Homebuilding 2021 and the Future of Service

Christ is Risen! 

I hope you all had a glorious Holy Week and Pascha!

Thanks to our faithful friends and fabulous fundraisers, our first-annual Push-ups for Hope Campaign raised over $18,000 for St Innocent School! If you missed the Livestream, you can watch it here on YouTube (scroll forward to the 8:00 min mark). It was hosted by Luke Andruchow and Faeli Heise and we smashed through our goal of 1000 push-ups in an hour!

We realize the Project Mexico experience is unique. Nacho nights at the Tiendita. Spending time in communion with our fellow Orthodox Christians, praying and working together and getting to know the boys in our care. There are elements of the experience that will forever remain unique to our 16-acre ranch in Rosarito, Mexico.

Like many, COVID-19 has altered the way we operate our ministry. The US/Mexico border remains closed to non-essential personnel. Because of the risk posed to the children in our care at the Orphanage, our staff, and the local community in Rosarito, we cannot safely host large groups of homebuilders on site at this time.

While we pray for the potential of limited late summer trips to the ranch and to build for a select number of families in Rosarito, we must continue our critical work this summer. Through service and works of mercy by our dedicated interns and volunteers, we honor our commitment to our boys at St Innocent Orphanage, the food and resource-deprived and the unhoused. We must continue to fulfill our mission even in the midst of these challenges.

This year is an opportunity for our ministry to aid those affected by the crisis of the past year. It also presents an opportunity to our volunteers to make a positive difference and most importantly, for you to live out your faith by putting the gospel into action and redeem these unusual times.

For the last year, we've strived to create the best possible experience inspired by our 33 years of homebuilding. We are blessed to offer our unique spiritual programming you've come to expect in Mexico at a number of locations across the United States, including in Boston, New York, Ohio, Michigan, Minnesota, Colorado, Texas, Florida, California and in Puerto Rico.  

Additionally, by serving this summer at one of our new sites, you are directly supporting the Orphanage.  Our homebuilding trips provide 40% of our annual budget for the operation of the St Innocent Orphanage and School.

We have 30 interns who have been training all Winter and Spring to serve throughout these locations from June - August. They will support your volunteer trips with our unique service-learning program. We have selected service opportunities in community outreach, humanitarian housing, and disaster recovery that you and your group can participate in close and far from home. Our programming is adapted for each location to guide each volunteer in how to Serve Christ in the Other no matter where we serve. 

In Christ,

Fr. Demetrios (JP) Andrews
Executive Director
Project Mexico and St Innocent Service Works

Push-Ups for Hope Pascha Challenge

“To repent is to look

not downward at my own shortcomings

but upward at God’s love; 

not backward with self-reproach

 but forward with truthfulness.

It is to see not what I have failed to be,

but what by the grace of God I can become.” - St. John Climacus

The Push-ups for Hope Pascha Challenge

The St Innocent Orphanage Push-ups for Hope Challenge is a new way to take ACTION. Support the ministry by committing to do 10 pushups for every $10 you raise. Hit your fundraising goal and challenge your friends and fellow parishioners to do the same. Join the St Innocent Orphanage Push-ups for Hope Pascha Challenge and grow stronger spiritually and physically in honor of St Climicus.

This year the boys of St Innocent are also taking part in a push-up challenge. Doing push-ups is not the only challenge, we also need to raise funds to support critical education, technology and care services. Fundraising for The Push-Ups for Hope Challenge can be rewarding and fun. 

JOIN us Saturday, April 10 at 1pm PST for a LIVESTREAM from St Innocent Orphanage in Baja, Mexico.

We pledge to do 1,000 pushups for 1 hr to reach our goal of $10,000.

Start Your Own Virtual Fundraiser

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Set a Fundraising Goal

Once you’ve registered for The Push-Up Challenge, go to your My Page and set your fundraising goal. Be ambitious and keep trying to reach your target! Letting people know what your goal is could inspire them to help you out.

Donate to Yourself

Don’t forget to start things off by donating to yourself to get closer to your goals. People who support themselves are more likely to raise additional donations.

