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Johan’s Story

Yolanda had waited for several long months in her rickety and unsafe house that could not even shelter her from the rain. As a blind widow, she needed a safe home to live in – one that was secure and structurally sound. Little did Yolanda know that God would use her new home to bring hope not only to her, but to two other families in Acuña, México as well.

During the construction of Yolanda’s home, her extended family showed the team great hospitality by cooking them breakfast and lunch on the build site each day. Robert Johnson, one of the interns, said, “building for Yolanda was such a blessing. She was very soft-spoken but had the Lord on her side. Her smile and presence brought us so much energy. She sat out while we built and just smiled at the sound of her house being built.”

Yolanda's Profile Photo
Yolanda’s build afforded the interns the opportunity to befriend Johan, a 15-year-old relative of a local pastor. He spent the week on the work site talking, laughing at inside jokes, and building. Johan was deeply impacted by his week with Casas por Cristo, and when it came time to say goodbye at the end of the week, he broke down crying. The interns invited him to build with them in the future, which he did the next week.
Johan’s second build with Casas proved life-changing for all who were involved. Despite the language barrier, he talked to the team about his faith in Jesus, and eventually told them that he wanted to take the next step as a Christian. Johan made his public proclamation of faith when the team baptized him with a neighbor’s garden hose, against the backdrop of a wooden house frame.
No one could have predicted the effect that Johan’s baptism would have on the community. Johan came to the build site the next day with his mother and sister, who both asked to be baptized as well. While the baptisms were happening, the team was building a house for a man named Pablo and his young family. Pablo’s family saw the amazing ways that God was using their new home to minister to others, and the week culminated with Pablo and his son Gerardo being baptized.

In the midst of an unusually challenging summer, God is still working in amazing ways through the staff and teams that have built in locations like Acuña. We at Casas por Cristo are so blessed and encouraged by the five baptisms that He orchestrated last week on a little work site in Mexico. Thanks to the generous support of our Hope Restored donors, homes are still being built in Latin America, and lives like Johan’s are being changed as a result.

To learn more about the work being done through Hope Restored, click here. If you would like to partner with us in sharing God’s love with families in need, you can text “HOPERESTORED” to 44-321 to donate.