Mission Statement and Purpose
Being led by the Holy Spirit, we purpose to make a difference in San Luis Rio Colorado Sonora Mexico by improving the living conditions of the poor and underserved focusing on giving them a "hand up" rather than a "hand out"..
Our Background
Nancy was raised in Pomona, California and met Bob when he was a student at Cal Poly. Nancy worked in healthcare administration for 34 years, spending the last nine years of her career as hospital chaplain. She retired in 2009. Nancy is a licensed minister with Open Bible Churches.
Bob grew up in Modesto, California, is an Army veteran of the Vietnam War and graduated from Cal Poly, Pomona in 1974. He worked for several City and County parks departments before becoming employed with Pacific Gas & Electric Company in 1982. He retired from PG&E in 2002.
We have been married 49 years. We lived in Antioch, California for 42 years. In August of 2017, we moved to Prescott Valley, Arizona where we are about 5 hours from our ministry in San Luis Rio Colorado. Though we miss our friends in California, we are so grateful to be able to be so close to the people we love and serve in Mexico. Looking back, we can see how God was leading and preparing us for ministry today.
Our introduction to ministry in Mexico was in 2003 when we participated in a house building project in Tijuana, Mexico led by Puente de Amistad, affiliated with Open Bible Churches. From 2003 - 2005, we were a part of teams that built 6 houses for families living in Tijuana.
In 2007, God led us to Yuma, Arizona where we purchased a home. Upon returning to the Bay Area, we learned of a new missionary outreach in San Luis Rio Colorado. "God Is On The Move" is a non-profit ministry led by Open Bible Missionaries Bill and Fayth McConnell. Bill and Fayth have become our mentors in ministry. In December of 2010, we joined a local church for a Christmas Outreach. We were forever touched by the extremely harsh living conditions of the people we met. We knew God was calling us to become more involved in ministry in San Luis Rio Colorado. God began opening doors for us to build. A team built the first house for a family in San Luis Rio Colorado in November of 2011. Since that time, teams have built houses for more than 100 families. Some of their stories and pictures can be seen under the Projects page above.
Please refer to the Ministries page above to learn more about areas of ministry with which you might become involved. Truly, God has opened the floodgates and poured out His blessing on the people we serve with the love of Jesus in San Luis Rio Colorado.
Bob grew up in Modesto, California, is an Army veteran of the Vietnam War and graduated from Cal Poly, Pomona in 1974. He worked for several City and County parks departments before becoming employed with Pacific Gas & Electric Company in 1982. He retired from PG&E in 2002.
We have been married 49 years. We lived in Antioch, California for 42 years. In August of 2017, we moved to Prescott Valley, Arizona where we are about 5 hours from our ministry in San Luis Rio Colorado. Though we miss our friends in California, we are so grateful to be able to be so close to the people we love and serve in Mexico. Looking back, we can see how God was leading and preparing us for ministry today.
Our introduction to ministry in Mexico was in 2003 when we participated in a house building project in Tijuana, Mexico led by Puente de Amistad, affiliated with Open Bible Churches. From 2003 - 2005, we were a part of teams that built 6 houses for families living in Tijuana.
In 2007, God led us to Yuma, Arizona where we purchased a home. Upon returning to the Bay Area, we learned of a new missionary outreach in San Luis Rio Colorado. "God Is On The Move" is a non-profit ministry led by Open Bible Missionaries Bill and Fayth McConnell. Bill and Fayth have become our mentors in ministry. In December of 2010, we joined a local church for a Christmas Outreach. We were forever touched by the extremely harsh living conditions of the people we met. We knew God was calling us to become more involved in ministry in San Luis Rio Colorado. God began opening doors for us to build. A team built the first house for a family in San Luis Rio Colorado in November of 2011. Since that time, teams have built houses for more than 100 families. Some of their stories and pictures can be seen under the Projects page above.
Please refer to the Ministries page above to learn more about areas of ministry with which you might become involved. Truly, God has opened the floodgates and poured out His blessing on the people we serve with the love of Jesus in San Luis Rio Colorado.
