Incarnation’s Mexico Mission work started in 2014. As of October 2025 we have built 24 houses in the outskirts of Tijuana, Mexico. We have been partnering with Project Mercy on this mission. For $7500 and the hard work of 20-30 volunteers we have been able to improve the living conditions for several deserving families. And we do it in one day. To learn more about the trips read any of the blog posts below. Want to get involved or find out more information, contact us at globalmission@godamong.us.
Pictures from past house builds:
October 25, 2025
Thank you to everyone that supported our house build on October 25th. Whether you provided funds, goods donations, quilts, prayers, or joined us for the build it all helped us change the life of the Espinoza Lugo family. This is such great work we continue to do!
Espinoza Lugo family (M12 L2 Santa Alicia)
We built a house for the Espinoza Lugo family in a brand new neighborhood called “Santa Alicia”. The site is flat as a pancake and, as of our recent communications, there’s plenty of space to spread out (and there’s a shade tree!).
Meet the Espinoza Lugo family and their three children:
Mother: Anny Lisbeth (34)
Father: Mauricio (34)
Son: Halley Mauricio (16)
Daughter: Luna Daliani (9)
Daughter: Cielo Miriana (11 months)
Both Anny and Mauricio were born in Sinaloa. They met at a river festival during Easter week and have been together now for 17 years. They recently migrated to Tijuana in search of work and to escape the insecurity of living in Sinaloa. Mauricio works in a factory and earns 4000 pesos per week (~$222). Halley is in high school. He has liked soccer since he was a little boy and when he grows up he wants to be a law graduate. Luna just started fourth grade. She wants to be a veterinarian because she loves animals. Baby Cielo spends her time playing and is just starting to walk. In their words:
“Life is very difficult in this community because we are in a very remote location. We do not have running water, reliable electricity, or access to a sewer system. We have to buy water from a passing tanker truck, but they do not come around very often.
“We dream of having a decent house so that we, and especially our baby, can be more comfortable. We also yearn for the security of a well-built house so that we are not exposed to vermin and insects getting into our house as they do now.
“Thank you for this great blessing, which came as a surprise to us. We really need a better place to live and we are very grateful for your kindness and generosity.”
May 10, 2025
Thank you to everyone that supported our house build on May 10th. Whether you provided funds, goods donations, quilts, prayers, or joined us for the build it all helped us change the life of the Roldan Zavala family. This is such great work we continue to do.
Roldan Zavala family (M13 L5 Valle Campestre)
Mother: Litia Marisol (50), Father: Gabriel (62), Granddaughter: Natali Yamileth (12), Grandson: Alejandro (7), Grandson: Gael (6), Son: Ulises Daniel (23)
Litia was born in Mexico City and Gabriel in Durango. They both had migrated to Tijuana when young in search of work opportunities. They met while living in the same area and have been married for 30 years.
Gabriel works as a mechanic’s assistant and earns 2000 pesos per week ($103), and Lita Marisol works in a factory and earns 3600 pesos per week ($185).
Litia and Gabriel’s grandchildren are all very friendly. They like to play with each other but also with their cousins. Natali Yamileth says she wants to be a nurse when she grows up and Gael says he wants to be a superhero because he doesn’t want what happened to his dad happen to him.
In Litia’s own words: “Our first son passed away two years ago because he had lung cancer. We took custody of our grandchildren after their mother abandoned them. Our grandchildren are still very affected by the death of their dad because they were very attached to him. Fortunately, we get some help from their maternal grandparents. Our son Ulises has mental challenges. He is not aggressive but only talks to himself.
“Living here has been difficult. When it rains we have leaks, because water gets in through the bottom of the walls. We lack sufficient space since we are all together in the same room to sleep, so we have had to move our kitchen outside.
“We have drinking water but no electricity because the poles are at the entrance of the colony and we can’t afford to put up wiring. We provide light with solar lamps at night and we charge our phones when we go to work. We dream of a better house, more than anything for the comfort of our children because they are the ones who suffer the most. I would like to thank you for taking us into account. We are very grateful and appreciate all that you do for families in need.”
