Baja Missions Trip 2023 - Day 3 "The Work Completed"
My body must have needed the rest because I slept in until Lucia's alarm went off at 6:45AM, I lazed around in the morning and barely made it to breakfast after my morning stretch routine. Nachos for breakfast, what a great way to start the day!
We were then rushed to the van where we said a quick prayer, jumped in and began our trek to the jobsite. The weather was much more favorable which meant way more traffic on the roads, they had been empty just the day before. The trek that had taken and hour and a half yesterday took closer to 2. My motion sickness was in full gear but thankfully I was able to keep the nachos I had for breakfast down. As we were traveling, roadsides that had been barren not a day before, were filled with merchants pedaling their wares. Bags of chips, tamales, tacos, salsas, freshly picked coconuts, etc were all an option if you were feeling peckish.
The fact that these people can do so much with so little is humbling, and makes me ponder the excess I have in my own life.
We reached the final leg of our journey and all that stood between us and the jobsite was a mud covered uphill road. Today more than yesterday I feared we would have to climb out of the van and push or be required to trudge up the hill. Uncle Kevin didn't let us down, he outmaneuvered the hill, and slowly but surely inch by inch got us up to the hilltop.
When we arrived the family we were building the house for was standing at the front door awaiting our arrival with big smiles on their faces. I would later find out they had spent the night in their partially completed home to keep warm during this unseasonably cold weather. You could see the happiness and gratitude written all over their faces. We were all eager to finish the work we started the day before, the family more than most.
After a prayer led by Pablo to start the workday, we divided up into two teams, inside and outside. The sun was beating down and even the few minutes standing outside in the sun I could feel my skin starting to burn. Fearing for the health of my pale Wisconsin skin I joined the inside crew. Other members of the team started working outside, touching up paint, and building the latrine.
The inside crew was responsible for electrical and drywall mudding. With my rudimentary knowledge of electrical and Pablo's patient guidance I installed lights and outlets inside while the rest of the inside crew got to drywall mudding. It was a tight squeeze maneuvering around everyone but we got the inside work done relatively quickly.
Once my part inside was done there was little else for me to do so I started to interact with the two boys, Noe and Axel. Squeaky and I played keep away from Axel the youngest, Noe like many of the boys his age are quite skilled with a soccer ball.
After a short time I felt out of my league and stepped back from the game and started cleaning up the jobsite in preparation for lunch. Charlie came to the jobsite again and provided us with potato salad, and chili burgers. I'm sensing a theme in the food Charlie brings! Nacho shared a little bit of his testimony, and the ways that Jesus has changed him is amazing. He should not be where he is, or working where he does but that's how our Creator God works. He has a way of taking even the most broken and sinful people, molds them for his purposes and changes their lives forever.
After lunch it was all the punch list stuff and much time was spent standing in wait for someone to tell us what to do. A small team including myself started assembling the furniture that we were supplying to the family thanks to a generous anonymous donor. A dining room table, propane stove, bunk beds for the boys, and a full size mattress for the parents Daniel and Alejandra. They had little more than cots to sleep on before so having actual mattresses would be quite the upgrade!
The family would be tasked with finishing the interior, drywall sanding, painting, etc. Our part in the build was done once the jobsite was cleaned up and tools put away. Almost time to hand over the keys to the family for the first time.
It was shortly before 2:30 and we all started to assemble outside the front door of the house. Cory gave a short speech which was interpreted by Lucia, a fluent Spanish speaker. Cory spoke of how he hoped the home would be a blessing to them and that God would watch over them. Shortly after handing over the keys Jorge, one of the foreman on the site, said something to us that will forever be seared into my brain, "You were here for two days, these two days has changed this family's life for the next 20-30 years." That single statement hit me like a ton of bricks. It's not often that your return investment is that high. I'll take investments like that all day long.
We took a group photo in front of the newly built house, said our goodbyes, piled into the van, and began our return trip to Rosarito. The traffic on the way back was even worse than the trip to the jobsite and my motion sickness was in full swing. Because we got off the jobsite early enough we stopped to get Dairy Queen and visit some shops to see what these merchants had to offer. A giant maze open air market is where we spent the bulk of our time, but thanks to the inclement weather not many shops were actually open.
The merchants were all basically selling the same things, but I bought a "baja/poncho" to keep me warm. If only there were two mannequins with sweatshirts to take! The experience with the merchants was something I've never encountered before, they were all actively pursuing us telling us they would "give us a good deal, to come check out their store, come inside!" It felt awkward telling them "no gracias." My daughter would later task me with finding "a red shirt" to bring back for her, but that story will have to wait till later.
We needed to head back to the Connections House for dinner, a quick stop at Sorianna's to pick up buns for the fiesta and we headed back. During our evening devotional we reflected on our time so far. I have been feeling distant from God, all my doing. Working full-time is difficult to maintain a work life balance and part of that balance is daily quiet times, something I want to get back into rhythm of once I'm back stateside.
I'm both excited and disappointed to say that growing closer to God again only took me coming to Mexico, being away from the pressure and distraction. The biggest two being work and my phone. Seriously, go someplace with no cell phone signal, it's good for you.
The people here are so spiritually hungry, it really puts into prospective yet again all we take for granted. How can I bring this home, how can I continue to make time with God a priority?
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