I was reading an article the other day titled "Why Poor People make bad decisions" While the article was a touch inaccurate and slightly condescending, it did make me think a lot about our work. By giving someone a new home, not only is it moving them in the direction away from poverty, it does helps them think differently, so making better decisions. A wise man once said that a definition of poverty is "A Lack of Options." When you are poor you have no option of where you live, or where, or even if, your kids can go to school. No option of where you shop, or what you can do if your kids get sick. You have no option to even think of the future. All your thinking is; "What can i do to get through today." We have found that Homes Of Hope does help people think differently. When families have a roof over their head and the immediate stress of the Day to Day is gone, they start to think about the future. They dream about what their kids will do when they finish school, they think about their legacy. During a Homes Of Hope dedication ceremony recently, the dad of the family, with tears rolling down his face, said to the build team "With this house, i can dream about the future - Now i can make my family proud - Now i can leave an inheritance to my kids when im gone. Last week we built a house for the Cardenas Montoya family. Lizbeth, is a single mother and has been raising her family of 4 teenage kids in a small room. No running water or Electricity makes life very hard, but they all had big smiles on their faces. Lizbeth works cleaning other houses in the area, and earns about 500Pesos ($30USD) a week. Which from my experience is not enough to feed and cloth half a hungry teenager, let alone 4 of them. Their new Home Of Hope is going to help this family to think about the future. To help them dream and to help them think differently.
Imagine that all you had to call home, was a pile of pallets covered by a tarpaulin. It leaked in the rain, and all you had was one old mattress for you and all your kids. Imagine that every time that you wanted to cook for your family, you had to go and collect firewood and build a fire outside. Completely exposed to the elements. Imagine that whenever you wanted to wash food, laundry or even yourself, all you had was a home made tent structure and an old conrete sink. Last week we built 9 Homes for needy families in Ensenada. One of the families was a single mum, Nieves with her 3 boys. Nieves is separated from her abusive husband and works in the fields earning only $60 a week, which is barely enough to cover their living costs. Their current home is made of pallets and tarpaulin, and a dirt floor. They only have 1 old mattress which the 3 boys sleep on and Nieves sleeps on the dirt floor. Last week, they recieved thier Home of Hope. No more will they be worrying if the roof was going to leak or having to sleep on the floor. Now imagine coming home to a beautiful home with a door that locked, windows that opened, and a roof that kept you warm and dry. Now Imagine no more sleeping on a floor, but having a brand new bed to sleep in. Covered with new clothes and toys, more than you had ever seen. Now imagine no more collecting wood to make a fire, and a table to create family memories around, even a place to put the Christmas tree. Thank you for being Part of Helping to change lives of families like Nieves...
What are you Thankful for? — So I know this sounds strange coming from a British Guy living in Mexico, but I wanted to wish you all a very happy Thanksgiving. Over the years it has definitely become my favorite American Holiday. A day to simply stop and remember how grateful we are for our families and all the blessings we have.
One thing that our family tries to do each day over dinner is to share a one thing we can be grateful for during that day. Some days it flows easily, but other days, it's a lot harder to think of something. But there is always something to be thankful for. We then write it on a post-it and stick it on the window. After a few weeks, you struggle to see out of the window, some of the post its are looking faded and wrinkled, others are falling off. But as we spend time looking at the notes and remembering all we have to be thankful for, it builds hope, and puts our lives into perspective. Remembering how blessed we are with all the amazing things we have and the experiences we have discovered. This year at the YWAM campus, we have Thanksgiving dinner for 300 people. We are then going out and building 5 homes for needy families in Ensenada. So you ask me what I'm thankful for, I think the chance to be able to bring hope this thanksgiving. Knowing that In a few days time, there will be 5 more families in Ensenada that will be sleeping in warm beds with a proper roof over their heads. Thanks for being part of this with us. Happy Thanksgiving from our family to yours... The Kemp Family Why Mexico?
