In March, FUMC took a team of 11 people, led by Brent Lamberth, Youth Ministry Director, and Georgia Harrison, Associate Pastor, to work with Operación Abrigo in Juarez, Mexico.
Operación Abrigo is an ecumenical ministry with 30-years of partnerships building thousands of cinder-block homes, five churches, a medical clinic, and a community center for the families living on the outskirts of Ciudad Juarez. Teams of volunteers from the U.S. help build these shelters and community resources, which provide not only warmth in the winter and shade in the summer, but also a safe and stable environment where families can grow together in love.
Brent wanted to work with this ministry of home-building. He reached out to Georgia to gauge her interest in helping him lead a mission trip to Juarez during Spring Break. Having worked with Operación Abrigo before, Georgia was thrilled to accept.
The cost to build a cinder-block home with Operación Abrigo is $4,000. Thankfully, FUMC received a gift from an anonymous donor that completely covered this cost! Each participant then only had to pay for their registration, room and board.
When the time for the mission trip came, the team took the church bus down to Juarez, where they then spent several days working on building a house. The labor and dedication of this group led to a new home for a mother and daughter.
Later, Brent Lamberth reflected on his experience and the uniqueness of this Mission Trip on the FUMCWF Youth Instagram:
“As far back as 2012, I’ve had the honor and joy of going on youth mission trips with each and every one of these people. Each summer, we traveled the country in the FUMC bus and experienced the holiest of joys of loving neighbors near and far.
Now, each of these young adults are out of high school. All but one are in their mid-20s. They all have jobs. They all have their own places to live. They all have adult responsibilities that they did not have the last time they went on a trip like this.
Yet here they are. Using vacation days to travel to Juarez, Mexico on their spring break. Choosing to do what they loved to do when they were just kids. Getting on the FUMC bus and seeing where God might lead them to love a neighbor in a faraway place.
Personally, this was a surreal experience. Reuniting with people that we as the FUMC Youth staff have loved and watched grow up and then getting to do something that we as a group treasure doing together.
So thankful to Raylee Darden, Nathan McLarty, Sarah Pellikan, Mason Lamb, Kevin Pillow, Jordan Jeffries, Cory Press, Geordy Deatherage, and Georgia Harrison for taking a chance on this trip and trusting that God would find them in Mexico and fill their hearts with the joy of His Spirit.”