Being a typical 15 year old girl in high school, the thought of leaving for 7 days, 5 of those days being in a hot Mexican desert, no phone, no showers, and stuck with the family, I went into this whole trip thinking, “What a terrible way to spend a week of my well earned summer.” I went to the meetings, and know a record breaking TWO people, outside of my family. I then found out I had to wake up on a Saturday at 4 in the morning to catch a 6 hour plane ride. I really was bugged by this whole thing. Then I crossed the Mexican border.
Things changed immediately. The buildings weren’t the same, the roads, the people, the cars, the music. All of it was different. I was in awe. I really hadn’t been expecting the change. I don’t know why it hadn’t occurred to me, they had said those things over and over again. But seeing it with my own eyes made it real. We kept driving, watching the “houses” go by, listening to the Spanish music on the radio. And I found my heart being…opened. Like I was lifted out of my old self and put into this person that was completely ok with being in this poor foreign country. I looked around me and saw strange faces, but instead of feeling discouraged, I was filled with hope.
We got to camp and set up. The rest of the afternoon we set up a circle of tents, not knowing then that I would soon call it home. We prayed over our wonderful meal, spaghetti and meatballs, and dug in. Chairs were scattered about, and people were talking and eating and bonding. I felt myself observing like I usually do, but I knew I needed to put myself out there. So when they gave us the challenge to go around meeting as many people as we could, I jumped on the opportunity, and met new people, mostly from Connecticut. Right away, the camp atmosphere was filled with love and friendship and such a strong positive vibe, that you couldn’t possibly be negative. I went to sleep that night knowing that this week was going to change my life.
And so it did. I learned so much, it’s hard for me to even explain it. I learned to appreciate my family. My little brother and sister went off and met so many friends. My sister was the life of the camp. Everyone adored her, and she was able to make anyone laugh. My brother was filled with confidence that I had never seen before. My dad, within the first day of building, proved to everyone that he was no 40 year old man that couldn’t do anything. He worked so hard, all the time, all week, never giving up. My heart was filled with pride, and I was so happy to be related to them. I was honored to say, “yes, that is my brother.” “yes, that is my sister.” “yes, that’s my daddy.”
I had been working at my mothers child care center for several months, and was just about tired of children. I went thinking good, ill have a break from children. And I did, the first 1 or 2 days of building. But then the local kids came, and wanted to play. I was thrilled to see them. I talked to them, in Spanish, which I never thought I could do. I understood most of what they were saying. And they filled my heart with joy and love. These kids were so eager to meet new people, to help us build a house for their neighbor, to talk to us and learn from us. I got so attached to them that on the 5th day, I was almost in tears because I wasn’t going to see them. I hope and pray that I made as big of an impact on them as they did for me.
Last, I met people that will forever be in my heart. The friends I made, and the relationships that were built felt like family. We all were so happy together. Everyone got along so well. It amazed me how fast I could get so attached to a place like that, and people who I had never seen before. In Mexico, it was like everyone just dropped their shells, and forgot about their lives at home. We all came with a common goal, and no extra baggage. Building a house with those 18 people, I don’t think I could ever build a stronger connection with another group like that. We were jubilant together. We worked perfectly as a group, every single one of us. I think that we all went down to Mexico hoping to find our part in the body of Christ, and there is no doubt in my mind that by the end of the second or third day, every single person found their place and did their job to the best of their abilities.
There were a lot of other things that I learned of my trip to Mexico, and I am sure that there is going to be even more to learn in the coming year, but I wanted to share with you the most important things to me. And I want you to know that I truly fell in love with Tijuana. I fell in love with the people there. I fell in love with everything about the city. And if you sacrifice a week of your life next year, you will fall in love to.
