House Building in Mexico
Just WAIT until you see the photos of these kids ........ precious isn't even the right word. Ready?
I thought my art history books about the Mayans and Incas and Aztecs had come alive in their faces!
Join in as a long-weekend mission trip to remote Mexico is revisited.
Vicente Guerrero is about 6 hours south of San Diego, and about 1/4 of the way down the Baja. Vicente Guerrero is near the bigger town of San Quentin, sort of, and we spent time working in an even smaller village called Triqui. It's "up the hill" from Vicente Guerrero, and supposedly, there are some issues. The haves and the have nots. The valley has some history with polygamists. Girls from the village are still routinely traded for pigs. Grrr. Maybe I missed a chapter or two in my history books. Are we not living in a civilized world? Guess it's wake-up time.
During the days after our return, we process and work to absorb it all .... and document thoughts and share photos to fuel the passion before reality takes over and memories fade.
What timing we were provided with. Early January, 2005. Southeast Asia had just, days before, been devastated. Some of us initially wished we could shift our focus and be building houses there instead. It was a perspective giving mission, knowing that the poor we were helping fall in the top 10% of the poverty level and many of the people affected by the tsunami are in the lower 20%. Almost incomprehensible. The world is crying out. "Faith grows when you act without knowing the end result." We trusted our efforts would not be in vain.
The best news is that two more families are now sleeping up off the mud, and have roofs and walls to protect them from the elements, and an increased dose of sanitation via their outhouses ~ banos :)
Our family's existing home was made of cardboard with a blue tarp roof (the previous cardboard roof had blown away with recent storms) and the earth as a floor. Mud was everywhere with the huge amounts of rain that has fallen, making some parts of the village impassable. Many kids played wearing no shoes. Still, there is a pride that, while difficult to comprehend, was easy to sense. Humbling. Thanks to the help of this and countless other trips to the area by volunteers, over 160 homes have been constructed in this area in the past year alone. Human-kindness rocks.
With agriculture being everything to these people in terms of livelihood, the rain has helped the crops tremendously and the growing valley is green green green. They have seen more rain than in the past 15 years! Pray for them this harvest is productive (these are migrant workers mostly, coming north from Oaxaca, Mexico).
Kids whose parent/s are working in the fields are sometimes left alone. The sad part is that if the kids don't have birth certificates, they can't go to school. Perhaps the ones who need it most are left behind. Is that aiding the cycle of poverty and illiteracy? It sucks. Maybe it's like that here in the states, too. That would also suck.
Elizabeth, the 20 year old mother of two-year old Liamos and six-month old Sada, was one of the women we were building for. Elizabeth comes from a family of nine sisters and one brother. One of her sisters lived next door with several kids and we got to meet other sisters and their mother. Elizabeth helped paint the house, her house, and she kept an eye out for us while performing her 
usual household chores. She quietly brought a bucket for one of our carpenters to stand on when he working on a soffit just out of arm's reach. She proudly presented us with the door knob and lock she had purchased for her new home (recipients of the house must provide that and the cement slab to build on.) Elizabeth and her sister Rosa served us lunch one day ~ incredibly delicious chicken, rice and tortillas. Most likely more than she and her family have eaten lately. We threw caution to the wind, knowing we shouldn't really be eating where rain water, dish water, sewer water and more all ran together. We couldn't turn down her offer. We're all still standing. And maybe she's standing a little taller.
An older Polaroid camera, "trash" in the US, was very useful there ~ magic photos 
which developed in front of their eyes were a HUGE hit! Digital schmigital. Although the kids were posing and pointing at themselves saying, "Photo me? Photo me?", I had 20 shots to work with. (Note to self ~ bring as much SPECTRA Film as possible next time:) Some shots were "reserved" especially for families, showing them in front of their new houses with the building crews. Solidifying the memories.
It was heart wrenching saying good-bye to Elizabeth. How is that possible? We never communicated with words (other than what the translator could provide) but that didn't keep connections from being made. I walked up to Elizabeth as she held Sada, the baby, kissed Sada on the forehead and Elizabeth on the cheek, and then hugged them collectively. Elizabeth hugged back, and I was stuck, tears acting like glue. She then patted my back, as if to try and tell me that things would all be okay. Just who was the missionary here? Jeepers.
The other team built a house for a woman who had been the victim of domestic abuse. Imagine having a house to serve as protection for you and your kids. Crew 2 was faced with much more difficult elements, logistically speaking, with a sloping hillside location and the cement slab being the only thing that was flat on the lot. They helped to notch in a few steps so the trip to the outhouse wouldn't be an accident waiting to happen.
