Journalist Mark Furler has closely watched the success of his brother Peter's band, newsboys. Here is Mark's special report about the band's missions work in Mexico, illustrating how newsboys' passion has gone far beyond just music.

On a hot, dusty hillside in Mexico, an army of almost 1,000 people demonstrate their faith and compassion in a very practical way—by building homes for the poor.

Some of the almost 1,000 workers who turned out

But after a week of toil, they discover they're building more than just homes. They're building a community, and helping to raise up local leaders who could in turn help turn the tide for an entire generation of Mexicans.

For newsboys, who have fallen in love with Mexico since riding through its desert on dirt bikes eight years ago, the annual Baja pilgrimage is the gospel of hammer and nails.

"That's what keeps coming back to me,'' frontman Peter Furler says. "Jesus started out with a hammer and nails, and he ended up with hammer and nails, didn't he? The gospel is in the hammer and nail.''

As teams of youth and adults work together to build 26 homes in a week, Furler notices the gospel in action: "Here they are giving up their time, their finances, their sweat,'' he says. "It's a time when they could just be down the beach or partying over the summer break, yet they are pouring out their hearts, and God honors that.''

Peter Furler with some of the teens who helped build the houses

Watching the flurry of orange "Homes for Life" shirts in action, Furler expresses hope that the hillside could become a beacon to those looking to escape the poverty that has suffocated their very existence.

"It's more than building houses," he says. "It's laying foundations in people's lives."

The band is also helping to lay a foundation distribution of the Purple Book, which teaches the foundations of the Christian faith through a series of questions that can only be answered from the Bible.

One 71-year-old grandma proudly tells of how she is doing the book for the second time, while at our hotel the waiter raves about how much it has helped him.

A Lasting Impact
The signs are already there that the work of Baja Christian Ministries (BCM), run by Bob Sanders and his wife Janet for the past 13 years, is starting to have a real impact in this dumping ground for the desperate just outside of Tijuana.

Alvin Morales is certainly testimony to that. He met "Baja Bob'' in late 1993 when he was living in a tent with his family after losing their home to a flood. BCM built a new home for Morales, who today pastors a church of 200 people in the area.

"It is amazing what God has done from living in a tent, then a 16-by-20 Baja Christian Ministries house to what we are doing today," Morales says. "I never thought God would do what he has done in our lives.''

Furler wants to see Morales' story replicated year after year as more Christians around the world come to help those in need. Just over a year ago, Furler and some of the newsboys management team came to build a house on their own.

"It was an incredible experience," Furler says, "and we wanted to share it with as many people as we could, so we used our platform [as newsboys] to get as many people as we could down here.''

Initially, the target was 500 people, almost twice that number came. Numerous groups helped to organize the trip, including Teen Mania, Global Expeditions, and Global Tribe. For those who come, the joy and satisfaction of a job well done is evident as they sing, laugh, and share special time with the family they're building a home for.

'A Big Blessing from God'
Alex Geschke led a team of 28 who built a home in just four days. They sang and celebrated the completion and handover of the home to Juana Barajas, who had been living with her husband and six children in two rooms no larger than garden sheds.

Peter Furler with Juana Barajas and her family

For Juana, the brightly painted home with a cross on the front is her chance to start again, while Scriptures of encouragement and signatures on the front wall—from the youth who built the home—will be a constant reminder of her new friends.

"It's been a big blessing from God,'' Juana says through an interpreter.

For Geschke, the trip was a chance to interact with and provide leadership for young people: "It is very important that we help them realize how valuable this type of experience is.''

The following day, that same joy of a job well done comes for the team led by James Lynn and wife Crystal, who worked on the home with newsboys.

"The newsboys bring in resources and people," James Lynn says. "This trip would only be half as big were it not for the newsboys pumping it up. They have mobilized this army.''

Guitarist Phil Joel waves to the crowd at their desert show

For many fans, seeing Newsboys play a show in the middle of the desert was something they will never forget.

"It was amazing to see a 21st century band with like a 17th century backdrop in a place you would never ever guess they would be,'' Lynn says.

'We're All in This Together'
The excitement is just as great for newsboys themselves.

"This is the gospel in action, when a group of people can come out and just change people's lives," Furler says. "Let's make a commitment and keep this thing going every year, because I believe we can change this whole hillside. Do you believe that?''

The crowd roars with enthusiasm.

"We have to go back and start recruiting people," Furler says. "We are all in this together."

Duncan Phillips, the newsboys drummer, used to work as a bricklayer before joining the band.

Newsboys drummer Dunan Phillips swings a hammer

"I laid bricks for about 10 years in Australia," he says, "and coming back [to work] after playing music for 10-12 years, it's been really good. I just met the lady who is moving into the house we built. She is coming from dirt floors, just a little bit of siding on the house, no running water, no electricity.

"It's the equivalent of us moving from a smaller house into a mansion. It's just a great feeling to be a part of that. These are things that are eternal, unlike all the things we seem to strive for, which one day fade away.''

Jeff Frankenstein, who plays keyboards for newsboys, was amazed at how many young people were involved in the project. Many were picking up a hammer and nail for the first time, but all made a valuable contribution.

"You have to look up to these kids for giving up a part of their summer vacation, paying to be here, living in tents and doing something that will help generations to come,'' Frankenstein said.

A City on a Hill
Frankenstein related the Baja project to biblical imagery.

"I can see this place becoming a city on a hill," he says. "Maybe other places in Mexico can look to this community. They may say, 'There's this Christian community on the hill; let's model our town after that because we want to be like that.' Who knows where this may go? From humble beginnings always comes great things.''

BCM's Sanders said this year's home building project had been the biggest ever, with quadruple the normal turnout of some 250 helpers.

He said many Americans were beginning to realize that they had a lot to learn from the Mexicans about putting aside materialism and getting back to the things that really matter—faith, family, and simple pleasures.

"These people live in poverty every day, and yet they still have a smile on their face,'' Sanders says. "We need them more than they need us. I am finding that people are tired of making money. They want to make a difference in the world."

Baja Christian Ministries has built more than 1,000 homes in 20 years, but in the next 20 years, they hope to build 10,000 homes and reach one million people. They have distributed more than 6,500 Purple Books, but there is an urgent need for more of the books, which cost $2 each. To learn more about BCM or to contribute, go to their official website.

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