The trip to Juarez, Mexico introduced a new world as soon as we crossed the border into Mexico. The difference in El Paso and Juarez could be heard, seen and smelled in a few minutes after crossing the border. The purpose of this trip was to build new classrooms for children to learn in.
Upon arrival, we found the foundation waiting for us. The first chore involved getting all of the blocks in place for easy access to build the walls. This task took nearly half a day as we moved blocks along a chain to various parts of foundation. Things seemed slow at first but great progress was made.
One day, some of the local ladies working on the project decided to make a special drink for everyone since it was so hot. They were busy in the kitchen cutting up cucumbers and then mashing them for the drink. Think about lemonade but instead of using lemons, use cucumbers and you get the right idea for the drink. While it didn't sound appetizing at first, the cucumberade was a great tasting drink and did an incredible job of refreshing everyone.
By the end of the week, what was just a foundation became four new classrooms waiting for students. We prepared the roof to add more classrooms in the future as needed. Click the play button see a short video of the work we did.
We met many new friends throughout the week. One older gentleman was at the job site every day, looking things over. He taught Jimmy some much needed Spanish words. In particular, when to say good morning (good day), good afternoon and good evening. In the video, you can see this gentleman standing in the shade, holding his cane.
We took one day to visit a project in the garbage dump of the city of Juarez. People who don't have a place to live or money find themselves living in the city's trash. The children didn't have a place to go to school and no way to gain an education. Mr. Marteen saw an opportunity to help the children of the garbage dump and decided to start a school.
One of the stories he shared occurred in the beginning stages of the project. Without running water, there was no way to make all of the cement needed to put up the walls. Mr. Marteen prayed and felt God telling him to dig a huge hole in the ground. He spent many hours digging this hole. A couple of days before the team arrived to start the building project, it rained and rained, filling the hole with water. The people working on the project were able to get all of the water needed for the building from the hole in the ground. The video shows the garbage dump and the school.
The last day, the workers spent a few hours at the marketplace. Although everyone was told to be careful of purchasing any food, Jimmy couldn’t help himself. The result: “Some of the best tacos I have ever had in my life!!!”
