Category Archives for "Casas Por Cristo"

Xenacoj – A Family Transformed – Zuli’s House

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Last year, you may recall my leap of faith decision and the big ask associated with this decision.  To refresh your memory, I decided to go to Guatemala with our high school youth group.  Then I asked The Stretched Community to join together to build something big – a house.  The Stretched Community put their heads, hearts, and wallets together to pay for the materials used to build a house in Guatemala.

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Our team of 25 teenagers and 6 adult leaders arrived in Xenacoj to a piece of property with a small dirt floored hut and a dirt yard.  Two and a half days later, we had finish a brand new house for a little girl (Zuli) and her family.  It was an amazing experience for our team and for The Stretched Community.

When we returned to the States, I often wondered how this family and their new home was doing.  Did they use the paint that are team had purchased and given the family right before we left the village?  Did the house help the family?  Did they keep up with it?

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Many of my questions were answered when we returned to Xenacoj last week.  We were able to visit the house and Zuli’s family multiple times.  It was clear that our efforts last summer had made a big difference for this family.  Not only did they use the paint for the house but they also extended the front porch overhang, and they installed a concrete front porch.  They cleaned up their yard, and they built two other buildings and a kitchen on the property.  They were proud of their house, and they were taking care of their property.

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Our family was welcomed back with open arms by Zuli’s family.  We talked together about our families and about God’s love.  We encouraged Zuli to keep learning.  And we prayed together.  Before we left, the family came and saw us at the Center where we were staying.  They wanted to make sure we knew that we were always welcome at their home, and they expressed hope that we would return again next year.  It was a very touching moment.

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It was great for me to see how our help was a real springboard for this family.  Sometimes a little boost is all that is needed to help someone stand on their own.  Sometimes a little help is just what will get someone moving forward.  Seeing Zuli’s house and her family last week was also a great reminder to me that there is tremendous power when a few people get together to do something good for someone.  Thank you Stretched Community for being part of something good in Guatemala!

How have you seen a little help change the course of your life or someone else’s life?  How could you change someone’s life today by a simple act of generosity or by a basic word of encouragement?  What questions to you have about Zuli, her family, or the house we built?

Ice Breaker – Memory Moment Songs

Happy Friday!

Friday’s mean it’s time for the Stretched Ice Breaker.  Each week, I ask a question that is meant to “break the ice” and help The Stretched Community get to know one another just a little bit better.  Once the question is on the table so to speak, I’ll answer it in the post.  Then it’s your turn to answer the question in the comments.  Ready or not, here it comes!

Question (it’s not actually in question form this week):  Share a song that takes you back to a memory moment.  While you’re at it, share a little bit about the memory.

My Answer:  Lot’s of songs take me back to memories of getting to know my wife.  For example, Wonderful Tonight by Eric Clapton will always take me back to our first dance.  In Your Eyes by Peter Gabriel brings me back to the same evening when everyone cleared the dance floor to watch Leanne and I dance together.  And The Best Thing In Life by Big Tent Revival takes me back to the first band we saw together at Creation 1997.

Recently, I was introduced to a new band who is apparently popular – Mumford & Sons.  Roll Away Your Stone off their Sigh No More album takes me back to the streets of Xenacoj, Guatemala.  Our Casas por Cristo team leader, Josh Crabbs, drove around in a beat up Mazda pick-up truck.  I had the privilege of driving with him to and from the job site everyday during our house build project.  At the end of the day, Josh would plug his iPod into the car radio and introduce me to new songs and artists as he relaxed after a hard days work.  Once of the songs he played was Roll Away Your Stone.  I remember riding through Xenacoj with the windows down, the music blaring, and the emotions riding high.  Thanks Josh and students for opening me up to a whole new brand of music!

There you have it.  Now it’s your turn.  Share your answers in the comments.  I can’t wait to read your responses!

Building A House: The Schedule

Being part of the construction industry for over 18 years (wow, that makes me sound old), I realize that it is extremely important to have a project schedule in order to keep everyone on task and moving toward the ultimate goal of completing the project on time and under budget.  Over the years, I’ve seen projects fail when schedules didn’t exist, weren’t correct, or just weren’t followed.  I’ve also seen extremely complicated building projects come together quite smoothly thanks to a well thought out schedule that everyone followed.

When we were in Guatemala, we were told we had three days to completely build a house from the ground to the roof.  We didn’t have a written schedule, but we had a “construction manager” from Casas por Cristo who kept us informed and on task.

Josh Crabbs (the “construction manager”) travels back and forth between El Paso, TX where he lives to building sites in Mexico and Guatemala to lead teams in building houses.  On our last day together in Guatemala, I told Josh that he has one of the best jobs in the whole world – he gets to build things, he works with teams, and he helps to dramatically change the world for so many needy families.

