A construction mission trip turned into a chance to build lives.
Nine teenagers and five adults from Calvary Baptist of Neosho headed for the border on Dec. 16 arriving in Coyachi, a village in the Mexican state of Chihuahua, after 30 hours on the road.
Missionaries Rodney and Karen Dobias are building Camp Joshua, a Mexican youth camp, near the town.
The Dobias family, formerly of Goodman, spent the last 20 years as missionaries in Mexico and felt the call to set up the camp to reach inner city youth surrounded by drug culture. Summer camps are uncommon in Mexico, said Larry Dowell, who helped organize the Calvary trip.
“They just want to get the inner city kids, the big city kids, out into the country, to get them away from it,” he said.
The Calvary group planned to add a dining hall to the kitchen at Camp Joshua, but cold temperatures and the loss of running water gave them a chance to visit with villagers and disciple to their own youth while enjoying the park-like setting.
A group from Calvary will return to Coyachi in mid-March with the goal finishing the structure and installing a concrete floor and roof.
For families interested in an outreach, Dowell said it offers a great opportunity. For more information, contact the church at 451-4763