October 26, 2024
Thank you to everyone that supported our house build on October 26th. Whether you provided funds, goods donations, quilts, prayers, or joined us for the build it all helped us change the life of the Viera Esquivel family. This is such great work we continue to do.
Viera Esquivel family
Mother: Marisol (38), Father: Emanuel (46), Sons: Rigoberto (17), Brayan Israel (14), and José Emanuel (11)
Marisol was born in Mexico City and Emanuel in Tuxtla Nayarit. Marisol migrated to Tijuana with her parents 21 years ago and Emanuel migrated with his mother 30 years ago in search of a better life. They met where they both worked and have been together for 17 years.
Emmanuel works as a blacksmith’s assistant and earns 3000 pesos per week (@$184) when he is physically able to work as he has medical problems.
Unfortunately, since the pandemic, they have not been able to continue with their children’s studies and now they are waiting until they are old enough to study at INEA (Instituto Nacional para la Educación de los Adultos), which has lower fees.
Eldest son Rigoberto wants to be a soldier and wants to join the army when he finishes his INEA studies. Brayan and José want to continue studying and their brother Rigoberto has promised to help them get into school if he is able to enter the military.
In Marisol’s own words: “The biggest challenge we are having right now is providing food for my family because at the moment we don’t have jobs to support them. Our house is not well built. The electricity goes out all the time and so does the water.
We also have medical problems. My husband has kidney failure and uses a catheter. I had an operation on my elbow due to an accident I had (I was run over while leaving work). Unfortunately, due to this situation we are both out of work. As a result, neither of us can afford medical follow-up so I change his catheter when I earn a little money, but it is difficult for us to get a permanent job due to these illnesses.
We view the possibility of receiving a decent house as a dream come true. The importance, more than anything, is that our children have a bit more space and privacy for my children as we are all living in a single room. Sometimes we cannot even afford the basic needs of our children and having a decent house is something looked so far away.
Thank you for the help you can give us and we ask God to bless you.”
May 4, 2024
Thank you to everyone that supported our last house build on May 4th. Whether you provided funds, goods donations, quilts, prayers, or joined us for the build it all helped us change the life of the Hernandez Lurias family. We had great weather for the build, and the lot was beautiful (view of canyon and hills). This is such great work we continue to do.
Hernández Lurias family
Mother: Edith (36), Father: Artemio (43), Daughter: Elizabeth (11), Daughter: Martha Victoria (7), Daughter: Noa Karin (3 months)
Both Edith and Artemio were born in Oaxaca. They met at Edith’s sister’s house, started going out, and have been together since. They migrated to Tijuana 4 years ago to look for work. Artemio arrived first to get a job and find a place to live, then the girls and Edith followed.
Juan Luis works as an UBER driver and earns 1200 pesos per week (@$74), but his earnings are variable.
Eldest daughter, Elizabeth, wants to be a teacher. She studies online and does the homework that her teacher sends her. She helps her mother as much as she can. Martha Victoria likes to play, she does the homework her teacher sends her and says she wants to be a nurse when she grows up. Baby is still very young. For now she only sleeps and eats when she is hungry.
In Edith’s own words: “In our Colonia there is still no electricity and water is purchased from a passing tanker truck. For transportation we have to walk about 40 minutes to get to the road. Our house is very cold and even more so when it rains because we have a dirt floor and rain enters, turning the floor to mud.
Getting a decent house is extremely important to us so that we could have a safe and warm home for our children since they are the ones who struggle the most.
I am grateful for the opportunity that you are going to give us. Words are not enough to wish you blessings. Thank you for the great support that you are going to give us. You give us back our hope.”
October 28, 2023
On October 28th, volunteers from Incarnation Lutheran and St. Bart’s Episcopal churches traveled down to Baja, Mexico to build a new home for the Rojas Mancillas family (Sonia Marina (46), Irving Giovanni (25), Alan Ulises (16), Dylan (13), and Jesua Ivan (8)). The family’s former home was severely damaged by rain storms last winter. Sonia (mother) is widowed and works full-time to support her sons and wants desperately to ensure her sons’ health and education.
