April 24, 2007

Some friends and I did another phase of our Mexico outreach. We visited the graveyard that is next to the church where we stayed and took some pics of the beautiful sacred art. I have always loved Mexican art, dia del muerta style in particular. Folk art reflects the people that make it. Honesty, simplicity, bright colors...it's beautiful and sincere.

We fed about 800 people a Christmas dinner. The communidad is one large family. These are our friends and we always receive more than we give. Their joy, sense of community and relaxed lifestyle is something rarely seen on our side of the border. The poverty is not an excuse to be angry or hard. It is just a fact of life that they don't let destroy their hope.

Most of our friends in Puerto Penasco have little or no running water, undersupplied electrical power, uninsulated homes and numerous other hardships. Some of the homes have no doors or glass windows. Children die in the winter from exposure. Our goal is not to Americanize them. We don't want to disrupt their strong cultural values. When we build a house for them it has sliding glass windows and doors with locks. It's the best we can do on a short build schedule. Nothing fancy. I have helped build million dollar homes in Arizona but they don't compare to what we do in Mexico. A job done from the heart has more value than one done for cash.


Kevin & Steve M.







April 24, 2007

Some friends and I are making disposable art on pieces of cardboard. We distribute them around the city. We want people to take the art with them. The point is...someone you have never met made something for you to bring hope, to tell you that your life has value. We suggest that you can do the same thing in your city.

I also chained one of my art pieces to a fence about 20 feet away from where crack is sold. It's a skid row drug corner. It will be interesting to see what happens to it.









Febrary 25, 2007

Some friends and I have been visiting one of the neighborhoods in Phoenix where crack cocaine and homelessness are intertwined. We hand out food, water, socks and clothes. At Christmas, we gave away presents that had handwritten notes in them.

We have also integrated our art and music into the outreach. We display our work on a chain link fence and set up art supplies for the street people. One of the problems is that most of the people we hang out with are high on crack and meth so their attention spans are short. Their main interests are food, water and clothing which we gladly hand out.

The art seems to be secondary but it is comforting for some and interesting to others. One of the artists who brings her work is a recovering heroin/meth addict. She is brilliantly talented. Her daughter also displays her cat paintings which are amazing for an 11 year old.

We are making friends with addicts and prostitutes and it's nice to be establishing some depth to these relationships. On occasion, they ask us for prayer. We don't hard sell our faith but they all know we are Christ followers willing to enter their world.

We are simply trying to extend hope and mercy and to learn from people who are bottomed out. Their lives have value and we love them. We realize the odds are stacked as far as those who recover but that won't stop us from trying.