October 22—29, 2016
Mission Trip
Our History
St. Joseph’s Home has been the heart of Capstone Missions’ work since 1997, when two Idaho families made
the first journey to assist in the remodeling of their home.
Since the first trip in 1997, hundreds of volunteers have traveled to Tijuana or offered financial support for
the children that other orphanages could not or would not accept due to their various disabilities. As the
support and interest increased, so too did the capability of the growing organization that became Capstone
Missions. St. Joseph’s Home remains the focus of Capstone Missions’ work, even as the building trips have
branched out to remodel and improve the homes of the very poor in Tijuana. In 2008, we also began
supporting Hacienda de la Inmaculada Orphanage which provides housing for up to 50 children.
Capstone Missions provides monthly financial support for St. Joseph’s—an average of nearly $3,500 per
month—and assists the Hacienda with $1,150 monthly. This financial support, critical to the continuing
operation of these homes, is possible due to the generosity of our donors.
The monthly support provided by Capstone Missions allows the children to thrive. Education is central to a
promising future for the children. Without a solid education, they encounter serious barriers to living a full
and productive life. Capstone Missions’ support allows the children of St. Joseph’s to attend private Catholic
school, giving them more individual academic instruction and building a strong foundation in the Catholic
faith. We have also pledged to continue assisting the children as they graduate from high school and go on
to university or technical school.
Capstone Missions is committed to supporting the children at St. Joseph’s and the Hacienda. In order to offer
the monthly financial assistance, while continuing with the needed building projects for the poor in Tijuana,
Capstone Missions relies on the support of our generous volunteers and donors. To make a donation or
learn about additional ways to help, visit our website, www.capstonemissions.org.
Saturday, October 22 & Sunday, October 23, 2016
F
Kathy Levin
ourteen of us left Deb’s at 5:00 am in a caravan of three vehicles for Tijuana. We
were privileged enough to take the “new van” that seats seven for its maiden
voyage. On the way, we enjoyed a beautiful sunrise and saw a herd of antelope. There
was snow on some of the mountaintops in Nevada as well. Some other highlights
included homemade chocolate chip cookies from Deb's and dinner at In-N-Out Burger
right before the crossing into Tijuana. Two of the vehicles sailed through the border but
one got stopped for at least 30 minutes because the border patrol agents were looking
for contraband clothes. Finally, we were on our way again and arrived at St. Joe’s at
9:30 pm where the children joyfully greeted us.
The other four flew into San Diego, made their way by bus, train, and foot across the
border, caught a taxi, and arrived at St. Joe’s around 6:00 pm. The house was clean and
bright and the potted plants on the patio created a beautiful environment for sitting
outside.
Freida Jackson
On Sunday, we went to the 8 am Mass at Church of the Divine Providence. Afterwards,
Deb, Bill and Rusty treated the entire group to a full Mexican breakfast. We returned to St. Joseph’s and left
in caravan-style to the Hacienda where we met with Emma and Juan, toured the facility, and played with the
children. We visited Verdad y Vida, a lovely two-story home, run by nuns, for single mothers and their young
children. Lastly, we and the children of St. Joe’s visited Laura’s House where some of their sisters and
brother live. At each location, the crew identified what immediate jobs need to be done and what future
projects are needed.
Kathy & Freida
Monday, October 24, 2016
M
onday morning broke early at St. Joseph’s with the dogs a little quieter than
Saturday night when they were having a party all night long. We had a delicious
breakfast prepared by Sabina, Patty and Deb - YUM! We prayed, sang, and shared
moments that impacted us since arrival. Many were very touched by Emma & Juan’s
story about how they came to dedicate their lives to running Hacienda, and some had
been deeply moved by the children who crave love and touch. We all received
confirmation of our assignments, loaded the vehicles, and off we went to three different
Colleen Crozier
work sites. Today, Shannon drew the long straw and went with Rusty to gather supplies
which is a coveted position only for newbies.
Sabina, Patty, and Kathy went to the Missionaries of Charity Contemplative house. They were warmly
welcomed by Missionaries of Charity sisters and invited to join the sisters in the Adoration chapel where they
spent a few minutes in prayer as the nuns chanted. Absolutely heavenly! The team made a special effort to
respect the rhythm of their day by staying outside as much as possible. They worked in quiet, with perfect
weather, preparing the windows to paint with a cutting knife and wire brushes. They finished six of them
with six more to go tomorrow. The sisters shared devotional cards, medallions, beautiful medals, and
Mother’s Teresa’s prayer in Spanish and English. Patty received a special prayer card from a nun who
remembered her devotion to St. Padre Pio.
