RCA Church Rebuilds House after Fire
"It's amazing how God's plans make our plans look like foolishness," says Scott Kooiman. "It's amazing what happens when you just let God lead."
Kooiman tells how God rearranged plans for seven members of Desert Haven Community Church in Mesa, Arizona. The group traveled to Tijuana, Mexico, in March to build a new house for an elderly couple there.
When the trip was planned, the team expected to build a home for Maria and Manuel Martinez, whose home was in poor condition. Three days before they arrived, a light-up wall cross sparked a fire that destroyed the Martinezes' house and everything they owned.
The team, and the Martinezes, were starting from square one.
"We had gone down with $1,800 more than we needed," says Kooiman, who is senior pastor at Desert Haven. "We were planning on putting in drywall, but when we saw what wasn't left of their home, we realized that they could care less about drywall." Maria and Manuel were sleeping on a pile of tarps underneath a makeshift tent of tarps.
The team was able to build a new home on the same property, and then used the extra money to furnish a new bed, refrigerator, table and chairs, sheets, blankets, and a set of dishes and cooking supplies. The team also gave the couple money for new clothing.
After the home was completed, the team performed a magic show outreach for the local children and gave away tapes of Spanish-language Christian music recorded by members of Desert Haven Church and blankets made by children in Mesa who had attended vacation Bible school at Desert Haven in July.
When the team was pouring a concrete slab for the house, pieces of burnt paper from the rubble were blowing in the air, many of them from Maria's Bible. The team returned what was left of the Bible to Maria. They drove all over the neighborhood, Tijuana's Terrazas del Valle barrio, looking for a store where they could purchase a new Bible. No store owners knew where to buy a Bible without going into the city 20 miles away. After knocking on church doors with no response, the team finally found a Messianic Jewish ministry that knew of the family's situation and donated a Bible they had on hand.
The couple's property was on a busy section of dirt road near a market. All week long, people walked by and saw the Americans building a new house. The Martinezes had run a clothing store out of their home and were well-liked in the community. The proprietor of a second-hand furniture store up the street gave the team a discount on a refrigerator and a bed for the new home. People driving by would honk and wave, saying, "Thanks!"
As the week ended, the team told everyone walking by that on Friday there would be a free magic show with small gifts for kids. As show-time approached, about 20 children showed up. Two minutes before the show was to begin, crowds of children began running around the corners up and down the street, and there were soon 50 people crowding around the front of the new house. The team did magic tricks; gave out candy, blankets, and Christian music; and shared how Jesus can live not in the sky, but in our hearts.
Manuel asked for the tapes that were left over at the end of the night. As soon as he is able to open up his clothing store again, he wants to give the music away and tell people how God provides in the midst of devastation.
"I think that before this experience in their lives, God was not more than a cultural thing," says Kooiman. "Now, it's personal, and it's amazing that God can use people like us to make that happen."
Posted 05/08/07
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