Monday House Crew — Raising a wall in Mexico

Well, everyone. It’s happened. The NBYG began building a wall in Mexico. No matter your political persuasion, we think you’ll agree these are walls that need to be raised. These are walls that have the power to transform a country. They are the walls of a home.

We started construction today on the house we’re building for a local family. And today we raised three walls. In three days, we will construct what to most of us would appear to be more of a shed than a house. It’s a modest home but building it will be a rich blessing to so many. Certainly it will be a blessing to the deserving family that will call it home. And, yes, it will be a blessing to those who live in the neighborhood and hear the story of how it came to be built. How God’s people raised it free of charge. But it will be a blessing to so many more.

Know that the family who owns it has some skin in the game. They raised the money to purchase the property. A far bigger challenge than it was for us to raise the modest amount required for the foundation, lumber, windows, door and a few household items that will be left in the house. And so this house is also a blessing to those who donated the resources for the materials. They can find satisfaction in knowing they didn’t bury the talent God had entrusted to them. They invested in a home for a family, an investment that will be returned many times over in ways we can’t imagine. Because we know, God is faithful.

It’s also a blessing to those who’ve donated their time and talent and resources to oversee the construction. They’ll find satisfaction in mentoring the teens on their crew, some who’ve never picked up a hammer, and also blessed to know they provided a humble home for someone in desperate need. Thank you Mr. Steve Waldron and Tom Boyle for leading this effort. And it will bless our teens for years and years to come — they’ll witness what’s possible when we all come together. They’ll know the joy that comes with giving. They will have built a special relationship with the adults on their crew. Some will know the blessing of stretching beyond your comfort zone to do something for someone you don’t even know. There’s also something powerful in the knowledge that you were part of giving someone a home.

This will be a house of worship because it’s construction was an act of worship. As Skid shared with us in his Sunday sermon — We worship God every time we act differently because of what God has done to us. It gives the phrase “house of worship” a whole knew meaning to those of us blessed to build a house in worship.