More than160 youth and adults from two churches, five academies, and La Sierra University, pitched tents on a dusty field near Tacate, Mexico, last November. They were just minutes away from their project area, El Valle Redondo, where 100 families live in stark poverty.
Dirt-floor homes have no electricity or running water. Walls and roofs are pieced together from cardboard, scrap wood and tin. Income per household is $40 to $150 per week, with much of the cash going toward a mortgage on a tiny plot of land. As many as seven family members share a one-room house.
“We had more comfort at our campsite than they had in their homes!” exclaimed Izaak Ramirez, a sophomore from La Sierra Academy (LSA) who volunteered for the mission trip.
“I had been to Mexico before, but this was worse than I expected,” added Sara Martinez, another LSA sophomore.
“The idea for this trip came from Steve McClain who has led smaller groups before. He suggested we bring students from several schools,” said Yami Bazan, associate youth director for the Southeastern California Conference. She recruited Manual Vitug, Marc Woodson and Roy Tantung, colleagues in the youth department, to help orchestrate the six-day trip, Nov. 16-21.
In three-and-a-half days, the group built eight small houses snug enough to keep out wind and rain. “Compared to what they had, these were mansions,” Bazan added.
The Amor Connection
McClain, who teaches mathematics and chemistry at LSA, had previously connected with Amor, a Christian group that facilitates short-term mission trips in Mexico. With input from Mexican pastors of various faiths, Amor screens families who need houses. It also locates a place to for volunteers to camp, brings in portable toilets, and makes arrangements with local officials for the project.
For $195 per volunteer, Amor delivered simple tools and basic building supplies to each home site such as nails, lumber, cement ingredients, chicken wire and roofing. The SECC office of education underwrote some of the cost. Pathfinder clubs loaned tents and chuck wagons. Volunteers each contributed $300 to $350 to cover transportation, food and other expenses.
Amor’s goal is to help volunteers gain cross-cultural understanding by direct contact with the Mexican culture and to discover the conditions of poverty through immersion. An Amor house is typically 11’ x 22', has two windows and a door, no plumbing, sheetrock or electricity. It is built without skilled labor or power tools.
Sabbath Outreach
After pouring foundations on Friday, many volunteers interacted with neighborhood children on Sabbath. Vitug organized a one-day vacation Bible school, complete with Bible stories, songs, crafts and games. Each child was paired with a volunteer. Others visited a boys’ orphanage in Tacate. Among the adults who accompanied Escondido Academy students were dentists who gave free care to orphans, extracting at least 48 teeth.
The youth department brought 250 school backpacks to give away, filled with things that kids could use in school—notebooks, pencils, crayons, etc. Local primary schools don’t admit children unless they have school supplies.
“It was amazing how excited and grateful kids were to get a notebook filled with clean paper,” said Melissa Contreras, an LSA junior. “We take everything for granted.”
Worship and Work
Tony Avila grew up in Tijuana in poverty similar to what the mission group was confronting on its trip. Now a pastor in Florida, Avila was guest speaker for the weekend, drawing powerful spiritual and practical lessons from what the group was experiencing.
Long hours exposed to wind, dust and sun, and engaging in hard physical labor challenged the volunteers. Many confessed that when they returned home, one of their most emotional moments was having a hot shower!
A farewell ceremony at each house included handing over keys and presenting each family a Bible engraved with their name, donated by the SECC Hispanic ministries department.
“I’m glad I went,” said Ramirez. “I wanted to make a difference.” Judging by the photos of emotional partings with the families, he and 160 others not only made a difference for others, but experienced a difference themselves.
Those Who Came
The number participating in the 2006 mission trip included: Calexico Mission School (4), Escondido Adventist Academy (21), La Sierra Academy (42), Loma Linda Academy (43), Mesa Grande Academy (7), Perris 5th Street Church (2), Riverside Community Church (6), plus La Sierra University students (13), youth leaders, teachers and parents.