During our home build project, one of the kids asked Josh a question that was on the minds of many of us on our team:  “Josh, are we on schedule?”  We all wanted to make sure we would complete the project on time.  In fact, we wanted to know if we’d finish it up a little early.  I love Josh’s response, “Yep!  We’re right on God’s schedule.”  Building a complicated building is one thing, but building a house for Christ (Casas por Cristo) means something else when it comes to schedule.

I think Josh was trying to remind our team that God has opportunities all around us if we just open our eyes.  The house will be completed when it needs to be completed.  When you’re building a house for someone like this, it’s not just about finishing the physical floor, walls, and roof.  It’s about bringing hope and light into a family’s life.  It’s about being open to God’s voice as He speaks to us and teaches us through the experience.

I’m sure there were moments when Josh was frustrated with our progress on certain tasks, but I also think he knew we would complete the house at some point on day 3 of our build.  He knew that it was so much more than keeping up with a schedule.  It was about changing lives – the lives of the family and the lives of our team.

As it turned out, we actually finished the house before lunch on the third day.  Our team did a fabulous job working together, following directions, and staying on God’s schedule.

When have you had to rely on God’s schedule in your life?

Building A House: The Walls

In America, we take for granted that we have solid walls in our homes that protect us from the sun, wind, rain, snow, and other elements along with intruders.  We all have windows and doors in our homes that lock and keep us safe.

In Xenacoj, Guatemala, many of the homes are built with walls that are made of cornstalks woven together.  There are no windows or closing/locking doors on homes with this wall type.  If you are more wealthy, your home might be built with cinder blocks.

The home we built was built with wood framed walls and was covered with wood tongue and groove siding.  This was definitely a rare form of construction for this neighborhood, but it will make all the difference for the family who received this house.  Along with wooden walls to protect them from the elements, the house had three windows and a front door that closed and locked.

I had the pleasure of working with a couple of teams that installed the wooden siding on the houses.  This was a fun project as we could rapidly see the house coming together through the efforts of our labor.

All the kids did a tremendous job throughout the entire project, so the story I’m about to share isn’t meant to slam their efforts or craftmanship.  I simply share the story to help me remember a valuable truth that we learned while working on one side of the house.

The back wall of the house was twenty feet long which meant we needed to install a minimum of two pieces of siding for each row of siding that made its way up the side of the house.  Before we started, a chalk line was used to mark the top of the first row of siding.  I’m not sure if the chalk line wasn’t quite correct or if we just had trouble the first row.  At any rate, a small unevenness in the first two pieces of siding made it a real challenge to complete the rest of the side of the house.  As the team continued to install pieces of siding, it was obvious with each row that something wasn’t quite right.  By the time we finished the side, we were able to make the necessary corrections to finish the side, but we learned some great lessons along the way.

First, we learned to measure twice and cut once.  I don’t think we wasted many pieces, but there were a few times where we needed to make slight adjustments to cuts because a measurement wasn’t quite right.

Second, we learned that teamwork can have an amazing impact.  Working together, I saw teams perform a task that they had never dreamed of completing before.  As I stated before, these walls went up pretty quickly – especially when everything went right.

Third, it’s important to get started on the right foot.  This is my best advice to anyone who is starting something new – like college, a new hobby, a home improvement project, a new job, and even a new year of school.  Getting started well makes things a lot easier down the road.  But we also shouldn’t lose hope if we got off on the wrong foot.  It may take a lot more work and even some rework, but things can be fixed.  It just isn’t the most efficient or effective way to get things done.

I’m so thankful for the lessons learned while building walls for the house!

What do you have coming up in your life that could benefit from a good start?  What kind of walls do you have on your house?

Building A House: The Foundation

When I was in Guatemala, I worked with a team of 25 teenagers and six adults to build a Casas por Cristo house in two and a half days.  In the next couple of days, I’ll go into some detail about this experience.  Today, I start with the foundation.

I was part of the site preparation and foundation team.  From the start of work until lunch time on day one, our team worked diligently on clearing the location of the house, setting up the forms for the foundation, and making sure the forms were completely square and firmly set in place.  We also leveled the location of the slab, and we installed rebar strategically along the perimeter of the slab to sure up and strengthen the foundation.  Finally, before we mixed and dumped one load of concrete, we installed a wire mesh across the surface of the entire slab.  Again, this would be used to firm up the concrete.

After lunch, we setup two concrete mixing stations.  With the teamwork of two groups bringing sand, concrete, rocks, and water.  We mixed many, many loads of concrete which were dumped inside the forms and smoothed out to form the foundation and slab of the house we built.  (The slab was 16 feet by 18 feet which would form the base for a three room house.  I’ll give more details in a future post.)

