Training Week 1

Thoughts from one of our summer "interns" on her first training week in Mexico...

So I could probably write a book about this week and the build and about Juarez but I'll try to keep it short and sweet and just include my VERY favorite parts and the brief basics. This was our first training week out of two so it wasn't a normal build. We were with a ton of staff members and we were called aside at times to learn what we need to know about how to lead teams and how to do each part of the house. Next week will be similar but even more intense training because we will be building a two room "single." We will learn how to disperse jobs on the work site and be a good multi-tasker. This week was definitely challenging because I didn't just get to do the jobs that I feel comfortable doing like I normally have done on previous week-long builds. For example, this week I had to stucco. Stucco is a mixture made of sand, water, concrete and lime that we put all over the sides of the house. I'm not gonna lie, stucco is a pain to put up. I've tried on my previous trips and more stucco always ended up on the ground than on the wall so I just gave up. This time giving up wasn't an option, but Janette and Alexis were right there alongside us teaching us the tricks to putting up stucco. After a while I got the hang of it and I'm not nearly as awful as I thought! Today I had to put door knobs in... it probably was just operator error but it was a lot harder than I expected it to be!

This week was definitely not the perfect build either. Aimee forgot her passport in America. I hit two fingers with a hammer on two separate occasions and got two nasty blisters. I had a bloody nose most of the week, and almost passed out the first day because I was just not used to the heat and working that hard. There were some times I absolutely questioned why I was crazy enough to come down here. It's hot, it's hard work, and it's EXHAUSTING. But then my favorite Mexico moments came along and I remembered why I have such a passion to spend my summer down here...

One such moment was working with Ivan (Pronounced E-vaan). Ivan is the one farthest on the right.

At first the kid kinda drove me crazy. He pretended that he was gonna steal all my stuff and asked how much it was worth and kept trying to convince me to give it to him. But he really was a good kid and an awesome help when it came to the house. I don't know much Spanish at all and Ivan doesn't know much English so at first it was really, really hard for us to communicate. Thankfully however, not knowing the same language doesn't stop God from making an awesome connection between two people. I was working on stucco next to Ivan and we started trying to have a conversation. Before I knew it we'd managed to talk about our families and friends and I was able to tell him that I wasn't married and I didn't have children and we talked about how old we are and other basic things. I know it was all really basic but for two people who speak two totally different languages it was a blessing to make a friend. Ivan enjoys working on Casas houses and may come help us other times during the summer since we will be close to his house. 

Something that made me stop in my tracks, smile and pull out my camera was seeing the children of the family use the scrap pieces of our lumber and use them as building blocks.

I overlooked that pile of wood so many times this week, and when I did see it I was normally frustrated because I had tripped over a scrap while carrying something. In the eyes of a child that pile of trash lumber was something so much more though. It was a castle, a fort, a car, a tower... the options are limitless! Oh how I wish that I still had the view of a child. These children with very little found such joy in what they did have.

My absolute favorite part of the build was this morning. I was outside of the house repainting the trim when I started to see Miguel walking around the house. Miguel is the one beside me in a blue sweater. All of the children had been super shy for the first two days that we were building. I tried talking to Miguel multiple times and he always hung his head and walked away. As I was painting I heard the song "We No Speak Americano" come on a Spanish radio station playing next door. From around the corner of the house I saw Miguel starting to dance to the music. Of course I walked a little closer to him and started to dance too. The next thing I knew, shy little Miguel was dancing with me and yelling "Ándale, Ándale!" as I ran around giving him piggy back rides. He stood by me and held my hands throughout the whole dedication ceremony and I can honestly say that my heart broke a little bit when I had to leave him today.

The dedication ceremony always makes the time spent building the house worth it. The more you get to know a family the more you are glad that you spent some of your time helping them out. This week we built for a single mother (Marielena) with 5 kids and many grandchildren also living with her. She has been waiting for a home from Casas for over 2 years. Recently she lost her daughter and son in law. Marielena took in all of her grandchildren along with her own children. I am so humbled to be used by God as a tool to give a family a dependable home.

Other highlights of the week
~seeing the kids run through their new home with the biggest smiles on their faces
~walking to a Mexican grocery store with some local kids and some of the team members
~drinking MANZANA!!!!! (it's an apple flavored soda)

Pray~ That I may have better health and fewer injuries next week. That the family next week may see the love of Jesus through my actions and the actions of the Casas team. That I may be teachable and receptive to learning everything about being a good team leader and that I don't let Satan tell me that I can't do construction because I am a girl or won't be a good leader because I'm not fluent in Spanish.  

Read more from Rachel and her summer building in Mexico here:  http://buildinghousesforjesus.blogspot.com/