How I Spent My Spring Break

Well, this past week was spring break, and what better way to spend it than in the beauty of Mexico!? Okay, not really... I went with my church to Tijuana to build houses for the poor. Did anyone hear about the 7.2 magnitude earthquake by the border last Saturday? Well when it hit, I was no further than 15 feet from the US-Mexico border. I struggled to keep my balance but it was all fine. I thought that was pretty cool.

Okay, now to the building part...

Our family was a family of 3 living in a "house" no larger then 10x8. They had bunk beds, a range, a desk, and a toilet. The father, Tawa, was extremely grateful and had been studying english just for this event. Our church group split into 5 groups of about 12, with one house per group. Over the next 4 days, we spent 9 hours per day working on hand mixing and pouring cement, building walls, building the roof, putting it all together, tarring and shingling (asphalt paper) the roof, bailing wire, felt paper, chicken wire, and stucco-ing the house. We had no power tools whatsoever. No charging your phone, drilling the door hinges, or cutting a board with a power saw. We also paid for the house materials. The "house" was 11x22, and I know most of you are gasping at the size but let me tell you, to Tawa and his family it was paradise. It had 2 windows and a door with a dividing wall in the middle.

What I am getting at in this thread is to tell all of you that when you are struggling think of Tawa and his family, who were overjoyed to move into a house less expensive than many of our tanks. At the end, when we were giving them the keys, Tawa told me, "I believe in Jesus Christ". I broke down crying.

Let me tell you, it is not easy to make me cry. It is hard to even make me the slightest bit of emotional, but this was different. These were tears of joy. For those of you who are religious, you may understand my emotions, and for those who don't, I am not going to preach to, but I hope you have enjoyed reading this. God bless you all, and never forget how fortunate we all are.

For those who are interested, her is the link to Amor Ministries, the group who runs these mission trips.

Amor Ministries - Short Term Christian Mission Trips

Here is a video also. This is Amor's video, and the girl is not me.

 

K+ great story bud!

 

Thanks! I'm not the one to type a lot, but I really felt this would make some people smile so I thought I'd share it.

 

Id love to do something like that. I almost spent 6 months down in Guatamala at an orphanage down there but by the time i learned spanish and set up someone in my house I met a girl lol. There is nothing better than being able to work with your hands and help someone who truly appriciates it

 

I just wish there are more people like yourself in this world.. Instead of showing off who has a faster car or bigger rims...
Good job!

 

that was a great story. i enjoyed it. kudos to you for taking the time to lend a helping hand. id be honored to be your neighbour pal. must have been a huge learning experience. i was born in a situation much like that family back in the philippines so i can understand and relate to the gift you and your group gave this family.

cheers

 

Good for you man! I did the same thing with my church and Habitat for Humanity while I was in high school. Our trip was a little bit deeper than border. It was in Pachuca, Hidalgo. I had no problem finding a Catholic church down there! It was good to do something for the people in my ancestral country.

Thanks for stepping up to the plate

 

awesome, I'm on spring break right now but I'm home trying to get over this cold.

 

yeah, the main thing about the trip was that it was so rewarding. the look on the faces of the family was indescribable.

also, i dont want to look like a hero here, thats not the point i am trying to make. its simply the little things in life that make people smile