VIRB

Something big is happening in La Chureca, the community beside Managua's city dump in Nicaragua. Everyone we talk with these days is saying that God is starting something huge in that place. It feels like the rumblings of a very big rainstorm coming over the horizon "in a dry and weary land where no water is."

In the past year, about 10 people we know personally from different regions -- as well as a Portland church we've attended and several non-profit groups we've contacted -- have been feeling strongly pulled there. And there are hundreds more we don't know about, working alongside the 1200 people who live there.

We're not sure why we're all being called to La Chureca, all at once, but we are.

There's a new church in La Chureca, with a local pastor. There is a new safe place for adolescent girls to live and study. There's a new school with art classes and language classes. But still, as you can see by the Virb photo of the landscape of La Chureca (if you enlarge it), there's garbage everywhere you look, and the homes are not more than shacks.

So..

After two years of consideration, and after six months of prayer and conversation -- with experts in the fields of green building design and missions for the homeless-- we've started a company, Clean Green Studios LLC. We are designing sustainable, affordable, off-the-grid shelters for people.

These shelters are

a) sustainable -- using green design and materials, these are permanent dwellings (not refugee tents)
b) affordable --we want to partner with a non-profit so shelters can be available in developing nations (Phase One)*
c) off-the-grid -- using alternative energy sources

The first place to build these shelters seems to be (surprise) La Chureca.

We always want to leave it open to change, though. We don't want to be the ones James is talking about when he says,

// And now I have a word for you who brashly announce, "Today--at the latest, tomorrow--we're off to such and such a city for the year. We're going to start a business and make a lot of money." You don't know the first thing about tomorrow. You're nothing but a wisp of fog, catching a brief bit of sun before disappearing. Instead, make it a habit to say, "If the Master wills it and we're still alive, we'll do this or that." (James 4:13-16, The Message) //

So, if the Master wills it and we're still alive, this is what we want to do.

No, we're not at all sure why we're being strongly pulled in this direction. Yes, we sometimes feel like amateurs, even though we have experience in international missions and design. Yes, God uses amateurs throughout the Bible to get things done. No, we're not sure where the money will come from to do this work. Yes, people are coming alongside. Yes, it's scary. No, we're not crazy. Yes, we know this is a good thing.

And YES, we'd love your comments on this as we go along.

*We'll talk about Phase Two another day.