Salem Chapel Missions Blog

The team did arrive home safely late Saturday night. We had a few delays with our connection in Atlanta but everybody made it back home safe and sound.

Thanks again for all your support and prayers.

The network has been down in Mexico for the last couple of days so the team has not been able to post as often as they would like. Dave called to let us know that everything is going great for the team.

On Wednesday the team was able to push forward and build the two houses as planned. In fact, it turned out to be their best day so far building houses. The staff was excellent and together with the team they were able to do far more than they had anticipated.

On Thursday the team had a really special day ministering to children. They were able to serve the children in the most basic ways by giving baths and handing out food in poor neighborhoods. God has been working on the hearts of the team in profound ways this week. They have been challenged by the teaching as well as being humbled that God has used them to be able to reach out to others in such simple ways. An obedient heart can make such a difference in our world.

Today (Friday) the team is packing up and will soon be heading back to San Diego. Let us continue to pray for safety for the team. Let us also pray for the impact that this trip will make on their hearts, knowing that crossing the border back into North Carolina should not change their perspective on how they should view their lives and actions daily and how Christ can use them to further His kingdom.

Today was another solid day. The team is really doing an incredible job in every area of the ministry down here. Today we built a home for Mariana. She is another single mother of a seven year old as well as a three year old. We were able to give her a 12′ by 12′ home today. We also painted here outhouse and put some roofing on it as well.

Given the fact that these first two homes have gone up so quickly we made an exciting decision for tomorrow. The church body had given an extra amount of money towards the houses. So… tomorrow we are going to build two houses. To do this we are going to be splitting in half. Carlye along with Jonathan, Amanda, Dustin and Brandon will building one house. Brie and I will be taking Jake, Matt, and Taylor to build the second one. We will also have four Caravan Staff along with each group. We felt that this was an excellent chance to use the extra money that was given.

As we do this it is going to add a bit more work to our load. We know that you have been praying faithfully. We would greatly appreciate your prayers for an extra measure of strength and energy as we build tomorrow. We feel confident that we will be able to get both of them done with ample time. It will stretch us all.

To all the high school parents: Your sons are doing an amazing job! You can be very proud of each of them. They have already far surpassed my expectations. Thank you for supporting them and encouraging them in this opportunity.

Thank you all for your continued prayers and support. It is such an encouragement.

Dave

Hey Everybody it’s Jake and Brandon.

We woke up this morning at 6:30 and got right to the nitty gritty after an awesome session with our speaker Brad. Brad worked with New Tribe Missions in Papau, New Guinea. Right after his speaking we loaded the truck up with hammers and nails… etc and left for the building site.

The family we built for today was a single mom, Irena, with a one year old son and another on the way. We worked efficiently all day, and had four walls and the roof done before lunch time. We even had enough time to paint the inside, which usually doesn’t happen. The family made us delicious Mexican comida, and was extremely grateful for their new home.

We have already seen God work this week, and we are looking forward to many more opportunities to see His hand in Tijuana, Mexico. Thank you so much for all your prayers and comments. They mean a lot. Hasta Luego.

Also…we regret to inform you that we will not be able to post any pictures. For some reason it will not allow us upload them to the site. We will keep trying. Maybe it will work another day.

We got up early but we had a good trip and it went smoothly. We had a good transition from Cincinnati to San Diego and it was cool because we got to pass over the rocky mountains, the desert, and the Grand Canyon all in a short time. It seemed that every time we looked out the window it was an entirely new landscape.

We arrived safely in San Diego. We got the rental van, grabbed some lunch and headed across the border. It was crazy to see the difference of culture and living conditions change so quickly. We got to the dorm and got settled in. Carlye gave us a short tour around the city and took us to a great taco joint and some good ice cream. It seems like we’re getting easy treatment with all the great stuff before the work.

On our walk back we passed some kids who wanted to play some futbol. So we got a big game going with alot of neighborhood kids and by the end we had a few new friends. We also had some bumps and bruises by the end of the game(especially Dave, who took a huge spill).

All in all it was a great day and we made new friends on the way. But we prepare for the work tomorrow. We’re excited about all the things God has in store for us.

Sorry no pictures today but we hopefully we will have some up tomorrow.

Today’s entry was written by Dustin and Taylor.

This is the very house type that we’ll be constructing while down in Mexico. As you can see, it is a pretty simple structure but this humble house will provide a family with a home to live in for years to come. We are holding up the families in prayer that they will truly feel the love of Christ as we meet this need. In just a few short days we will hope to put up our own picture of our first house.

We had our commissioning of the team this past Sunday. It was definitely a special time for the team to stand before the church body. We really do feel the support of the church behind this trip. Thank you again to all of you gave so generously to pay for the building supplies. We’ll be sure to take some pictures of the houses that we build.

We leave for Tijuana, Mexico is just 2 weeks. The team is really looking forward to the trip. As we continue to get ready to go please join us in praying that God will truly bless and use this mission endevor.