Building is most often the cornerstone of a LendAHand Mission Teams project. Supplies for the project are on site when the team arrives, and the workers are able to immediately begin pouring concrete, laying cinder block, and erecting trusses. Local villagers work with our group, and very quickly a building is erected. Buildings are intentionally left about 90% completed, allowing the local congregation to put their seal of ownership on the structure.
Because the scope of our construction is quite large, we need skilled carpenters, bricklayers, and contractors. We also need unskilled 'muscle', to do other jobs like mixing concrete, carrying supplies, and pounding nails.
While the builders on a LendAHand Mission Teams project are working, there are many other opportunities to serve. Ministry teams conduct Bible Schools for local children, introducing them to Christ through Bible stories and verses. Teams lead children in arts and crafts, puppets, games, snacks, and music. We look for people who are gifted in working with children. If there is a language barrier, translators are provided, although we have found that the love of Christ is easily communicated without words.
LendAHand Mission Teams also eat! We have teams of dedicated cooks and bottle washers who ensure that meals for our teams are nutritious, filling, and tasty. They also pay very careful attention to hygiene, to ensure that everyone stays healthy and strong even in very primitive conditions. Working on a kitchen team requires only a love for service, some physical stamina, and an affinity for Clorox.
Another facet of a LendAHand Mission Teams project is medical clinics. With an array of medical supplies donated by individuals and organizations in the United States, our doctors, dentists, and nurses, and are able to see health restored to hundreds of people who have gone without the most basic of medical care. The people we serve lack access to simple dentistry and eye care, so our healthcare workers have a tremendous task. In addition to treating illnesses and disease, they instruct families on the principles of health and hygiene.
In a LendAHand Mission Teams waiting area, clerks take basic information from patients, while others provide entertainment to present the Gospel. We particularly need Spanish speakers to work alongside our medical teams, providing translation services, and presenting the truth from God's Word to hungry and needy hearts.
