On June 25, 2008 I traveled with a team of 32 people to Juarez to build houses for two families. As usual, we worked with our partners at Missions Ministries on this trip.
One unusual aspect of this trip is that we had one house built primarily by teenagers, called Team Red, led by my daughter Sara and her cousin Hanna. They were accompanied by friends from their schools as well as other teenagers who had signed up for the trip.
The other house was built by a combination of members from Menlo Park Presbyterian Church, several of whom came from our new North Campus. Kevin Kim, the youth minister there recruited may of them and led our construction team, dubbed Team Blue. My wife Patricia and my sister-in-law, Mary Jane Elmore were on tam blue as well.
Normally the weather in late June is scorching hot in Juarez. Indeed, when we arrived on June 25, it was pushing above 100 degrees. We did our usual stock up at WalMart for water and supplies, as well as house warming gifts for the two families. We then proceeded to dinner at the local Mexican restaurant, Carlos and Mickey’s. The food was great and it gave the team a chance to relax and bond after our flight. We then took the bus to the team center in the Colonias outside of Juarez, where we slept for the night.
(Team Blue puts up the first wall in the photo at right.)
June 26
We woke up early the next morning and had our devotionals 30 minutes earlier than usual at 6:30, in order to beat the heat. Winslow Yee gave us a great spiritual send off, reminding us that God requires us to serve others. Breakfast followed and we boarded the bus around 7:30.
When we arrived at the build sites, we were pleased to see that the skies were cloudy. In fact the temperature was quite comfortable. We would be building in Kilometer 34, a community carved out of the desert 34 kilometers from the boarder and about seven kilometers from the team center.
Team Red, with 16 teenagers and two brave adults would be building a house for Ruth and Ramon along with their six children and four additional extended family members. Although the house is only 12x36 with three rooms, it would be a big improvement to the shack they were living in. Ruth and her kids would work alongside team Red throughout the process.
Team Blue would be building for Carolina and Lupe. They shared the worst structure I have ever witnessed in Juarez with their son, his wife and four kids. The place was made out of a few sheets of masonite, a truck topper and what looked like pieces of an old boat. It had a dirt floor and ceiling that couldn’t have been more than five feet high. (See the photo below showing Carolina and Lupe's house with the new house we built in the background.)
The goal for each team is to construct the walls and rooms, put in the windows, door and insulation. All this happened the first day in about six hours of work. We are always fortunate to have the concrete slab foundation poured and the lumber cut prior to arrival. The team nails it all together with guidance from Missions Ministries construction leaders Leo and Jesus (Team Blue) and the rest of their team.
About the time we were putting the last nails into the composite roof, the sun broke through the clouds. We hopped on the bus and headed back to the team center for a great lunch.
Immediately we reloaded the bus and headed back to Kilometer 34 and the Marantha Iglesia of Pastor Luis. Luis is the pastor for the two families we were building for. At his church we had a craft fair for the children of his church. We made balloon animals, face painted and took pictures of the kids. They then framed the photos with popsicle sticks decorated by them. (In the photo below Erika Athens and Kelley Stanske get into the facepainting.)
The centerpiece of the craft fair was a project by Charlene Golding and her daughter Caroline. With the help of several other team members, they had children create art, and then photographed the art and the child. Along with a small bio on each child, they will compile a book of the art of approximately twenty children. They will sell the books to raise money for projects in Juarez.
Outside the church, a huge soccer game raged in the heat. Kids from our team and the local church mixed it up on the field of dirt. In the evening the team retired after another great meal and a full day.
June 27
The next morning we did it all over again. We were led in devotion by Charlene. Carlos the MM chef had prepared another great breakfast, but we didn’t savor it too long. We wanted to be back out at the site early again.
Day two is a bit easier than day one. Again we were blessed with morning clouds. We painted the outside of the houses and dry-walled, taped and mudded the inside. Then came the highlight of the trip - turning over the keys to the family. Kevin Kim did the honors for team Blue. Kevin hoped that the family would remember the house as an altar to God and a reminder of his grace.
I was very proud when Hanna and Sara handed over the keys to Ruth and her family (see picture below). As with Team Blue, we all ten prayed for the family and gave them housewarming gifts of blankets, pillows, bed pads, food and a couple of nice iron skillets.
After lunch we again returned to the church, this time for a food outreach. We made sandwiches of ham and cheese, served with chips, watermelon and a drink. The team prepared the plates and then served them to the seated congregation. The whole church and the MPPC team especially liked the finish with ice cream bars as the temperature had again climbed to around 100 degrees.
In the evening we returned to the church for worship with the congregation. The church is small, the same size as the houses we built. It was extremely hot with our 32 MPPC members and 50 or so of the congregation in the small room. Benjamin Kelly from our team played a clarinet song accompanied by Matthew Tsubota on drums. We then had Mark Lipinski, Brooke Hobbs and Winslow Yee, witness to the congregation. After a mercifully (in light of the heat) short sermon, the service was over. The team spent some time saying adios to our new friends and we returned to the team center, our evening complete. (In the photo below Jenny Buurma says shares a moment with a new friend.)
June 28
The next morning, Mary Jane Elmore, led us in devotions, helping us focus on how we had changed and how we would carry forward differently. It is amazing how much one can get from just a four-day trip and serving others. The team then headed to the airport for the trip home.