Share on Social Media

Use the Share links on your My Page to share your fundraising goals on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram or by email. Talk about why you are doing The Push-Up Challenge and why they should support St Innocent Orphanage. Make sure you tag The Push-Ups for Hope Challenge and use #pushforhope

Get Creative

Film yourself doing a creative push-up as a part of your training for The Push-Ups for Hope Challenge and share it on social media. It’s a great way to grab your friend’s attention and inspire them to support you. When you write your post, tag 3 of your friends and challenge them to come up with their own creative push-up.

Start a Team

Get your friends, family, co-workers, gym buddies or fellow parishioners virtually and start a team on The Push-Up Challenge to work towards fundraising and push-up goals together.

Get Your Parish, Workplace or School Involved

Make sure you let everyone at your school, workplace, sports club or parish, know that you’re doing The Push-Ups for Hope Challenge! Ask a priest/principal/organizer/manager to share a post on the social media page or send an email around to support you. Include a personal message on why you are taking on the Push-Ups for Hope Pascha Challenge.

Ask a Local Business for Support

It could be something as small as your local coffee shop, gym or lunch spot. Reach out to your local business community to help reach your fundraising goal. If they can’t donate, ask them to share your social media post on their page to generate more awareness.

Thank Your Supporters

Make sure you thank your supporters! All it takes is a simple message on your social media posts to encourage more people to donate.

Celebrating Christmas at St Innocent Orphanage

Gratitude This Christmas

We are so blessed this year and thank our friends, family and supporters for making Christmas extra special this year.

Generosity to be Imitated

"Gratitude is the explicit effort to acknowledge that all I am and have is given to me as a gift of love, a gift to be celebrated with joy." - Henri Nouwen

It is with great joy and appreciation that Project Mexico & the St. Innocent Orphanage announces the recent estate gift from John Phillip Giannikas. On September 7, 2018 Mr. Giannikas, “Phillip” passed from this life into eternal rest in the Lord. At the age of 57, his death was clearly premature. His family and friends mourn the loss but celebrate his relentless perseverance in bringing hope to the world.

Phillip was a true philanthropist. He was also an accomplished attorney, Administrative Law Judge, actor, singer, songwriter, musician, as well as a beloved son, nephew, brother, uncle, cousin and friend. His legacy shines with his sustained commitment to helping children without parents. He understood the vulnerability of orphaned children and the responsibility that we all have to care for them.

The recent gift from his estate will go entirely to supporting the St. Innocent Orthodox Orphanage for years to come. In addition, his generosity is a reminder for all of us in this holiday season to help care for God’s little ones.

Project Mexico and the St. Innocent Orphanage would like to thank Mrs. Angeliki Pentheroudakis, Phillip’s mother, for raising such a beautiful son. May his memory be eternal. As we approach the celebration of the birth of Christ, may we all follow his example and share our abundance so that children in need can always have the St. Innocent Orphanage as the safe place to call home.

A Role for Everyone by Anna Cunningham

“Therefore encourage one another and build each other up, just as in fact you are doing.” 1 Thessalonians 5:11

My second summer as an intern I began site-leading. Previously each site I had worked on had been run by someone else and I was one of the assisting interns, but my second summer duty called and ready-or-not it was my turn to be in charge. To say I was nervous is accurate, but by the glory of God the house went up despite my mistakes and short-comings. That week was stressful for many reasons both internal and external and I was relived to be on-site building, but not in charge during the build week that followed.

A few recovery-builds later it was my turn to site-lead again. This time I knew the build far better and prepared thoroughly in an effort to correct my earlier mistakes. However, when the group arrived new worry struck me down again. One of my group members was a professional contractor, and had been for many years.

“Oh no,” I thought. “This guy will know I’m a phony.”

This group was interesting because instead of it consisting of one or two parishes that brought 10-20 people, it consisted of at least 4 parishes all mixed together. Among those volunteers from at least four different states, besides the contractor, there was a priest, two doctors, a handful of accomplished professionals in various fields, the wife of a construction specialist, and at least one person who had built homes with Project Mexico over ten summers in a row. That’s a lot to live up to. These people from all over the country took time out of their busy schedules and traveled to Mexico to build a home for a worthy family. They deserved excellent expertise and leadership, and instead they got me. Some 21-year-old from Ohio.

