Our Volunteers in Mission (VIM) team from Lafayette Park U.M.C. just returned from building a house in Juarez, Mexico for Operacion HOGAR. It was a wonderful week of sharing with our neighbors in Mexico. Despite all of the media blitzes reporting escalating violence in Mexico, we experienced the same warmth, hospitality and feeling of security and safety that we have always known in our travels there.
As we planned our trip, we considered the dangers and risks that we are sure many of you have also considered. We contacted our host, Jose Ramos. He assured us that the problems in Mexico occur with drugs and gangs, but that there would be no risk in the area where we were working or at the mission house. We did have a wonderful trip and a very meaningful experience during our week. We walked to and from the marketplace, the ice cream shop and bakery just as always.
When we were first introduced to the family for whom we were building a house, my first feeling was one of joy that we had gone forth with our planning. Jose informed us that we were only the 4th team that had come to Juarez this year. Normally he greets 40 teams each year. It was difficult to know that Jose and our maestros have had almost no work this year, and that the families waiting for safe shelter have been put on hold indefinitely.
My purpose for writing this letter is to inform you of our experience in Juarez last week and hopefully encourage your church to consider taking a team to Operacion HOGAR or sending funding to have a house built by the maestros. The future of Operacion HOGAR is at serious risk. It is too valuable a ministry to ignore on account of fear generated by sensationalism by the media.
Please prayerfully consider your continued support to Volunteers in Mission and Operacion HOGAR. I would be happy to assist your team or any interested individuals with planning for a trip or answer any questions that you might have.
In Christ,
Nancy Thuer
Missouri Project Coordinator, Operacion HOGAR
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