Club Rust

To engage with us, contact us at https://rancholapaloma.org/contact

Thank you everyone for donating towards this incredible project. Would you like to be part of the NEXT section of road? Send us an email at [email protected] to connect.

May 2020 We have been in constant communication with our friends on "the Hill". Many families in the colonias have lost their jobs, and are having a hard time purchasing basic food supplies. U.S. Churches and individuals that normally stay at Rancho La Paloma have responded to this crisis by contributing generously. We are coordinating this response and providing the donated funds to the local Mexican churches, which in turn purchase the food in bulk and distribute it in the colonias. It's great to see the community and the churches working across village boundaries and denominations to provide assistance to all. Thank you for your prayers and support. We would be honored if you would partner with us as we assist our brother and sisters in need.

Our first ever asset-based community survey of 50 families (about 1/3 of the residents of Colinas del Florido, “The Hill”) is now complete. The information has been presented to the community as a notebook, listing community assets, talents and desires. The same information has been placed online in a searchable Google Map here: https://rhyn.us/CF-Survey . Residents are now better able to locate resources that are within their own community. We continue to meet with the local committees and their leaders in both Colinas del Florido and a second colonia, Girasoles. Our commitment, to work alongside community defined projects, is moving forward. Examples are a shade rest stop (like a bus stop) for walkers up the hill, and a bulletin board for community announcements, reports, etc.. placed centrally in the village. These smaller projects will encourage the community as they define and execute their more complex needs – such as repairing the road up the hill, or building a community center in Girasoles. For the smaller projects, the Ranch supplied the materials, while the residents supplied the labor. The Ranch has pledged to match all community donations towards repairing the local road. To date, the community has raised $800 so far. Their stated goal of $1,200, with our match, will enable them to fix and pave about 50 meters of climb up the hill. Last October, brush fires swept through the eastern part of Tecate – 114 homes in total were destroyed. The Ranch has been invited to participate in the relief effort to rebuild some of the homes for the families displaced by this disaster. Working closely with a local non profit foundation, ranch “house building teams” will be assigned to some of the relief reconstruction work. Re-iterating our announcement of last June, there will not be an open enrollment Club Rust house building trip this year - However, if you are interested in having your own church or team come down and assist with the relief effort by building a home for a family that lost one in the Tecate fires, we are more than happy to set that trip up for you – as we do for 20+ teams every year that build homes through the Ranch. Someone on your team would need to be the point person, organizing the trip (Secure trip dates, book dorms and meals at the Ranch, recruit volunteers, raise the funds for materials, etc). The Ranch would provide all necessary logistical support on our end. You can pick any available date, based on Ranch occupancy for your trip. If you do not have a construction lead, we will ask Hector and/or one of his helpers to assist. Last, but not least, the CampRust team is looking at serving on "the Hill" this summer. Please contact Ed Duntz directly at [email protected] if you are interested in participating. Thank you again for all of your support and prayers. The ClubRust Team.

October 31, 2019 Annarose, our intern at the Ranch, filed this communique “from the field”: - - - - - For the last month and a half, I’ve spent hours trekking around one of our partner communities, Colinas del Florido. Working side by side with local women, we have interviewed almost 50 households. • Our survey has three purposes: 1) to identify assets, abilities, and knowledge that already exist within this community, 2) listen to their ideas for improving their community, and 3) spark thought on their own involvement and responsibility in these projects. Our hope as Rancho la Paloma is to better partner with Colinas del Florido, empowering its members and supporting their development pursuits. • There are a few things that make this survey distinct. For so long, international development has functioned through a lens of lack. ‘Look at all of the needs here. Look at the poverty.’ When we take a moment to celebrate the incredible gifts and resources of the people, something powerful occurs. Some know how to fix cars, others know first aid, and others can make the best homemade tortillas. • Another shift is when we ask for THEIR ideas instead of just imposing our own. For decades, a mentality of helplessness has been nurtured in much of the developing world. Foreign groups visit, deliver goods, and leave, encouraging the idea that locals can’t do anything to change their own situation and had better just wait until the rich foreigner arrives. This is especially an issue in the border region, which is most accessible to well-meaning Americans. • I think there is a way to do international development well. Maybe there’s even a way to visit well, making a truly positive impact. But it has to be done with care, awareness, and a willingness to listen. - - - - -

ClubRust and the Ranch joined the village of Colinas del Florido at their latest community meeting - Read more here: https://tumblr.rancholapaloma.org/post/188335147839/october-10-2019-the-ranch-joined-the-village-of

