All of the teams learned on Wednesday why drywalling is not a favorite job for many. It's very time-consuming, you have to be perfectionistic and the houses provide only a small working area. Thankfully, it wasn't hot outside and the dust wasn't too bad either, which made it more bearable. A couple of the teams were short on supplies and the right tools and it took a lot longer than planned to get it done. But, their attitudes were great the whole time and the drywall looks fantastic!
Stuccoing was a lot of fun for everyone. It can be hard to learn, but our students picked up on it quick! It was a lot of fun to watch them learn and to watch them enjoy the process as well. The wind did blow the dry lime/cement mix into our faces fairly often (powdered lime does not leave a nice aftertaste), but's fun and satisfying to smear mud on a wall. It's an excuse to be a kid again!
After each house is built, the local pastor comes and leads a dedication service with the family and the team. During this service, the family is told that they don't have to pay anything for the house, we're giving it to them because we want to show them God's love for them. We pray over the house, the family and their ministry to their neighbors through their new house. Then, students from each group present the family with the keys, a Spanish Bible and nail the Casas pro Cristo plaque above the door. The dedication is always a favorite part of the last day. But this year was very special for all of us. In addition to the gifts the family already received, the students raised an additional $1,028 to buy even more gifts for the new houses. Each family received a new set of dishes, pots and pans, pot holders, towels and washcloths, welcome mats, curtains and curtain rods, broom and dustpan, mop and bucket and soccer balls. Team Baleigh also gave the little girl on their site a brand new doll, just for her. The families were so excited for these extra gifts - their smiles were huge! Three of the families also have refrigerators coming to them from us that will be delivered to them soon. It was really cool to be able to give them not just a house, but some of the things that make a house a home.
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| Gifts for Maria and her children |
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| Team Hogoboom with Jesus and Lidia and Jesus's mother |
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| Team Tech with Pedro |
Team Baleigh:
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| Maria and Larissa, Miguel and Mia. Mia gets to celebrate her first birthday in their new house! |
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| Team Baleigh with Maria, Larissa, Miguel and Mia |
Team Robey hasn't given me any of their pictures yet, but their team did very well. They started behind on Wednesday morning, but managed to get caught up quickly and finished second that day! They were building for Saul and Veronica's daughter, who will be moving into her new house soon.
We are so thankful for the time that we had in Juarez. It hasn't been an easy trip, (although we have been able to take more showers than we thought we could!), but it's been very worthwhile. Most of the teams got to interact with the family they were building for on a daily basis and get to know them personally. We're very thankful for the students who stepped out of their comfort zones to interpret for us as we worked. Their Spanish might not have been exactly right, but the families loved being able to talk with us.
It was hard to leave Juarez last night. There's so many people who still need help and who still need a better home, but we'll be back next year to build more houses for more people here and to continue to make a difference. Thank you for your prayers and your support of all of us on this trip. You helped us to make a difference in the lives of many people in Juarez. Not just the families who got a house, but their neighbors, their churches and their communities. When someone is willing to come to Juarez and build a brand-new house for someone, it gives hope to many others that people still care about Juarez. They know that they are not a city forgotten by the world, but that someone remembers and someone cares about THEM. Thank you for helping us get here and be that light for them.
We're almost finished here at Casas and the students are starting to go through the store here. Tonight, we'll go to dinner at the Golden Corral with the Casas staff and enjoy one more night in El Paso before we head back to snowy Michigan tomorrow morning. We'll have more stories from the trip coming along the way as we travel.
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