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2005 Mission Trips to Juarez Mexico In 2005, we expanded to two Adult Mission Trips a year to Juarez with one trip occurring over an extended weekend. This trip took place from Thursday, February 24 - Monday, February 28. A Sunday to Friday trip was offered October 23-28. October 2005 Mission Trip Each time I travel to Juarez for a mission trip, I am reminded of how blessed I am. This was my fourth trip to Juarez to build a cinder block home for a family living in a cardboard shelter. I actually feel like Juarez is my "home away from home" and I consider our friends at Proyecto Abrigo, as my extended family.
When we arrived at the work site on Monday, we were strangers and by Friday, we shared a special bond of love and friendship that I don't believe any of us will forget. The Ramirez family was most gracious and thankful for our help. Oscar and his wife, Anita, and their two older boys worked side by side with us during the week to construct their new home. I was especially touched when Anita asked me if I could come back to Juarez so that she could cook Christmas dinner for me in her new home! Before leaving for the airport on Friday morning, we blessed and dedicated their new home. It was truly one of the most emotional and moving experiences I've had in Juarez. (Names of family members were changed for website publication)
Rita Thomas
As is always to be expected, the trip was Juarez was once again rewarding for all involved. Our trips focus on building houses. The primary house, obviously, is the one that we build for the clients of Proyecto Abrigo. However, we also build a house of faith as we establish relationships with those in our church community. The time that we get to know those who sit in the pews next to us is a tangible benefit we can take home with us afterwards. Randy Riggs
Photogallery
February 2005 Mission Trip These are a few insights from participants of the February trip: Reflections on the Trip by Joe Strelec: I learned some Spanish words when I traveled to Mexico with sixteen men and women in February:
I also re-familiarized myself with some English words & according to the dictionary, here's what they mean:
When I first considered what this trip may entail, I envisioned the concept to be that we would be building a shelter to help those that don't have the means to provide one for themselves (those that are impoverished). After all, we were in Mexico working with an organization that called itself Proyecto Abrigo (Project Shelter). I believe in these types of good works, so I enlisted. After a plane ride to El Paso, a van trip across the border to break bread with my fellow believers, and a good night's rest, we arrived at our worksites unsure of how we might be received. We were met with three smiling faces (children) peering out of a window surrounded by cardboard and pallets. After we traded "hola" and let the family know that we were there to "construir" a "casa", we found our supplies and began to tackle our task. Skepticism abounded, as I felt that we were ill-prepared as we didn't have any home builders in our group. We only had sixteen people with muscles that weren't synonymous with construction workers. We had to press on despite our inadequate muscles for we had a house to build and we only had 4 days to do it! We often wondered, would we ever finish? What is this house supposed to look like? Don't we need blueprints? We began to worry, how would we know where to put the door, where are the windows going to be? Shouldn't we put the concrete floor in first and then start building? How could a handful of gringos accomplish such a task? Three days later, after all of the blood, sweat and tears, we took our gloves off and assessed our work. It was clear that we didn't "construir" a "casa". That's right, we messed up. How could this have happened? Would they ever forgive us? Was it the language barrier? Admittedly, this didn't look like any house that I had ever seen, for there was no master bath room, no breakfast nook, no pantry, no garage, no foyer, no bonus room, etc. And what about the things that are outside of the house such as grass, flowers or trees? Shouldn't we break the soil and cultivate a flower bed? None of us asked those questions, but most of us probably thought about it. But then we realized, we did build a shelter, we did build a house, we did build a home and we did plant something, but it wasn't flowers - we planted the seed of Christ. So, we know some more Spanish words and we now know what poverty looks like. We also learned that poverty and poor don't mean the same thing. I didn't think that we could use the words poverty and rich to describe the same thing or person but we can. You see, these "amigos" that we've come to know in Mexico are anything but poor - no doubt they are impoverished, but these people have a great sense of worth and a great value and that alone makes them rich. Now, I know the difference between wealth and rich. Some are blessed with the former, I hope that we can all be blessed with the latter. Oh yeah, and the other thing we did was demonstrate a loving and humane concern for others and that's a small part of what makes us Christians. I hope it spreads like a disease. Adios Joe Strelec
Reflections on the Trip by Janet Hunt: Four short days in Mexico equals two houses built, lots of wonderful Mexican food, much laughter, many tears, comparing of muscle sizes, numerous muy grande volvanoes, tons of candy distributed to the children of Juarez, donated clothes and other items presented to the people of Juarez who received them with amazed smiles and tears, shopping in the Mexican market, relationship formed with our maestros and much more. All of these were amazing, but the relationship formed between sixteen team members-priceless.
