The Morgan family at Casa Hogar
Vicky, Justin and my self will be going to Vicente Gurrero Mexico on May 28th 2012. We will be staying at Casa Hogar and helping them with their Day care ministry and some building projects.
If you want to follow our trip , you can visit our ministry blog.
If you would like to help support this ministry, please visit the support page.
The information on this page is from a previous trip that we have made.
For more information on Casa Hogar you can visit their web site at:
We started our Family Ministry trip today.
Our destination for today was Acquire the fire.
The event is starting out very well. The theme for this year is Here Comes Trouble. A comment was made that where ever Jesus went he brought trouble to the opposition.
While watching a play on the last 2 weeks before Jesus’ crucifixion, I started wondering how much of this my 6 year old son was absorbing. After they hung Jesus on the cross I asked if he under stood what had happened. He replied “Yes, They killed Jesus.” Then I asked if he knew why. His response was “Because Jesus wasn’t in their hearts.” That ended my questioning. That statement was simple enough that it came from the heart of a six year old and yet he understands that Jesus could not be with us unless he died on the cross.
Justin did something else that impressed me tonight. When the speaker made an alter call, Justin said he wanted to go down. Now you might be thinking that he just saw his friends going and wanted to go with them, but the opposite is what happened. By Justin leading me by the hand down to the stage, he broke the ice and most of the kids in our group followed us down. I know that Justin accepted Jesus as his savior a couple of years ago in Sunday School. But as I was kneeling down next to him I could hear him praying the sinners prayer myself. And not in a whisper, but he was proclaiming it loudly. Then he started singing praise songs with us. I have to tell you that I am filled with pride and wonder at my son. I am excited to see how God is going to use him.
Day #2
You know all that spiritual stuff that happened yesterday with my son. It didn’t
happen today. Apparently when you let a six year old eat popcorn and drink soda pop
until they are full, and then let them jump up and down for 2 hours, it gives them an upset
stomach that hits them when they go to bed. Thankfully the church was having the
carpets cleaned today any way.
That made Justin start off the day tired. By the time lunch came around he was
cranky and ready for a nap. Have you ever watched a child when they are over tired.
Instead of looking at all of the good things going on around them, they focus on what they
cant have or cant do and they just keep getting more and more upset. They wont accept
that they really need to take a nap and then they will feel better.
I see a lot of Christians this way. They are focusing on all of the negative going on
around them and what they are unable to do or what they are unable to get. And God is
their calling them to him saying all you really need is me and you will feel better. But for
some reason like the over tired child, people like to argue with God. They are sure, that
new sports car is what they really need. And then like the over tired child, if they do get
what they want, they are still unhappy.
Since it was apparent that Justin was not going to be able to handle spending any
more time at Acquire the Fire, we decided to leave early. We have stopped for the night
at a motel just a little south of L.A.
Day 4
We woke up early today and road around on the bus picking up the kids for the
daycare. Able the bus driver was a lot of fun and spoke pretty good English. I noticed
that some of the kids had a regular cough. We brought the kids back to Casa Hogar,
washed them up and fed them all breakfast. During breakfast I asked Steve Scott about
the cough that I was hearing and he said that the kids are probably sleeping on the ground
in their houses so they are inhaling the dust and what ever comes off of the animals.
After breakfast we took the kids to their class rooms washed all of their hands again
and then spent the morning playing with the youngest ones. (About 2 years old) At noon
they are fed lunch and then put down for a nap. At 3:PM they all go home. That is their
normal routine.
Able agreed to help me find out how many kids were sleeping on the floor of their
house. As we dropped off kids, he would ask a family member if the child slept in a bed
or not. Their were some that just slept on a mattress on the floor. That was because the
houses are so small that a regular bed would be in the way, but a mattress can be leaned
up against the wall when not in use. Many of the children slept in the same bed as their
parents or grand parents.
We did find 3 that we could help. One is a little girl. Her parents are gone and she
lives with her uncle. She has to sleep on a pad on the concrete floor of their house. The
other two are brothers that have to sleep on cardboard on a concrete floor.
We are trying to come up with the money to build the beds. We need about $70.00 per
bed. That includes the mattress.
Day 5
To day Vicky and Justin stayed with the kids in the day care and I went with another
church to help them put roofing on a house. They needed help and surprisingly the only
type of roofing that I have experience with was what they were putting on the roof. I
showed them how to lay it down and they almost finished roofing the house in one day.
After lunch Vicky, Justin, Myself and our new found guide Neri (Neddy) went to locate
Pastor Daniel Garcia. Ryan and Casey had talked to him last year and were wanting to
work with him this year in June. We located him and he agreed to help us with the soccer
ministry in June. When asked if their was any thing that we could do to help him, he said
he needed concrete and about $300.00 to rent the forms for putting a concrete roof on the
class rooms that they are building. The church is growing and needs more room.
