Mexico Day 4, Tuesday, August 6th

Hello faithful followers of our Tijuana journey!

Today was another day of working at Martin and Martha's house, including digging trenches for the foundation, jackhammering out a concrete patio, and shoveling dirt, followed by shoveling dirt, with a side of shoveling dirt. The trenches we (hand!) dug finished out at 3 feet wide and 68 inches deep!! 

Our drive to the work site this morning included a white tiger sighting on the freeway (inside a cage on the back of a truck..... Parents of youth, continue breathing ;) 

Martin worked side by side with us all day, so we got to practice a little Spanish while doing our best to communicate with an incredible man who, in the words of Kelsey, is a "beautiful witness of working for a dream and dedication to your family and community." After a long day of work, we got the chance to look at and purchase the phenomenal leather purses Martin hand makes in his shop above the house as a supplemental income for his family. Martin makes 80 to 100 dollars a week at his factory job, so he has a side business making purses as well. Martin was grateful for our business, and we were happy to support him and blown away by his workmanship!

After saying adios to Martin and muchos gracias for the hospitality, Edwardo took us by a finished Esperanza house so we could see the final project that we got to be a small part of helping to create. The house was beautiful, and viewing it gave us encouragement to continue our work. 

Tomorrow we move on to a different site where we will be pouring a floor. We will get to meet a new family and community, see a new part of Tijuana, and get new muscles sore. 

Buenas noches from beautiful Tijuana!

With love,

Jeri and Dyllan

The tiger in our morning commute.

The jackhammer!

Shoveling lots of dirt!

Salvador, one of the neighbor boys, helping in the bucket line.

Enrique and Diego, 2 other neighbor boys, helping out!

2 sisters and 2 brothers! Nadine, Enrique, Diego, Nerissa.

Back from unloading the truck.

The lunches are home made and amazing!!!

View from the roof of the house.

We moved big rocks today!

A beautiful Esperanza house! It took them 14 years to save and continue to add on. It's gorgeous!

Videos From Day 3

Here are a few videos from our 1st work day!

Following the bucket through the bucket line...the definition of teamwork!

Nerissa destroying the concrete patio! :)

Mexico Day 3, Monday, August 5th

Hello friends and family,

Today we woke up bright and early to begin our first day of working with the communities.  Before working we met with an Esperanza leader named Eduardo. He was full of passion for his work as well as jokes and was interested in all of our reasons for coming on this mission.

We worked with Marta and her family to deconstruct a deteriorating foundation. We took turns smashing the concrete with sledge hammers, followed by picking and shoveling the cement. We passed cinderblocks and buckets of demolished concrete. Also we began digging a trench for the new foundation. While we were working, Marta and her family made us a miraculous lunch consisting of rice, tortillas, and a beef stew with potatoes, zucchini, and carrots. Everyone went back for more ;)

After a hard days labor we went to what used to be known as the 'friendship park' where families were able to come from both sides of the border to reunite and have picnics together. Now all the families can do is stretch a couple of fingers through a fence when seeing one another. Along the border wall there is a bunch of artwork and quotes. The American side of the border was completely vacant with the city of San Diego not starting until miles away from the border. Whereas the Mexico side was beautiful and alive. People were wandering the streets and shopping at the markets. There were families everywhere enjoying the sunny beach.

It was a great start to our work as well as an amazing chance to give back to our brothers and sisters here in Mexico.

love, Nadine and Evan :))

Lots of bucket passing!

Dancing in the bucket line!

Marta's beautiful granddaughter, Airam.

Marta and her granddaughter.

Group photo!

The United States-Mexico border. The wall extends 150 feet into the Pacific Ocean.

"Same God on both sides"

The park on the Tijuana side and the border patrol on the U.S. side.

Mexico Day 2, Sunday, August 4

Hello my friends in America,
Today was a beautiful, beautiful day in Mexico. We went to the market and we had lots of good positive vibes. It all started out with a good Mass although I couldn't understand, it was still good to worship my Lord across the border with the regulars at the church. We even got to see a Baptism.

Then we went to the market and got lots of cool goods. It was very interesting trying to bargain my prices down and get my souvenirs for cheaper. As i approached my first stand of merchandise i found myself slightly intimidated but at the end of the day I was a champ and came away with some good bargains. I was shocked at how busy it was and overwhelmed by everyone trying to get us to eat at their restaurants.  So all in all it was great and it was a fun and interesting experience.

After a long day of shopping it was fun to end with a karaoke session on the bus with our new friends from St. Michaels.
     This day was delivered to you through the eyes of Michael Williams

Strawberry Tamales at lunch.

The candy shop in Puerto Nuevo.

Doing some shopping.

Do we think they are related?

At the beach at Puerto Nuevo

Mexico Day 1, Saturday, August 3rd

Hello to our people across the border,

When crossing the border today, there was a significant change between San Diego California and Tijuana. It was amazing to see how different the two cities are, even though there is only a fence separating the two places. It took a step through a gate and into Mexico to instantly see the poverty surrounding the city of Tijuana. It only took us a few minutes to cross the border into Mexico, while there was a line that seemed to last forever of people waiting to cross back into the United States. It really made us take a step back and realize how lucky we are to be American citizens and to have that luxury of freely traveling and living in the United States.
After temporarily losing a member of our wolf pack. We hustled to the bus stop to find out we had an extra 30 minutes to spare. When our bus driver arrived, we were surprised to find a much smaller bus than we were anticipating. We then had to pile into the bus with our individual backpacks and began stuffing the bus like sardines in a can. After loading the bus, we went on our way to the posada. This is when our eyes were truly opened to the poverty and extreme living conditions in Tijuana. This was when the excitement set in, that this was the week we are going to make a change. To end our day of travel, we were able to play volleyball, walk into town to get dinner and then end our night as a group and reflect on our opportunities ahead of us.

Yours truly,
Maria, Richelle, and Nerissa

We made it to Mexico!!!

Hola de Mexico! Hello from Mexico!
We made it safely through security, into San Diego, and across the border!
It is a beautiful day down here in Tijuana, we are getting settled, relaxing, and enjoying the beautiful Posada that we will call home for the rest of the week!
Here are some pictures from our travel day:

At SeaTac waiting for our plane!

Mt. Rainier!!!!

Early flights makes for sleepy people.

At the San Diego Airport!

Playing volleyball with our friends from St. Mike's.

The beautiful Posada!

Our home for the week.

We're eating dinner at the La Gloria Taqueria tonight and heading to Mass down the street tomorrow!

Adios amigos! :)

We're Going to Mexico!

Saturday morning, bright and early, 15 members from Sacred Heart are flying to San Diego and walking across the U.S.-Mexico border to work with Esperanza International for a week of service, growth, experience, love, and hope!  It is going to be an amazing week, packed full of fun, faith, and formation!  Please keep us in your prayers!

Throughout the week we will post pictures, updates, and reflections (hopefully every evening).  Please check back to join us on this journey!

In the mean time, check out the Esperanza International website to learn more about the organization we are working with:
Esperanza International's Website

Also, to understand our service a bit more, you can check out these youtube videos:
From Esperanza:

From a different volunteer group last year:
Esperanza International: Building Homes in Tijuana, Mexico
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=H4bUn2hPxnw

Please keep us in your prayers as we travel to Tijuana to learn and grow as builders of Hope!