In the midst of war, sickness, and the many troubles that exist in our world today, HOPE is not lost!
It’s been amazing to work with God’s people and projects moving forward. Yes, we are on track!!
Funds have been raised and teams are going to help complete the Marriage and Family Counseling Center in El Salvador! Watch the rafters go up >>> https://vimeo.com/705440977
The purchase of property for the new Antigua Youth Ministry Center, on the island of Antigua, is on the verge of completion!! Building will begin this year, with the goal of reaching the island’s large population of young adults.
Teams are headed to the Bahamas, Panama, Honduras, as countries are opening up.
One project that is especially exciting to me, and an honor to be a part of, is Hope for Uruguay 100. In November of 2020, Builders International partnered with the missionary and national church with a goal to build 100 churches. Pastors, congregations, and dedicated construction workers have steadily continued to build during the last two years. This week church #16 in Nuevo Paysandu, Uruguay is being dedicated!!
New Projects Coming!!
Costs Rica – Excitement is growing for the future project in Costa Rica. The site visit team made another stop today to look at an additional residential training campus. It’s been a great trip with this team that loves Jesus, loves missionaries, and coffee too.
Poland Refugee Housing – This is the building located in Katowice, Poland that will serve 200 Ukrainian refugees. It will be a place where many will find safety, security, and their most basic needs met.
Our AGWM missionary partners are working with Polish nationals to turn an empty office building into short-term housing for Ukrainian refugees to provide a warm and safe environment to live in as they escape war, then prepare to depart to other countries throughout Europe.
While at the refugee center, Ukrainians will be loved and ministered to by missionaries and other Christians. This center will also help reduce the amount of human trafficking that is sadly happening during this crisis.
At Builders International, we are beginning to schedule teams now. Teams will fly into Krakow, Poland, and spend 8 or 9 days working at the refugee center.
Since January 2022, we have launched several new projects in the countries of: Egypt, Sri Lanka, Albania, and Bihar India. Please pray with us for these people, places, and projects around the World. Despite persecution and resistance, the gospel is still reaching the world and bringing HOPE!
The beginning of 2020 started off with a bang! January 9th, Deborah and I returned from the BGMC event in Mexico with good news!
We were excited! We had just raised the remaining funds needed to finish the construction of the Berea ChildHope School in Zacapa, Guatemala. It was only January and we were off to the start of a promising year.
Following our trip to Mexico, plans had been made for the upcoming Hope for Uruguay 100 project. This would be the newest initiative…to build 100 churches throughout Uruguay. We had an assessment team scheduled for March, a vision team scheduled for April, and churches ready to send funding and teams to build Church #1.
There had been years of preparation by Uruguayan leadership, with church planters trained and congregations meeting under tents and other inadequate facilities while waiting for a building. We were finally at the point where this project was about to launch.
These two projects were to be our biggest focus for 2020! We felt privileged and excited to join with our missionaries and Builders as a part of something we could see the Lord in so strongly.
Then the unexpected happened! We suddenly found ourselves facing a global pandemic. We watched in disbelief as the world shut down and our partnering missionaries returned home.
All AG World Missions team travel was canceled and our scheduled projects put on hold. But what disturbed us in a deeper way, was the thought of how people were going to suffer in these communities. What about the children cared for by Berea ChildHope School or the tribal people living along the Amazon River, who depend on connecting to the outside world by way of the river. Does HOPE prevail during a pandemic?
In Montevideo, Uruguay, where church #1 was scheduled to be built, the ladies had worked hard selling fruta pies to help raise enough money to purchase land. The banks in Uruguay are not legally allowed to provide a loan to a church, but with persistent work and God’s help, the land was purchased. Pastor Marcelo and Virginia and their congregation had met under a tent for the past three years. Shivering during the winter months, sweltering during the summer months, and enduring soaking wet feet during the rainy season.
Everything had led up to this moment. Now our hands were tied, unable to help.
No assessment trip to work with our missionaries, Steve and Jill McCarthy, for the technical planning for 100 churches, no vision team to raise the funds needed for church #2 and beyond, and no US construction teams for church #1 – La Iglesia Encuentro con la Vida, in Montevideo, Uruguay.
Disappointed and frustrated, once again we wondered…Does HOPE prevail during a pandemic?
“That’s when the Virtual Mission Trip happened. In September, Builders hosted our first-ever, truly interactive, live Virtual Mission Trip to Uruguay. A connection took place between Uruguayans, a missionary family, team members, and generous donors from all over the world during a historical event where thousands of people witnessed a life-changing project from “dirt to done” in just five days!
No more church under a tent. No more cold or wet feet during church. This grateful group of brothers and sisters were now in a brand new building!
Not only was the local community in Uruguay incredibly impacted, but unexplainable generosity has been pouring in from the virtual audience of donors who witnessed their sacrificial giving put to work. They were able to see the congregation, both young and old, work excitedly and tirelessly to construct the church in record time. What I believe made the biggest impact on our U.S. partners was their ability to lift up this group of strangers, with real-time emotional and heartfelt prayers, as they humbly approached the camera with hearts of cheerful gratitude.
This washuge for these communities in Uruguay! Church #2 had been meeting in a bus and in the town of Lorenzo Geyres, nothing had been built in over 30ty years. But this was not all.
Since then, miraculously, Church #2, #3, #4, #5, #6, #7, #8 and #9 have all been funded, completed, and dedicated!
Does HOPE prevail during a global pandemic? We truly believe the answer is Yes!
In May of 2021, Berea ChildHope School, led by missionaries Daren and Hiedi Walker was completed!! The school will care for 500 students, providing an escape from poverty and hope for a better future.
