What We Do

“I will resettle your towns, and the ruins will be rebuilt. The desolate land will be cultivated instead of lying desolate in the sight of all who pass through it. They will say, ‘This land that was laid waste has become like the garden of Eden; the cities that were lying in ruins, desolate and destroyed, are now fortified and inhabited.’ Then the nations around you that remain will know that I the Lord have rebuilt what was destroyed and have replanted what was desolate. I the Lord have spoken, and I will do it.” Ezekiel 36

Focused Work

One of the early words that God gave to Homes of Hope was about the importance of building in specific communities rather than randomly building houses all over the city of Mazatlan. Til now, we have been working in two different colonias, or communities - Casa Redonda and Colonia Sinaloa - two poor neighborhoods set on the outskirts of Mazatlan. The families who receive a house from Homes of Hope live in shacks made of wooden crates, plastic, or aluminum, with dirt floors, and usually have a number of children. The family battles with leaky roofs during the rainy season and nearly every mother upon receiving a house speaks of how grateful she is to get her children out of the mud.

The pastors who live in the neighborhoods know the needs of each family and have a waiting list of families with the most need. They introduce us to the families we will be working with on each building site and eagerly offer friendship, love, and discipleship to the ones interested in knowing more about God. The family is responsible to tear down their house and to clear the land for the cement platform to be laid.

We, meanwhile, are coordinating with the teams interested in building, and have the cement platform laid and the materials bought and ready by the time the team arrives. What you get to be a part of is starting right in on the building of the structure, putting up walls, siding, installing drywall, painting, and roofing. And the entire house is built in 3-4 days!!

Community Development

It has been special for us to see how the combination of evangelism, the practical act of love in building a home, and the follow-up through the church family has really brought a hunger in the colonias for God. But ever since the beginning, the vision has been not only to meet the physical needs of the people, but to really see transformation in these communities as a whole!

And so a new branch of Homes of Hope is just in its developing stages - Community Development. The goal is to reach into the communities and equip the people within them to rise up to make a difference for themselves, rather than relying on outsiders for help. When Jesus was on earth, he didn’t only focus on the people’s spiritual needs (which we as a church tend to do), nor on just the physical needs (which humanitarian organizations do), but he desired to see growth in all areas of the people’s lives- the spiritual, physical, social, and intellectual.

- Interested in bringing a team down to build a home and change someone's life? Contact us at hoh@ywammazatlan.com for more information. We'd love to hear from you!