Crossing Borders

Work Day #1:

There is no word big enough to encompass what we experienced today. We got up bright and early, had breakfast and piled into the vans to head to Matamoros, Mexico. Crossing the boarder was no problem, except when Andrew threw Cheryl to the wolves…the soldier at the boarder asked (in Spanish, of course) where in Mexico we were going. What was Andrew’s response?: “Buenas Dias…(confused look)…Cheryl?” Thanks Packman. But we were admitted to Matamoros anyway…

We had our first cultural experience right off the bat. We were meeting the men with the building material at the Soriana (read: Soriana, think: Wal-Mart) at 9:00…but they didn’t get there precisely on time. Mexican time is a big more elastic than US time. But no worries, we were soon on our way to meet the Garza family.

Senor y Senora Garza are amazing, lovely people. Besides being extremely small and falling apart, their house has a lot of limits that make it unlivable for their family. Mr. Garza was hit by a car while riding his bicycle to work and suffered a spinal cord injury. Their house does not have a bathroom that he can access in his wheelchair. When we pulled up to the house we began working and didn’t stop until we were forced to stop for lunch!

We unloaded the building materials, shared a prayer for the Garza family and this project and Erick and Krista put us right to work! Most of the group were painting the siding for the house while a small handful of us (led by Erick) began the construction of the walls.

For most of us, the best part of the day was after our run to Soriana for a restroom break. We returned to find that the Garza daughters had arrived home from school! Ashley (7) and Leslie (5) are two of the most adorable little girls! As we piled out of the van, they gave each one of us a big hug with HUGE smiles on their faces!! We presented them with Dora the Explorer toys and they were beyond thrilled!! We shared lunch with the Garza family and got right back to work!

After lunch the entire Garza family chipped in! They were helping paint the siding. There was an instant bond, a connection just like family. The girls even teased Andrew about his “cabeza grande!” (Large head for those who do not understand Spanish.)

The language barrier was there, but everyone was trying their darnedest to communicate anyway! There was a little frustration, many successes and a lot of laughs!

Personally, I was expecting to be deeply saddened by these people’s lot in life. Instead, we left the Garza family invigorated. We left with a spring in our step talking about how we couldn’t wait to come back tomorrow!

And for those out there keeping track...no one was left in Mexico!

Pictures:

(1) The inside of the Garza home...Erick is not a terribly tall person and he cannot stand up inside! And that's it!! One tiny room, one tiny bed for 4 people!!

(2) What we started with...

(3) Cheryl the builder says "Can we build it? Si, se puede!" (And safety first!!)

(4) Amanda P. hammering in the first nail!

(5) What the Casita looked like when we left today!

(6) The Garza daughters (hijas) Ashley (left) and Leslie (right) with their new Dora "caballitos" toys!

Thanks again to all that have us in their prayers this week! You are all in ours as well!

...stay tuned to see what we accomplish tomorrow!!

En la paz de Jesucristo...