Esperanza 2015, Day 4: Thursday

Yo friends,

     We are very tired... It has been a long day in the hot sun, digging ditches, and moving 30 yards of gravel by hand. We started the day a few hands short due to sickness (THE RHEA) but that wasn't going to stop us from getting the job done.
     I don't know... the food for lunch was good.
     After the long day at the work site a group of us decided to bounce on down to the orphanage where we got to play multiple different games including soccer, tag, volleyball, and many other variations of their own games. Later that evening we were serenaded with joy and love as the girls sang songs and danced with us. Definitely creating friends and memories that will last forever.
   What else... Evan and Bailey Sexton sang a beautiful duet of the song "Lucky" to the girls. We had the taqueria for dinner. At the end of the day it was a tough day.
   The fruit of the day was faithfulness and it has taken a lot to keep that up. Faithfulness is when a person is reliable, sticks with the task at hand, and lives their Christian life authentically everyday.

Hope you're all doing well. Keep our health in your prayers.
(Pictures to come.)
Nathan (NateDawg) and Evan (EJ)

Esperanza 2015, Day 3: Wednesday

For our daily reflections we are covering a different fruit of the Holy Spirit. Today's fruit happened to be patience, which is what we needed on the work site today. For the past two days we had finished the houses we were working on, so it was an eye opening experience to see how the house is started. There was lots of digging, pick axing, shoveling, and moving dirt and sand. The work was tedious, slowly moving away the dirt one inch at time. As we dug, the process seemed to take forever, like we weren't making any progress. However, at the end of the day when we stepped back the trench had deepened to over three feet deep. 

Today was also the day that our group went to go see the border. For those who had never been to the border before it was a shock to see how different the Mexican and American sides were. On the Mexican side it was lively and full of excitement. Beautiful murals were painted on the fence that keeps the two nations separate, people could walk right up to the fence and play on the beach. The American side is a different story. Helicopters constantly circe the two fences and the nearest town is miles away. One of the more surprising things that we learned at the border was that many Mexican immigrants that have served in the United States Armed Forces have been deported after their service.

Even though we have worked hard today, we are still patiently waiting for tomorrow!

Bailey S. and Tanishq

(We are a tired bunch, so pictures will be coming tomorrow.)

Esperanza 2015, Day 2: Tuesday Pictures

Because Tuesday was such a full day, we didn't get too many photos...we were working too much to snap some photos. Hope these help paint the picture.

At the Esperanza Health Clinic with Sr. Silvia.

Loading the cement mixer.

The homeowner Juan (in green) and his son Ary (in red) starting the cement bucket line to complete their house!

Omar, a neighbor boy, helping fill buckets of sand.

The newest amigos: Omar and Evan.

Berenice, the homeowner (in red) working bucket line.

The Sacred Heart group with Berenice at the end of finishing her home!


The cement line from the first day:

Esperanza 2015, Day 2: Tuesday

Hello my peoples.
 
    Today started with a tour to the Esperanza community clinic that hosted many different types of doctors. This clinic is used for everything from medical treatment to social work.  This is run by a feisty but very peaceful nun and her two "sisters"(nuns). She opened our eyes to the different style of living shown by people who live their lives in the nearby landfill. Despite the smell and danger of their living environment, they live their daily lives joyfully. While that would be abnormal for our culture at home, they make their living on the materials that they collect in the landfill for money like metals and fabrics.

   We then arrived later that morning at another worksite to meet the lovely home owner and a few members from her family and the community she lived in. We pushed through 6 hours straight of work, pouring around 3,350 buckets of cement, and carrying 44,000 pounds of cement.
   
   Despite the sore muscles and "battle wounds" that we received from the worksite today, we felt that we had achieved the completion of the toughest job that many of us veterans had ever worked. We had appreciated the opportunity to witness the strength and passion of the community who gave to the family.
 Blessings to all,
Trent J and Sophie W


An additional note from Kelsey:
Today was a beast of a day. In my 13 trips with Esperanza I have never had a day that had a job this big before. A normal Esperanza home uses an average of 35 bags of cement to finish the roof. We used 66 bags of cement to finish today's home. I was rather nervous and a bit scared about our group as we started the day: would we be able to finish the massive job that was ahead of us?
I was blown away by our group today, they worked tirelessly, motivated solely by finishing the task at hand, and completing the family's home. I never once heard a complaint, constantly saw our group members assisting each other to push through the 6 hours of constant work, heard laughter and songs throughout the day, and know that people went above their normal physical capabilities to complete the day. It was inspiring, unique, and truly Grace-filled!
It is a massive blessing to work alongside this group and to witness true sacrificial love in action!

(Photos and videos will be posted tomorrow)
 

Esperanza 2015, Day 1: Monday

Hey Homies, 

      We made it across the border safely, yesterday, Sunday, early afternoon. Shortly after we arrived at the Posada, we went into the streets of Tijuana and shopped at the market. There we enjoyed a beautiful ocean view meal and the stressful bargaining with little time. 

      Later, when we returned back to our home for the week, the Posada, we settled down and made ourselves comfortable with the two other groups. At the Posada this week we are sharing it with our brothers and sisters from our very own Seattle and Missouri. The volunteers from Esperanza are very hospitable and welcoming. They encourage the interaction between all of the parishes because if we wish to build a community outside the gate we must start with the inside.

      Today we opened our day with formal introductions. Eager to start working we hopped into the work van off to pour a roof and complete the home. The family we served today was a woman, Puala, and her family of three daughters. We never met the rest of Puala's family but had a small connection with the community members and her that willingly helped out. Though our time was short, for our work was quick being the larger group this year, we still were struck with much compassion.  

      We finished the roof fairly fast and had a few extra opportunities including a visit to Dolores' house (the home we worked on and finished last summer). Both the returners and newbies were impacted by the immense gratitude that was outwardly shining on her face. Many smiles and warm hugs were shared. Then we booked it forty-five minutes away to fit in another hour of work. Building bricks was much less labor intensive but just as rewarding. 

       During reflection time tonight peopled pointed out their highlights of the day: going back to the worksite that last year's group completed and seeing that Dolores, "still had the same intensity of gratefulness" as the year before, the unity of our group working together, and experiencing the open arms of Tijuana.

     We look forward to the rest of the week!

Many Blessings,

Bailey Malneritch and Melissa Dion

The whole worksite for today.

Full buckets of cement going up to the roof, empty buckets going back towards the mixer.

Community members coming to help their neighbor finish her house!

Tossing empty buckets off the roof.

All about teamwork!

The finished roof!!! It takes 3 weeks to set, then finishing touches. The family will be in by September!

Our amazing lunch.

Our incredible Sacred Heart group!

It was definitely a cement day.

We made Dolores a scrapbook of photos from last summer documenting the completion of her home.