Dia Seis

Well everyone, we are sitting here in the McAllen airport waiting to board our flight back to St Louis. We first want to apologize for not updating the blog until now. The internet at the hotel was spotty at best, and when it did work, Mr Stewart's computer would not connect. We had a great week--everyone worked very well together, and all of our houses got built, decorated, and dedicated on time.

Randy Pausch, who gave the "Last Lecture" at Carnegie Mellon, said that brick walls show up in our lives so that we can prove how much we really want what is behind them. Being here this week, coming on this trip, amid the many walls placed in front of us made us know that it was all worth it. Being here taught us that hope and love are stronger than fear and hate. Trust in the people who care about you is more valuable than the cynicism and doubt so prevalent in our country and especially in our media. Seeing the brightness of the smiles of beautiful Mexican children, and the tears in the eyes of their moms as they entered their homes for the first time dispelled any darkness that worried us before coming.

It is our hope that through this experience, minds have been changed and hearts have been moved toward peace, truth, and love. We pray that we can have the courage to return to our lives in St Louis remembering Reynosa--not just in our minds and hearts, but through our daily actions. Through being generous as the families in the colonia were generous; being patient as Roland and his staff are patient; welcoming others with the awareness that we are all brothers and sisters.

Louie said that this trip is not about building houses, but rather building relationships with people. It is about realizing that our world does not merely consist of the events happening around us, be it in our school or our city. The world consists of people living in many different places in many different ways, but are basically the same. People all over the world have hopes and dreams, stories to tell, histories, and friends and families they share their lives with. We are grateful to be able to fulfill some of those hopes and dreams, but are more grateful and humbled to become part of their story, their history, their friends and even a part of their family. The back of our t-shirts have this quote: "Where charity and love are found, God is there." This trip demonstrated this in a tangible way, but with a twist. God was not there because of the charity and love we brought with us, but with what we found already there.

Dia Uno

We arrived this morning at Lambert to learn that our flight had been cancelled! Most of us took a bus ride back to SLUH, where we had a nice pizza lunch and hung out. Tonight, we will bask in the lavish accommodations of the Comfort Inn St Louis Airport, hopefully well-rested to board our 0600 flight tomorrow morning. We will keep you posted of course. Keep us in your prayers meanwhile.

The Night Before

"For God so loved the world that He sent his only Son so that those who believed in Him might have eternal life."
These words from today's Gospel echo strongly in our minds and hearts as we prepare to head to Reynosa tomorrow. God sends us to the people of Reynosa, and God sends the people of Reynosa to us. In sharing our stories with each other, we make present the presence of Christ. We will build houses, but more importantly, we will build bridges--bridges between cultures, languages, and classes. We are excited to be able to show you these bridges we will be building (in addition to the homes) through this blog. Let us know your thoughts as we progress throughout the week. Each night we will post something to keep you informed and present to us while we are in Mexico. Pray for our safe journey and for a meaningful experience.

Good Luck All

Dear Mission Mexicoians,
Good luck down there this week boys. It will be an awesome life changing experience and I wish you all the best. I will send some prayers your way and I have very close ties with the big guy in the penthouse (GOD) and I am sure he will shower his blessings on you all. Give it your all and I promise you will all get so much out of these next six days. You are truly giving these people a gift from God. Let them see God through you this week and seek God in the people you serve.
I love you all,
Louis and Ben you are OK guys and I guess have done great work this year,
Stew, show everyone what the good word is,