I remember before we came to Mexico, someone sat me down asked "Why on Earth would you want to take your family and live in a place that is poor, dirty, corrupt and crime ridden". At the time my answer was "Well it seams a noble thing to to do, going to change peoples lives". But now as i look back at the past nearly 11 years of life and ministry in Mexico, my answer is very different. We came to Mexico with a view of serving others and probably a savior mentality, thinking i was coming to change peoples lives. In reality i think it's me that has changed the most. My love and respect for people and cultures has grown in ways that i couldn't dream about. We all read about poverty and see statistics. We see faces on the TV and hear stories. But i've found that behind every statistic is a Father, a Mother, a brother, a sister, all trying to do the best they can with the life they have been given. I've realized that a family of 6, earning just $5 a day, living in a house made of pallets and old tarpaulins, with no electricity or running water, sleeping on an old mattress on a dirt floor can live a more content life than a family living in "luxury" in a developed nation. I've realized that building a home for a family the size of an average garage, that is dry, warm and safe can change the destiny of a family's life forever. I've learned that Mexico is a beautiful nation full of amazing people that work hard and value their families in a way i've never seen. So tell me again Why Mexico? So if you asked me now Why Mexico? My answer again be would be simple, but very different. Mexico for me has been a place of learning and growing. Its a place that despite the dirt, corruption and poverty, its a place that i can call home and raise my family. Its a place that i can have the privilege of being a small part of transforming lives every day. Thank You for partnering with us to see transformation in lives here in Mexico.
Jeremiah & Sarah Wedding
The Wedding Of Jeremiah & Sarah It's been a busy weekend in Ensenada with 8 families receiving their new Home Of Hope. Whilst building in one community, one of the Neighbours invited me to visit their home which was built for them back in October. When asked how the home had affected their lives, the reply was; 100% transformation. One if the biggest changes was with their daughter who suffered from severe Asthma. In the past she had frequent attacks and breathing problems due to the damp and bad living conditions in the shack that they called home. Since they have moved into their New Home of Hope, she had not had any asthma problems. The home is beautifully kept and are already working at extending their house to include a new bedroom and bigger kitchen. This is a brief glimpse of how a new home can immediately transform a families life. Thanks for being part of our life and for helping us serve families like these... Our biggest program each year is always Homes of Hope. This year we have built nearly 250 homes here in Baja, and nearly 400 homes worldwide. Why Homes? Reciving a new home benefits the families in 5 real ways:
As i mentioned in an earlier message, one of the biggest hilights of the year was Jacob & Rachel's wedding. We decided to do something a bit different with the wedding celebration and mix some of our work with the fun of the celebration. So the week before the wedding, we invited all our families and close friends in to come and build a Home of Hope as part of the wedding celebration. It was great having most of my siblings together to be part of it. What made it even more special is that we were dedicating it to our beloved Grandad "Dumps" who passed away the year before. Here's what happens when you invite a bunch of Crazy Kemps and thier friends to Mexico to build a home... One of the biggest things we can do in ministry is to Multiply what we do. This year we multiplied our ministry by sending out a team to the city of Monterrey, in the Mexican State of Nuevo Leon. Monterrey is the 3rd biggest city in Mexico, and we are very excited to have a YWAM presence there. After just 5 months, they already have 7 staff, the are running a discipleship training school, and next week they are building thier first Homes of Hope house. We are so excited to be part of this expansion and seeing lives changed in other parts of our country. Here's a few pictures of the beginings of YWAM Monterrey. The Campus, Me speaking on the Training School, The students and the founding couple, Jared & Paloma... Short video Promoting the Discipleship Training School at our Brand New Campus in Monterrey in the state of Nuevo Leon, Mexico. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=W91CT7iBlCA The biggest Family event of the year was Obviously Jacob & Rachel's wedding. It was a great time. Many of Mine & Sam's family flew in from England and spent the week with us before the wedding day. It was a very special time for all of us. Take a look at the Highlights... |
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