I studied, and I prayed and I prayed and I studied. Once again God blessed me with far more than I deserve, and the week went incredibly well. No one questioned my requests or disagreed with one-another. 30 strangers from four different states (6 different states if you include staff members as well) became a small family. As the outsider, I quickly forgot who came from which state and while I watched everyone work and interact, I couldn’t tell who had known each other for their entire lives and who had only met days prior. Two men who had only known each other for 48 hours were carrying on fluently in Greek and when I watched in amazement, a third man from a third group assured me not to worry because they weren’t talking about me.

The contractor took two kids under his wing and taught them all his tricks. The kids from all the groups laughed and took photos together. I walked inside at one point and found the priest, despite language barriers, working with the father of the home to install the door. In that moment and to this day I look back fondly on that week, and thank God for bringing that group of people together.

At the end of each build we come together to discuss and decompress. I sat in wonder as each of those accomplished, experienced professionals thanked us profusely for our work as interns. I had, and still have, so much less to look back on, so few years of experience compared to them, but it never showed. They treated me with the utmost respect and approval and I never felt as if I was lesser than anyone. They taught me humility, kindness, and servitude, not by speech, but by example. I hope and I pray that I can bestow the kindness and respect everyone that I meet that that group showed to me. I was assigned to be leader of that site, and through my experience on other sites and by watching them interact, I learned how to become a true leader from their examples, and their love.

Anna Cunningham is the Homebuilding Coordinator for Project Mexico and St Innocent Service Works

Crazy Faith: Building Hope in Tonga

My name is Michael Jones. I am an Orthodox Christian living with my wife and four children in Eagle River, Alaska. After listening to a podcast about the extraordinary missionary efforts of the Holy Orthodox Christian Archdiocese of New Zealand, I felt a strong calling from our Lord to reach out and see how my family and I might be able to assist in their holy work. Because I am a building contractor, the Archdiocese invited me to assist in completing a temple that has been started in the Kingdom of Tonga. 

My hope is that you will be inspired to support and participate in the missionary labors of our Holy Orthodox Church in some way – whether by supporting this project or another missionary ministry that speaks to your heart. As our Lord said, “The harvest is plentiful, but the workers are few” (Matt. 9:13).

On January 31, 2020 I emailed Fr. Paul Patitsas, the priest whose interview on Ancient Faith Radio inspired me to reach out to the Archdiocese of New Zealand. My momentum on this project had stalled out somewhat since my first trip in April 2019, and he strongly encouraged me to get a small group together and go to Tonga while the team from Greece was still working on the Church of St. George.

I thought it was a crazy idea. The timing couldn’t have been worse for me. My business is growing, but I’ve had to make some structural changes recently, and as a result money has been tight. We have four small children. Our time and money is extremely limited. Nevertheless, Fr. Paul continued to encourage me, saying it would be really valuable to connect with Ilias and the other men from Greece who have made so much progress on the church during the last four months. With their help we could learn some tricks to navigate the obstacles of working in that remote, developing island nation, plus get an idea of what projects remained to complete the Church of St. George with the hopes of bringing other teams back to finish the project.

Considering his request, I told Fr. Paul, literally, that this idea was crazy. His response moved me, because I know his own life is an example of this: “The church in Tonga would never have been started if the people involved hadn’t been a little bit crazy.” He calls it “crazy faith” – that willingness to step out on faith in response to a whisper from the Holy Spirit. Even if you can’t see the whole picture, you take the leap, put your hope and trust in God, and let Him direct the work.

After a lot of prayer and wrestling with our own hesitations, my wife Meghan & I decided that I should go for 1 week. As soon as we made the decision all our worries disappeared. Meghan & I both felt at peace about the trip. We put it in God’s hands – if He wanted us to go, He would provide the means for the trip to happen. And it happened!

My first task was to assemble a team – primarily skilled carpenters who could get some work done even in the short amount of time we had. The first person I asked was Myles Kelly, who had committed to going on my second trip to Tonga while I was still on my first visit 10 months ago. He has been very supportive and helped me keep up the inspiration about this project, even when I was feeling overwhelmed. Once he gave the “thumbs up” to go, I knew we would be able to make it work.

I contacted two friends who own construction businesses in Colorado, Peter Lynch and David Young, and they both were immediately on board. Unfortunately, Peter wasn’t able to make it this time around, but David found support from his parish and put his work projects aside to join us in Tonga.

