FAITHFUL OBSERVATIONS: Edify Northwest builds hope
Courtesy photo El Florido, a suburb of Tijuana, is one of the poorest areas of Mexico.
Courtesy photo Volunteers raise a wall for a new home in El Florido, Mexico.
Courtesy photo The house footprint is 320 square feet and with a loft creates 480 square feet of living space. There is no plumbing, but there is electricity. They have water delivered and propane for cooking. They are solid buildings, finished, sheet rocked and finished inside. The outside is painted, windows and doors installed and keys given to the new owners.
Courtesy photo Families have been interviewed to receive a house and to qualify they have to have a lot paid for or nearly paid for. It is arranged ahead of time for a slab foundation to be poured and lumber to be delivered. Two houses will be built for two families by about 50 people in three days. The group will range in age from 2 years old to 75 years old. Many come as a family.
Courtesy photo Giving the keys is very emotional and often many tears on both sides. Remember, these are people who have almost nothing to live in that we would call a house. Their gratitude is overwhelming.
What if you told your children that you were going to take the same two weeks of vacation each year, fill up buses or vans with 90 other people and travel to one of the poorest areas of Mexico to build houses? And you did this for the next 30 years? And you can’t take your phone or electronics on the trip, either?
Do I sense a rebellion among the children? Well, we interviewed a couple, Rick and Stacey Curson, who have done just that — and survived!
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Rick and Stacey, we need to know how all of this started in Mexico?
We were both attending college in Southern California and would go across the border to reach the poorest, who really had no homes and little income. We then were able to partner with Northwest Outreaches, who also were reaching out in an area called El Florido, a suburb of Tijuana. After we were married, we moved to Oregon and then to Idaho and were also busy with foster children and our four children. We had nearly 100 foster children and did end up adopting two of our foster children and in the meantime we kept going back to this very poor area.
When you get to El Florido, what happens?
Families have been interviewed to receive a house and to qualify they have to have a lot paid for or nearly paid for. We arrange ahead of time for a slab foundation to be poured and lumber to be delivered. Two houses will be built for two families when we arrive by about 50 people in our group in three days. Our group will range in age from 2 years old to 75 years old. Many come as a family.
Wow! Now we need to hear about these houses! If you are building in North Idaho, four months is considered quick to finish a home. What are these homes like?
You have to remember that these are people who have almost nothing. Their houses are shacks they have built from the nearby dump.
The house footprint is 320 square feet and with a loft creates 480 square feet of living space. There is no plumbing, but there is electricity. We have helped them dig an outhouse a few times. They have water delivered and propane for cooking. They are solid buildings, finished, sheet rocked and finished inside. The outside is painted, windows and doors installed and keys given to the new owners. Giving the keys is very emotional and often many tears on both sides. Remember, these are people who have almost nothing to live in that we would call a house. Their gratitude is overwhelming.
What is the cost of the houses and how much do the owners pay?
It costs us $5,200 for each house and we only ask that the residents have a lot that is paid for or nearly so — that prevents the house from being repossessed. We have the mission there that does the background checks and qualifies the families for a new home.
How much does it cost each person to go on this trip and how do you raise the money for the houses?
Each person pays $275 or $850 per family to make the trip and that covers transportation, food and lodging. We raise money from church donations and we have a big garage sale in February to raise funds. We are $1,300 short for the houses for this next trip that leaves March 22nd. We’re not really worried; the Lord always provides the funds we need. We have built well over 50 houses on more than 40 trips. We will take a second trip June 12th.
You are taking 100 people down to Mexico in three large vans. How does this work? Where do you get the vans and everything you need?
Over the years, we have purchased vans ourselves and we have been able to borrow a van from Christian Center School and another from Calvary Rathdrum. Sometimes instead of buying presents for each other at Christmas or birthdays we buy items for our trip, like coolers or tools. Three of our children are grown and as adults they still look forward to the trip. We stay at the compound that we have helped build, for sleeping and meals, which works out great. The early years were primitive but it’s pretty comfortable now. We will have people from at least 10 different churches represented on this trip.
This trip in March was booked months ago and the trip in June is nearly full already. It is amazing that people will give up 10 days to be part of a mission in one of the poorest areas of Mexico. We now have a group in Montana and Oregon doing the same trip and would love to have more groups doing the same. There is a local family who have gone with us a few times who will be taking their first trip in June, too.
What is the effect of this mission effort on the community of El Florido?
Obviously the fact that we travel from Idaho to there just to build houses in the name of Christ has an impact and many people want to know more. We also hold a street fair where we set up food, games and a gospel presentation for anywhere from 50 to 150 children. We also give away backpacks filled with hygiene items, school supplies, Bibles and gospel tracts. We are seeing lives changed, families brought together and hope given to many individuals. We are giving people an opportunity to give of themselves in a way that’s nearly impossible to replicate in the U.S., because we don’t live in a Third World country, but we can help change the lives of some who do … It is the power of change in Jesus Christ that can bring hope to many along with practical help with a home.
This has been a wonderful interview Rick and Stacey, very inspiring. If people want to support this ministry or learn more, how can they reach you?
They can email us at: EdifyNorthWest@gmail.com
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Bob Shillingstad is a regular Press contributor. Email: bjshill@mac.com