ourselves. When Stephanie turned to Maylee to express her gratitude for building her home, her words were instead replaced with sobbing and tears. Her tears spoke clearer than anything ever could; there are no words in any language that would have done this “thank you” justice. As Stephanie and Maylee stood in the center of the room hugging and crying, we felt our own walls crumble to the ground and our eyes fill with tears. Perhaps the walls that we spent this week building were replacing the ones that we’ve spent our whole lives building up.

I don’t know that Stephanie and Maylee will ever understand how God used their faith and their lives to affect so many. It was as though God used these two little girls to bring us all together for this exact moment. In the process of simply believing, they reminded us to do the same.

My prayer is that we can all learn from Stephanie and Maylee’s example. That we would be reminded that somewhere deep within each of us, buried beneath the disappointments and the hardships of this world, is the same childlike faith that we once knew. May we have the strength to see beyond our own circumstances of what we “know,” and view life again through the lens of a child. What if the only thing standing in the way our dreams and our prayers, is ourselves?

Dare to dream. Dare to pray. Dare to Believe.



Tuesday, January 15, 2013

Faith Like a Child

In case you missed out on our last Beyond Building magazine, we're making each article available to you here!



Wednesday, January 9, 2013

We Need YOU!!!

FEBRUARY 15th-18th, you have the opportunity to change lives! Would you consider coming to build with us over President's Day weekend? We're doing a Team Casas build for the González family in Juárez, MX and we need 6 more people to join us. Maybe you are who we are waiting for!

Berta González (27), Jesus Mendez (27), Laura (8), Itzel (6), and Keloin (1) are in desperate need of a home. Both Berta and Jesus are currently out of work. Trying to purchase the basic needs for their family has left them completely unable to use any resources to build adequate housing. In these cold winter months would you come help the Gonzalez's meet their needs?


Where: Juárez, México
Cost: $500 per person ages 12 and up / $100 per child ages 0-11
At least 12 individuals need to register 30 days prior to trip start date for a trip to be confirmed. Individuals are also responsible for transportation, food, and lodging in the United States.

For more information follow this link, contact us at 1.800.819.8014, or email Jessica at jselburg@casasporcristo.org.


Friday, January 4, 2013

Giving Back

Many of you remember our CNN Hero Justin Churchman. He's still at it and this time asking for our help...

My name is Justin Churchman and I am currently 20 years old. I have been volunteering with Casas Por Cristo since I was 12 years old and instantly fell in love with the organization on my first build! To date, I have currently built 26 homes with this incredible organization and look forward to building 75 by the time I reach 25 years of age and I need your help! I have recently started a new job with a company called Cutco. We show fine cutlery, as well as flatware, gardening tools, hunting and fishing tools, and pots and pans. So how can you help? During our first 2 weeks on the job, we have a competition called the Fast Start. This competition provides an opportunity to earn a scholarship for college which would be very helpful. In order to advance in this competition, I must make appointments and meet with people and, regardless of whether they buy cutlery or not, I earn points for advancement. To try and earn the scholarship, I am donating 100% of my personal commission to Casas Por Cristo until January 7, and 50% commission until January 21st! You are not obligated to buy ANYTHING in order for me to earn commission, just take 45 minutes out of your day to watch and possibly ask questions about the presentation in order to give back to a beloved non-profit organization, Casas Por Cristo! Please contact me as soon as possible with questions or to set up an appointment through text messaging or calls at 915-487-0473 or through my own non-profit email at Build_better_lives@yahoo.com. Thank you for your help, I know it will help change lives!