The photo above (on the left) shows Carlos, Lucera and their children standing in front of their new home. Prior to July 2023, they had to endure winters in a makeshift home that included a dirt floor. The photo on the right shows their sons celebrating the fact that they will not have to endure another winter of mud in their home during the winter rainy season.

Everything changed when we handed the keys to Carlos and his family. While they thanked us for the home, WE thanked them for opportunity to be the hands and feet of Christ and put our Faith in the Lord to work for this very beautiful family.

Our parish has once again committed to fielding a group of volunteers to help Project Mexico build a house for a needy family in Rosarito, Mexico. This deeply rewarding experience has now become a regular ministry for our Parish. Our team has committed to building a home from July 5 – 11, 2024, but we need your help.  We have 7 people on our team and need at least 3 more. If you would like to learn more, join the team, or learn how you can help sponsor our team, please email John Pogas, the group leader, at johnpogas@gmail.com.  

We are once again going back to Rosarito Mexico to build a home for a needy family. 

We ask that you please pray for our team and for their safety.  Our team member are Chris Altum, Matt Bannon, Nicholas Bannon, Roy Baulch, Lou Christou, Christian Ryan, Jeff Kerns, John Papadimitriou, John Pogas, George Prieston, Maria Richie and Rami Richie and Gabriel Quinodoz.

Our team is in need of financial support to cover building materials, supplies and travel costs.  We’ve collected over $8,000 so far and are getting closer to our goal of $12,000.  If you can, PLEASE consider donating to this important mission trip. You may either send a check to church, donate on the church website or go to https://pm.managedmissions.com/Donations/Donate/61054. All donations are tax deductible.

Located on an old horse ranch, St. Innocent Orphanage houses and cares for 22 boys who come from a variety of very difficult backgrounds. The mission provides each boy with a sense of spiritual direction, an education enhanced by private tutoring, an active program of athletics and extra-curricular activities, and a lasting sense of family and belonging fostered by unconditional love and support from all of the staff and volunteers.  The team from St. Sophia had the pleasure of interacting with these very bright and energetic boys. Seeing God's work first hand was worth the trip itself. 

Last year we pitched our tents on the grounds of the orphanage and settled into our daily routine.  The routine included 4:00 a.m wake calls from the roosters, 7:00 a.m. prayer services followed by an hour of personal prayer and reflection time, a hearty breakfast and then off to the job site! This year we will be blessed to once again be paired up with our brothers and sisters in Christ from Ressurection Greek Orthodox Church in Castro Valley California. 

If you ask anyone that participated in this project last year, they will tell you that it was a life changing event. We certainly changed life for the better for Maria - the new homeowner.  But it was also life changing for the members of the team. We were the hands and feet of Christ. The work was hard but the fellowship with other Orthodox Christians, the time spent with the orphans, the daily prayer, the humbling accomodations.... it brought us all closer to God and re-focused us on what is truly important in life.  Our Faith.  We got a lot more out of it than we thought and we're looking forward to doing it again in July.

You can see more photos of the 2022 project, our friends from Castro Valley and Maria (the new homeowner) by going to -
Project Mexico Photos

Thank you for praying for our team and for supporting us. 
Yours in Christ,
The Project Mexico Team