Southbound Juarez
Observations from our student ministry's recent trip to Mexico:
With the graduating seniors being replaced by incoming freshmen, this group gelled much more quickly than I'd hoped. This is a VERY good sign.
The safety factor of a fully insured & licensed bus company who provides a well-rested bus driver is completely worth the investment.
It's best to stay at a hotel that's already got a little wear and tear on it when lodging 60 teenagers. Damage deposits don't always come back in the newer hotels.
The lack of professionalism among youth pastors is discouraging. We were delayed 25 minutes because the other church our guide was waiting on failed to call to say they'd be late. Then this young pup of a youth pastor shows up and never apologizes for being late OR not calling (the number was in the written material that said to call if you were going to be late), or even caring, that he set our group back half an hour due to his inconsideration.
Crossing the border, even in post-9/11 days, seems relatively simple.
Not many people know that a team of 60 people can pour a foundation on three different 20'x 10' houses, using wheelbarrows, hand mixing with hoes and shovels, in about 5 hours.
If you've never experienced a sandstorm in East Mexico/West Texas right after pouring those foundations, well, suffice to say that sustained 30 MPH winds and being sandblasted for an hour and a half doesn't lend itself to much rest time.
Teenagers who were all born in the 90's have never experienced 80's Hair Band Arena Rock, and they think Jon Bon Jovi's anthemic chants are extremely cool to sing along with on the way to the worksite. We didn't tell them any different, but it's just the tonic for the troops to have them singing "WHOA OH! WE'RE HALFWAY THERE...TAKE MY HAND, WE'LL MAKE IT I SWEAR, WHOA OH! LIVING ON A PRAYER" before a day on the worksite.
On day 2, we had the house framed. It's 9 feet high on one side and slopes to 8 feet on the other. We then experienced another dust storm, this time with 40 MPH sustained winds and it destroyed our kitchen tent. The military tents we rented from the Army/Navy surplus store held up fine. The military designs and standards really are brilliant when you think about them.
On day 3, we had the roof up and shingled, the walls enclosed and the first coat of stucco done. We got a wonderful night, too. No dust storms and the temperature dropped to about 60 with a breeze. We've gotten really good at building houses and camping out for a week.
The last day, we finished the stucco on three houses and turned over the keys to the new owner. While some people have closets larger than the homes we built, the moment when you hand someone the keys to their new home, it's very touching emotionally. They got a HOME for crying out loud. They lived in cardboard and pallets. Then somebody shows up, lets them fill out an application, they get a notice saying they need to be home for three days to host a team who has not only purchased all the materials they'll need, but will show up and put it all together in a four-day work week.
The tears and hugs of new homeowners is humbling to me...they only make $60 a month. They seem to give me a lot of the credit, but I just organize the expedition. My involvement is largely ceremonial/representational. The kids do everything from raising the money to building the home.
Our group camps out better than most of the people in the barrio live. We eat healthier and better than we do at home, too. We left all our leftover food with the families.
Teenagers actually think they're getting good deals at the Mercado Juarez when they barter/negotiate on hand crafts and blankets and leather goods and swords and such. It's pretty funny to watch, too. Best purchase: the freshmen guys all bought professional wrestling masks.
Crossing the border on a newly-created national holiday is happier because all the federal employees were thrilled to be getting time and a half in an unplanned way. They were very happy.
A hotel pool gets really brown when 60 teenagers who have only had bucket showers for a week jump in it without showering first.
Hearing teenagers tell what they learned about themselves and God during the debriefing session is always cool to me.
West Texas has very little fast-food options other than McDonald's.
Watching parents pick up their kids on time and me having an empty parking lot in front of you signaling the true end of the trip: priceless.
Observations from our student ministry's recent trip to Mexico:
With the graduating seniors being replaced by incoming freshmen, this group gelled much more quickly than I'd hoped. This is a VERY good sign.
The safety factor of a fully insured & licensed bus company who provides a well-rested bus driver is completely worth the investment.
It's best to stay at a hotel that's already got a little wear and tear on it when lodging 60 teenagers. Damage deposits don't always come back in the newer hotels.
The lack of professionalism among youth pastors is discouraging. We were delayed 25 minutes because the other church our guide was waiting on failed to call to say they'd be late. Then this young pup of a youth pastor shows up and never apologizes for being late OR not calling (the number was in the written material that said to call if you were going to be late), or even caring, that he set our group back half an hour due to his inconsideration.
Crossing the border, even in post-9/11 days, seems relatively simple.
Not many people know that a team of 60 people can pour a foundation on three different 20'x 10' houses, using wheelbarrows, hand mixing with hoes and shovels, in about 5 hours.
If you've never experienced a sandstorm in East Mexico/West Texas right after pouring those foundations, well, suffice to say that sustained 30 MPH winds and being sandblasted for an hour and a half doesn't lend itself to much rest time.
Teenagers who were all born in the 90's have never experienced 80's Hair Band Arena Rock, and they think Jon Bon Jovi's anthemic chants are extremely cool to sing along with on the way to the worksite. We didn't tell them any different, but it's just the tonic for the troops to have them singing "WHOA OH! WE'RE HALFWAY THERE...TAKE MY HAND, WE'LL MAKE IT I SWEAR, WHOA OH! LIVING ON A PRAYER" before a day on the worksite.
On day 2, we had the house framed. It's 9 feet high on one side and slopes to 8 feet on the other. We then experienced another dust storm, this time with 40 MPH sustained winds and it destroyed our kitchen tent. The military tents we rented from the Army/Navy surplus store held up fine. The military designs and standards really are brilliant when you think about them.
On day 3, we had the roof up and shingled, the walls enclosed and the first coat of stucco done. We got a wonderful night, too. No dust storms and the temperature dropped to about 60 with a breeze. We've gotten really good at building houses and camping out for a week.
The last day, we finished the stucco on three houses and turned over the keys to the new owner. While some people have closets larger than the homes we built, the moment when you hand someone the keys to their new home, it's very touching emotionally. They got a HOME for crying out loud. They lived in cardboard and pallets. Then somebody shows up, lets them fill out an application, they get a notice saying they need to be home for three days to host a team who has not only purchased all the materials they'll need, but will show up and put it all together in a four-day work week.
The tears and hugs of new homeowners is humbling to me...they only make $60 a month. They seem to give me a lot of the credit, but I just organize the expedition. My involvement is largely ceremonial/representational. The kids do everything from raising the money to building the home.
Our group camps out better than most of the people in the barrio live. We eat healthier and better than we do at home, too. We left all our leftover food with the families.
Teenagers actually think they're getting good deals at the Mercado Juarez when they barter/negotiate on hand crafts and blankets and leather goods and swords and such. It's pretty funny to watch, too. Best purchase: the freshmen guys all bought professional wrestling masks.
Crossing the border on a newly-created national holiday is happier because all the federal employees were thrilled to be getting time and a half in an unplanned way. They were very happy.
A hotel pool gets really brown when 60 teenagers who have only had bucket showers for a week jump in it without showering first.
Hearing teenagers tell what they learned about themselves and God during the debriefing session is always cool to me.
West Texas has very little fast-food options other than McDonald's.
Watching parents pick up their kids on time and me having an empty parking lot in front of you signaling the true end of the trip: priceless.
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