CANCUN by Erick and Julie Mowery, Back2Back Cancun, Mexico
COMMUNITY MAPPING by Erick and Julie Mowery, Back2Back Cancun Directors
We want to be intentional when determining the types of programming the Community Center of Trés Reyes would offer. Our ultimate goal is to address the most significant issues in Trés Reyes.
Last year at this time, the Community Center of Trés Reyes was still just a dream. We were beginning to start raising funds for the building project, and to be honest, we had no idea how long it would take. The theme for the project was “more,” and we were believing God would do so much more than we asked or imagined. And He has! God has continued to provide what we need, when we need it. We still have more funds to raise, but the building is going up fast. We decided early on we wanted to be intentional when determining the types of programming the Community Center of Trés Reyes would offer. Our ultimate goal is to address the most significant issues in Trés Reyes. To that end, we needed to talk with the people of Trés Reyes to understand the strengths, weaknesses, threats and opportunities in their community from their perspective. This approach is called community mapping. We used Nehemiah from the Bible as a model for community development when entering neglected areas and mobilizing a team of people to restore hope to a marginalized community. We began with prayer, asking God to guide us, give us favor, and help the people of Trés Reyes to trust us. Many people in Trés Reyes feel forgotten. But just like God saw Hagar in her distress (El Roi - Genesis 16), God sees the mothers in Trés Reyes in their distress. Several weeks ago, we held a meeting with a group of pastors from the Trés Reyes community. We believed asking a pastor we already knew and worked with in Trés Reyes could help us 137
make in-roads and gain credibly more quickly with the other pastors in the community. Pastor Victor helped connect us with the other pastors. Shortly after, we invited them to join us for a meeting at the community center property. Victor also helped us create a more accurate physical map of Trés Reyes, so we would know where the churches are located. We had 17 people from 10 different churches come to the pastor meeting in January. We gave them a tour of the building and property, discussed the strengths and needs of their community, and asked them to help us connect with more people in the community. This month, we held a similar meeting for the mothers whose children have been attending Bible classes on Saturdays. Thirty moms and their