News
Hands of Mercy is building a lofthouse for a needy family using the extra building materials donated from US work teams (left after completed lofthomes). The three HoM missionary families living full-time in Mexico attend the English speaking service of “Horizon Calvary Chapel – Ensenada”. They are partnering with members of the Spanish speaking service of Horizonte to help construct the lofthouse. This will be the second lofthouse built that was constructed using all workers that live in Mexico. The Mexican church has the same need and desire to give as the US church, but lack the resources to build an entire lofthouse. Using these “leftover” materials gives them a chance to help. The prebuild will take place in Horizonte’s parking lot in Ensenada on January 16, 2009.
I hope this message finds all well. We as a group have been praying that God will intervene in the changing of the gaurd at the border. How did the meeting go? Hope everything was resolved in a gracious manor. I know the hearts of all of you and that you would not allow any other conclusion. What ever is the out come, we will support you and your ministry to the end.
You guys are such an inspiration to all of us, you cannot imagine the life changing impact you are having, not only in our community, but any where that has been involved. I can’t begin to tell you how many have ranted and raved about H.O.M. In our Tuesday bible study we were asked.? What for sure have you seen with your own eye’s that you can positively say is being blessed by GOD 100%.
Guess what You and your families are. Let me know what the outcome of your meeting was. May GOD continue to bless you all. Hope all is well. We LOVE you guys and can’t wait for the next adventure.
Randy Bradford
11/12/08
Those of us with Sierra Vista Community Church who came last weekend (Aug. 29-31, 2008) would like to say a huge THANK YOU to all of you!!! This was our very first missions trip as a church, and we were all very blessed to be a part of this amazing ministry God is directing in Mexico. Your warmth and encouragement and patience every step of this process has been so wonderful! We thoroughly enjoyed our adventure there…from the journey down, “the road,” the GREAT food, the rope swing for the kids, the fun loft homes, the building of the home for the family, the AWE inspiring stars….and on and on. We have all grown in our relationship with the Lord through this experience, and we can’t wait to come back. God bless you guys as you do this day in and day out! We will be lifting you up in prayer, as well as the Cruz family. Blessings on you all!
Lisa Rettberg
P.S. On a personal note, on Monday morning, my 10 year old son and I were talking, and I said, “I miss Mexico.” He replied, “I do, too. It would be fun to do that again.” Amen to that!
Jesus liked to work with his hands. One significant thing that Jesus did with his hands was to wash his disciple’s feet. It was also one of the last things he did with his hands before having them nailed to a cross. Washing feet was a symbolic act communicating love and a willingness to be a servant. Jesus taught his disciples that they needed to wash feet, too. Hands of Mercy is an organization that seeks to be the hands of Jesus reaching out to love others in his name. HOM has been specifically called to help love the people of Mexico and we have found no lack of dirty feet to wash. HOM is asking people from the U.S. to take time out of their busy schedules, give sacrificially and take a risk to love others. This always means getting stuff dirty, broken or lost. It usually means feeling uncomfortable. It makes some people so uncomfortable that they ask whether we should be washing feet at all in Mexico. They sometimes ask if it wouldn’t be better for Mexicans to wash Mexican feet. They argue that we could train them so they could do the work themselves. Some even protest that it isn’t effective to wash feet because people tend to get them dirty again and that might set up an atmosphere of dependency with people coming back to have their feet washed. Perhaps, it would be good if the government would help pave more roads so people’s feet wouldn’t get so dirty. Others observe that some people’s feet don’t seem that dirty while others are so dirty that it is obviously their own fault, that they probably like dirty feet or that they should try harder to keep them clean. It is always more comfortable to focus on the condition of the feet than to stay focused on our need to wash. Of course, HOM doesn’t really wash feet in Mexico, although maybe we should. We build homes for needy people as a symbol of God’s love and grace. We build them in the name of Jesus, who gave us the example of washing feet. My prayer is that we never get sidetracked by asking the wrong questions or suggesting that God use someone else. We need to roll up our sleeves, get on our knees and be the hands of Jesus.
Brian McCoy
A coffee-time conversation turned into a ministry-altering emphasis for us here at Peñasquitos Lutheran Church (PLC) in San Diego. Thus it often is in the Kingdom of God. During coffee time on a men’s retreat in 2005, several men from our church met the architects of a ministry called “Hands
of Mercy,” a separate 501c3 non-profit organization out of Trinity Church in Redlands, California, and we forged a lasting relationship.