Does HOPE prevail during a pandemic? Absolutely! 2020 and 2021 has been years when once again we’ve seen, though we are bound by the limitations and the troubles of this world, God is not.
These are only a couple of miraculous faith-building examples of how God has allowed Deborah and me to see what hope can look like during a pandemic.
What Now?
While COVID-19 continues to bring instability to many countries, Project Shovel-Ready ensures that projects poised to advance the gospel move forward to completion. These projects have been thoroughly vetted and are viable with a well-thought out plan. They are ready to go … just waiting for help!
Deborah and I will be working with theBuilders International team, helping to bring these projects to completion!
Of all of the countries in Latin America that I’ve had the privilege to work in, Cuba has in my heart a special and unique draw. In this world there are many challenges that can stretch us to our limits. In Cuba, though, I’ve experienced a perseverant and giving people who are genuine in their passion for God. It’s absolutely amazing and refreshing to your spirit to be around these wonderful people.
Panoramic view of Havana, the capital of Cuba
The Team . . .
This last team I had the privilege of hosting from JRC were both veterans and a few newbies, who all did an awesome job. Our team slogan for the whole trip was, “We move as one!” We also suffered as one, due to a virus of some sort that infected us. The local tonic of the day was “Onion Oil” and I’m not sure it made it worse or became the remedy. In spite of the circumstances, everyday the team was prepared to work and serve. A hundred pairs of new shoes were carried and given, tools for the job delivered, worship instrumentals were played, and testimonies shared. Everyone gave 100% and in return were blessed immensely by the loving Cuban people.
The Church . . .
The construction project at the church in Manzanillo is strategic to the area. The Pastor and congregation take seriously the responsibility God has given them to encourage and build up other surrounding churches. The special women’s ministry is another key part of growth in this area.
In a women’s meeting and several other services, we were given ample opportunity to encourage, pray, share, and minister. The team and I were excited to be a part of what God was doing. Some were saved and others experienced healing in their bodies.
The Project . . .
Altogether, in my estimation, the work in the church is half finished. To complete the building there is a need for several more teams willing to go and at least $80,000 in project funds to be donated. I join with the church in their excitement and hope in seeing the completion of this building.
If you happened to journey deep into the heart of the Brazilian jungle, you might find a bright blue river boat gliding along the Amazon River! If you spotted this vessel, you also will find “willing vessels” on board, where they live together for a week at a time while working hard to build a church along the banks of this massive river.
We at Builders International join with missionaries around the world like Mark Lemos in Brazil, to be a network of teams and resources to help complete projects impacting communities.
Builders International missionary Tom Moore, recounted his recent journey down the river with one of our South Texas team:
“Our recent trip down the Amazon River in Brazil began with team members gathering at the departure gate in Miami to meet each other before our flight to Manaus, Brazil.
For some of the team members, this was their first construction missions trip. However, several had been on many construction missions trips throughout their lifetime!
Why would these team members give so much of their personal time and finances to make another trip like this? What motivates someone to make these kinds of sacrifices year after year?
Yes, it was on the Amazon River, but the work was hard. Most days it was very hot and several times we were all soaked by the tropical rain. There were no guided fishing trips with great photo ops. The food was adequate but nothing like a five-star restaurant.
Every person came for the same reason. To build a church for the purpose of spreading the gospel! The building we worked on will be a place where people can belong for years to come. Where hurting people can find hope. Men who are facing problems they cannot solve will find hope. Women who are struggling to deal with the hardships of daily life will find hope. Children trying to find their place in the world and deal with personal fears will find hope.
We did not build an ordinary structure. Yes, it is made of ordinary cement, block, steel, and roofing but it is so much more than that. We builta place where people can find hope, no matter what kind of problem they are facing.
When we said our goodbyes, boarded the boat for the last time, and headed up the river that we called home for a week…we all knew we were not only leaving behind a beautiful country called Brazil, but we were leaving behind a lasting legacy of life where hope can now be found!” – Tom Moore
If you are interested in joining efforts with us to in making a difference spreading hope and help to those communities around the world, please contact us!
john@buildersintl.org / deborah@buildersintl.org / 417.582.0003 / 1648 W. Lloyd St. Ozark, MO 65721
It is our goal a Builders International to be a network of teams and resources to help complete projects, which will move them toward greater effectiveness in this area of the world.
Why Builders International? The current rate of international growth for the Assemblies of God is one new church every 45 minutes. There are now more than 67 million constituents around the world. There is a great need for training new, “pastors, evangelists, teachers, apostles and prophets.” We have been given the opportunity to build facilities necessary to sustain and help accelerate this growth that will help carry the Gospel to all nation. Deborah and I are privileged to be a part of the Builders International / MAPS Construction family, that is a worldwide industrious team of men and women. Around the world they are impacting lives on a weekly basis! Our part at Builders International! After serving 20 years in missions, I have been honored to serve the last of those six years as the LAC Regional Project Mangers for the combined ministry of Builders International and MAPS Construction, partnering with our missionaries in their building needs. We are committed to using our skills, resources, and calling to help bring an opportunity for people to hear the hope of the gospel. Globally, Assemblies Of God World Missions has many construction projects. One level of construction projects has a greater priority due to the active impact they have on a far reaching area and untouched people group. These projects are classified as Target Projects and they are on the move! These projects provided great opportunities for your church team to become involved in life changing missions work. That is why at Builders we speak often of ABUNDANT, COMMUNITY, QUALITY and ETERNAL LIFE! I invite you to click on Project Listing to view current projects. Thank you for supporting us in the direction God has lead us to invest our live. We are grateful for everyone of you! Blessings to you and your family! John
johnanddeborahsims.com 