In early 2022, Hales Corners Lutheran Church (Hales Corners, WI) reached out to Ysleta Lutheran Mission Human Care (YLM) to explore a ministry partnership. By August of that same year, their first team of three missionaries arrived, eager to help in any way they could.

Since then, Hales Corners has sent two more teams, each growing in both size and enthusiasm. Their 2024 team included eight adults, three of whom had served the previous year, and they were ready to take on a new challenge: building a house from the ground up. And they succeeded!

The team, made up of three men and five women, faced the daunting task of dividing up roles Sunday night. While the women had no experience with power tools, they were determined to learn. With the patient teaching of the men and YLM’s Servant Event Director, Scott Juengel, they quickly mastered the use of chop saws, nail guns, and other construction tools.

“The women were a blessing,” Scott said. “They were eager to learn and willing to tackle any task, encouraging the whole team to keep going when things got tough.”

Alongside the team, Javier, Martha, and their granddaughter Laura pitched in with painting, framing, nailing, and sealing. The family expressed their gratitude in receiving their little house in many ways, but the standout moments were when Martha served delicious home-cooked meals each afternoon, always with a smile.

By noon on the last day, the house was finished. The team even sanded down all the dried mudding on the walls, leaving paint and supplies for the family to finish the interior. The house dedication, led by Rev. Javier Lozano, was made extra special with one of the team members translating into Spanish.

For the team, the experience was life changing. One member, who hadn’t felt comfortable praying out loud at the start of the week, led a prayer by the third day. By the time they left, this group of people who barely knew each other at the beginning had become friends, sharing stories, laughs, and memories of their time serving together.

Encouraged and blessed, the team has already scheduled their 2025 mission trip with YLM and is actively recruiting friends, family, and fellow congregation members to join in this transformative, faith-building experience.

Would you like to be part of God’s work at YLM through the Servant Event Ministry? Call (915) 858-2588 or email luz.soto@ylm.org to learn how your church, family, or friends can come serve in the border cities of El Paso and Ciudad Juarez.