Your friend in Christ,
Eric W. Lampe
Class of '08

Día Cinco

Today was an emotional day for all of us. We had to say goodbye to the people we really have grown to love in the short time we have had with them. The day began putting finishing touches on our houses--brick walkways, shelving, final painting, mosaics, landscaping, etc. We then filled the houses with all the gifts that were so generously donated to turn the houses into real homes. We fitted beds with sheets, put groceries on shelves, hung curtains in the windows, put toys in the loft, and decorated the homes with various artistic touches.
After the houses were all finished, each team gathered outside the house to dedicate the houses to the family for whom they had built. Each team member had the opportunity to share from his/her heart how the building experience moved them and what getting to know the family meant. Each team then formed a circle and prayed a prayer of dedication over the house. This was a very moving and emotional experience, both for our SLUH teams and for our families in the colonia. After the prayer, the keys to the house were handed to each head of household, who led the rest of their family into their new home for the first time. For most of these people, they had never had a house that had a door, much less a lock on it. This moment represents for many people a real opportunity to change, and gives them a chance to get their feet off the ground.
Today, every family provided lunch for each team--again sharing not from their surplus but from their basic necessities. Some teams feasted on some of the most delicious tamales they had ever had, others had various chicken dishes, and even molé made another appearance. The food was delicious, but what was even more striking was the atmosphere surrounding the feast. Each family was so proud to be able to host a party in their new homes. One man, Jose, was busily opening up Cokes for his guests and making sure that each person had enough to eat. Extended family members were there as well as neighbors and other SLUH, Cor Jesu, and St. Joe's team members. No one was turned away, and there was plenty for everyone to eat.
The actual saying of goodbye to the kids we played with and the people we had grown so close to was difficult. Many kids came to tears when they found out this was our last day. The kids clung tightly to us, giving that one last hug, to show us how much we meant to them. Tonight after dinner, Roland opened the floor for anyone to talk about what was in their hearts about the last day of the trip. Many of our SLUH guys got up and spoke about how much our work had meant. Junior Kevin Murphy likened the feeling of carrying a child on his shoulders from one end of the colonia to another to the kind of love that Jesus showed for us in shouldering the heavy load of the cross on the way to Calvary. Both are done out of great love, without thinking twice about doing it again. Many words of thanksgiving were shared for the students, faculty, and parents that attended the trip. In the end, Roland invited Mr. Stewart to "bring us home" with a closing prayer. The rest of the night was spent sharing memories of the trip and strengthening the bonds we made with all of the members of the St. Louis contingent of Homes for the Homeless 2008.
We are all very exhausted from our hard week of work, and are ready for the long day of traveling back to St. Louis. We all have a Reynosa-shaped hole in our hearts that we will try to fill by remembering the friends we have made here and especially by carrying their love, generosity, kindness, and community back to our lives in St. Louis. Hasta mañana amigos.

Buenas noches San Luís.

Día Cuatro

Most teams are nearing completion of their houses, and one has finished the major construction (see photo). Today's construction focused on roofing, windows, and doors. Today seemed to be a turning point in the trip--we really clicked together both as a SLUH group and as individual teams, but more importantly, we grew much closer to our families and the many kids running around the colonia. The language barrier, although still present, seemed much less of an obstacle to genuine communication today than in days past.

The name of this mission is "Homes for the Homeless" so many of our teams put some creativity and personal flare on their houses to make them homes--one team is crafting a beautiful brick walkway and patio with intricate tile inlay, while another group made window boxes.

Again today, the generosity of the people here was easily seen. The mother of the blue team made delicious tacos with homemade salsa for them, which they shared with the rest of us. The orange team's family prepared what was described as " delicious chicken wrapped in a soft pretzel (~Mike McVey). While for us, chicken is a regular part of our diet, these families only kill and eat a chicken on very special occasions, like Christmas, Easter, or the Day of the Dead. It is an enormous sacrifice for these families, and they spend both much time and money to show hospitality to us and to make us feel welcome.

Tonight at our SLUH prayer service, Mr. Mills described the economic situation here in Reynosa and that of the families we are working with this week. He described how the families came to be in Reynosa and the hardships that these people have endured to provide for their families. The majority of these families came to Reynosa from Vera Cruz after NAFTA and increased US corn subsidies hurt their family farming businesses. They live in the colonia, on property that they own, while working in factories for less than $8.00 each day. We listened carefully and intently, hoping to learn more about these families, whom we have grown to love and care about so much. We finished with a few brief announcements and prayer.

Tomorrow we will finish the finer points of construction, and decorate and furnish our houses. After we put on the finishing touches, we will hand over the keys to the house, and dedicate them to each family. At that moment, it will cease to be a house made of wood, nails and tin and will become a home, made with love and sustained with life and hope for a brighter future.

Día Tres

Our third day in Mexico was a great success. The day started out with our usual 6:30am devotional and breakfast and then we set out for the colonia, where we picked up where we left off yesterday. Today is the day that our piles of lumber began to look like houses--walls were framed together, rafters were nailed to the roof, and the openings for the windows and door were cut out.
The white team's (Tighty Whities) family prepared a traditional Mexican meal of molé with rice and tortillas. In the molé, they had stewed a chicken, which was likely still alive this morning! The family of the Blue Team (Cerulean Thunder/ Azúl Petrúl) also prepared lunch for them--fried chicken, rice, and salad. It is truly humbling to see a family that has so little sharing what they have to make us feel welcome in their home. The people of the colonia are models not only for hospitality, but also generosity. The orange team (The Tangerine Machine) is hard at work personalizing their house by decorating flower pots for their family. The Green Team (Gang Green), working with much deliberation and care, were able to share the building of the house with its future occupants.
We ended the work day with dinner and sharing stories. A few groups hit up the taco stand and a few shopped for odds and ends at Soriana, the cheap, consumerism-driven Mexican equivalent of Wal-Mart. Before bed, the SLUH group gathered for prayer and more sharing of our experiences. We look forward to finishing the major portion of our houses tomorrow (besides the green team) and meeting more people and continuing to have our hearts touched.

Buenas Noches San Luís.