Thank you again to everyone from ILC that volunteered, and/or contributed funds for the building materials and donations for the families.
May 6, 2023
October 22, 2022
On October 22nd, 30 volunteers from Incarnation Lutheran and St. Bart’s Episcopal churches traveled down to Baja, Mexico to build new homes for 2 deserving families. It was a very long day of work, with everyone working beyond daylight hours, but the results were certainly worth the effort and fueled by the smiles and gratitude from the Lucio Tranquilino and Lucio Valerio families. We all felt blessed to use be able to offer our time, treasures, and talents to do God’s work!
Thank you again to everyone from ILC that volunteered, and/or contributed funds for the building materials and donations for the families.
More Photos available in shared photo album: Mexico Build #16 – 10/22/22
April 2, 2022
Mexico House Build #15 a success!
Saturday, April 2nd, 22 ILC members and friends traveled down into Mexico to build our 15th house for a family in need. It was a fun and spiritually rewarding day for all, resulting in a very nice home for the Hernadez Guitierrez family. The family, including their 3 daughters, helped paint the house and trim all day long. In addition to the volunteer builders, I want to thank everyone who donated funds for the house and/or items for the family. The “Spirit of Generosity” by our congregation for this important Global Mission work is incredible and humbling. The family was extremely appreciative and overwhelmed with their new home and our donations!
Thank you – Jake Johnson
October 16, 2021
Mexico House Build Mission – Another family helped!
On Saturday, October 16th we built a new home for the Sanchez Valasquez family in Mexico. It was a very long and hot day, but everyone worked really hard and did a great job.
The house turned out really well, both structurally and aesthetically. Everyone liked the Coral-Orange color the family picked. We were able to paint the entire inside including the ceiling for the first time. This is house #14 that ILC has funded and built, in partnership with Project Mercy, and I think we get just a little better each time. We were also able to meet Rubin Guitierez and his children, who received one of the homes we built remotely during the pandemic. Meeting Rubin and his wonderful children after they’ve lived in the home for a year, reinforced how important and life-changing this mission work is for both volunteers and recipients.
I want to commend and thank the tremendous support from our congregation for this mission work, especially while the pandemic still lingers. Despite the obstacles, ILC stepped up strong with great volunteers, financial support, donations for the family, quilts, and lots of prayers. I continue to be humbled and thankful for the generosity of ILC.
April 24, 2021
October 24, 2020
May 2, 2020
May 4, 2019
Members and friends of Incarnation Lutheran went to the outskirts of Tijuana on May 4th for our 9th House Build in Mexico with Project Mercy. Now this deserving family has a new home.
This mission was made possible by the financial support of the congregation, quilts from our Piecemakers, prayers and of course the volunteers that built the house. Thanks to everyone. It is truly an amazing project to give a family a house.
October 27, 2018
Members and friends of Incarnation went to the outskirts of Tijuana on October 27th for our 8th House Build in Mexico with Project Mercy. They built a home for the Marquez family. Now this deserving family has a new home.
This mission was made possible by the financial support of the congregation, quilts from our Piecemakers, prayers and of course the volunteers that built the house. Thanks to everyone. It is truly an amazing project to give a family a house.
For more information about Project Mercy.
May 5, 2018
3o+ members and friends of Incarnation went to the outskirts of Tijuana on May 5th for our 7th House Build in Mexico with Project Mercy. They built a home for widow Dacia, her son Andres, who both works and goes to school, and her 11 year old son, Elliott, who is autistic. The family grew when her cousin and three young children moved in with them. Now this deserving family has a new home.
This mission was made possible by the financial support of the congregation, quilts from our Piecemakers, prayers and of course the volunteers that built the house. Thanks to everyone. It was truly an amazing project to give a family a house.
For more infomation on our Mexico House Build projects.
October 21, 2017
On October 21, 2017, twenty-three volunteers from Incarnation Lutheran traveled down to the outskirts of Tijuana to build a house for the Ruiz-Gonzalez family, 28-year-old parents with three children, two of whom have disabilities.
