I went along with nine other people from our church to Ensenda, Mexico to build a house for a homeless family. We were in Mexico for a total of 5 days... it took us 4 of those days to build a house. To say that this trip 'opened my eyes' would be the understatement of the century. It changed my view on what 'walking in faith' truly means.
This is the de la Tova family... Bernardino (or Nene), Lizzeth, and the little guy is Javier (or Javi). They were a loving, fun, FUNNY, intimate family. Totally not what I was expecting. I went into this trip with my own ideas of what I would be encountering. I was expecting to be surrounded by sorrow and sadness, poverty and illness. But this isn't at all what we encountered. I certainly was not expecting to be building a home for a family like the de la Tova family, they were so.... happy. But who am I to question... it is exactly what God had planned.
The 10 of us built them a home in 4 days. A home that most of us would consider a shed. I think I am safe in saying that we all worked harder than we ever have for those 4 days. The strange thing was that I didn't even notice it when I was building. I didn't feel hungry, I didn't feel pain (well... much pain), I had to force myself to take water breaks. Looking back on it now, I realize that it was so much easier to push through the pain and discomfort because we were working for a greater good and more importantly for the glory of God. It makes me breath easy and realize that God truly makes all things possible.
At the end of the 4 days we finished the house. But what was even cooler and more important than that, we got to hand our family the keys to their new home. I will never forget that moment. We formed a circle in front of the house and passed the keys around telling the family our hopes and our prayers for them. At the end of the circle our pastor handed the keys to the family. Javi became so emotional that he threw himself into his mother's arms. It was amazing to be standing on Earth and physically feel God's love.
*This is a picture of the entire building crew, the family, and relatives.
So that was my first missions trip. I built a house for a homeless family.... but it was so much more than that. What I should say is that I shared God's love with a homeless family. I wasn't able to share much more (b/c of a little thing called a language barrier) but I was able to show them what unconditional love is. I pray for the de la Tova family and their new home but more importantly I pray for their growing relationship with Jesus Christ. I pray that the 10 of us that built them a home were good examples of what being a "Christian" is all about.
What did I learn over the 8 day trip?
- Authentic Mexican taco's are amazing... A.MA.ZING
- The power of prayer is moving and it has a way of calming the soul
- Living for other people is so much more rewarding than living for yourself
- It IS possible to be supportive and loving to one another, it just takes work
- I will never again go on a horseback ride on the beach in Mexico
- I am not very good with the sawzall... straight lines just can't happen
- But apparently I rock at spackling :)
- A smile can go a long way, especially when you know ZERO spanish
- Seeing God's love in motion is better than... anything, words truly can't explain
- Community... it is how the church should live.
Romans 12:10 Be devoted to one another in brotherly love. Honor one another above yourselves.
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