Hearts Empowering the Poor - HEP
In January 2015, we began the process of applying for approval from the Internal Revenue Service and State of California for the approval of a non-profit organization called Hearts Empowering the Poor or HEP for short. May 2015 we received official approval and Hearts Empowering the Poor was established.
The purpose and focus of HEP is empowering the poor and underserved in the United States and around the world.
Empowering is the key word. We were moved after reading the book "When Helping Hurts" by Steve Corbett and Brian Fikkert. The subtitle is "How to Alleviate Poverty without Hurting the Poor...and Yourself". The summation of this book is that the way to really improve the lives of those living in poverty is to EMPOWER them....improve their lifestyle and family by encouraging them to becoming actively involved, assisting them in being successful and self-reliant. Often times we go to a foreign country with a program that we think will work, and it fails because of the culture and lifestyle. As we empower people living in poverty, one of the outcomes is improved self worth.
We are very much still learning and definitely do not have all the answers but one thing is very clear. Our filter on all we do in San Luis Rio Colorado is to empower - focusing our efforts on lending a "hand up" rather than giving a "hand out".
We are honored to work with a Board of Directors who share our focus and passion and bring their talents, resources, and ideas in shaping the ministry of Hearts Empowering the Poor.
Joining us on the Board of Directors of HEP are:
Bob James - Bob spent 10 years in law enforcement for the City of Pittsburg, California. Currently, Bob is approaching his 20th year as Corporate Investigator for Safeway. He has helped build many casitas and has been a part of ministry outreach in San Luis Rio Colorado over the past several years.
John Northup - John is a CPA who lives in Hewitt, Texas. He and his wife Sherrie have been involved in the ministry in San Luis for the last several years. John brings years of experience and expertise in non-profit service and management.
Rick Pena - Rick has worked for Pacific Gas and Electric for over 30 years and is currently at Gas Control Operations in San Ramon, California. He and his wife Angela are the principles of One Heart 2 Homes and have a passion to share the love of Jesus with the poor and underserved around the world. They have travelled to many countries and help several non-profit organizations. Their hearts have certainly connected with their "Familia" living South of the Canal in San Luis Rio Colorado.
The purpose and focus of HEP is empowering the poor and underserved in the United States and around the world.
Empowering is the key word. We were moved after reading the book "When Helping Hurts" by Steve Corbett and Brian Fikkert. The subtitle is "How to Alleviate Poverty without Hurting the Poor...and Yourself". The summation of this book is that the way to really improve the lives of those living in poverty is to EMPOWER them....improve their lifestyle and family by encouraging them to becoming actively involved, assisting them in being successful and self-reliant. Often times we go to a foreign country with a program that we think will work, and it fails because of the culture and lifestyle. As we empower people living in poverty, one of the outcomes is improved self worth.
We are very much still learning and definitely do not have all the answers but one thing is very clear. Our filter on all we do in San Luis Rio Colorado is to empower - focusing our efforts on lending a "hand up" rather than giving a "hand out".
We are honored to work with a Board of Directors who share our focus and passion and bring their talents, resources, and ideas in shaping the ministry of Hearts Empowering the Poor.
Joining us on the Board of Directors of HEP are:
Bob James - Bob spent 10 years in law enforcement for the City of Pittsburg, California. Currently, Bob is approaching his 20th year as Corporate Investigator for Safeway. He has helped build many casitas and has been a part of ministry outreach in San Luis Rio Colorado over the past several years.
John Northup - John is a CPA who lives in Hewitt, Texas. He and his wife Sherrie have been involved in the ministry in San Luis for the last several years. John brings years of experience and expertise in non-profit service and management.
Rick Pena - Rick has worked for Pacific Gas and Electric for over 30 years and is currently at Gas Control Operations in San Ramon, California. He and his wife Angela are the principles of One Heart 2 Homes and have a passion to share the love of Jesus with the poor and underserved around the world. They have travelled to many countries and help several non-profit organizations. Their hearts have certainly connected with their "Familia" living South of the Canal in San Luis Rio Colorado.
"When I stand before God at the end of my life, I would hope that I would not have a single bit of talent left, and could say, I used everything you gave me"
Erma Bombeck