This is a photo of kids at the school that we stayed at. Although our primary mission was to build houses, we had an opportunity each morning to visit with the students. On Monday morning, they greeted us with an amazing drum ensemble.
Here we are - full of energy and ready to build. Check out that view in the back!
This is the location of the two houses we built. The property is all owned by the same family. One house is for a father and mother, and the other house was for his son and his new family. We originally had planned to divide our team into two teams, but as you can see the two houses were about 10 feet away from one another.
Here we are after the concrete has been poured. One of my jobs in the early going was to carry buckets of rocks and sand from the top of the hill down to the building location.
Frames are up and siding is going on. I spent a lot of time working on siding. Lots of hammers and nails.
Here we are in front of our finished houses. I was blessed to be surrounded by such amazing people. We laughed, we cried, we encouraged one another, and we learned a lot.
We are dedicating the new house. Each time a house is built, a Casas por Cristo name plate goes above the door frame. Casas' 4000th home was built just prior to our trip (mostly in Mexico). Casas has been going to Guatemala just in the past year, and have built about 40 houses in San Raimundo, Guatemala.
So, by Tuesday evening, we realized that we were going to finish our project with a day and a half to spare. So we decided to ...
build a third house!!
Here is the family that was blessed with the third house. One of my favorite aspects of this trip is thinking about the moment they found out we were coming. They had probably been on a waiting list for months (if not years), and all of a sudden someone comes by asking if they are ready for a new house. 36 hours later, they had a house! I can't imagine what that must have been like for the family.
This is one of my favorite pictures from the trip. At my school, it is fairly common knowledge to my students that I like to talk kids out of soccer and into cross country. Even the US border can't stop me from trying!! My students will get a kick out of this photo.
Another part of this trip that I really enjoyed was that I got to experience it with some of my students from school. I had three former students with me, and two future students. Here are some of them in action:
This is Grace. She will be in my class next year. She really enjoyed spending time with the local kids. As you can see, the kids enjoyed her too!
Here is Grace (when the Graces were together, they are referred to as Grace squared). Grace is a former student and a super hard worker.
Eric is one of the few students to ever earn 100% in my math class. Unlike his math teacher, he can put his knowledge to good use! Eric also ran on the cross country team with me these past two years.
This is Maggie. She was in my Algebra class two years ago. Maggie grew up in Mexico and was our resident Spanish translator. Maggie's generosity knows no bounds.
Me and my new buddy Kate. She is full of energy and lots of fun. She sure has a great, summer story to share when she gets back to school!
Here is Mark (left) working hard. Mark was a friend to all on this trip, and didn't mind getting his hands dirty.
Going into to this trip, I was hoping to lead, perhaps inspire these kids. In the end, they inspired me. How amazing to have such servants hearts at such a young age.
Words and pictures are not enough to describe all that happened during this week. One of the things that resonated through me over the course of the week is something that Pastor Dan said. To love Jesus, is to serve and love His people. Whether we are in Guatemala, West Lafayette, or anywhere else - we all have the opportunity to do this on a daily basis. Shaun Groves (musician) sums it up beautifully in his song Jesus. Click HERE TO LISTEN.
Thank you all for your prayers and support. I will leave you with pictures of the people you served this past week. Thanks to you, they are sleeping in a new house tonight.