Women lined up with their wears (jewelry, bags, hats, blankets) at the building site and we hopefully gave some of them income to get through a few weeks, or a few months. We bartered minimally. It's generally "the way" in Mexico, but in some ways it was hard not to want to pay MORE than they were asking.
Other folks from our group worked up at another site, called the Blessing Center, which will eventually be a day care center, to help with aforementioned kids whose parents are in the fields. It's now in the early stages of construction. Some back
breaking work was taking place, shovel by shovel, moving sand and rocks and helping with the concrete for a pillar. It was frustrating for some to not see a measurable project come to fruition during our time there. Inside the Dome, kids were singing and learning and sharing, and outside, playing basketball and baseball and soccer and frisbee. Young girls were having their hair brushed and fingernails painted. Comforting things, in a mixed up, simple world. Treats and snacks and things like pens and pencils and crayons and coloring books were distributed, as well as loads and loads of love and care.
One little girl helped to translate a prayer. She said that she knew how important prayers were, as her father prayed over the family meal each night, to help remove the poisons. Gulp.
Guess what? Walls weren't being put up at this location, as with the houses, but perhaps walls were being taken down, and strong foundations were being built. Spiritual foundations. Little miracles happening over and over. It's all so good.
The internet helped to provide a story, in hindsight, from another group, who in 2004, helped to install a water filtration system at the center with the hopes of allowing the villagers to fill containers with clean drinking water. "Give a man a fish, he eats for a day. Teach the man to fish, he eats for a lifetime." Good good things going on there.
We did a community feeding after dedicating the houses. Offering a glass of milk and a spoonful of peanut butter as the "treat" for about 150 people. Some villagers were too proud to come to us, so we went to them. A soothing blast of protein and calcium and milk moustaches. During this event, Debby generously donated her 
reading glasses to an older woman in the village. They are both seeing much more clearly now.
We certainly were being guided by God's grace. Lots of questionable moments and close calls and things that could not be explained by other reasons.
We ate locally. We used worn hand tools and power tools and followed no OSHA standards :). Two-by-fours were flying around. No injuries on crew. A little boy was hurt when he fell amidst fighting dogs; nurses and EMT's within our group were able to help. We made border crossings without having to pay visa fees or have our luggage searched. Two of our drivers made wrong turns in the insanity of Tijuana and found their way back. We were offering sandwiches that we swore would run out before every little mouth was fed, but somehow the "loaves and fishes" story rewrote itself with peanut butter and jelly. A woman traveling with us had no photo id and still made it through two airport check ins. Incredible.
Wendy, being a good Montana rancher, lassoed a shovel and an iron rod out of the 20 foot deep pit the family had dug for the outhouse. Larry swung children in circles and most likely gave the "tough kid" in the neighborhood a new lease on life. 
Carol and Wanda, two incredible woman from Connecticut who traveled with us, and who spoke Spanish, translated everything as best they could. Some of the Zapotecs didn't speak Spanish, but it worked :) We were prepared to build in the rain, and yet, we constructed with little more than a gentle misting.
Melissa stopped off at a shoe store when we went to town for groceries and got a new pair of shoes for Eden, a new seven-year old friend. Mary brought soccer balls and pumps for the kids to keep, and did a bang-up job of helping the street vendors at the border to smile by throwing candy as if we were a float in a never-ending parade. Gary brought a ball and bat, though the kids tried to give it 
back to him ;) Sam did a defrost job on a freezer which hadn't seen the light of day in years. Bill played "run the ramp" (kind of like skateboarding minus the skateboards) with the neighborhood kids. Rebecca brought paints and stencils to add a bright touch to window and door frames. Matt was our go-to man, and he made sweet deals in town for mattresses, outhouses and more. Lisa was all over getting folks into town for the "ice cream" run, even if we had been awake about 23 hours already. Debbie hammered together a little spare wood and made a step stool for Kathy so she could enter the van more easily. Doug used tools to build, then left them for the family to have as their own. Leland decided wheelbarrow races would be the thing to do for a little excitement. Countless stories could be told. Quiet other shares of sand drawings, words, smiles, addresses, hugs, sunglasses, baseball caps, treasures, stickers, basketball nets, jelly beans, toothbrushes and toothpaste, powdered milk, rice, beans, cooking oil, dishcloths, soap, a generator, clothing and even beef jerky allowed the world of unconditional love to take over.