A large team went to Verdad y Vida. Ralph & Bill led a team of four women directing them as best they
could. Julie spent much of her time with a large sledge hammer pounding out the concrete stairs. We are
certain she will be extremely sore tomorrow! Ariana, Deb and myself cleaned out the nursery and prepared
it for painting tomorrow. We also learned to use some challenging power tools! The highlight of the day was
a delicious lunch with the sisters and seeing Madre Victoria, who ran the home in 2010, as she came for a
short visit. She remembered the team of Marvin, Colleen, and Susie cleaning out many bathrooms. We
remembered her joy trying to run power tools! What an inspirational place to be. The nuns work hard to
keep it clean and a beautiful place for the single mothers to raise their children. We are honored to help
them.
The rest of the group went to Hacienda and began with trash cleanup. Their project was demolition and
preparation for pouring a new concrete patio for the little children. The dirt was like concrete, and they
needed a jackhammer to break it up. There was also concrete to be jackhammered. This crew worked
extremely hard! New tool qualifications from Deb Hamon & Shannon include pickax and grinder. Tenisha
was jack-of-all-trades as usual. Rusty delivered ice cream later in the day to give them a break. The Bob’s
rounded out the team.
The evening concluded with a dinner cooked by Mari and Chachi. Deb spent some time teaching the children
at St. Joe’s to knit! They did a fantastic job! I had the pleasure of playing guitar with Esther. Off to bed and
hopefully we can roll these old bodies out of bed in the morning to greet a new day.
Colleen
Tuesday, October 25, 2016
T
oday started with a wonderful breakfast prepared by the ladies. We even had hot
syrup for the pancakes. We did a quick sharing session with some reflection at the end,
and then we loaded up and were on the road to our different sites pretty quickly.
The people at Verdad y Vida got right to work in hope of finishing all of the projects that
they had planned out. The concrete steps were a big challenge once again. This time they
had to demo two more stairs to get them where they needed to be in order to start
Tenisha Gallegos
rebuilding them. The doors that divide the different bathrooms needed some welding to
help them work properly. The team started on those in hopes to finish tomorrow. A crew of workers
replaced faucets and shower valves to make the bathroom experience better and to cut down on the extra
water that was leaking out. This crew was very busy! They were also able to paint the nursery, clean, and
have time for a wonderful enchilada lunch. Madre Victoria had to say her good-byes as she headed back to
Guadalajara. The group also had the experience of seeing one of the toddlers take their first steps.
Contemplative House continued their hard work painting and prepping widows. They prepped five more
windows and painted seven. While they worked, they listened to the angelic voices of the nuns inside. The
crew also had the opportunity to pray the rosary after lunch with the nuns. The nuns have been so inviting
and wonderful to talk with each day.
The Hacienda continued to move A LOT of dirt. Some of the crew was able to split off and paint, as well as
install a new door in the upstairs classroom, while the rest of the crew moved dirt. We had lots of help today
with the workers from Hacienda as well as one of the boys that previously lived at the home. They were such
a great help in moving tons of dirt out of the children’s play area to prep for the new concrete. The crew
worked very hard and almost finished all of the prep work to get ready for pouring concrete on Thursday. It
was a hot day but the crew plus the helpers worked well together in order to shovel, rake, jack-hammer, and
pick-ax dirt out of the play area.
We all arrived home to the smell of Chili Rellenos. They tasted just as good as they smelled. The kids got to
dance and play games with us to close out the night. After a “quick” run to the US and a shopping trip,
everyone headed to bed.
Tenisha
Wednesday, October 26, 2016
W
hat a day! We went into the Hacienda early on wondering, pondering…can we
do this?! Our goal at L’Hacienda was to prep a playground for concrete which meant
removing TONS of dirt, leveling the ground to Dave’s specific instructions, and Colleen
cutting 175 pieces of rebar! Things are looking good, and we are hoping for the
concrete on the outer area of the play area to be poured manana! Kathy and Frieda
spent the day laboriously scraping glue off the children’s play area….very tedious but
Debi Mahler
rewarding knowing that they were improving this special children’s space. They
watched as the children were bathing and having special hairdos for Colleen and Shannon’s portraits.
L’Hacienda provided us with a very nice lunch of tacos. We were especially grateful to Emma and Juan for
hosting the luncheon!
Patty, Sabina, and Deb continued their work on the windows at the Contemplative House with the Sisters of
Charity. Bill, Julie, and Ralph worked hard at Verdad y Vida with their work on the stairs and
bathrooms….much work yet to be done for this loving place with so many smiling faces! We ended the day
with a lovely meal of fish tacos at St. Joe’s. What a wonderful end to a very special day of labor and love to
our Lord.
Debi
Thursday, October 27, 2016
I
Deb Haman
t was another awesome day in Tijuana. The Hacienda crew knew they had a huge
project to complete and with a team of “older women” we were hoping we wouldn't
have to push wheelbarrows full of cement. Dave is always so encouraging and trusts
that we will be able to accomplish all the tasks he needs, but this job was one we were
all concerned about. God was watching over us. We had our usual group of three men
from the Hacienda, Umberto, along with the cement workers to run the cement. All of
the men worked really hard. We were amazed at how Gilberto’s brother would run back
and forth with the wheelbarrow. The outside of the play area was successfully
completed today, and it looks wonderful!
