This trip started out with a bit of a hitch which caused us to hit the road a little later than expected, but that didn’t slow us down too much. We were all so excited for the adventure ahead of us. After what felt like forever, we made it to Casas Por Cristo’s headquarters in El Paso, Texas, Monday afternoon. We say hello to old friends and reacquaint ourselves with the Casas missionaries assigned to our builds. We have been incredibly fortunate to have Brigham be one of our leaders for many years, and we got the honor of having Bridgett again this year. After collecting our Casas leaders we set off to cross the border. Typically, it is fairly simple to cross into Mexico, and this year was no different.

Arriving at our host church, the Rose of Sharon, was full of celebration and reunion, as there are close knit friendship that has grown between the people of that church and ours over the years. They are such an important part of this journey, as they provide shelter, safety, and friendship during the short time we spend with them. After unloading and settling in, a group of us went to the local park to play, or at least try not to be destroyed at, soccer with the local kids. It was so much fun, and we even managed to score a couple of times!

No matter how many times I go on this trip, Tuesday, the first build day, is always special. It is the first time we lay eyes on the build site where we will end up spending so much time, and, more importantly, we finally get to meet the family we will be serving. We got to build for Tania Salas and her wonderful family.

After introductions are made we get busy unloading Bridget’s trailer and making the site as level as we can so we can be ready for the concrete. There is always a little bit of an adventure when it comes to getting the cement truck, as they are infamous for being on “Mexico time.” We may be told that the truck will arrive at 10, but that doesn’t mean it will actually arrive at 10. We were fortunate this year and the concrete arrived before lunch.

While the concrete prep is going on, there is another team of people working at cutting the wood so the walls can begin being built. We use a chop saw, and this year the existing home did not have enough power to run the saw so we pulled out a generator. At the end of day one, we have new friends, a level and smooth concrete slab, and partially built walls lying on the ground. Most people agree that Wednesday is their favorite build day.

We arrive to see the slab and some nailed together wood, and by the time we leave there is an almost complete house! We start the day by pulling the form off of the concrete. Casas has their projects designed so that there us as little waste as possible. That means that even the forms are cleaned.

Once the walls are nailed down, everything gets a bit more crazy. All of a sudden there seems to be a hundred tasks all at once. Blackboard is going up, people are on the roof, people are doing electrical work. The tasks don’t stop on Wednesday. Once the blackboard is done, then it’s time for insulation and chicken wire. There were several kids from the neighborhood that would show up each day to help us. It was certainly challenging at times to try to explain what to do to a ten year old who doesn’t understand, but it was such a joy to work with them. Wednesday was exhausting, and yet we still played with the kids and interacted with the family. Somehow energy kept being found, God kept pushing us to minister and to love these people. It certainly didn’t hurt that Tania and her family made us wonderful lunches each day. That certainly wasn’t expected but it was greatly appreciated and enjoyed.

When we returned on Thursday we were tired but so excited! We were going to finish the house! We got to work quickly, mixing stucco and installing drywall. We got to hold VBS at our build site on Thursday. Kids from all over the neighborhood showed up and got to do an Easter egg hunt, color papers, play soccer, and hear the good news of Jesus.

Friday is bittersweet. We did it! We built a house in three days, and Friday is the day that we finally get to hand the keys over to this family that has wormed their way deep into each of our hearts. However after we leave Friday morning, that’s that. We will never see them again. Casas will continue to watch over them, but our job is finished. We all have to go back to work and school. Back to our own families. Instead of dwelling on this, we have a party. We get to the house Friday morning to see a speaker set up with music playing, and everyone we have gotten to know is there, not just Tania and her family. We sing and clap, and then there is a more solemn time where tears are shed and some of us step up to share what this journey has meant to us and what we want for Tania in the future. Scripture is read, and a Bible that all of us had signed is handed to Tania. Tania then gets to place the last nail into the house by adding the Casas Por Cristo plaque above her door, and we hand over the keys. This is usually where it ends, but our new friends have more in store for us. They bring out cake and horchata, and the party continues! We get to play one last game of soccer with the kids and give hugs a final time before finally dragging ourselves into the vans and starting the trek home.

God’s hand really is hovering over Casas Por Cristo and the work they do. After we were done working Thursday afternoon, Bridgett brought her trailer full of her tools to the church she would be staying at the next week. Friday morning, she got word from the pastor of that church that someone broke into the trailer. Bridgett had thousands of dollars worth of her own personal tools in that trailer, including power tools, batteries, a generator, and more, so she was expecting the worst. When she went to investigate, she discovered that there wasn’t that much missing! The trailer was a mess and everything had been thrown to the ground, but she still had most of her things. A few days later she sent out an Amazon wish list to her supporters in an attempt to regain some of the things she did lose, and they were all bought in moments! God really is protecting Casas and what they do even as they are working in some potentially dangerous areas, and it is beautiful to see.

Every Casas trip I have participated in has brought its own struggles and its own lessons. This trip taught the importance of community, patience, and the fact that God is always in control. Even when things go awry in our minds, it is going perfectly according to God’s plan. He has his own plan for each of us that we cannot fathom, and sometimes that plan isn’t what we are comfortable with. A consistent thing that I find with every trip is that there is no doubt God uses us to change the home owners lives. There is also no doubt that God uses this trip and the families to change our lives. I will never forget Tania and the incredible community surrounding her.