Hub Mexico 2023 Mission Report
The Hub is back on the mission field! We are thrilled that our team from Ensenada, Mexico, came back with the passion and desire to return! Our team experienced such a fantastic time engaging with the family we were paired with to serve and build a house for them. There were 14 of us, and we will be forever changed by what God did in and through us. We were stretched and worked hard to complete our project, and we love the Garcia-Velazquez family well.
Meet the Garcia-Velazquez Family
Javier and Ana raise 2 children, Daniel and Laura. Javier works in construction, and Ana works on a farm. They met each other about 20 years ago. More than 15 years ago, they moved to Ensenada, looking for job opportunities. Ana’s sister already lived there. They have been renting and living in borrowed places, but since they started to pay for their lot, they decided to come and live on it because they could not afford to pay for the land and rent a place simultaneously. It was such a joy to work alongside this family and see the joy of the Lord be expressed through every phase of the house being built. We could see their faith story being written as the Lord spoke to them through the display of love they received from our team. At the time of the building, we were told they were not Christians and had just recently heard the Word of God. Pastor Cristobal met this family because Daniel started meeting with him over a year ago. Daniel was the one who brought his parents to church for the first time. Throughout the week, we began to see both Javier and Ana be open to spiritual conversations, and Ana even admitted she had put her faith in Jesus. Pastor Cristobal told us that Javier and Ana came to the prayer service for the first time while we were building their house. Praise God that he can use anything to reach people. I am incredibly proud of our team and their display of God’s love for our family.
The Ministry
This was our first trip with Yugo Ministries. YUGO exists so that lives are transformed by Jesus Christ in Mexico and the world. They mobilize the church and equip the believer to reach the forgotten. YUGO bridges churches in the US and Canada to churches in the Ensenada area. YUGO is committed to doing short-term missions in direct partnership with local Mexican churches. They partner with local pastors in Ensenada and connect them with churches in the US and Canada to provide life-changing moments for families who are living in desperate situations.
YUGO is where Christian conferences and mission trips collide. Every morning and evening, we have chapel services consisting of worship and solid Biblical teaching by many of their missionaries and national staff. They intentionally filled our team physically and spiritually as we poured ourselves into ministry.
Our experience was incredible, and we had the best YUGO ministry staff assigned us. Richie was our construction foreman and was fantastic at working with our team. He had many “one-liners,” but the team’s favorite one was “It’s ok; only God is perfect.” And how true is that? We did not have many master builders. Many of us only had a little experience building a house from the ground up. But Richie was patient with us, and when we made mistakes, he encouraged us to continue to work and do our best and always smiled at us and told us: it’s ok; only God is perfect. This became our motto throughout the week. What a powerful lesson, don’t sweat the small stuff, and don’t seek out perfection because only God can be perfect. Do your best and ask for help when you need help.
We arrived at the worksite with only the concrete slab poured. By the end of day 1, we had the entire house framed and most of the exterior painted.
On Day 2, we covered the house with our favorite bible verses and prayers for the home and family. By the end of the day, we accomplished the electrical wiring, sheetrock, mudding, part of the exterior trim and started to work on the roof.
On Day 3, we finished the roof, started the shingles, painted the interior, installed the windows, and completed the exterior trim.
On Day 4 (The last day of work), we finished the interior trim and the shingles, painted touchup spots, built the beds, and got the house ready with all of the extras we wanted to bless our family.
On our last day with the family, they cooked a delicious lunch of fried chicken, handmade tortillas, and everything delicious. In such a short time, the Lord bonded us together. We started as strangers, but we quickly became friends and enjoyed getting to know one another over the week. The last day is known as dedication day. This is the day we hand the house keys to the family, and they see the furnished home for the first time. Many families in these communities have never owned a set of home keys. This is a massive moment for the family. In typical YUGO tradition, we gathered the family in front of the house, and our team made a circle with them. Each team member had an opportunity to share anything God laid on their hearts with the family. As our group shared, I was reminded each one of us had a different reason we signed up, but all of those reasons led us to this moment where we gave this family their keys and left them with the words of Christ –
“Ask, and it will be given to you; seek, and you will find; knock, and it will be opened to you. For everyone who asks receives, and the one who seeks finds, and to the one who knocks, it will be opened.”
We encouraged each other to continue to seek the Lord and to follow in the Ways of Christ. That day was joyful, there were a lot of tears, and it was hard to say bye to the family. Again, I was reminded nothing shapes our hearts to be more like Christ than joining Him on missions and serving people made in His image. Here is a before and after picture of their house.
Prayers
Please join me in praying for the Garcia-Velazquez Family. Pray they continue to seek the Lord and follow in His ways. Pray they engage with their church and serve faithfully. Pray they can find good work to provide the monetary support they need. Pray for Yugo Ministries as they host additional mission teams and build additional houses in the Ensenada area. Pray for our friends Nathan, Scott, Ray, and Cheko as they lead YUGO.
What’s Next
We had such a great experience in Mexico that we desire to go multiple times next year. Lord willing, the Hub will return to YUGO in June, and we are working on a second trip for Calvary to go again in September. We will aim to build 2 homes for families in Ensenada and carry hope to 2 new families. Please pray about how God is leading you to engage with this mission’s opportunities next year!
Testimonials
Moreland Smith: I honestly think the greatest thing I learned was the lesson taught in 2 Corinthians 12:9-10, which says this: But he said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.” Therefore I will boast all the more gladly of my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ may rest upon me. For the sake of Christ, then, I am content with weaknesses, insults, hardships, persecutions, and calamities. For when I am weak, then I am strong. In my words, this means I don’t have to be ashamed of the places in my life or the skills I’m not good at because God is the one who carries me through. And he has blessed me with gifts in other areas! I am grateful to have learned some construction skills on this trip (I was awful before I went), but I learned a valuable lesson by being unskilled in that area. God doesn’t need my ability or talent. He just needs my cheerful heart and willingness to work. Once He found that heart posture in me, I was able to do the work I believe he sent me and called me there to do. I was able to love people, love their animals, and share the love of Christ. All of this while completely inspired by the love they showed me! Taking a mission trip with Yugo Ministries was a positive learning experience I will cherish for the rest of my life, and I hope to go back! The people I met in Ensenada and the friendships I made and deepened with the people from our church truly made it spectacular. The times of worship with the people of Ensenada gave me a sense of what the global church is like. It taught me in a tangible way that Jesus’ kingdom is bigger than Columbus. And finally, the change in my heart toward mission work in unconventional ways got the gears in my head turning to the kingdom work I can do in the future! God is doing great work in Mexico!!
