Made it

Well after four days of waiting in San Diego to get to Mexico,
We made it! The border and the travel went smooth as they can go. I received a stamp for my passport with a date of 2010. We met the two families and began building the houses. The two families are related their properties back on to each other.
The next two days will be full build days with house dedications included. We are grateful to be here working along these families. Hopefully I can get some pictures up on the site tomorrow.

Time to GO!

It has been a long week of waiting and praying as we sit in San Diego. The strike that has gone on this this week in Mexico will hopefully help families in the long run with better wages. There has been some agreements made this week verbally with the hope of signed documents this coming Wednesday. All seems to be back to normal so we hope that this continues as we head south. The youth are excited and ready to get at it and meet the families. With only a couple days to build it we be some long days but well worth it.

Thank you for your prayers and support.
Clark

Meet The Families 2015 Trip

 

Tomorrow before the sun rises an amazing group of young people will be on a long bus ride to Mexico. For the past few months they have worked hard to raise money for their trip and the houses they will build. It is a privilege to be on this trip again. The Live Different group has been an amazing group to work with. In all the trips we have done with them they always care deeply about the students we bring and the work they do.

Here are the families we will be building for this year.

 

Penina and Vidal have worked very hard to create a home for their family. They are currently living in a house they constructed out of cardboard, wrapped with plastic on a dirt floor. Their one bed is off to one corner and there's a table and chairs in the other corner. Vidal works in the fields on a farm that grows flowers, earning an average of $70 per week. They have two beautiful daughters; Citlali who attends school and is in the 5th grade, and Thaily who is only 3 years old and stays home with Mom. Penina told us of how their home has been blown over when the winds are strong and they have had to rebuild it with the limited materials they can afford. It is also very hot inside in the summer months because there is no ventilation. When we told this wonderful family that there will be a group of volunteers coming to build a new house for them, they were so happy there were tears of joy!

For the past year Juana and Esteban have been living in a small house made of cardboard and plastic, with a dirt floor. Their home is very hot in the summer and is often damaged by strong winds. They do their best to provide for two grandchildren who are currently living with them, Kevin who is 7 years old, and Mira who is 11. Esteban works at a commercial flower farm earning the equivalent of $60 a week and Juana stays home to to take care of the house. When we went to tell them the good news about receiving a new house, Esteban was away in Oaxaca visiting his sister who is sick, which is why he is not in the "before" photograph. We are told he will be home in time for the construction and looks forward to meeting the team who will help build a new home and secure future for himself and his wife.






For the past two and a half years, Hermelinda and Javier have been living on the land they bought in a quiet area near the strawberry fields where they sometimes work. They are currently living in a single room constructed of plywood on a cement pad. There is one door, one window and one bed for the couple and their two children to share. Javier works in the fields earning on average $80 per week, while Hemelinda stays home with their beautiful children; Xavier and Allison.

They are very happy and excited to meet the team who will help make their dream of a bigger more secure home come true!