On March 17, a team of 22 people from First Baptist and 36 students from the  UT Baptist Collegiate Ministry will travel to the Rio Grande Valley on a mission trip. Our partner in the valley is Buckner International. Last year, Buckner opened a holistic Community Transformation Center (CTC) that serves children and families in the Lower Rio Grande Valley. The CTC employs social workers who work with families to help them attain affordable housing and gain educational, spiritual, and practical assistance for life’s necessities.
One of our projects will be building a house for Luiz and Gabby Gomez and their two children. The Gomez family has a case manger through the Buckner CTC who is helping this family move toward self-sufficiency. Luiz is training to be an electrician; he will be working alongside our team all week building his house. His wife is also working with the case manger. One of her goals is to learn 90 English words. Our team will be helping her practice English speaking skills. The family currently lives in a trailer with an 8’X8’ bath attached. They are excited about the possibility of having a new home.

We will also have three other teams working in the area: a medical team, a second construction team that will be building simple beds for the Gomez family, and a team that will be doing Vacation Bible School for children and computer classes for adults. You can be involved in the trip by praying for our team and by donating hygiene items, such as: toothpaste, toothbrushes, combs, hairbrushes, shampoo, soap, razors, deodorant, and lotions. These items will be distributed to the community through the CTC. Place items in the baskets in the welcome center. For more information, contact Carol McEntyre, at cmcentyre@fbcknox.org or 246-4661.