March 2022 Newsletter by Deb Brenneman (Casa Board Member)
March 2022 Newsletter by Deb Brenneman (Casa Board Member)
March Madness!!
The only thing I know about March Madness is it has something to do with basketball, with lots of games being played and chances to guess at who is going to win the whole thing, and maybe win some money on the office bracket, something or other.
But I do know that March has been a whirlwind of awesome “madness” for Casa. First Reformed Church of Sioux Falls, SD sent a team of nine to build a house for a family of six. We got the house built in three days. On Thursday we cleaned it, hung curtains, furnished it with new beds and mattresses, and blessed the family with some groceries and some household items. We then dedicated the house to the Lord and handed over the keys to the family.
But even better than the new house for the family, was the acceptance of Jesus by Alondra, the lady of the house. Damaris, a local pastor’s wife came to the build site and talked with Alondra. Alondra asked about their church and Damaris told her that she didn’t need a church as much as she needed Jesus, and proceeded to lead her to Christ!
Frankie, a neighbor, stopped by one afternoon and asked a lot of questions about what was going on. The next day he came again and told us that he was a heroin addict, an ex-convict, and wanted to get clean and get back to Jesus. He knew of Jesus growing up, but went down the wrong path. A couple that stopped to bring us some treats, knew of a local pastor that worked with the addicted, and went to get the pastor to come talk with Frankie. Frankie agreed to go into a treatment program.
At one of our evening devotions, I asked the team to pray for some major decisions coming up for the Casa board. The first was what to do about the work truck Curt uses. Casa has put a lot of money into repairs over the last couple of years and more are in the near future. Do we replace or continue to repair the truck? After many prayers and discussions, Curt started shopping to see what was out there and how much a replacement would cost. He found an amazing deal on an immaculate used truck, and after phone calls with the board, it was decided to go ahead and trade off the old truck. Casa has the funds to pay for the truck, but it depleted the reserves considerably. We need your vital support. Help us replenish the account so Casa can continue the ministry to the people of San Luis.
Another item of concern is funding the students’ higher education. We have an amazing group of students that have some very lofty goals, and we do not want to stifle them by not being able to fund their continuing education.
One young man has graduated with a law degree and wants to go on to obtain what is equivalent to a masters degree in law so he can become a judge, in order to help bring about change to better the life for the citizens of Mexico. A young lady graduated as an LPN and has worked in a hospital for over a year, mostly in the COVID ward. She was inspired to become a doctor and is now in medical school. Her tuition has multiplied by three times more than her university tuition. Another young lady has her psychology degree and is working in a counseling office. Her employer encouraged her to learn English, so she is taking two years of English classes, to be able to help those that come from America for less expensive counseling.
Casa would like to start a scholarship fund to help offset the sponsor’s responsibility for the higher costs of further education. We need advice on how to set up a fund, designate donations for the fund, and how to administer the fund. So if you can help us in any of those areas or know of someone who could help Casa, please contact Curt.
I was honored to be invited to a Student Meeting by Curt and Kelly. The students had arranged the meeting and had invited a local businessman to speak to the group. Unfortunately he wasn’t able to attend due to a last minute conflict. The student who arranged the speaker led the meeting instead. He talked about doing a project to improve the environment by going to a nature preserve to help plant trees and clean waterways. All the students were in favor of that idea, so arrangements will be made by the students to go to the preserve soon.
The students also planned to have a patio sale at the Casa mission house. The donated items that are not used for the house builds are given to the students. Those items along with items the students bring, are sold to fund various projects. A few of the projects the students have chosen are: Christmas gifts for children at a local orphanage, food baskets for needy families during the early months of COVID, and donating food to a local feeding center. The students also did a house build during their Christmas break.
One of the students that just graduated with a law enforcement degree asked for prayers for her job interview at the San Luis Police Force. Her goal is to become a detective. Her greatest desire is to make a difference in her community.
Thank you for your prayers and financial support for Casa. Your support is the only way Casa can continue its ministry to the people of San Luis.
Prayer requests:
Replace funds spent on the truck
Someone to help with the scholarship fund
Additional sponsors for more students
God Bless you all!
