Bonita Church Excited to Acquire Nine Trailers from MIA Site

Members of the Alianza Ministerio Ebenezer Church were working feverishly on Monday, June 28, preparing to move the first of nine double-wide trailers from the old Marco Island Academy campus to their new campus in Bonita Springs. Their deadline is July 13.

It will not be an easy task as each of the double-wide trailers, once home to Marco Island Academy students and staff, have to be split in half and prepared for the one-hour trip north. As the first trailer was being pulled from the MIA campus, the driver optimistically said, “We’ve got 17 more to go!”

“We’re so excited,” Elizabeth Garcia gushed, “nine units going to Bonita starting today.”

Garcia is the treasurer and a director for Alianza Ministerio Ebenezer Church. She has no doubt that her congregation will meet their deadline.

"We really don’t have to do much,” she said, "just connecting them back together on the five acres that we have in Bonita. We’re all just really, really excited."

The transfer of the trailers from MIA to Alianza Ministerio Ebenezer Church is a great example of a win-win situation. MIA needed the trailers removed so they can get started with the construction of Manta Ray Field, a full soccer field with bleachers, fitness facility, locker rooms, concession area and parking. Garcia’s group needs the trailers in order to open their new school in August.

The deal came together quickly, according to Garcia. Finding the trailers, however, had been a long and fruitless endeavor - until a parishioner discovered the trailers on Facebook.

“We’ve been looking for three years,” Garcia said. "The only other trailer we could find was dilapidated. It was not in anywhere as good of condition as these and they were selling it for $10,000. And they wanted delivery costs. Robert, a member of the church, found an ad on Facebook. He connected with the contractor, and the contractor gave us the information. From one night to the next we were here negotiating the price. It is significantly less than they actually cost. Which is going to be a blessing for the church, to be able to put all of these units to use housing kids. It was amazing that we were able to find this. It was a heck of a deal—a heck of a deal. They had to get it all cleared out. And we’re recycling, so that’s great - we’re not sending things to the landfill. We're taking it, repurposing it.”

Garcia is thrilled with the condition of the trailers.

"The colors are beautiful,” she said. "Every detail they’ve put into this school is top notch. You can tell. Now it’s just moving them, setting them up. We’ll have a few months of getting the administration part all taken care of. Our goal is by August to have a school up and running."

Garcia said the church plans to construct their five-acre campus exactly like the MIA campus was laid out. That includes rebuilding the wooden stairs, decks and ramps that connect the trailers.

"We’re going to try to get the wood donated, if possible,” Garcia said, "so we have the ramps for kids in wheelchairs. If they’re able to donate the wood, we will send people out here to get rid of it. Because wood it so expensive now. And we honestly can’t afford it. We’re planning to have the same exact set up that they have here."

The busy Garcia is a real estate agent and plans to open her own real estate agency in the next couple of months. She is also instrumental in helping the church get their academy off of the ground.

“We are a 501C3 organization,” she said. "We are looking to open up an academy. We preferably want to work with children with disabilities for occupational therapy and schooling, all in one location. These buildings that we are so blessed to have received are going to this organization and this cause. We’re going to have classrooms set up so we can accomplish our goals.”

"I’ve been working with them for seven years,” Garcia continues. “We were in a smaller space and we’re finally able to move into this larger location. It’s been a good seven years. I’m excited. Of course, you can’t do it alone. Everyone has chipped in. Robert is donating his time moving each unit to the land that we have in Bonita. It’s been a team effort. I’m excited. It’s going to be awesome. Hopefully by August, if we’re able to get everything set up, we’re going to be able to open doors and start holding classes for the kids."

The church had humble beginnings. She feels that finding the nine trailers was an answer to prayer.

"We started holding services in my house in Naples,” Garcia said. "From there we found a location. It’s all been because the dear Lord blesses me. As long as I help, things come back. It’s how it works. With the Lord, everything is possible. I don’t think anybody could believe that this could happen - but it’s happening. That is how you know that there is a God, and anything is possible. Because this is an amazing benefit that the school is going to have. And it is all because of the dear Lord above. I know it. It’s an answer to prayer. It’s amazing."