Day 6
Today I learned that I was not meant to do masonry work. There were 2 jobs
that needed to be done. One was plastering the side of the new bathrooms. The
other was chipping paint from a cinder block wall. I tried the plastering with out
much success. So I picked up a hammer and started chipping paint. Chipping
paint turned out to be one of those jobs that helps teach you patients. I don’t
recall asking for patients, But God still saw fit to give me a lesson.
Day 7
I’m not sure yet why God called us to Mexico, But I do know that he has
used us several times to do odd jobs around Casa Hogar. Their main entry gate
was broken and they said they needed a welder. So I volunteered. I
re engineered the hinge system and the gate works great. I also found out today
that the other church is donating the money for the mattresses for the kids beds.
We will start building those tomorrow.
Since today is the last day that we will see the day care kids, we had a party
with them. (Easter egg hunt)
This afternoon we went out and ministered to some people at a work camp.
Even Justin, my missionary in training was ministering.
(Another proud parent moment)
Day 8
We started on the beds today. The girl’s bed is almost finished. We want to paint “Dios te Amma”. Which
means God loves you. Steve Scott of Casa Hogar is donating the lumber for the beds. To day is Good Friday.
It is a holiday in Mexico. The people start celebrating Thursday afternoon. We attended a communion service
at a Covenant Chapel church in Vicente Guerrero. It was a nice change for us, the pastor spoke English and the
message was translated into Spanish. The other services were in Spanish. Later on the Pastor joined us for a late
lunch at Casa Hogar.
A point that the pastor brought up during the sermon was the salvation of the thief on the cross next to Jesus.
The thief’s salvation came from believing who Jesus was. The thief didn’t get baptized. He didn’t do any special
works. No one sprinkled holy water on him. He just believed and asked Jesus to remember him.
Day 9
We finished the beds today. And we delivered them with the help of Neri and Able. Libny was very
happy and excited. She is the one that is living with her uncle and was sleeping on a thin pad on the
floor. You will notice in the photos that the beds have JESUS TE AMA written on them. That is a little
reminder that Jesus loves them.
We decided to spend our last afternoon in Mexico by exploring south of Vicente Guerrero. We were
told about a sea lion cave and we managed to find it. Our last dinner in Mexico was a fish soup at a road
side stand. It was pretty good. We are planning on attending the morning Easter service tomorrow and
then we will head back to the U.S.A. We will convoy with the Church from Washington.
Day 10
Easter Sunday. The sunrise service was nice. We went to a farm and
some of the locals put on a play. I didn’t understand a lot of it, but it
seemed to be Jesus’ resurrection from the soldier’s point of view. I asked
Justin if he understood what happed. He nodded his head yes and said
the ground shook, the bolder rolled away from the tomb and Jesus came out.
There are several caves on this particular farm and I guess in the pass
they used one of them for a tomb.
After the service every one from Casa Hogar decided to skip the breakfast
and head back so both us and the Auburn church could get an early start.
We were already packed so we decided to leave with out the other church
and return to the states by our selves.
We stopped in Ensenada for brunch. Vicky finally got to try a fish taco
and do some shopping. While at the Taco stand Justin was doing his usual restless constantly moving bit and walked into the corner of
the taco stand. After he stopped crying I told him that he should watch where he was going. He said he was watching where he put his
feet. There is a message there. If you are so focused on what your next step is you might miss something bigger that you are walking into.
In fire fighting we call that tunnel vision.
We have another term in fire fighting. It is called situational awareness. That is where you are aware of not just where you are and
where you are going, but you are also aware of what things are changing around you. If we apply this to Christianity we could say that
we need to be aware of those people that God brings us into contact with. Do they need to hear about Jesus. Maybe they need to hear
it from someone who sees God from your perspective. Maybe they just need to see Jesus in you and how you live your life. I think it was
St. Francis of Assisi who said preach the gospel always and if necessary use words. So what are you telling people about God even when
you don’t think you are communicating at all. Jesus said if you treat a stranger with kindness you are treating him with kindness.
Day 11
We stopped at a motel in Torrance Ca. Last night. This morning
I heard a couple of guys talking in Spanish out side our Room.
(They work doing some work at the motel.) So I told Justin to give
them a couple of the tracts that we were giving out in Mexico. With
out any hesitation he went and grabbed a couple and gave them to
the workers. (Another proud parent moment). I watched this guy
read his. He smiled and waved when we left.
Vicky and I took turns driving and we made it home at 11:50 PM
today (Monday). I’m ready to go back. I might start the June trip a
little early. If I do, I’ll post the changes on this web site.
