Two Poway churches helped an impoverished family in Mexico get a fresh start with a new home that was built for them in one day.
The labor was provided by a dozen volunteers from Incarnation Lutheran Church and another 15 volunteers from St. Bartholomew’s Episcopal Church who hammered nails and painted walls throughout the day on Oct. 26.
Rancho Bernardo resident Fritz Steen, a member of Incarnation Lutheran Church since 1988, took the lead on the project in the Calle Paseo del Campo colonia of Tijuana. The family, which was not named, had been living in a shack without electricity or water before their new home with a loft was built, Steen said.
“The only thing that was there when we got there was the slab foundation,” Steen said. “Everything was framed up on site. There’s a timing involved to have the paint dry so you can assemble everything. It’s just magical how it all comes together by the end of the day.”
Through the Mexico House Build Mission program, Incarnation Lutheran Church has funded and built 22 houses in Baja Mexico for needy families, Steen said. The program started in 2014 and accelerated a few years later with two houses being built each year since 2017. In 2021, St. Bartholomew’s church became partners on the program.
Steen said the congregations of both churches helped raise $7,800 needed to build this house in addition to raising money for household supplies.
Courtesy Incarnation Lutheran Church
House builders spent the day on Saturday, Oct. 26 painting and assembling a new home in the Calle Paseo del Campo colonia of Tijuana. (Courtesy Incarnation Lutheran Church)
Courtesy Incarnation Lutheran Church
Church volunteers coordinate Mexico house build projects with the San Diego-based nonprofit Project Mercy. (Courtesy Incarnation Lutheran Church)
Courtesy Incarnation Lutheran Church
The completed home has stairs leading to a loft and the roof will be getting a solar system to supply energy. (Courtesy Incarnation Lutheran Church)
Courtesy Incarnation Lutheran Church
The unnamed family members in Mexico receiving a new home are shown with their quilts made by Incarnation Lutheran Church’s “Piecemakers” group. (Courtesy Incarnation Lutheran Church)
Show CaptionCourtesy Incarnation Lutheran Church1 of 4House builders spent the day on Saturday, Oct. 26 painting and assembling a new home in the Calle Paseo del Campo colonia of Tijuana. (Courtesy Incarnation Lutheran Church)
ExpandThe project is just one of several mission activities that support Incarnation Lutheran Church’s “4 Faces of Mission,” which includes parrish, local, domestic and global activities.
The Parish Mission supports worship opportunities on the church campus including Christian education for all ages and Vacation Bible School during the summer. The Local Mission includes addressing housing, food and medical-care insecurities with Interfaith Community Services in Escondido. The Domestic Mission addresses U.S.-based needs such as disaster relief donations. Among the church’s Global Mission activities is sponsoring a social worker at Cameroon Foyer de l’Esperance, a school and dormitory for at-risk young women in Yaounde, Cameroon.
The house builds in Mexico are coordinated with the San Diego-based Project Mercy. Since 1991, the nonprofit’s mission has been to “build solid and secure houses and improve the quality of life for impoverished families in Mexico.”
“The inadequate housing of the neighborhoods in which the corporation is working leads to health hazards year-round,” states the Project Mercy website. “Rats, mice, tarantulas and scorpions invade shacks built directly on top of the dirt. Leaking roofs and patched walls cannot keep the dusty winds of summer and the icy winds and rain of winter from entering the living quarters. Every year, makeshift lean-tos collapse in high winds.”
Steen said the three boys in the family were actively helping to build their new home, which will be equipped with a solar system to supply the dwelling with energy.
Additionally, Incarnation Lutheran Church’s quilting group, Piecemakers, made five quilts – one for each family member. In 2023 alone, Piecemakers has made and donated 184 quilts for Mexico House Build, Lutheran World Relief, Interfaith Community Services, high school graduates and departing staff. The church’s congregation donates money for the fabric and sewing supplies.
“We are following the lead of servitude from Christ and everyone is all in,” Steen said. “People can serve with their own stewardship by way of financial support or doing the work or both. The beauty of this program is that it allows whatever is in someone’s heart to contribute.”