Can you imagine living in a home where there is barely anything holding up your walls or ceiling? Can you imagine living in a house that, when it rains, you and your children have to sleep in the mud and freeze through the night? Can you imagine not being able to afford food or clothes for your children to keep them healthy and warm? Can you imagine not owning your own land and every day living with the fear that the government could kick you off the land you and you family are currently occupying?
The picture you are looking at shows the shocking conditions that the poorest of the poor live in. I took this picture in Tecate, Mexico about a week ago when I went down with some other people to build houses for the poor. I headed down to Mexico with an organization called “Club Dust” and about 175 other people eager to serve others.
God worked so many amazing miracles while we were in Mexico that I can barely believe it. With the small group that we took down there we were able to build four foundation houses, 5 pop-up houses, a Vacation Bible School (that over 200 children attended), worked on the community church, and ran a donations store. The goal of this trip is to reach as many people as we possibly can. The foundation homes are built for those families who sacrifice much in order to buy a piece of land to own. The pop-ups are built for the people who cannot afford their own land and could possibly have to move their home if they get kicked off the land they currently live on. The Vacation Bible School was run for the children in the community, to try and reach them even though we weren’t able to build a house for them. The second story of the church is being built and is a slow, but productive process. And the donation store is a place where men, women, and children can come to get their feet washed by us and receive a brand new pair of shoes and some clothes (this ministry is for people we build homes for, as well as, those who we aren’t).
For the family I helped build for (a foundation house), the father drove a bus for 58 years and purchased the piece of land with those earnings as well as his social security. He bought it for one of his daughters and her children. This couple have 6 children and 29 grandchildren and they are doing everything they can so that their kin are taken care of. It broke my heart to see this family interact and how caring these parents were and the sacrifices they made to make sure that their grandchildren will have the opportunity to grow up in a brand new house with a cement floor. They were so appreciative of our service that they made everyone on our house lunch one afternoon. They made sure that everyone got a lot to eat and they were so eager to share what little that had with us. I am often shocked that the people who seem to have the least always give the most. It reminds me of the verses in Mark about the Widow’s Offering:
“Jesus sat down opposite the place where the offerings were put and watched the crow putting their money into the temple treasury. Many rich people threw in large amounts. But a poor widow came and put in two very small copper coins, worth only a fraction of a penny. Calling his disciples to him, Jesus said, “I tell you the truth, this poor widow has put more into the treasury than all the others. They all gave out of their wealth; but she, out of her poverty, put in everything-all she had to live on.”” Mark 12:41-44.
I am always touched when God allows me to go and do some of His work. Being able to share God’s love and hope with these people is the most they could ever hope for. I also had a chance to work on some of the pop-up houses on the last day and I met a man, Surrgio, who inspired me. His parents have diabetes and he was unable to care for them since he did not have a home. The home we built for him will allow him to bring his parents over and then take care of them. The people who receive the pop-up houses are ones who cannot afford their own land, so they must live within 15 yards of the railroad tracks or else the government will kick them off. The only semi-flat area he could find to put a pop-up house was on a very steep hill with a very narrow walk way. His house had been neglected working on by the team since it was so difficult to get to. When I showed up to start helping, Surrgio broke my heart when i looked in his eyes and saw the look of desperation for a 10′ x 12′ room with a roof. This man was working harder than anyone I have ever seen before. He was doing everything and anything that needed to be done. He had his hand saw out and his hammer and was working to insure that we could finish his house on time. If we ever needed anything Surrgio would take off and be back in no time with whatever he could find to help out. Meeting him made this trip worth it for me. He reminded me even more of the widow who had nothing, but gave everything.