We needed someone to handle logistics – purchasing, arranging meals, running errands,  etc. – so I contacted Ryan Smith, who had just arrived to join the Project Mexico missionary internship program we are hosting here at St. John’s in Eagle River. I hadn’t actually spoken with him yet, but I figured if he had committed this part of his life to learning about missionary work he’d probably be the right kind of person for the trip. He turned out to be a great addition to our team. Plus, his participation led to the addition of a 5th member who also fit in perfectly – the Executive Director of Project Mexico, Fr. Demetrios Andrews.

When Fr. Demetrios heard that Ryan was invited to go work on a church building project in Tonga his immediate response was: “I want to go!” He called me and explained that he is working to reposition Project Mexico and St Innocent Service Works as an Orthodox youth service leadership initiative and expand building projects – both homes & churches – anywhere in the world where there is a need. This trip was an opportunity for him to jump right into an active church construction project and begin developing a framework for future construction-focused missionary trips. As you’ll discover as you read this blog series, Fr. Demetrios sees the big picture of any situation immediately, and before you blink he’s got plans in motion to get things accomplished that most of us never would have imagined possible.

Thanks be to God, with the support of Fr. Demetrios and the infrastructure of Project Mexico and St Innocent Service Works, I believe now more than ever that this church-building in Tonga will be completed, and other similar projects in Fiji & Samoa may finally get the support they need to be realized.

Stay up-to-date with Michael’s mission work at https://orthodoxyfortonga.com/

Everyday Saints: A Reflection by Faeli Heise

COVID and other life events made me realize how comfortable I had become with my life. Small things—perhaps even insignificant things—were pressing, panic-worthy, and rocked my world in a way they definitely didn’t need to. My endurance and my ability to have faith were barely being tested in the grand scheme of things. And yet, I felt like I was coming apart at the seams and like I had nothing to hold myself together with. I didn’t know how to even cry out for help...or rather, to Whom I should cry out for help. 

I’ve had a perspective shift since then, and I can look back and see just a few of the ways that I was being prepared for where I currently am. God was making room in my heart that I didn’t know I had.

My endurance—my resilience—is perhaps greater than it was because of that process and the work that was being done in me. Thank God! I know Who to ask for help, now. And while I have so far yet to come, I am convinced that St. Innocent Orphanage is the best place to learn by example. 

Have you ever met someone and then learned something shocking about them after getting to know them? A part of their history, something they’ve been through, something out of the ordinary? It probably changes your perspective of them. Perhaps you think of it every time you see them, or instead it just molds itself into their makeup and who they are to you. 

But have you ever heard something shocking about someone and then met them later on? Maybe without having known you would ever meet them at all?

These are two different scenarios. 

In my experience with the latter, the “shock factor” quickly wears off after you hear it. But then you meet the person it pertains to and you get to know them, and though it may take some time, it all comes back. And it comes back hard. 

This has been my experience with every one of these boys. 

It’s so easy to hear and say words like “abuse” and “institution” and “homeless.” It can even be easy to hear second hand stories about these things. It’s easy to watch the news, isn’t it? But if you ever live alongside those flesh and blood statistics and stories and they become like your family, things get very real very fast.

My experience has not been easy. I did a lot of questioning at first. I questioned my ability to be resilient in the face of these kids who have faced actual evil. As I have come to know them better, the mostly-faceless-mostly-nameless boy has become my neighbor, my playmate, my little brother, and my friend. The stories have sunk in deeper, stuck and sometimes I still question my own abilities. 

But I continue to get to know them, and I continue to hear stories every now and then. Mostly I continue to pray that I will--one day-- be able to emulate their ability to accept the grace of God and to be resilient in the face of evil. Without knowing the stories or the facts, you wouldn’t guess what they’ve seen and endured. And if you guessed, you simply wouldn’t know. It’s truly humbling: I feel like I’ve come so far in my own journey, but I know now that everything is relative because their ability to endure puts me to shame. These eighteen boys will never know how much they influence and teach me.

