2018 Amish in Mazatlan -by Dr. Luke

March 18, 2019

2018 Amish in Mazatlan -by Dr. Luke

I never in my wildest dreams would have thought that I would be helping managing a home-building project in Mexico with a team of Amish from Lancaster County! It truly is amazing what God has taken us through as we try to get ourselves out of His way and line our will up with His.

Phil Sauer (philsauer.com) contacted me at the end of last year and asked if I'd like to follow him around and help out in learning his trade. He is (at least) an electrical engineer and has such an amazing heart for teaching and a humility that shows Christ is in charge of his life. Phil and I have become good friends and I love to sit at his feet and attempt to 'soak in' all he has to share with me. When he asked if I'd like to join...I was so happy to say YES! I was able to fly down to Mazatlan a day before the Amish arrived and go over a few things with Phil. Here was our plan:
1: help the YWAM base in Mazatlan with the Worship Center that was yet unfinished.
2: help the base to increase the dorm space that they have to allow the training of 500 missionaries this coming year
3: to build a home of hope for a new Christian family that was in need.

We had 37 Amish folks, Phil and I, and 10 days! No problem!

These guys are amazing! They work so hard, they work as a team, they don't complain, they love each other and they love the Lord.

The staff at YWAM Mazatlan found a family through a Christian Feeding Center in one of the Colonias outside the 'tourist' area of Mazatlan. These people live on very inexpensive land and are mostly crammed together in dramatically different living conditions. They have running water most nights for a few hours at sundown and have to take advantage of this time to fill their various 55 gallon drums. The water is undrinkable, but they use it to wash laundry, bathe, and to pour into the toilets when they need to 'flush'. They have drinkable water delivery once per day when a small pickup truck drives up to change out their 5-gallon plastic jugs. There is no sewer system set up and each house has a cistern to maintain. The homes do have a small amount of electricity to their homes (half of what a USA home would have) and one breaker controls the entire home.

The family that was chosen is a sweet one! The mother and father have two children, a 15 year old daughter and 10 year old boy. The father is a Mechanic's Assistant and makes 900 pesos per week (roughly $45). He was working most of the time we were on the build, and the children were in school. The mother was so kind to the team. She made us all ceviche the first day from fish and carrots, and iced muffins the second day! She told me that she spends 800 of the pesos on food each week and has to pay for water, electric, and clothes/shoes with the leftovers. They lived in a home built from various wood scraps which she told me were full of scorpions and spiders normally! Their roof is a hodgepodge of scrap metal, wood, and the plastic canvas that we use for bill boards in the States. They live in poverty, but you can tell they are good stewards of the little they have. It humbles me to see how they live, and shows me once again that 'poverty' is a mindset. You can live happily with little or with much. It all depends on how big your problems are compared to how big your God is. A sermon I heard recently mentioned that we should stop telling God how big our mountains of problems are, and tell our 'mountains' how big our God is!

The team took 2 days to build the home (normally it takes teams 3-4 days, but the Amish are amazing!) and dedicate it to the Lord. We had a ceremony and gave the keys and a bible to the husband and wife, then everyone went inside this tiny home and prayed for and encouraged this young family. What an amazing thing to be a part of!

I love being involved in God's work. Big or small, local or far away, long-term or short-term, it is so good to give and do in His name. I'm thankful that I have the opportunity and ability to help. He has given us all gifts and we should use those gifts to bring Him glory, for He alone is worthy. We have a good good Father and that is who He is!

I'll post some pictures of the progress with the Worship Center, and the building of the home of hope (http://www.ywamhomesofhope.org).