We had great progress in February on the latrines in Mexico. This couple, Luis and Marta Jimenez, have been without proper toilet facilities for months since an earthquake wrecked their home. The latrine built with resources from Give Me Shelter Ministries has given them great comfort. Marta is blind, so the privacy of a latrine is truly a blessing to her.
As your family or organization look for giving opportunities to close out the year, think about this…
Can you imagine not having a roof over your head or the luxury of a bathroom?
Probably not. But there are many people in Haiti and Mexico TODAY who are living without these basic necessities due to recent hurricanes and earthquakes.
Your 2017 Christmas donation will go directly to putting roofs on homes in Haiti and building latrines for displaced residents in Mexico.
Give Me Shelter Ministries partners with churches and pastors in Haiti and Mexico to meet the direct needs of their congregations and members of their community who are in dire need.
There are few giving opportunities where your entire contribution will go directly to those in need. Thanks to our supporters throughout the year, we have the operating costs and expenses covered… your Christmas donation will go DIRECTLY to a roof and latrine.
Please prayerfully consider donating to help our current missions in Haiti and Mexico. You can see examples of roofs and latrines we’ve already completed at our website. You will be able to see the direct results of your gifts at work in the next few months.
Give Me Shelter Ministries is a registered non-profit and all donations are tax deductible.
Thank you, God Bless You, and Merry Christmas,
Kenny Phillips
Give Me Shelter Ministries
Please share with your friends. You can see your offerings at work right here on this site!
Dec 1-3
Wow! How the wheels can move incredibly slow. There is a lot going on here and there are also many things to be aware of. Seems everyone is taking advantage of the situation. By that I mean that the local construction stores have made sure they are doing their part by increasing the prices.
We have relentlessly tried to find a block maker to no success. We did find some block molds. We can save over half the cost for blocks by making them. We have secured only 3 bathrooms to be built but it’s a start.
I’m hoping for a quick return trip to be more involved with the process but that will require a longer stay which I am totally for. I think we can put a dent in the community with more time and also build a better local team.
As always we ran into a few snags along the way but we were able to diffuse the issues. Sometimes you gotta be tough to stay on task. With flight delays and travel time from Oaxaca to Ixtaltepec I thought things went fairly well. I can only pray we can gain more support for the latrine/ bathroom project.
Praise God from whom all blessings flow.
Kenny
November 30
We woke up early and as always hit the ground running. We meet with the Pastor and some of the people to discuss a possible plan. Our thoughts were accepted.
We are still looking for a brick machine but we are having some difficulty. Seems people are buying them up. One of the issues in this area is that the mayor of this small community has bought a large machine and has inflated the price per block, taking full advantage of the situation. Sounds familiar for when the hurricanes hit our area Home Depot and Lowe’s jump on the exploitation bandwagon.
The government here has given most people paid credit cards to start the rebuild process. The problem is it’s not enough to complete the home. I see many different country agencies doing many different things. As I surveyed the small town, I see many homes being repaired or rebuilt but the one thing I was not seeing were latrines or bathrooms.
I talked to the pastor about this and he confirmed that this is a huge problem. This is how many other issues can get started so we decided for the health of the people, we will build some latrines. This will include a toilet and a bathing area. Praise God from whom all blessings flow.
Kenny
Nov 27-29
Here we go again. Conscience International and Give Me Shelter Ministries heading way south of the border to continue our relief effort for the earthquake victims. This time with the help from Cooperative Baptist Fellowship of Florida, we are going down to start the re build process. We will be back in Ixtaltepec. I have a plan in place but ultimately I will let the community weigh in and give us their ideas.
Oaxaca City
This will be a community project overseen by the local church but will be implemented by the people. We are hoping that this will be a tool to bring people closer to the gospel. I arrived late Monday night only to find out that my partner Natanael was stuck on Mexico City due to an airline strike. He received a voucher for a new flight, had to spend the night in the airport and took a bus down to Oaxaca. Our trip south was delayed one day. Nata arrived late last night so now today we are on our way.
We stopped in Mitla on the way down to visit a wonderful family who has been such a great encouragement to us. After a short visit we headed over the mountains. Once we arrived we were greeted with smiles and friendship.
Mitla
Tomorrow we will meet with the Pastor and local leaders to launch the project. Praise God from whom all blessings flow.
