House for Juanita
Donation protected
Alright, my friends. A lot of you have commented about how we are 'living the life' here in Cabo, and I can't deny that we are extremely blessed to call Baja Sur home! But as many of you know, it's not all pristine beaches, fun surf and sunshine here in paradise. Cabo is literally built on the backs of the extremely poor. And while Camille, Emma and I definitely take every opportunity to enjoy what the tip of the Baja has to offer, there is also another reason why we are here. Another very serious reason. We sincerely believe that God has allowed us to call Mexico home because he has plans to use us to help bring His love to the people of Los Cabos. Specifically the poor and the homeless.
Many of you are familiar with the charity that my Father, Jon and my brother, Chad started that builds homes for homeless families in northern Baja called Home for Home, Inc. As we speak, they are flying in a team to build a house from scratch for a needy family this weekend in the Tijuana area. They have been able to bless a lot of the less fortunate in northern Baja over the past several years. There's nothing like the feeling of handing the keys to a new house to a family who was living in a cardboard box two days ago!
Well, the time has come to 'spread the wealth' and bring some of Home for Home's love south! For a while now, Camille and I have had big hearts for the less fortunate in the Los Cabos area. Before Hurricane Odile devastated our area, we had promised our friend Juanita, who cleans our house once a week, that we would build her a safe home for her and her children. She lives in the poorest part of San Jose del Cabo's barrios and BEFORE the hurricane, her home was four pieces of plywood hastily erected over a thin layer of concrete poured directly on the sand. Once when she was cleaning our home, she asked to borrow some money to repair her roof. As it turns out, 'repairing her roof' meant finding a new sheet of tin to place over the dilapidated plywood walls. The first time I drove her home, my heart broke. Hurricane Odile blew all it away. Completely. The picture above is her current 'home'. There is now only a 2-inch thick slab of non-reinforced ready-mix concrete where her house was. She lost everything.
Instead of whining about her loss, you know what she did? She made a trip to MY house after we evacuated to the U.S. to grab what she could and keep it safe from the looters at a friend's house for us! This is Mexico, my friends. Forget what you hear people arguing about on the news. Mexicans love each other. They love others. Family is still priority here. Friends still give each other the shirts off their backs. People smile and wave at each other on the way to work. PEOPLE are most important. The Mexican people are some of the most beautiful on earth and we are in love with them. So now it is time to prove it.
Starting this week, in conjunction with Home for Home, we will be building Juanita a real house on her property. Cinder blocks, mortar, concrete roof, baño, windows, door...a real house. We are having a local construction crew do the 'heavy lifting' and are excited to also be providing work for local craftsmen and laborers and helping San Jose del Cabo's currently struggling economy. The cost of the project will be around $4000. I firmly believe that you just don't ever make promises on which you can't or aren't willing to follow through. I haven't worked since Hurricane Odile in September. My father is not a rich man. There is not a surplus of money flowing from our pockets. But we are taking it on faith that God wants to bless Juanita with a home for her children and will supply the funds and are going ahead with this project.
Besides blessing Juanita, the other reason I am excited about building this house is that we know that it will be the first of many. The start of something big here in Cabo. There is SO MUCH need here, especially after the hurricane. So many people lost so much, and many of them had so little to begin with. Our goal is to start with this one house and show people what can be done with a little love and a tiny sacrifice. When I say tiny, let me put it in perspective for you - Mexican minimum wage here in Cabo is about $6.50US/day. That's six dollars and fifty cents per DAY. We Americans, on average, have SO much more, even when we're 'broke'. Literally, a tiny sacrifice made by a few of us can make such a huge difference in someone's life down here. I know in my heart that building this home for Juanita will prove that we are 'legit' in our intentions to bless the Los Cabos area and allow us to to get many others excited about donating to help bless more of the less fortunate.