At 6am, leaving the church, in the dark, the group headed south. They met up with the Project Mercy team leader and another group of builders, 2 robotics teams from San Pasquel and Poway high schools, at the McDonald’s just north of the Otay Mesa border crossing. Combined it was a big group of over 50 volunteers, and after fueling up with coffee and McMuffins, the caravan of 12 cars crossed into Mexico and arrived at the job site around 8am.
Work at the site began with a group prayer and some project instructions. It had been decided that instead of building the two houses as two groups, the groups would all work together to get both houses done. There was lots of work to do and the weather was warm but the two groups worked well together so by 6pm the houses were done, painted inside and out and filled with gifts and supplies brought down by the volunteers. The families were elated and so grateful. When one of the owners was shown where the key for her front door was, she began to cry saying, “The next time it rains, we won’t get wet.”
As the day was growing dark, the groups set off for the home. The ILC team headed for tacos in Tecate before lining up for the border crossing.
At 8:30pm, after a quick 30 minute wait to cross the border, the team from ILC was headed back to the church. It was a very long, productive and emotionally uplifting day. Thanks to everyone who participated and supported this project!
For more information on Project Mercy.
June 3, 2017
In the early hours of a Saturday morning in June, 30 volunteers from ILC and Project Mercy gathered in the parking lot of ILC to begin the day. The goal of the day: to build a house in Mexico.
The caravan of vehicles left the church at 6am and traveled south, crossing the border and arriving in the Fuentes del Valle (Valley of Fountains) colonia on the outskirts of Tijuana at 8:30am. After some brief instructions and a prayer the work began.
First up is organizing the materials, then one group starts painting trim, others work on cutting the wood and another group works on framing the walls. Before you know it the first wall is going up. The construction continues at a rapid rate but there is much to do including painting the house inside and out, putting in and framing windows and a door, building a loft and shingling the roof. By the time the house was complete it almost 6pm. A long day but with amazing results. All that was left was to present the owner with the keys to the new house and say a prayer to bless the family and the new house.
After a brief stop for tacos in Tecate, the group proceeded back over the border around 8pm and to home, exhausted but filled with a sense of accomplishment and happy to know that another deserving family was now in a new home.
For more information on Project Mercy.
October 15, 2016
On Saturday, Oct 15th, twenty+ volunteers from ILC and Project Mercy traveled to the outskirts of Tijuana to build a new house for the Gomez/Perez family.
It was such a wonderful day. The weather was perfect, our team was hard working and completed the job in eight hours. The family was so thankful for our efforts and all we gave them. The highlight of the day happened just as we were about to leave, when Pastor Luther was asked to baptize a 2 month old baby, the granddaughter of the homeowners. Making due with what we had on hand, Pastor performed the baptism with translation being done by a member of our group. It was a very memorable moment. View the video of the baptism.
Thank you to all the fantastic volunteers, who worked very hard all day and built a great home. Thanks also to the Piecemakers for the beautiful quilts. And, special thanks to the ILC congregation for the generous donations that made this project possible, as well as the prayers and words of support we took with us to Mexico.
For more information on Project Mercy
April 23, 2016
On Saturday, April 23rd, twenty volunteers from ILC and Project Mercy traveled to the outskirts of Tijuana to build a new house for a deserving family. Despite it being a long day (and longer border wait), everyone enjoyed themselves and gained a lot personally from the experience.
We built the house for the Hernandez family, which includes Mom, Dad, son (5), and daughter (4). We also brought them a new microwave oven, quilts, toys, and a few other items for their new home. The family, who helped us with the work throughout the day, was very, very appreciative of everything they had received. This was truly a life-changing day for this family, and we all felt blessed to be part of it.
Thank you to all the fantastic volunteers, who worked very hard all day and built a great home. We also want the thank the Piecemakers for the beautiful quilts. And, special thanks to the ILC congregation for the generous donations that made this project possible, as well as the prayers and words of support we took with us to Mexico.
Click here for more information on Project Mercy
