Joni and I prepare to build the house with our JCEP studentsAfter a two-year absence, Joni and I decided to take the team back to Juarez. We never should have stayed away. As usual, we would build a house for a deserving family, feed several hundred kids at one of our libraries and interact with our
JCEP sponsored children.
Getting off the plane in El Paso, it felt like coming home. Our hosts from Missions Ministries - Leo, Chris, Bill and Jesus - greeted our team of 26 people. We headed to WalMart to buy supplies for the trip before heading across the border into Mexico.
Monica poses with her new wheelchair, purchased with donations from friends of Stacy Ishigaki.At WalMart, we stocked up on snacks and water for ourselves. We purchased food for our outreach. We also picked up a wheel chair, table and other housewarming gifts for Monica and Juan, who we would be building the house for. We piled into three vans and headed for Santa Teresa, New Mexico where we would cross the border.
The Santa Teresa crossing affords the safest route to the Colonias. We circle around Ciudad Juarez. The drive through the desert takes about 30 minutes from the border. We pass through beautiful deserts with the mountains surrounding Juarez in the distance. The Colonias are located south of the main city about 25 kilometers.
The team tilts up the first wall of the new house.It is always jarring seeing the conditions in the Colonias. Created to “house” workers for the NAFTA factories, the lots are small and expensive. Most families live in block houses, abandoned buses or worse. The family we were building for lived in a 10 x 10 concrete room that was dark and cold.
Haley, Brian and Sara have been to traveled to Juarez together 8 times to build houses.Around 6 pm, we arrived at the team center, an oasis in the Colonias. Built over several years and completed in 2005, the team center is a walled compound with 24-hour guards. There are 15 rooms, each with its own shower and bunks to sleep five people. There is a dining hall, medical center and four more rooms for the Mission Ministries staff.
We ate a satisfying dinner, prepared by the fine Mexican staff and went to bed. After waking early, we stuffed ourselves again and headed out to the build site. Our medical team of internist, optometrist and nurse stayed behind with five team members to serve as staff. We also had Therin and Marsha, pharmacists from Oklahoma, there to man the pharmacy.
At the build site, we greeted our family and set to nailing together the structure. The 12x36 foot slab had been poured in advance. Our Mexican build coaches laid out the precut boards. Our sizable team set about nailing them together.
Little Juan ride his rocking horse as his house is constructed.Joni and I were glad to have our students from JCEP join us for construction. Susy, our librarian and the shepherd to all our children, pulled up in the JCEP van and the kids piled out. Calling them kids is a stretch these days, since many of them are now young adults. Anahi and Blanca will graduate from college this month with their basic studies degrees. They plan to attend garduate school in the fall. Edith, David, Samuel and Moises will graduate from high school this June. Also joining us were Margarita, who will graduate in 2013, Angel (2014) and Perla (2014). We were sorry to learn that Claudia, who would have graduated this summer, had gone to work, due to a death in the family and will not finish this year.
Joni, Susy and Scott congratulate Blanca and Anahi on their graduation from college.The kids are experienced builders having joined us on all our trips in the past. With them pounding away, we had the house framed, roofed and insulated in a little more than three hours, a record time for us.
Dr. Seabolt completes an eye examination in the clinic.In the afternoon, we helped out in the clinic and some took tours of the Colonias. At four we entertained the kids at the Kilometer 27 library, which JCEP had helped build in 2007. Caroline from our team, showed the kids how to make graham-cracker houses.
A youngster poses with her graham cracker house at the library, Susy also introduced us to Carlos, David’s younger brother, who will be entering our program. He will graduate with Perla and Angel in 2014.
At the clinic, it had been a busy day. Chris Dunn treated patient after patient, many of them with pregnancy related issues, lots of sick folks with “gripa” and one young man with a mysterious rash. Beth Seabolt, our optometrist saw a dozen or so patients, some walking out with glasses, which allowed them to read for the first time in years. Others required prescription lenses. Beth has a friend who grinds the lenses for these and they will be sent down later. Michele Santilhano, a nurse, had joined us late, she handled a lot of the sick children, of which there are always many.
Ryan applies the trim from atop the roof.My daughter Sara and Joni’s daughter Haley had helped out in the clinic, assisting Beth and taking entry information from patients, like blood pressure. Caroline and her kids had helped with translation and general duties.
In the evening, Leo showed slides of his work with the Tarahumara Indians. They live in the remote Copper Canyon. Leo makes the eleven-hour drive there every month for the past 8 years. He brings them food, seeds, and the word of God.
Colin Copper plays his accordion during devotions at the beginning of day 2.Day Two donned cold and clear. We headed back out to the build site. The second day is for hanging drywall and painting. We decided to paint a second house on the site that was the home of Monica’s mother Cecilia. It had been built 15 years ago and badly needed a new coat of paint. Three hours later, we had finished the houses. The blueberry-colored paint made them nice and cheery. We swept out the three rooms, hung curtains and placed the housewarming gifts inside.
The team paint the older existing house to match the new one.The key ceremony always brings tears from the recipient and the build team. Presenting the keys were our first-time members Sarah, Alberto and his son Betto. Everyone expressed their desires that the house would be a blessing not only to the family, but the community. The keys were handed over and everyone was ecstatic.
The key ceremony.The table set inside was beautiful, Lorraine from our team had color coordinated a dining set and had it on the table. The wheel chair was there as well. Monica suffered from spina bifida as a child. She was examined by our doctors and found to have no feeling in legs. She gets ulcers because she cannot feel them forming.
Our JCEP students have helped us many builds. Giving back to their community.In the afternoon we headed out to our second library in Kilometer 30. This is the one we built in 2008. We were happy to see the structure had held up well. Our furniture was clean and solid. The computers were working well. A sixth grade class came over and joined us for lunch. We had many crafts and activities. The Rule family took Polaroid pictures, which the kids could place on a star and decorate as a frame. The Coopers and Lucas’ entertained the kids with songs, Colin playing along on his accordion. Another group of younger kids descended a little later and the whole thing started up again.
Stacy Ishigaki spreads the love.In the evening, we headed out to the church of the pastor who had helped find Monica for the house. We shared our experiences and got to Swim In the River of God”, a favorite song where everyone bridges the language gap by pantomiming the lyrics.
Nail painting at the outreach.The next morning, we headed back to the airport and were gone. I am always amazed that a four-day trip can produce so much for the recipients, but even more for us. The transformative power of giving is something I should experience more often.
The team poses with the house.
