We are so excited to announce that Chris Sharber has joined the Media Change Team!

Joshua and Chris have known each other a few years and we couldn’t be more excited about this addition to the Media Change family.

So you can know Chris too, we’ve asked him to tell us a bit about himself.

Chris just returned from Mexico where he created this Media Change video for Casa De La Esperanza, [click here.]

This video was created through Media Change free of Charge! Thanks for your support.

What gave you a heart for ministry?

God has given me a heart that loves to serve. I feel blessed and fulfilled when I am not focused on my own problems or my own agenda. Serving others gets me outside of my own small world and gets me focused on others. And that is what makes us truly happy. 

What missions have you gone on?

I have been to the Dominican Republic twice and to Mexico twice. Most of these trips were in connection with organizations that provide clean water to impoverished communities.

Do you have a life verse, or a verse with a special meaning? 

“For we are God’s workmanship, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do.” Eph 2:10. This verse is meaningful to me because it is a reminder that God has something in mind for each of us, and the most abundant life is when we are surrendered to His will for us, seeking to follow His plan for us. True joy comes from doing what I was created by Him to do.

Having gone on mission trips, what do you wish Americans would realize?

We have NO idea that most of the world survives each day on less money than we spend on one cup of Starbucks. We hear about poverty, see pictures on TV and in magazines, but we are numb to it. It’s all too easy to see these images of poverty like a movie: It may be compelling when we are watching it, but as soon as it’s over, it doesn’t seem real to us and we go on with our comfortable lives. When you have walked through the streets, been in the homes, met the people and hugged them, it’s a lot harder to dismiss the reality of the crisis. 

Why serve poverty?

It’s what Jesus was all about. It’s who He valued, cared for, and spent time with. It’s what He told us to do. 

Tell me a bit about your video?

This was an amazing trip to an unbelievably beautiful home that cares for kids, loves them, and shows God’s love to them. Everything that you see in the video, the offices, the barns and animal pens, the housing, the cafeteria, the stage… almost all of it was built by teams of volunteers that come down from the US, bringing time, labor, skills, supplies, and love for the kids. The recent increase in the news of violence in Mexico has had a real impact on the number of teams that travel to Casa to serve. In 2008, there were over 30 teams that came down from a number of churches in Texas, New Mexico, Colorado, and others. In a few years that number dropped to less than 10. We hoped to create a piece that people could use to share with others to show them what a trip was like, to address their fears, and encourage them to come to Casa de la Esperanza. 

Tell me about the ministry it served?

Casa de la Esperanza is a children’s home near Anahuac Mexico (near Chihuahua) that cares for orphans and children that have been abandoned or removed from their homes due to abuse or extreme poverty. It is run by Gil and Becky Sanchez, an amazing couple who gave up life in the US 15 years ago and moved to Mexico to take over Casa. Since that time, they have transformed Casa from a dilapidated, cold, filthy nightmare of an institution into a sparkling modern facility where kids are loved and taught about the love of Jesus. They care for 40 to 60 kids at any one time. 

What was the most meaningful part of that trip?

Without a doubt it was meeting, playing with, loving, and being loved by those kids. When you know what backgrounds they came from – abuse, loss, abandonment, – it is amazing to see the power of love to redeem. Because they are so well loved at Casa, they learn to forgive and trust. They absolutely love when visiting teams come.  They hug, smile, play with them, embrace them, and love them. You don’t have to speak Spanish. It doesn’t matter. If you can high-five, play thumb-war, push a scooter or a swing, or give a hug, you are in. After 5 days, kids and adults are shedding tears when it is time to say goodbye.

Can you share a good story from that trip?

One of the things we did on this trip was bring one bag of Christmas presents for each child. This was the only Christmas present most of them would receive. They live in a group setting and have very few or no possessions that they can call their own. So these gifts are a BIG deal to them. What was so touching to see, though, was that as each kid opened their bag to find dolls, toy cars, and precious candy, the first thing they did was open the candy and share it with us. Unbelievable. They have so little and were so willing to give. 

Why join Media Change?

I am totally inspired by the vision of it. Our value system in the US culture is so whacked out in how we invest our money.  Just reading the statistics that Media Change states show that we could wipe out world hunger and provide clean water for the entire world on a fraction of the amount that we spend on entertaining ourselves. The power of a huge number of people giving a small amount can move mountains. If I can be a small part of that; if something that I do with photography or a video can inspire someone else and move them to action, then what could be cooler than that? What could be more meaningful? We truly can change the world.