When we finished the house, the foundation and slab were the least visible piece of the house.  It was completely covered by a brand new house.  The foundation however was the key element in building a house that will last a long time in Guatemala where most homes are built with dirt floors.    40% of the time required to build the entire house was spent making sure the foundation was just right.  If we didn’t get this part right, the house wouldn’t go together correctly – it would be crooked, and it would eventually fall down.  Those of us who worked on the foundation wanted to get onto the more glamorous work of hammering nails and putting up walls, but we had an important part to play in building a house that will last.

Our lives and our spiritual growth are like this as well.  We want to get onto the glamorous parts of our spiritual growth curve without making sure things are structurally sound in the fundamental things.  This is one of the reasons that I’ve been excited to teach a class at our church called Foundations.  It’s a class designed to help people establish some foundational elements to their spiritual toolbox.

I learned many things about construction while we built this house, but I was also reminded of some life-truths that will stick with me for a while.

What areas of your life have thrived because you put the work in for a good foundation?  In what areas of your life do you need to go back and firm up your foundation?

 

WOW! Guatemala Goal Met!

For those of you who have been following along, The Stretched Community has been working together to fund the costs to build a house in Guatemala.  If you read my post this morning, you may have noticed that we still needed $2,550 to meet this target.

Well…

You stepped up!  The goal was met as of 1:36PM today!

Thank you!  Thank you!  Thank you!

I am amazed and blown away by the power of taking a leap of faith and by the power of community.

Thanks to your generous support, The Stretched Community will be responsible for building a house in Guatemala.

The goal has been met, but there’s still an opportunity to be involved.  You can give towards another home by hitting the fundraising page, and you can definitely pray for our trip.  My post from earlier today provides some specific prayer requests.

God is great!

When was the last time you were blown away?

Guatemala Update: 1 Week To Go!

One week from today, I will be leaving bright and early in the morning (2AM to be exact) from our church’s parking lot to catch a plane in Newark, NJ as I head down to Guatemala with my daughter and the rest of our team.  How did this happen so fast?

My daughter is mostly packed.  But I still have a lot to do to get ready.  I still need to pack.  I need to finalize plans for the Stretched blog while I’m away (thanks to those who have offered to guest post in my absence).  I need to get a haircut, and I need to pick up a few essentials required for the trip.  It is sure to be a busy week!

From a fundraising standpoint, we are still trying to see if we can raise enough money through The Stretched Community to pay for one of the houses we’ll be building while we’re there.  We still need $2,550 which may seem like a STRETCH, but I think we can still hit the mark.  Please consider how you might be able to help to close this gap.  If you’re interested in giving, you can contact me or you can go to my fundraising page to learn more.  Thanks!

As an update on our itinerary (so you’ll know how to pray each day), here’s our rough schedule:

  • Thursday (7/26) – Travel
  • Friday (7/27) – Home build with Casas Por Cristo
  • Saturday (7/28) – Home build with Casas Por Cristo
  • Sunday (7/29) – Church, Home build with Casas Por Cristo, and possible visit to Mayan ruins
  • Monday (7/30) – Bible School/Kids Camp in the AM (we’ll be using the story of Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego throughout the week), Football Camp in the PM
  • Tuesday (7/31) – Bible School/Kids Camp in the AM, Football Camp in the PM
  • Wednesday (8/1) – Bible School/Kids Camp in the AM, Football Camp in the PM
  • Thursday (8/2) – Bible School/Kids Camp in the AM, Football Camp in the PM
  • Friday (8/3) – Travel Home

You can continue to pray for the following as we head on our trip:

  • Pray for safety for our team as we travel.
  • Pray for effectiveness as we minister to families and kids in Guatemala.  We especially want to share God’s love with the families who will get the homes and with the children who will attend our camps.
  • Pray for the impact on our team – may we be WRECKED!  (I’ll share more about WRECKED in the coming days.)
  • Pray for Leanne and Isaac at home that they would have a safe and fun time together, and that I would have peace of mind while we’re apart.

I think that does it for this Guatemala Update!  Thanks so much for being part of the journey.  I can’t wait to share with you all about the trip when we return.

Have you been on any mission trips?  Where and when?  What did you do to prepare for these trips?

Guatemala In One Month!

In a month (from tomorrow), I’ll be leaving for Guatemala!  I’m sure this month will go by quickly.  I have my passport and my vaccinations, but there’s some other preparations that I still need to handle.  With that in mind, I have a favor to ask – actually three favors:

1)  Continue to pray for our team as we prepare for this trip.  I would specifically ask for continued prayers for my headaches.  I saw a doctor last week who seems to be on the right track, but your prayers for a headache free trip would be appreciated.