Blessings, The ClubRust team

ClubRust 2018 - June 26 to July 1 86 awesome people, together with the community of Colinas del Florido completed the construction of 4 homes and 4 latrines for families in need. In addition to each family having completed their 200 hours of community service, the community had to band together to repair the road up to the village (See more photos here: https://photos.app.goo.gl/PMESms7MTSjSNJT96 ) I have visited our little village on the hill twice since ClubRust 2018, and am happy to report that all four families are doing well and settling into their homes.  They are sprucing them up, as well as making some creative additions to the new homes: Exterior kitchens, showers... Last  week, while i was visiting Pastors Eduardo and Sylvia on the hill, they recounted to me the gratitude of their entire village for our service and sacrifice, and shared this story: Many of our friends on the hill are quite shy and reserved - However, on the trip back from the Ranch to their village that Saturday night (after the afternoon and evening fiesta and meeting at the Ranch - Churros and all!)  It was anything BUT quiet on the buses.  Dads, Moms, neighbors, friends and kids were laughing, crying, singing and generally whooping it up as they traveled the 45 minutes back to their homes, and up that famously steep hill, in pitch black darkness at 10:00 pm. We are honored to be part of the little miracle that constructs homes and latrines, repairs roads, and joins hearts together as we serve our Lord, building community together. Please join us in keeping the pastors and village in your prayers, as we are already preparing for next years adventure.  Looking forward to seeing you all south of the border soon. Blessings, The ClubRust team

November 2017 We have met three times with with our friends and co-laborers, Pastors Eduardo and Sylvia since ClubRust 2017.  We are thrilled to report that we currently have 4 families volunteering in the community of Colinas del Florido (our "hill") to be placed on the list of home recipients for our June 2018 trip. Rosie, the single mom that did not qualify to get a house last year, leads the families in hours completed.  She has already completed 88 hours of community service, out of the required 200 hours to receive a home.  She is bilingual, and is using her talent to teach the youth English.  The other 3 families have completed 43, 25 and 20 hours of service respectively. The latest family to join the list is the Maldonado Cardenas family with 3 kids (see attached photo).  In the 3 weeks since they signed up to receive a house, they have completed 25 hours of service in the community! We and the pastors are happy that the families are motivated to volunteer.   Please keep them all in your prayers, as they diligently take care of their families,  work on leveling their lots, and serve in their community to complete their hours. Blessings, The ClubRust team

ClubRust 2017 - June 27 to July 2 69 Volunteers built 3 homes and 2 latrines in the colonia Colinas del Florido west of Tecate. Pastors Eduardo and and his wife Sylvia were once again invaluable in administering the "community hours" program, where home recipients are asked to perform 200 hours of community service to receive a home from ClubRust. Saturday afternoon and evening was the "Fiesta", were we invited 80+ people from the little village of Colinas del Florido to join us for a swim, dinner and celebration party back at the Ranch.  In the evening we heard folks share stories of how God had touched and moved their lives. This years trip was very smooth.  All three projects were completed, and for the first time ever ClubRust managed to "remodel" an existing family house (about 10+ years old) that was built by another team, expanding it's area by 50%. Check out the remodel project on our twitter feed here: https://twitter.com/ClubRustMexico Please join us in praying for the village and the volunteers as we start preparing for next years adventure of ClubRust 2018.  Looking forward to seeing you south of the border soon! Blessings, The ClubRust team

ClubRust 2016 - June 28 to July 3 78 Volunteers built 3 homes and 3 latrines in the colonia Colinas del Florido west of Tecate. It was wonderful teaming up again with Pastors Eduardo and and his wife Sylvia.  In addition to building the homes and latrines, we visited and prayed for several of the families we've built for in the past, and had a wonderful get together with the little village back at the Ranch on Saturday night, where folks shared how God had touched them recently in their journeys through life. Pastora Sylvia put it best when she recounted a story about a person that visited their community recently, and exclaimed how peaceful they felt being in the little village.  Her response was immediate:  It is God's peace that you feel here.   We are humbled and honored to be a part of this adventure, as we again start  preparing for next year's trip.  Please join us in praying for the village, the volunteer team, and that we continue reaching out with God's love and grace to all as we prepare for ClubRust 2017. Blessings, The ClubRust team

August 2015 It was great to visit the ClubRust 2015 families a month after we left, and see what they've done to their new homes! We also visited with the pastors, and were very encouraged by what they shared with us.  A disabled lady that was prayed for by the pastor and a few ClubRust volunteers is doing much better, AND the community on the hill has rallied around her to assist with daily chores.  "we don't have many resources, but we do have each other" said the pastor.   We've already started the process of family selection and community service hours for next year.  Please keep the pastors, families and the Ranch in your prayers as we move forward with His plans in this community! Blessings, George and Susan

ClubRust 2015 - June 30 to July 5 110 (+1) Volunteers built 4 homes, 3 latrines, a retaining wall and a safety deck in the colonia Colinas del Florido west of Tecate. This year, ClubRust initiated a new process in the community.  In addition to verifying with the local pastors and community leaders that a family does indeed have a need for a house, recipient families were required to invest community service hours before receiving a home from ClubRust. By doing this, ClubRust hopes to be one of the catalysts that jump start the community into assessing and defining their own projects, and being less reliant on outsiders to "do everything".   The goal is to come alongside the community and assist when appropriate. It was awesome to again see God's favor and grace this trip: Prayers answered for healing, re-commitments to God, and 4 families that received new homes. And we had fog, rain, bright sun, clouds, clear skies, hot and sweaty nights, bumpy hills to go up and down, trucks that died, over heated folks, flat tires, late lunches, LONG (and short) border waits, buses that were too small, but not ONE complaint.  What a crew! We're already looking forward to ClubRust 2016, and what God will do with the seeds that were planted. The ClubRust team.

House #4: Susan with the Barbara, Karla and Carlos in their living room

House #3: Wendy in her new bed room