Texas 2023
Camp Loma de vida
·Completely transformed the entire campus in 5 days!
·Built a steel shop building
·Plumbed, sided, wired, framed, and drywalled the Legacy building
Our first trip to Camp Loma De Vida in 2016 with 43 people was a major success to refresh the campus and build some new buildings for them. This trip in 2023 has been above and beyond what we could ask or think as our group of 72 volunteers (yes, 72!!) completely transformed the entire campus in 5 days. We worked hard in the heat, the Lord blessed, and we are totally amazed by all He allowed us to accomplish this week!
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Our team came alongside the Mendozas (3rd picture on the right) and their ministry and WORKED this week! Our main projects were to build a steel shop building, complete all kinds of work in the Legacy building (used as a meeting place and chapel), and refresh the camp as much as possible. To start, we took the steel shop building from a concrete slab to framed, roofed, and almost completely walled in, with shelving built in as well. This building was expected to take 3 weeks, but in 5 days battling high winds on lifts and balancing on beams 2 stories in the air, our guys safely and quickly knocked this project out. In the Legacy building, plumbing and septic was dug out and connected, the coffee shop was gutted and rebuilt, new cabinets were installed, framing was completed, lights were installed and operational including 80+ outlets and 2 panels, flooring labor was completely paid for and will be finished soon, and the exterior was completely sided, caulked, and painted. In the rest of the camp, the bushwhacking team cleaned the entire fence around the camp; every exterior building was caulked and painted including trim, gutters, and lampposts; new stain was applied on each cabin porch; and every building, patio, basketball court, and the pool was power washed. We gutted a cabin to prep for another group to finish, an interior office space was touched up, and many odds and ends jobs we found along the way were knocked out, including cleaning all the commercial kitchen’s equipment. And a few of our volunteers worked tirelessly on their feet in the kitchen to keep us all fed and energized - we ate like kings!
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Isn't it amazing what we can accomplish when we give the results to God and just put in our best efforts? He was the reason we accomplished so much this week and He gave us the strength we needed to complete His work. Our team had fantastic attitudes, worked hard, and had a great time of fellowship working alongside one another in Christian brother/sisterhood. We thank you for all your generous donations as Paraklete was able to help fund part of this project and a huge thanks to those who came and volunteered and gave up their time and energy to transform this place. We look forward to the souls the Lord adds to His family through this ministry at Camp Loma De Vida!
Texas 2016
Camp Loma de vida
·Built two cabins for campers
·Painted conference center and pool area
·Finalized the volunteer building a.k.a the "Lodge"
This spring, we headed to Edinburg, Texas to Camp Loma de Vida for a construction trip. Here, we were able to work with John Mendoza, Camp Director of CLDV, (pictured first with his wife Blandy, and sons Justin, Jacob, Josiah, and Jaiden), and Jason Mendoza, Program Director of CLDV, (pictured second with his wife Linda and children Jason and Leyla). In a week, our team of 43 men, women, and children helped update buildings on the old campground that will hopefully be sold in the future, as well as build and finalize new buildings at the new campground.
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Several of our men, women, and children began work right away building the two new cabins. Starting from only foundations, the crew assembled walls, built rafters, completed the roofs, added support for overhangs, and installed windows on both cabins. While the cabin crews worked, another crew made quick work of repainting the conference center and pool area to add appeal to the old campground for future sale. Yet another crew added wood paneling to the ceiling of the "Lodge", the newly built volunteer building on the new campsite, which includes a meeting hall, an office, a camp laundry mat, and restrooms. Finally, the most valuable crew of the trip, the kitchen crew, traveled back and forth all week from the old to the new campground to keep everyone fed and satisfied.
Friendships were made, work was done, and the Lord was glorified through the good attitudes of everyone on the trip. The crews worked by day, rested and had group devotions in the evenings, and enjoyed the beautiful sights of southern Texas. We continue to pray for Camp Loma de Vida to sell their old campground quickly and look forward to hear of all that God does in their new location.
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Testimony from John Mendoza
CLDV Camp Director
"I believe what took place over the course of this mission trip week will be felt in the Rio Grande Valley for many decades. Each of you has played such a pivotal role during your time here and used each talent and ability to its fullest. I can't thoroughly describe on how many levels and in how many facets this trip ended up impacting. From the painting of the buildings at the current camp to the advancements made at the Lodge and even the fellowship and encouragement that many of the folks down here walked away with. As I sit here and consider how this week will be remembered, I truly believe it will go down in the halls of Loma de Vida history as one of the monumental moments of our future. Each effort that was made by each of you families and individuals will ultimately result in this camp and our ministry being able to reach hundreds and thousands with the truth that our world so desperately needs. From all the camp staff, all the Mendozas, and from the countless campers you will never meet this side of eternity, THANK YOU and TO GOD BE THE GLORY!!!"