Building for Eternity: Las Tres Palmas 2014 Wrapup

A Letter from Dennis and Debbie Hollenbeck, site directors of Las Tres Palmas.

Our busy summer at Las Tres Palmas has come to an end, and it’s quiet . . . too quiet! Summertime stretches us to the max physically and mentally.  It’s go, go, go from the end of May until the end of August. This year, we hosted 8 teams, built 9 houses, and conducted 6 Vacation Bible Schools.  We had groups visit us from California, Nebraska, and Canada!  Our fun-loving staff worked tirelessly to work out all the details before the groups arrived.  We were blessed to have two excellent interns this summer, Donovan Nunnley from Bear Valley, CA, and Megan Ash from Pleasanton, CA.  In addition to our regular local staff, Cinthia Tobar assisted the ministry with VBS and translating.

Each of our summer projects tells a story.  One that stands out to me is the story of Carlos, his wife Carla, and little Carlos.  They lived in a very small one-room home made of garage doors, odd pieces of wood, and a plastic tarp roof.  I was touched by the amount of work Carlos had accomplished to prepare the site for the group coming.  A couple times he worked into the early hours of the morning, moving dirt and preparing for the concrete slab.  The church group from Horizon Community worked on Carlos’ and Carla’s house for a week.  Through the unconditional love and service of Horizon Community, it is our hope and prayer that Carlos and Carla will make stronger commitments to the Lord as they work to turn this new house into a home.

Consider bringing your church group to participate in a summer, fall, or spring home building project for a needy family.  You just don’t build a house—you help build a home.

Las Tres Palmas, a ministry of Real Life Ministries, welcomes the help of churches in the United States and Canada to build homes for the homeless in Mexico. Since 1996, RLM has given new house keys to approximately 400 families. We build for eternity—will you join us?  Please visit www.reallifeministries.org for more information.