On July 18, 2004 I embarked on the adventure of a lifetime. My church group and I were heading to Juarez, Mexico for a week on what turned out to be a life changing experience. We flew out of Minneapolis, Minnesota to Chicago and then to El Paso, Texas. We waited in El Paso until it was our time to cross the border. It was quite a change from the United Stated to Mexico. I have never seen a place so dirty. Let me remind you that this is one of the worst places to live in Mexico. They are lucky to have a house let alone electricity. This is definitely not a tourist place.
When arriving at our new home for the next week I started getting worried. Our sleeping quarters were located on a tall hill and were really small. We were there with 3 other church groups and there were only three buildings. When walking inside I saw 3 - high bunk beds made out of plywood. In my bunk there were 17 girls in 6 bunk beds that were 3 high. It was hard to image getting a good night sleep.
The next day after a surprisingly good night sleep we were broken into 4 work crews. The crew I was on went to one of the worksites. We had to continue laying block on a house that was started at the beginning of the summer. It was hard work mostly because it was on top of a hill and it was 102 degrees out. It was worth it though because we had the chance to meet the family we were building the house for. They worked with us on communicating by acting out their words.
After 2 days at our job site we had to say goodbye and give another group the chance to work. That was a bitter sweet time because I didn't like the hard work, but the reward you got from it was awesome. Something that I thought was cool was coke in a bag. In Mexico they have bottled Coke products with a deposit on the returned bottles. To make it easier for us, the local shop owner poored the coke in a plastic bag and we used a straw to drink it.
Our next task was working at Kids Club. During the summer American Volunteers set up a place for neighborhood kids to go and play for a few hours. It was our job to keep them entertained. In the morning we divided into groups to prepare for the afternoon. I was involved in the singing group and had the chance to learn Spanish sing-a-longs. The best and worst part was getting to talk with the children. It was very emotional because most of them didn't know if they would have supper that night and two little girls lived in a cardboard box. It was sad to know that they lived like that, but happy at the same time because I knew I was making a difference in their lives.
Coming home was quite a change. I went from not having running water to having everything I needed or wanted. I never thought that I would have such a hard time adjusting, but I felt so guilty because I had more then I needed and they had nothing. I took home a lot more then I felt I gave them. They gave me their love for God. Even though they had nothing they were happy. They knew God would give them what they needed to live. They were so open to us and would hand us their babies without blinking an eye. It is a magical place filled with a love for God so strong that they can live on it.