2)  I’d like to keep the blog going while I’m away, but I definitely need some help.  I know I’ve mentioned it before and even exchanged a couple of messages prior to this post, but I am looking for guest bloggers to help fill in the gaps during my absence.  In order to make this happen, I need to figure out the posting scheduled in the next week or two.  If you are interested and willing in sharing your stretched story here, please reach out to me so we can coordinate.  Guest posts could also include Ice Breakers, 3 Thumbs Up!, and I’d entertain the idea of putting together some type of interview as a post idea.  At any rate, let me know if you’re interested by leaving a comment, so I can reach out to you.  Thanks!

3)  Casas Por Cristo.  You may remember that I stepped out in faith with an idea to build one of our teams houses through the Stretched blog.  Well, we’re about 70% there.  We still need $2,675 in order to finish one house.  It’s not too late to get on board with this.  See the link here for more details.  This will need to be wrapped up in a week or two also to coordinate with our team.  (Thanks!)

I guess that’s it for now.  Thanks for being part of this trip!

What are you preparing for these days?

Guatemala Update – Details Revealed

Yesterday afternoon, I met with our team of students and adults who are going on the upcoming trip to Guatemala.  If you’ve been following along for a couple of months, you know that it took a leap of faith for me to decide to go on this trip with my daughter, Hannah.  During our meeting yesterday, we learned a little more about what we would be doing and where we would be working while we are in Guatemala in just over two months.

First, we will spend three days building one or two houses.  As you may remember, the Stretched Community is a big part of this activity.  So far, the Stretched Community has raised $5,210 towards the first house.  It takes a total of $8,000 to build each house.  If you’d like to help us reach our goal click here or go to the Stretched main page and hit the donate button on the right side menu.

Second, we will spend three days running a Kids Camp type program for children in the area.  Our program will be based on the story of Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego from the book of Daniel.  I believe the main message of the camp will talk about the importance of standing strong in your faith.  Somehow, we’ll do this in Spanish.

Finally, we will spend three days running a sports camp.  At this camp, we will be teaching kids about American football.  We will teach them about the game, help them run drills, and lead them in an actual game.  This should provide a unique opportunity to interact with the kids from this area.

Speaking of this area, we will be going to an area called Xenecoj (apparently near Santo Domingo).  This area is located north-west of Guatemala City, the capital of Guatemala.

Please continue to pray for our team as we prepare for this trip.  Pray for safety, and pray that our hearts would be open to transformation.  Pray for the family who will be receiving the home we will be building.  Pray for the kids who will be attending the camp and the football clinic.  Pray that we would have an impact in Guatemala.

Finally, I have a big favor to ask.  I know the trip is two months away but that time will go quickly.  I’m hoping to keep the Stretched blog going while I’m away, but I’ll need some help.  I’m looking for guest bloggers to share their stretching stories.  If you have a stretched story to share, I’d love to share it with the Stretched community while I’m away on my trip.  Let me know if you’re interested by leaving a comment, and I’ll get back to you with more details.  Thanks!

(FYI, I’m planning tomorrow to provide answers to the questions that came in as a result of Friday’s Ice Breaker.  If you have any questions, you’d like to add.  Please stop by Friday’s post and leave a comment.)

Where is the farthest place you’ve been from home?

Guatemala Update – Stretching to Build Something Bigger

Two weeks ago, I shared a “big ask” on The Stretched Blog.  I challenged readers to pray for my upcoming trip to Guatemala and to consider the possibility of supporting the trip financially.  I also threw out a challenge goal of $5,000 to do something bigger through the Stretched Community.  At the time, I didn’t know the details of this “something bigger” project.  Within 6 hours of posting this “big ask“, someone stepped up to fund the trip and to meet the challenge goal.  I was blown away!

I received some comments that others might want to get involved with the Stretch project.  I’m happy to share details of this project and to share how you can contribute to doing something bigger together.  Through your generous donations, we will be building a house in Guatemala.  That’s right, if we can raise $3,000 more (for a total of $8,000), we can pay for a house.  I’m super excited about this possibility.  The house will be by our team through an organization called Casas Por Cristo.  Here’s a video to help you see what The Stretched Community will help to build.

To donate, click here to go to the fundraising page or go to the jonstolpe.com main page and click on the donate button on the right hand side.  Check back here regularly to see the progress towards this goal.  (If we happen to raise more than $8,000, we will build another house.)  Thanks!

Have you ever dreamed of doing something bigger?  What’s holding you back from pursuing this dream?