Hands of Mercy helps churches start loft-home projects. With a specific and basic blue-print for a 12’ x 12’ structure, congregants are encouraged to pick up their hammers and paint brushes. In a one-day session, we build the deck floor, four walls, joists, and roof in the church parking lot. Next, we load the prefabricated parts onto a trailer, and the following weekend a team of people drive the home to Baja, Mexico, where a family in need awaits its arrival. We assemble and erect the home in one day, and the recipient family participates in the project.
As is the case in many service projects of this nature, it goes way beyond simply cutting wood and pounding nails. Lives are touched and transformed in a tangible way. People who receive a Loft Home in the name of Jesus are forever changed every time they walk into the home that someone gave them in love. People stateside who donate to, build and deliver a home are forever changed as well.
PLC member Jason Harper states, “This is one of the most rewarding things I’ve ever been a part of.” The reward comes by making a difference. Little can compare to the feeling of standing with a family who once lived in cardboard boxes as they are handed the keys to their brand new house. PLC member Steve Josephs puts it this way: “To see a dirt- poor family be blessed with their first home is one of the most spiritually moving and soul satisfying experiences I can imagine.” Steve is not alone. Many have shared a similar experience where serving God by serving others has opened up a new depth to their spiritual lives. As Steve says, “This is the stuff that you hear about in Bible Study or Sunday sermons, but you never fully understand until you’re right there among the poor.” Since our original conversation with Hands of Mercy in 2005, we have raised money for and delivered eight loft homes. Participation by PLC people in the planning, cutting, assembly, delivery and erecting of these homes now numbers
over three hundred; this number increases greatly if we count all the prayer warriors behind the scenes. With the increased participation comes increased production. We plan to build two homes simultaneously on one weekend in this month, and send two teams to deliver them to Mexico the following weekend. We are not alone in this outreach. Churches throughout California have partnered with Hands of Mercy and to date have delivered over 600 Loft Homes in and around Ensenada, Mexico.
Building Loft Homes
by Sean Kelly
By MELANIE LADONGA
The Press-Enterprise
After participating in a Christmas play about a girl collecting food and toys for the less fortunate, Hanna Hovren, 8, of Redlands, decided she wanted to help. “I thought the girl was really nice. And I decided that I wanted to do something nice like that too,” Hanna said. Hanna created Helping Other People Everyday or Operation HOPE, a charity effort with the goal of building a house for a needy family in México.
Operation HOPE, a charity effort created by Hanna Hovren, of Redlands, held its first event on Sunday. The fundraiser will help build a new home for a family in Mexico. Through her family’s congregation at First Congregational Church of Redlands and a charitable organization called Hands of Mercy, Hanna experienced the effect of giving first-hand in last fall. Hanna, her parents, Lori and Eric, twin sister Jenna, brother Aiden and about 10 other volunteers drove to México with Hands of Mercy to build a house for a family over a September weekend. Lori Hovren said seeing poverty in Mexico has made an impression on her daughter. Lori Hovren said Hanna has always tried to help the poor. “She has a gentle spirit. She’d sell her toys to make a little bit of money to give it to somebody,” Hovren said. With the help of her family, Hanna organized her first fundraising event for Operation HOPE on Feb. 24 a walk-a-thon that was held in the church hall of First Congregational Church.
Hanna’s goal was $2,800, and before the walk she had raised $1,700 by selling candy and receiving donations from her congregation. The money will be enough to buy a 12 by 12 foot house for a family in Mexico. At the walk, Hanna’s total reached $2,749. Hanna’s mother said Hanna, her sister and brother are contributing the remaining $51. In May, the Hovrens will make their next trip to México with 25 volunteers. Shirley Linden, wife of the First Congregational Church pastor, said Hanna has gotten the whole church involved and aware of her project. In spite of all the recognition, Lori Hovren said Hanna has stayed grounded. “I’m amazed at what she accomplished. Her motives were very pure. They weren’t driven by any sort of recognition,” Hanna’s mother said. For Hanna, her only hope was that the family received a new home. “It could make a difference and they’ll be really happy,” Hanna said.