Kenny
GMSM
Can’t stop time and it has run out for this trip. We have much to continue doing here in Cayette and the surrounding area. We feel we are starting to make some good relations that will only help us to share more deeply with these folks. The pilgrimage to Port starts today. I will stay the night at Harry’s house and spend time with his family. On the way we will stop at a small fishing village in St. Louis de Sud. This is the place where one of our first roofs went on. It’s a small community of about 4 families communally living together. We will bring them some food supplies which they will share with each family.
I will leave Harry’s house in the morning and head back to my family in Fort Walton Beach. It will take a couple of days to get my thoughts together but my mind now will turn back to Mexico, PR, Cuba and planning for the next return trip to Haiti to continue Raising Roofs. Thank you all for making this ministry possible through your kind gifts. Praise God from whom all blessings flow.
Kenny
After a good nights sleep we got breakfast and headed to Cayette. Today will be the last day on the mountain. I have scheduled a meeting to reenforce our vision and plan to make sure that everyone is still on board. Mostly I wanted to give the people an opportunity to speak their concerns and get their input on how they feel the project is moving. I also let them know that we will start using an agreement signed by each home owner before anymore roofs are started. This will help with less confusion, hold them and us accountable and generally help us in the long run. Today was also another payday. We also set up a time later this afternoon to have a small program with the children. The sewing ministry at First Baptist Church FWB has made more pillow case dresses for the little girls. Pastor Harry will lead the program and distribute the beautiful dresses. We have to come up with a plan for the boys. The past two trips it’s been just for the little girls. Next time the boys have to be included. We head back to Port in the morning. I will spend a day with Harrys family before flying back to mine. We surpassed out goal of 20 roofs. We were able to do 21 roofs PTL.
Praise God from whom all blessings flow.
Kenny
Sunday, a day of rest and reflection. I used to have a neighbor that would always tell me ” when the ox is in the ditch you gotta get it out”. That was the day for us. The bosses had completed 14 roofs and they wanted their jack (money). I don’t blame them at all. So we meet them in the ravine before you head up the mountain. We thanked them for their hard work and encouraged them to keep the faith. They always want to give us all the credit but we quickly tell them we are only the messengers and all praise and glory goes to God. By the time we had squared away with the bosses it was past noon and most churches had wrapped up for the day. We decided to go up to Camp Perin. This was the first area we came to a year ago right after Matthew had a direct hit on Haiti. The town was completely destroyed. I was curious as to what it looked like a year later. When we crested the mountain ridge I could not believe my eyes. Although most of the structural damage was still there the vegetation was coming back ten fold. It was starting to resemble what the locals had told me it looked like before the storm. We ate lunch in Camp Perin and relaxed and had a nice talk about many things. The ox was out of the ditch and we were rewarded with a few hours of nothing to do but relax and reflect. Praise God from whom all blessings flow.
Kenny
Just another day of delivering the materials and putting out fires in the community. Seems as long as you are very clear with these folks all goes well. So once someone try’s to deviate from our vision and plan we have to deal with it asap. I won’t say that’s part of their culture because we deal with the same stuff at home. It just can be a little more difficult here. All is good though. The roofs are coming along well and it looks as if we will reach our goal easily. With that said, we still have three days to go but I do have faith that things will continue to move forward. Praise God from whom all blessings flow.
Kenny
Hit the road early as always and headed to the mountain to check on the progress of the roofs. The rain is making it difficult but the bosses are doing a great job considering the weather. I am totally not prepared for the rain which is my fault. As much traveling as I do, I know the rainy season of most regions and should have been prepared. When we arrived at the base of the mountain we headed upstairs. We went all the way to the top today which is the furtherest that I’ve hiked yet. A very long hard,dangerous climb. Going up is not so bad but coming down can be very hairy, especially after a rain. The rocks and mud get very slippery. A young man who always helps us was their to assist me as I climbed back down. He was very helpful. Once we got to the top they were working hard on five roofs. This is the end of the Cayette region before you get to the Port Salute territory. I never knew how big Cayette was until today. I wish we would have started up here first and worked our way down instead of in reverse. Oh well, live and learn. It is pretty cool to look down across the region and see all the silver hats (roofs) that now dot Cayette. YOU have made it possible through your donations and Gods grace to make this possible. We will start this afternoon gathering the materials for more roofs. The goal is for 20 roofs to go on and even with the on and off again rain, I believe we will meet our goal. Praise God from whom all blessings flow.
Kenny