There were 34 of us ~ kindred spirits. First-timers and veterans, young and old. Some knowing one another prior to the trip, some not. Most from just outside of Yellowstone National Park, in Montana, one from Denver, two from St Louis, five from Connecticut. The lives we left behind in the "real world" were not important, at least not for this week. We were sharing a mission and a vision, our faith and our spirits. A crew of REALLY fun-loving, gentle, capable, willing, hard-working, wonderful people. We all seemed to move effortlessly between hammering, sawing, praying, roofing, painting, shoveling, playing with kids, taking photos, cleaning bathrooms, preparing meals, doing dishes ...... and picked up where each other left off without complaint or issue. Some of us slept next to roosters crowing, dogs barking or humans snoring like freight trains and others just secured their earplugs. Two showers and 20 women. It all just worked. Most of us probably haven't laughed that hard in a really long time. Or learned so much. Or cried, for that matter.
The "cabins" we stayed in were simple 2x4's and plywood with one window, about 11' x 22', just like the ones we constructed for the families. Cement floors. 4 bunk beds each. Central dining hall and restroom, which backed up while we were there. The sewer system doesn't handle TP well. Power snake to the rescue.
We traveled in three 15 passenger vans and one cargo van. The roads were twisting and narrow (like Montana roads on a diet). The Baja is BEAUTIFUL with mountains and valleys and occasional ocean views along the way. We arrived in the dark of night, thus obscuring the views. The trip back to San Diego at the end provided ew's, ooh's and ah's. At one point the lighting was so dramatic, it was as if the valley was technicolored. The deepest blues and pinks in the sky, the reddest red in the dirt, the greenest green in the grasses. Unbelievable.
Huge amounts of thanks need to be given to the generous donations made by members of the Gardiner/Mammoth Community Church, and others, who believed in the mission and helped support us with donations, prayers, arrangements. Many thanks also to IDT, who provided "base" accommodations and assisted with Baja details. They've been in action for years, and we were blessed to be one of countless groups that have worked with them in carrying out their ongoing mission.
We went to build a few houses and we arrived home knowing our hearts and souls are "still under construction". May the building never end.
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"Our deepest fear is not that we are inadequate. Our deepest fear is that we are powerful beyond measure. It is our light, not our darkness, that most frightens us.
We ask ourselves, "Who am I to be brilliant, gorgeous, talented and fabulous?" Actually, who are you not to be. You are a child of God. Your playing small does not serve the world.
There is nothing enlightened about shrinking so that other people won't feel insecure around you. We were born to make manifest the glory of God that is within us. It is not just in some of us, it is in everyone.
And as we let our light shine, we unconsciously give other people permission to do the same. As we are liberated from our own fear, our presence automatically liberates others."
~ Nelson Mandela
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"Make me a channel of your peace
Where there is hatred let me sow your love
Where there's despair in life let me bring hope
Where there is darkness, only light
And where there's doubt, true faith in you"
Lord, your light was everywhere this week
As we prayed for you to use us
You answered us in so many ways
Meals a plenty
Water to drink
We are grateful for the abundance
You allowed us to care for ourselves
So that we could care for our brothers and sisters
Sandwiches that didn't stop
Until every child was fed
Milk and peanut butter sending a soothing message to hundreds of weary souls
Your light shined on us
As we raised roofs without incident
Hammered nails
Painted with bare hands
Shoveled endless piles of sand and rock
Drove on muddy roads
And sandy hills
And twisting turns
And 24 lane border crossings
You blessed us with the grace of passage
At entry and exit points
Airport terminals
And banos
Lord, you granted us fellowship
And forgiveness
Patience
And open-mindedness
Thank you for the opportunity
To do your work here on earth
To grow
To learn
To share
To teach
To give
To take
Graciously
In your shadow
And in your light
You've made us channels of your peace
Let us return home
Moved to share this with others
Grant us continued humility and praise
For all you have shown to us"
Other stories from the road:
2004 Olympic Torch Relay With Bernie
A Day on the Slopes for Ski Lessons with Tom
Sharing the Road in Europe with Patty
Teaching English abroad with Ben
Traveling in Korea with Sarah
Sea Kayaking with Joel
A Panama Peace Corps story from Cat
Do you have a fun, happy, sad, adventurous or amazing work or travel story you’d like to share? If you do and you like to write, send it on and we’ll have a look. greatjobs@coolworks.com
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