As tourists in Mexico, Texas couple found needs
___By John Hall
___Staff Writer
___AMARILLO--He may have meant to work on his golf game, but Don Elms ended up building a church.
___About six years ago, Elms and his wife, Libby, drove down to the Rio Grande Valley to relax and play golf during the winter months. While there, they decided to take a bus tour of several Mexican missions sites.
___They were stunned by the poor conditions in which the people lived and worshipped. Soon after that first trip, the Elmses determined they would try to help the people of the Valley.
___The Elmses have gone to the Rio Grande Valley and Mexico every winter since. He has overseen building projects that have included churches, preaching sites and parsonages. She has helped with the work and with worship services.
___Unlike some church mission trips, the Elmses oversee projects from beginning to end. Though they work with various church and volunteer groups, the Elmses primarily use local workers for their projects. This generates interest in the church and promotes a sense of community, according to Larry Touchon, a friend of the Elmses.
___Elms, who has taught himself much of what he knows about construction, said he knows a little Spanish but relies heavily on translators to communicate with the workers.
___Soon after the Elmses started working in Mexico, they began telling their Sunday School class about the conditions in the country. Iva Jones, a friend and Sunday School classmate, said though she believed them, she couldn't conceive of the conditions they described.
___The Elmses then spoke to their whole church, Trinity Baptist in Amarillo, and presented a film that showed the people of the area. Jones said she remembers the tears in Mrs. Elms' eyes as she watched families rummaging through the local dump to find any food or useful items they could use to survive.
___After that presentation, the church designated $20,000 to the Rio Grande Valley Baptist Association for Don Elms to use in his work. The church has increased the amount of funding to more than $25,000 since then.
___"I'm impressed by how much they can get done with the money we give them," said David Evans, pastor of Trinity Baptist Church. "I can't keep up with it all. I'm surprised by what they get done every year."
___The Elmses have given hope to many people along the border and that has revitalized churches in the area, said Rick Hager, director of missions for Rio Grande Valley Baptist Association. "They have a vision of missions."
___While the Elmses, who are both over 60 years old, said they enjoy the work, they still find themselves occasionally wondering if they should continue doing it. But the needs remain compelling.
___"The needs are great, but the workers are few," Elms said. "The resources are there, but God needs to be in the hearts of the people to do the work."
The Baptist Standard
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