Then Jesus said to his host, "When you give a luncheon or dinner, do not invite your friends, your brothers or relatives, or your rich neighbors; if you do, they may invite you back and so you will be repaid. But when you give a banquet, invite the poor, the crippled, the lame, the blind, and you will be blessed. Although they cannot repay you, you will be repaid at the resurrection of the righteous."
It is very clear how God wants us to treat the poor. There are numerous scriptures, passages and commands telling His people we are to care for the poor, the downtrodden and those in need.
One of my favourite scriptures is, 'For what you do unto the least of these, you do unto me.'
That is not just a passing comment, that is Christ saying when we look after someone in need - the weak, the poor, the infirmed - we are directly caring for Jesus himself. It is something to be taken seriously.
The moment some good friends invited my family to go Mexico to build a home in a barrio of what North American standards would consider a slum, I knew we were going south.
Myself, my wife and two of our children left the cozy confines of our home to travel to Northern Mexico and help an impoverished family have a better life.
There would be 15 pasty-white Canadians from the B.C. and Alberta meeting at 1Mission in Puerto Penasco, Mexico where we would spend three days toiling in the hot sun to build a new home for Charlie, Meetay and their 12-year-old daughter, Jasmine.
1Mission is run by director Greg Yochim with the strong support of his wife, Merle. Both have sacrificed greatly to help the people of the coastal town of around 40,000 people, 100 kilometres from the Arizona border.
When the economy crashed in 2008, it took Greg's business with it. Living in Phoenix with his wife and three children, the Alberta transplants found themselves in a spot many people dread. But the family pushed on, and with a heart for God and a desire to help the poor, Greg spent three years volunteering at the 1Mission base camp.
Financially, things were tight. As his wife worked as a teacher's assistant, Greg split his time between Phoenix and the 1Mission base. But the Lord is faithful, and Greg was hired to work for 1Mission full time.
The goal of 1Mission is to build 75 houses a year for the impoverished people of the region who survive on as little as $40 a week. The price of gas is more than $1US per litre. Alcohol is cheap, milk isn't.
All that is required of the recipient is they provide 200 volunteer hours helping their community. To date, 1Mission has built more than 300 homes - and generated 60,000 volunteer hours.
As we were getting ready to leave the winter clime of Canada, I thought our goal was to change the life of this Mexican family (which we did), but when it was over it would also be my life and the outlook I have that would be changed.
The house, by North American standards, was really not much to look at. A rectangle box with two doors, two windows and a tiny bathroom area, it measured 220 square feet – roughly the same size as the garage of my home.
The neighbourhood was hooked up to electricity only a few months ago. Water was from a small pipe sticking out of the ground with a garden hose attached to it.
All of the work was done by hand from mixing dozens of wheelbarrows of cement to cutting sheets of plywood. Working shoulder-to-shoulder with Charlie and his neighbours was a wonderful experience.
These were 'real' Mexicans, in a 'real' part of Mexico. They were just regular folks and we were blessed to show them the love of Christ in a very real and tangible way. They were caring, hard-working people and you could see the joy on the face of Meetay and Jasmine as the work progressed. Charlie had an infectious look of pride as the home neared completion.
The unpaved roads, roaming dogs, blowing dust and sheer poverty in which so many Mexicans live was far from anything I have ever seen in Canada.
In this Mexico, there are no swimming pools, no waiters catering to your every whim, no maids cleaning your room while you lounged at the beach with a tequila - and I loved every minute of it.
We spent five days in Mexico, three building the home and two at a resort only a few kilometers away. By far, spending time with Charlie and his family was the more enjoyable of the two.
It does the soul good to help others, there is a joy that cannot be found poolside as you sweat in the midday sun and rinse dust from your teeth or nurse a finger that got in the way of a swinging hammer.
Christ has called us to care for the least of these. You do not have to go to Mexico to do it, there are plenty of opportunities your own town to serve.
But if you are heading south, consider skipping a couple days of the king-size bed, big-screen TV and room service to experience the real Mexico and to get more than just a tan. By helping out you will get a sense of satisfaction, lifelong memories and the knowledge that you made a difference in the life of someone not as blessed as you. You will not regret it.
For more information on how to help, go to 1mission.org.
Copyright 2015, Darren Handschuh
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