ReBuild Mexico 2016 IV

Safety barrier!

"Our trip to Mexico was one of the greatest things I will ever do. Building a house for a family less fortunate than yourself really opens your eyes and mind to see what is going on in these areas of the world and it hits your heart when you see the extent of what's going on. I, myself, have come back home and have made a conscious decision not to take anything for granted, from my bed to my phone, as I have seen a society where most people don't have anywhere near what we have."

- Matt Chegwin

We knew the basic assembling of the frames into position was going to take place today! With that in mind, safety barriers made of spare timber and nails were put together. They provided a small amount of protection for us from the 12ft drop that we'd been facing each day so far. Once the frame was up, the most dangerous areas became 'leaders only' zones. A zone that was still deemed safe for all was the sewerage corner. A few youth were 'blessed' with the opportunity to wire and Stucco the wall side closest to the leaking pipes on days 4 and 5.

And the walls went up!

After the walls went up on the afternoon of day three everything else was such a blur! We had just 12 build hours left to completely wire up and Stucco the entire house. One of the really lovely opportunities we had on Thursday morning (build day 4) was to write notes of encouragements on the outsides of the walls before they got covered in Stucco.

Encouraging songs, verses, and notes

I think the best way to sum up the rest of the build is going to be mostly pictures:

Day One | Levelling the site, building the frames and moving concrete from the top of the site to the bottom.
Day Two | Mixing the concrete with cement, water and fibres and laying the slab.
Day Three | Assembling the walls of the house and some of the wiring to hold the frames tight.
Day Four | Writing words of encouragement on the frames, finishing the wiring and papering the walls. We also started the roof.
Day Five | All hands on deck for finishing touches! Finishing the roof, installing the doors and windows and applying 2 coats of Stucco (a cement based mix).

(Summary taken from Sam's website, here)

D a y   3

How many people does it take to saw some pretty wood?

D a y   4

It's starting to look like a house

Upon the roof!

Kings Academy putting a shift in

D a y   5

First coat of Stucco

Door installation

All hands on deck to get the last coat of Stucco applied before the day was up 

Makeshift overflow sewerage draining system with left over rocks

Holly 'The Machine' Grob

K e y   h a n d   o v e r   d a y

Handing over the keys 

Unlocking the door

A feast cooked for us by the family we built for

The completed house!

We experienced an extreme culture shock when we left the emotional roller coaster of Mexico and arrived into excessive consumerism back in California.

We've got so much more that we want to say.

"I didn't know what to expect going to Mexico this Easter. My original reason for going was to support the young people from WBC who had courageously stepped out in faith to serve God through Rebuild Mexico 2016.
Now that we have all returned from the awesome experience (of Mexico Rebuild 2016) I realised that I need to be part of the WBC team who went. The experience, and privilege, of seeing young people facing poverty first hand and working as a team to give a family hope by providing a new home. Who wouldn't want to witness that??? But there was more: to see God at work was a great thing and it had helped to rebuild my own, personal faith which has taken quite a battering over the last couple of years. I have returned from Mexico stronger than when I left and am so glad I took part.
Would I go again? Too right I would! :D The challenge to those reading this blog is would you take part in a Mexico Rebuild trip?????"
- Mike Walters

I imagine we'll post very soon with some more highlights about our trip and the celebration pool party afterwards! For now, though, that is us done! We've loved being able to share some of our stories with you. If you'd like to know more about ReBuild trips, visit the Urban Saints website here.

Thank you again for all of your support,
See you soon.

Guest post written by Amy | Girl With A Dream