So I'm asking you to make a sacrifice. Help us build a house for Juanita and not only bless a family, but help start something big here in Cabo. Our goal is that several years from now, our Facebook page will be filled - just as it is now for Northern Baja - with pictures and stories of tons of families being blessed in the way we will bless Juanita's. My father Jon and Eric Prager from Baja Christian Ministries (BCM), the wonderful organization we partner with in Northern Baja, will be arriving in Cabo next Wednesday to help with and document the start of our build for Juanita. We have a crew who will be pouring the foundation this week so that when my dad and Eric arrive, we can start putting up the walls! Because building a cinder block and mortar home is a little more complicated than the stick-built homes that Home for Home and BCM build in Northern Baja, the house will take about four weeks to build. When completed, Juanita will have a sturdy, hurricane-proof home for her family!
At this point, all we have to do is finish paying for all of it! That's where you come in. As I said before, any sacrifice - no matter how small - can make a huge difference. And I can promise you from personal experience that the effects of your generosity will not only be felt by Juanita and her family, but by you and yours as well! God's word says, "He who has pity on the poor lends to the LORD, And He WILL PAY BACK what he has given." (Proverbs 19:17 NKJV) and "He who has a generous eye will be BLESSED, For he gives of his bread to the poor." (Proverbs 22:9 NKJV). Whether you're a person of faith or not, those are promises that make it worth taking a chance to see what God does with your generosity, no matter how much or how little you can afford to give!
The bottom line is that the Los Cabos area has great needs and helping the poor just feels good! We are currently accepting donations directly to Home for Home, Inc. and now also through this gofundme campaign. I'm asking all of my friends and family to think and pray about getting involved in supporting this and future Home for Home projects, even if it's just one dollar. Every bit counts. And Home for Home is a charitible organization, so your donations are tax-deductible! For those who are interested in donating, just follow the instructions! Also, include your email address if you'd like so that we can put you on our email list for quarterly updates. They're really fun to read and will make your day every time! Thank you in advance for considering becoming a part of blessing a needy family. Just think of how you would feel if the shelter for your children was destroyed tomorrow and you had no way of putting a roof over their heads. This is a reality for Juanita and so many others like her in the Los Cabos area. You can help change that! Thank you for your generosity and God Bless you and yours!!!
Many of you are familiar with the charity that my Father, Jon and my brother, Chad started that builds homes for homeless families in northern Baja called Home for Home, Inc. As we speak, they are flying in a team to build a house from scratch for a needy family this weekend in the Tijuana area. They have been able to bless a lot of the less fortunate in northern Baja over the past several years. There's nothing like the feeling of handing the keys to a new house to a family who was living in a cardboard box two days ago!
Well, the time has come to 'spread the wealth' and bring some of Home for Home's love south! For a while now, Camille and I have had big hearts for the less fortunate in the Los Cabos area. Before Hurricane Odile devastated our area, we had promised our friend Juanita, who cleans our house once a week, that we would build her a safe home for her and her children. She lives in the poorest part of San Jose del Cabo's barrios and BEFORE the hurricane, her home was four pieces of plywood hastily erected over a thin layer of concrete poured directly on the sand. Once when she was cleaning our home, she asked to borrow some money to repair her roof. As it turns out, 'repairing her roof' meant finding a new sheet of tin to place over the dilapidated plywood walls. The first time I drove her home, my heart broke. Hurricane Odile blew all it away. Completely. The picture above is her current 'home'. There is now only a 2-inch thick slab of non-reinforced ready-mix concrete where her house was. She lost everything.
Instead of whining about her loss, you know what she did? She made a trip to MY house after we evacuated to the U.S. to grab what she could and keep it safe from the looters at a friend's house for us! This is Mexico, my friends. Forget what you hear people arguing about on the news. Mexicans love each other. They love others. Family is still priority here. Friends still give each other the shirts off their backs. People smile and wave at each other on the way to work. PEOPLE are most important. The Mexican people are some of the most beautiful on earth and we are in love with them. So now it is time to prove it.
