Faith Based Ministries … Who/What is the Target of Your Faith?
Morning worship and devotions took place at Border Missions, a non-profit, non-denominational ministry located in Hildalgo, Texas just across the border from Reynosa. For the past sixty-one years Border Missions has used the distribution of food and clothing to reach the lost along the border for Christ. They serve 300 per week in their hot food program, and up to 500 attend their weekly worship service; and serve up to 2,000 people overall. Power Ministry and its predecessor ministries have been providing beans and rice to Border Missions for 40 years.
Pastor Brian challenged our group to consider the question of what is the target of our faith. Do we place our faith and trust in other people, places or things? He reminded us that when God tested Abraham by instructing him to sacrifice his son, Isaac; Abraham did not hesitate to obey. Abraham had faith in God, faith that he would provide despite the impossible request. Abraham’s faith was not based in the Law or his ability to keep the law, but in god alone. In Matthew 17:20 Jesus said “If you have faith as small as a mustard seed, you can move this mountain”. The target of our faith must be Jesus … Faith in Jesus and his power to be at work in our lives. Pastor Brian challenged us to consider what mountains exist in our lives that we tend to try to resolve under our own power. He encouraged us to pray for the strength and faith to turn these mountainous problems over to Jesus.
Day Five of our week was extremely busy, as four construction projects, a prison tour, a hot food delivery program were on the agenda. A substantial amount of the framing for the walls and painting of the exterior siding panels for an apartment building was accomplished at Senda De Vida. The apartment building will provide small individual apartment spaces for mothers with children that need housing. A crew worked at the Big Heart Orphanage constructing interior framed walls that will be used for additional classroom space. This space will be finished off with drywall and electrical in the next two Power Weeks.
Crews worked with Bruce Hepburn to construct a house for a family in a remote area of Reynosa. By the end of the day the house was framed, sided, roofed, and finished off with the setting of the door and windows. While the structure is very simple, it will provide security and protection for a family in great need. Bruce Hepburn’s ministry, Mexico Missions, Inc. has built over 200 homes since moving to the Reynosa area in 2007.
Another Power crew worked with the Hot Food Ministry of Alianza Church; which serves 1,000 hot meals each day in the city of Reynosa! Our men helped on the bus that drives around the city handing out the meals to the homeless. The delivery crew would stop on the street hand out the meals and pray for the men and women …. meeting the love one another command of Jesus in a very real hands-on manner.
Our men also visited a prison in the Reynosa area, handing out toiletry items and slightly used blue jeans and new socks that had been donated by the men of our group. The prison visits also provide a time to meet with the prisoners and share a message about Jesus, and an opportunity for some of our men to share testimonies about how a relationship with Jesus has changed their lives. These visits provide an opportunity to provide for the physical needs, as Mexican prisoners are not provided with much in the way of clothing and personal care items; while providing a very targeted message about their need for a relationship with Jesus.
On a personal note I actually had an opportunity to use my hammer today (briefly, however not particularly effectively). As I was pounding in some framing nails, I could hear several teen-age boys directing their comments in Spanish toward me … and snickering! It turns out that they had given me the nick name, “One Who Bends the Nails” or “Hammers At An Angle”! (Editors Note: That did not really happen …. The Spanish Name thing, I mean …. The bent nails part did actually happen, frequently!)
Today was our last construction day, as tomorrow we head out to the Magdiel Bible School in Matamoros for a visit to interact with and encourage the bible college students in the first half of the day. Following our visit we will start the long road trip back to San Antonio to conclude our week.
Signing off from the far back seat of a fifteen passenger van …. today would have been a really good day to wear a helmet in the van, as we spent about half of the miles travelled in the air in between bumps and dips in the road!!