As I write this in all my brutal honesty, I realize that I am surrounded every single day by everyday saints. We share meals, inside jokes, a laptop for school.We share the Eucharist, a home, and a family. I dwell among saints. Yes...they’re everyday saints who wipe their hands on their shirts, say “no manches” and fall asleep during catechism. They’re everyday saints that I give a “mom look” to every now and then. But they’re also saints who have overcome more than I will see in a lifetime. They teach me while I muddle along teaching them. 

A wise woman who knows them well once said to me: “These boys are going straight to Heaven before I ever am. I will be asking for their prayers. After they’ve been through what they’ve been through...you just can’t blame them. For anything.”  And I don’t; because you can’t. There is nothing to blame. There is only room for learning resilience and accepting the grace of God who never abandons his children. 

Faeli Heise is a veteran homebuilding volunteer and current Project Mexico & St Innocent Orphanage Intern serving at St Innocent.

Annual Matching Grant Campaign 2020

This has been a different year altogether. We would have celebrated our 32rd season of homebuilding but because of COVID we were unable to build as the border closed and lockdown went into effect in Mexico. Over 300 volunteers were scheduled to join us this summer to build homes for 20 families.

As we prepare for the last quarter of 2020, our needs are greater than ever due to 40% loss in homebuilding revenue because of COVID-19. Your contribution is critical for us to continue our mission providing education and a safe home for the boys of St Innocent Orphanage.

Right now, we are planning for Christmas as well as finishing the details for the annual report that is sent to each of our supporters. One of the programs that has enabled our success over the past several years is our Annual Matching Grant Challenge. We pray to make our goal of securing $650,000 in matching grant sponsorships to raise the full amount of our annual operating budget of $1.3 million by December 31st. 

We hope to not only inspire a gift this year but a commitment for 2021 as well. This way we can inspire a gift this year and a commitment for next year from our donors that will enable us to survive 2021. 

We encourage you to become an Annual Matching Grant Donor.

Or, if you have the means to become a sponsor with a commitment of $75,000, $50,000, $25,000 you can make a critical impact on our organization!

With your support, we will survive these uncertain times and secure the ministry for 2021.

Send checks:

PROJECT MEXICO OF THE ORTHODOX CHURCH 8210 PO BOX 8210 PASADENA CA 91109-8210 United States (619) 426-4610

Orthodox Service Leadership Program - Summer 2020 (Mexico)

Thanks to George and Judy and the Marcus Foundation for their generous grant, the Service Leadership Intern Program was a great success at Project Mexico. This video documents the months of work and service conducted by the dedicated Interns at Project Mexico. The Interns provided critical support for the boys of St Innocent Orphanage during the mandatory lockdown, assisted staff and counselors and made a lasting connection to Orthodox service. On behalf of Project Mexico and St Innocent Service Works we'd like to thank George and Judy Marcus for making this summer's internship program possible. We'd also like to thank our incredible interns for their patience, resilience and flexibility.

Video by Luke Andruchow

Homebuilding 2020 POSTPONED

While “Building Hope 365” is in our DNA for the first time in 32 years, we won’t be building secure and safe homes for families in Tijuana this summer. 

With due regard for the safety and health of our boys and staff at Project Mexico & St Innocent Orphanage and our surrounding community in Rosarito Mexico, we have CANCELED Summer Homebuilding 2020 because of the global coronavirus pandemic, extended US/Mexico border closure and other circumstances beyond our control. 

This postponement has a critical financial impact on our 100% donor-funded organization. Homebuilding volunteer trips directly contribute to our ministry with over 40% of our annual operating budget. 

We are in a crisis we’ve never experienced even as a modest non-profit and our reliance on your support has never been greater. We've raised the limit and lifted restrictions on fundraising pages to allow you to share your link with your parish, friends and family. Donations can be designated to support the Orphanage or applied to a future trip. Simply log on to  Volunteer.projectmexico.org.

As a homebuilding volunteer or group leader, you can:

• Designate your fundraising donation in support of the boys

• Rollover your trip to 2021 (dates are available on our website)

• Get a Voucher for a future date

• Apply trip fee to a US Domestic Build (You must re-register)

• Hardship Refund Request

In the event you request a refund, you and your group can STILL help support the boys of St Innocent Orphanage with a donation purchase of a one-for-one cloth mask or even painting your own church! See the details below.

In Christ,

Fr. Demetrios (JP) Andrews
Executive Director
Project Mexico & St Innocent Orphanage