Starting this week, in conjunction with Home for Home, we will be building Juanita a real house on her property. Cinder blocks, mortar, concrete roof, baño, windows, door...a real house. We are having a local construction crew do the 'heavy lifting' and are excited to also be providing work for local craftsmen and laborers and helping San Jose del Cabo's currently struggling economy. The cost of the project will be around $4000. I firmly believe that you just don't ever make promises on which you can't or aren't willing to follow through. I haven't worked since Hurricane Odile in September. My father is not a rich man. There is not a surplus of money flowing from our pockets. But we are taking it on faith that God wants to bless Juanita with a home for her children and will supply the funds and are going ahead with this project.
Besides blessing Juanita, the other reason I am excited about building this house is that we know that it will be the first of many. The start of something big here in Cabo. There is SO MUCH need here, especially after the hurricane. So many people lost so much, and many of them had so little to begin with. Our goal is to start with this one house and show people what can be done with a little love and a tiny sacrifice. When I say tiny, let me put it in perspective for you - Mexican minimum wage here in Cabo is about $6.50US/day. That's six dollars and fifty cents per DAY. We Americans, on average, have SO much more, even when we're 'broke'. Literally, a tiny sacrifice made by a few of us can make such a huge difference in someone's life down here. I know in my heart that building this home for Juanita will prove that we are 'legit' in our intentions to bless the Los Cabos area and allow us to to get many others excited about donating to help bless more of the less fortunate.
So I'm asking you to make a sacrifice. Help us build a house for Juanita and not only bless a family, but help start something big here in Cabo. Our goal is that several years from now, our Facebook page will be filled - just as it is now for Northern Baja - with pictures and stories of tons of families being blessed in the way we will bless Juanita's. My father Jon and Eric Prager from Baja Christian Ministries (BCM), the wonderful organization we partner with in Northern Baja, will be arriving in Cabo next Wednesday to help with and document the start of our build for Juanita. We have a crew who will be pouring the foundation this week so that when my dad and Eric arrive, we can start putting up the walls! Because building a cinder block and mortar home is a little more complicated than the stick-built homes that Home for Home and BCM build in Northern Baja, the house will take about four weeks to build. When completed, Juanita will have a sturdy, hurricane-proof home for her family!
At this point, all we have to do is finish paying for all of it! That's where you come in. As I said before, any sacrifice - no matter how small - can make a huge difference. And I can promise you from personal experience that the effects of your generosity will not only be felt by Juanita and her family, but by you and yours as well! God's word says, "He who has pity on the poor lends to the LORD, And He WILL PAY BACK what he has given." (Proverbs 19:17 NKJV) and "He who has a generous eye will be BLESSED, For he gives of his bread to the poor." (Proverbs 22:9 NKJV). Whether you're a person of faith or not, those are promises that make it worth taking a chance to see what God does with your generosity, no matter how much or how little you can afford to give!
The bottom line is that the Los Cabos area has great needs and helping the poor just feels good! We are currently accepting donations directly to Home for Home, Inc. and now also through this gofundme campaign. I'm asking all of my friends and family to think and pray about getting involved in supporting this and future Home for Home projects, even if it's just one dollar. Every bit counts. And Home for Home is a charitible organization, so your donations are tax-deductible! For those who are interested in donating, just follow the instructions! Also, include your email address if you'd like so that we can put you on our email list for quarterly updates. They're really fun to read and will make your day every time! Thank you in advance for considering becoming a part of blessing a needy family. Just think of how you would feel if the shelter for your children was destroyed tomorrow and you had no way of putting a roof over their heads. This is a reality for Juanita and so many others like her in the Los Cabos area. You can help change that! Thank you for your generosity and God Bless you and yours!!!
Organizer
Jeremy Youngquist
Organizer
Seaside, OR
Inspired to help? Start a fundraiser for someone you know
