Why We Build Dreams
by Lisa Steele, FLM Executive Director
When we build a house for a family in our Family Preservation Program, we give them more than four walls and a roof. We are giving them safety. We are giving them security. We are giving them hope. We are building their dreams.
“I have always wanted my own family and my own house. Now I will have both.” Belkis shared her thoughts with a group in June who came to Catacamas to help build her new home. Belkis and her sister, Enia, lived on our FLM campus for 14 years. Before they came to live with us, they lived in extreme poverty and malnutrition conditions.
Eventually, the sisters were reunited with other members of their biological family. Belkis started a family with Lisandro and they started their life together. They were able to rent a house and bring Enia with them. Belkis and Lisandro worked to save money to purchase land even though they had a long commute to their jobs. The dream of having land and one day building a home for their family kept them going. Until that time, they rented a small house that was expensive and in disrepair. Throughout this time, Family Life Missions supported the Hernández-Flores family with food, clothing, family guidance, medical follow-ups, and spiritual strengthening as they began their new life.
Belkis and Lisandro never stopped dreaming. Their family grew as they welcomed their daughter, Ismari. Belkis is now focused on taking care of her at home while Lisandro works for Family Life Missions as a gardener. Enia works as a domestic with a family in the community helping buy food while continuing her studies. The dream of living within a family has come true for Belkis. And now, her second dream has become a reality.
With the help of Fellowship Bible Church in Murfreesboro, Tennessee, and Riverchase Church of Christ in Birmingham, Alabama, our generous donors, and our FLM Staff, the Hernández-Flores family will soon enjoy a safe, secure, and stable home. Every time a home is built for a family in our Family Preservation Program, we are helping build a secure future for the children living there with a strong foundation in God’s love and purpose for their lives.
For we are God’s handiwork, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do. – Ephesians 2:10