Each year, YUGO ministries commit to building over 100 homes for people in communities around the Ensenada area. These are young families, often with multiple generations under one roof who struggle with food and shelter insecurity.
YUGO ministries rely on their partnership with churches around North America to support this ministry by providing the funds for the home construction and sending down teams to build relationships with the families and share the Gospel.
With travel restrictions due to the pandemic, teams were unable to attend in-person and support for the ministry dwindled. Financially, YUGO could no longer keep many of the National Staff and had to eliminate their positions.
Six team members (and their families) were called to ministry and chose to stay on as self-funded missionaries. Their commitment to their faith and to the work of YUGO ministries was a glimmer of hope amid all the challenges of COVID.
This year, the Gifts of Hope donations will be sent down to be divided among the missionaries to assist with their personal living expenses. Most of them have taken on additional jobs to provide the necessities for their families.
Teams are slowly starting to return to the YUGO campus and the house building and community ministries. They are essential to the heart of the YUGO ministry. Their presence in the community is a true example of God’s love here on earth, standing alongside their Mexican brother and sisters in faith.
One of the missionary team, Ray Velasquez, shared his thoughts on the concept of working together in ministry…
“We can´t do it alone.
I must admit that I am not a good builder at all and that is why I do not do it often, I am nicknamed ´´Same room Ray Velazquez´´ due to the fact that I am quite slow to finish an assigned construction task.
Thinking about it a little, it seems to me that my desire for the task assigned to me to be well done, added to my lack of skill and experience, make me take more time than necessary.
I still believe that building a house in 4 or even 3 days (some houses are built in a day) is a feat, it never ceases to impress me how God has given our foremen the ability to not only build but lead a group of people that on many occasions do not have previous construction knowledge.
Our ”Foremen” are an essential part of our task, without them the rest of the body could not advance. What it could take me a month they do it in 4 days.
As I think about this, my heart fills with joy knowing how God has surrounded us with people who can guide us and make us reach places and goals that we simply could not access on our own. In the same way and in the same sense, God has allowed you and me to be a guide and key for other people in different areas.
Think:
1.- God has intentionally designed us for a purpose, we are an important part of the Body of Christ. We have the responsibility to humbly recognize how our work positively affects others and allows them access to places, purposes, and experiences that perhaps they wouldn´t reach by themselves.
2.- It is necessary to recognize that, around us, there are wonderful people whom we need, and that we are totally privileged and blessed to have their presence and their guidance. We were made to move forward together.”
´´Because just as the body is one, and has many members, but all the members of the body, although they are many, constitute one body…”
1 Corinthians 12:12
Thank you to everyone who supported this initiative and continue to hold the YUGO Staff and their families in your prayers. We have been partnered with YUGO for over 20 years, and have been blessed by our ongoing relationship.
