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.