The cleanup crew, led by Sabina, was busy picking up paper, trash, large rocks, and
anything else that didn’t belong in the yard. They hauled broken bikes to the street and
collected toys around the entire outside of Hacienda. When they were finished it
actually looked like someplace children could play.
Ariana Suaste
After lunch several people went inside to work on various projects, cleaning floors,
washing walls, and cleaning sister’s room and her belongings, while a few continued to work on the outside
with cleanup and moving more dirt. After a good day’s work, we left feeling like we had really made a
difference. Colleen and Ariana finished up taking pictures of the kids. They were all so cute, and most of them
were excited to have their picture taken.
The Verdad group had a very busy and hard day. They spent 12 hours at the home with the sisters and young
moms. Everything was finished. The sisters were so grateful and loving towards the entire team. They wanted
to thank the team and near the end of the day came back and gave small gifts and warm bread to thank each
person. One mom wanted to ask Julie, in English, about her hurt finger and with Ralph’s help was able to do
so. God was everywhere and in everything we did today.
Deb & Ariana
Friday, October 28, 2016
Feast of Saints Simon and Jude, Apostles
God gives you the grace (and miracles) you need when you need them.
The October 2016 Capstone Missions trip to Tijuana wraps up today with major
construction projects completed and many, many spiritual graces received. It was truly
awesome.
Sabina Gilbert
The Team: Our 18 member team was made up of 6 men and 12 women. Three
were under 30, 14 were over 50, and one was an in-betweener. Despite the
generational divide, we quickly came together as "one body" and learned that each
brought special, unique gifts and graces made to order. One example: it turned out our
work would call for the skills of a welder, and guess what? We had a welder!
The Work: The work we undertook was not what one would have expected for the
demographics of our team. Our construction boss Dave sized up the project requests
received from our 3 work sites (La Hacienda, Verdad y Vida, and the Sisters of Charity
Contemplative House) and, listening to God rather than to us, decided we could do
Patty Imus
it: major demolition work at 2 of the sites that included breaking up concrete with jack
hammer and sledge hammer; hauling the debris away by wheelbarrow; digging out and hauling rock-solid,
hard-packed dirt with pick-ax and shovel; and pouring new concrete for a large play area. And all had to be
completed on a tight schedule. And these projects were in addition to a long list of smaller construction,
repair, and painting project at all three sites. "Impossible" we said. "We can do it" he said.
The Miracles: We finished the work successfully! The exterior stairway at Verdad y Vida was fully prepped for
local contractors to pour cement to complete the job. And the large play area at La Hacienda was completed
with new concrete replacing hard-packed dirt and deteriorating wood chips, ready to be topped with
astroturf. We finished cleaning and painting the security bars for the Sisters of Charity at the Contemplative
House and the other tasks on order. We worked with what we had to give: muscle, stamina, and prayer. And
we worked with what we were given: grace, perseverance, and the faith and trust to go "all in." We learned
that God can do so much when we make ourselves small and weak, allowing Him to bestow blessings using
us as his instruments.
As we are reminded in today's readings, we are "no longer strangers and sojourners, but...fellow citizens
with the holy ones and members of the household of God, built upon the foundation of the Apostles and
prophets, with Christ Jesus himself as the capstone..." Ephesians 2:19-20
Sabina & Patty
Our Mission
Capstone Missions serves Christ as He lives in the orphaned children and the poor in Tijuana. We offer
cross-cultural service opportunities for our volunteers to improve Tijuana housing conditions. Capstone
Missions provides direct financial support to key ministries, and we partner with others ministering to the
most impoverished.
Contact Information
Capstone Missions
PO Box 561
Jerome, Idaho 83338
(208) 996-0101
[email protected]
www.capstonemissions.org
www.facebook.com/capstone.idaho
Ways You Can Help
1. Pray for our mission and the poor we serve.
2. Make a donation or pledge.
3. Support our fundraisers—Fall Fiesta in Boise and Crab Feast in Jerome. Or volunteer to help make these
events possible.
4. Help coordinate an Alternative Christmas Project at your church benefiting Capstone Missions.
5. Spread the word. Tell your family and friends about our cause. There is no better way to make an impact
than to become an active advocate yourself.
6. Like us on Facebook—facebook.com/capstone.idaho
7. Follow us on Twitter @CapstoneIdaho.
8. Shop at AmazonSmile and choose Capstone Missions as the beneficiary.
Mission Team
Deb Miciak
Rusty Gideon
Dave Ankenbauer
Bill Henscheid
Ralph May
Colleen Crozier
Patty Imus
Tenisha Gallegos
Sabina Gilbert
Julie Ankenbauer
Debi Mahler
Bob Fritsch
Deb Haman
Shannon Barnes
Bob Pawelko
Kathy Levin
Ariana Suaste
Freida Jackson