How We Began
In the beginning, Teresa McFetridge was sent out as a missionary by her home church, Calvary Chapel Sonora. She worked in the farming camps south of Ensenada teaching the children about the love of Jesus. "Hermana Terry" was soon joined by Adriana Robles and they began working with D.I.F. (Social Services) doing elderly care; work involving bathing, feeding, wound care and hospice type services. Terry also worked one weekend a month as an R.N. in San Diego to help support the ministry.
In 2001 Casa Esperanza was started by Terry and Adriana. Their vision was to bring healing, freedom and a new life to battered women and their children, through the love of Jesus Christ. The original Casa was a rented five bedroom house in Maneadero, located about 80 miles south of the US/Tijuana border, 15 miles south of Ensenada. The women woke each morning at 5:00am for Bible Study, household chores, job skill classes and training. The children attended the local school. Two years later a two acre parcel of land was purchased with the hope of one day building a larger home with a garden, orchard and animals to help provide for their needs. By February 2005 the first building was completed and the women and children moved into their new home. The structure was made of hay bale walls with a stucco exterior and drywall interior. The walls were as thick as 2' and provided good insulation from the heat of summer and the cold in the winter. The house consisted of a large kitchen and dining area, with dorm style living space. This building is currently being used as homes for the directors and missionaries, and office spaces.
While the women lived at Casa Esperanza, the goal was for them to grow in the knowledge and grace of God through His Word. This would enable them to to be women of faith and quality, trusting the Lord and sharing God's love with others when they left the Casa. The hope for the children was that they would come to know God's great love for them, to learn to obey Him, and believe that He had a plan for their lives. In those early days 12 to 15 mothers lived at Casa Esperanza with as many as 40 children. The mothers worked in the local fields or nearby restaurants and many of them attended school on Saturdays to complete their primary level education. Three of the women graduated from secretarial school, and another went to school to learn how to bake pastries. Some of the women made extra money selling homemade tortillas. Three mothers also met honorable Christian men and were married in the church.
"Therefore everyone who hears these words of mine and puts them into practice is like a wise man who built his house on the rock. The rain came down, the streams rose, and the winds blew and beat against that house; yet it did not fall, because it had its foundation on the rock."
Matthew 7:24-25