The February team that went to Juarez to build two homes for two very deserving families was made up of sixteen people who most did not know each other but by short acquaintance or were complete strangers, but they all came back as family. Among the team was a Mother/daughter team and a sister team. The next day after we returned home the team was e-mailing each other saying how much they missed one another.
Thanks to nothing short of a miracle the team raised money for a second home in less than two weeks by contacting their friends, families, and co-workers. The families who received the homes were so grateful. The homes were in a more established neighborhood than Suncreek usually works in. The second home was a tiny cardboard home nestled in among sturdier homes that would have escaped the attention of Reverend Jose Luis Portillo, founder of Proyecto Abrigo, if we had not called at the last minute and requested a second home. The mother of the home, Graciella, was in total disbelief and Jose Luis said he had never had such a hard time convincing someone about the gift of a home. (Remind you of our disbelief in the gift of God's grace?) There were four children and one more on the way living in this cardboard shelter. The first thing we saw as we approached the house was three adorable smiling children looking out of the window of a cardboard shelter. They won our hearts that very moment and the hugs, laughter, and tears that followed over four days cemented them into our memories forever. The children at the other home were a little older. The mom, Adriana, requested that her children stay home on Friday so they could experience receiving their home. They all grabbed shovels and proceeded to help build their own home alongside our team.
Four short days in Mexico dramatically changed the lives of two families who now live in stronger homes built with love, but even more changed the lives of sixteen Americans who will always be bonded with the miracle of love that only comes from serving others along side one another. Janet Hunt
Reflections on the trip by Shari Olson: It's hard to put my feelings down on paper to give justice to my experience in Juarez. My friend Rita told me what a wonderful time I would have if I'd go. It is hard work but you don't mind, especially when you see the happiness of the children and parents of the family you're building the house for. She was right, as soon as we pulled up to our house, three tiny, smiling faces peered out the window watching the "Americans" who came to build a new house for them. Graciella (our mom), was so grateful, even though we couldn't understand each other, we knew what the other one was feeling. On our second work day, we had built the house up to the roof, when we left for the day, Graciella stood with a smile as wide as the Red-Sea and as bright as the sun looking out of the window of her new house. How can you not want to build houses for everyone in Juarez after seeing that? The children in Juarez don't have a lot, but you couldn't tell by their faces. One of the most popular places I saw children playing was on a dirt pile filed with trash. The kids didn't mind, they were laughing and rolling down the pile having the time of their lives. It makes me stop and think of all of the "toys" my child has and yet sometimes gets bored. I cannot wait for him to be old enough to go. It’s an experience that I will never forget. God Bless Jose Luis, Alfredo and Juana for all they do for their community. What wonderful people they are! Shari Olson Reflections on the trip by Brent Montford: I love to go on trips.
Other than actually going on the trip, my second most favorite thing is planning
and preparing for it. When I signed up to go to Juarez I knew very little about where we were going, what we were going to do
(other than "build a house") and who I was going with. This was no ordinary
trip. Before I knew it, I was on the plane to El Paso and I still didn't know much more about the trip - all I new was that I was on my way to
try to make a small difference in the life of an impoverished family. I was
going on faith. For more pictures view our Photo Gallery.
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