GLTPA's Director's Notes
God’s Work Through Our Hands and Minds. A Story of Thanksgiving.
Greetings,
Most days of my life are focused on serving the great people in the forest industry, an opportunity I have been blessed with through GLTPA and other groups for the past several years. Five days in early October 2024, however, found me with a totally different focus and one which will not be forgotten and more likely than not, repeated.
The focus was on a mission trip to Acuna Mexico. Like many others I had often thought about but never took action to help people in need beyond financial commitment. When the opportunity to act came there was little hesitation to reply “yes” and get involved. The trip was planned and organized by Mount Olive Church in Wausau Wisconsin with the assistance of CASAS Por CRISTO. (Houses for Christ) According to their website, CASAS began building homes along the US/Mexico border in 1993 and has since provided over 65,000 families with homes. CASAS is dedicated to meeting the physical need of better housing as a way of also meeting the spiritual need for Jesus Christ.
Like any event of this nature, it involves countless hours of planning and preparation both physically and spiritually for what may lay ahead. Fortunately, two of the thirteen team members had served on previous missions and were able to better prepare the rest for the days ahead. Proper identification, plane tickets, rental vehicles, what to pack, what not to pack, connections with CASAS staff, crossing the border, last minute supplies, and packing tools are all pieces of the package.
In addition to gathering the normal gear needed for a successful mission, the most important part is the fellowship that begins forming as the mission team melds together in preparation for the days ahead. It is also frequently emphasized that building the house is secondary to the mission of showing a family in a foreign county how the power of Jesus Christ can work through each of us to provide for those in need. Maintaining a mindset, which should be done daily, that this is HIS plan and that we are to be focused on implementing HIS plan is not necessarily a normal thought process for any of us. In fact, you may agree the opposite is true that we often think we are in charge and responsible for all things. It is human nature to leave humility at the door and absorb the credit when good things get done.
After a short flight to San Antoinio, Texas from Minneapolis, it was about a three- and half-hour drive from the airport to Del Rio, Texas where we met up with our CASAS Por CRISTO partner Nick known as the Korean Cowboy. We would later learn that Nick had his own story of struggles after being left on the doorstep to die in Korea because of his birth defects which are unacceptable in Korean culture, especially if the child is a boy. Nick joined the mission team for dinner and provided final instructions before loading everything into two vehicles and crossing the board into Mexico City. Within a matter of a couple of miles the world changed, and we were now the foreigners.
Street side vendors selling what they could for money, very narrow streets, dogs everywhere, and speed bumps everywhere which were very effective in keeping traffic slowed to a reasonable pace. I wonder how well speed bumps would be received in U.S. cities. There were also speed bumps on country roads where there was more than one house present. They work well for speeding, and we did not see one law enforcement person except those we passed daily when leaving and entering the city.
Additional instruction came upon arrival at the housing facility which was an old church converted to a bunkhouse. The instructions were, do not pet the dogs, do not drink the water or use it for brushing teeth, and place ALL toilet paper in the trash can after use. There was absolutely no flushing of toilet paper and if by habit it ended up in toilet, a scoop was handy to get it out before flushing. It was fortunate for the mission team that we had running water to flush toilets and take showers but that was a luxury and not the norm for most. Every morning at 6 AM two ladies employed by CASAS arrived with breakfast and those same two ladies arrived every evening to serve us an authentic Mexican dinner at 6 PM. Working temperature for the entire trip was around 70 degrees for the low and 97 degrees for the high. Average rainfall for the area was approximately 4 inches annually.
Besides Nick, only one other team member spoke Spanish well enough to help the rest of us communicate with words such as good morning, thank you, very good, and a couple of other short phrases. Thank goodness for Google Translator! It took a little extra time to communicate, but it was a very useful app as we began building a closer relationship with the family of four receiving the house upon completion.
Day one started with a beautiful sunrise and found us arriving at a dry, rugged, rock laden lot where we were greeted by the wife of the recipient family, her parents, and I think a sister who was camped under a small portable canopy like what we use at a Log a Load event. We were told the lot cost the family around $150.00 and on it was a very small pile of lumber and sheeting which would, in three days, become a 17’ by 20’ three-room house. It isn’t much money for us but to a family where the husband works from sunup until sundown driving taxicab for $100.00 a week, it takes a lot of savings to make this type of purchase.
By 10 Am the form for the cement slab was built and by noon the cement was poured, leveled and finished. While the slab was being poured several others of this thirteen-person team were cutting lumber to the exact length according to the list provided. There are no plumbing or water pipes to content with, so it is a no-frills cement foundation for the house. There was also no room for error in cutting the lumber as there was nothing extra and use of each board was fully maximized. By mid-afternoon the cement was dry enough to stand on and the walls which had been erected on the ground were ready for assembly and squared for application of sheeting and a roof.
By day three the house was completed as far as the mission team would take it. This included a metal roof, completed wiring with light switches, ceiling fans, plug ins, an entrance door and one small door which would eventually lead to a bathroom to be added later. The interior was insulated, sheetrock installed, the window and door trims were painted, and the exterior had received its first coat of stucco. Over time the family will add two more coats of stucco and paint the interior.
The building project started in the morning of October 4th and was completed by 2 PM, October 6th. It was time to clean up the tools and prepare for the mid-afternoon dedication and key presentation to the family who would soon call this their forever home. They had been provided with a simple roof over their heads which most of us would not even consider a decent-sized garage for storing all the stuff we call essential. The two children would have one room, the parents another room, and they would all enjoy the family room together.
What is very learning about this experience is how thankful and happy this family is to get this new home and a new outlook on life. Because of no longer having to pay rent they can now afford to send their children to a school where they can learn English. As I understood it, if they can speak English, they have a ten times greater opportunity for a successful life.
Even though there was a language barrier, communication was able to take place in the form of human kindness and fellowship toward each other as God’s creations. The father provided hugs and a consistent message of how happy his daughter was to receive this gift and how meaningful it was for her and their family. Thomas, the father and husband for whom the home was built, joined and worked with us on Saturday and Sunday. He was very ambitious, and we had a great time mixing stucco and communicating with one another using the app.
Speaking for myself, a person gets the idea that we should fix all the problems we see to help these people have a better life. As time went on though, I began to wonder whose outlook needed fixing. They had very little in the form of material items, but we’d never have known it from the joyous and serving demeanor they emulated every time we arrived. From our standards they seemed poor, but they were far from it. We packed lunch every day and it was never needed. They provided it for us and made some of the finest food anyone could ask for on a wood-fired old grill and served it to us with smiles. They had to haul their water in the tank on the back of an old pickup. They will never have running water in the house or the option to flush a toilet without using a bucket of water to do so.
What they do have is a family full of love for one another, decent clothing, food, and now a new home and bible to help them grow in their faith signed by each of the mission team members as a part of their history. This Mexico experience has provided for me, and I think the rest of the mission team, a renewed outlook and sense of thankfulness that what we often perceive as poverty is really part of God’s plan to bring people closer to and dependent on HIM for their every need. By allowing HIM to work through us, we were able to show HIS power to provide and take care of our daily needs and the needs of all HIS children.
For the blessing of this Mexico experience and all those who donated and participated I am very thankful to have had this opportunity to celebrate this Thanksgiving.
Until next month,
Henry
