Day 4 - Tuesday

Today was the second day of work. It was way easier then yesterday; that because we were used to the work we were doing. We had crazy buckets lines of dirt flying back and forth and after lunch we had sand buckets flying around. The kids are always willing to help. After eating lunch, we got kind crazy and had a 10-minute dance party listening "Waka Waka" Shakira. Even the neighbors came and danced. After our day at the worksite, we went to the beach/border that has a pretty sad history to it. But the water after a long day was so refreshing. I'm hoping that these next few days will be as this exciting as was Monday and Tuesday.  I sure miss Kirkland but I think it was worth it going to Mexico over the summer. Even if it means that I tan as a tomato then get brown at night.
Love,
Alicja Cholewinska

Day two of the work to be done had such potential. We were ready at one house to put up the roof, and at the other the trenches which would form the foundation were approaching completion. We planned to have one small group prepare the roof for pouring while the others put the finishing touches on the trenches to be ready to place the foundation tomorrow. Arriving at the work site, we found that this was not necessarily the case; the house that comprised of just walls lacked some materials to set up the roof, so we all went to the other house to dig out more of the foundation. All that dirt had to go somewhere and we became very proficient at the 'fireman's line' and some of us even found our groove for throwing and catching half-full buckets again after two years of little use. We had nearly finished the trenches with the late morning overcast skies when we departed for the first house again for that most wonderful, home-cooked meal.


Lunch surpassed the memories of many of us, and the imaginations of a few, as we held a mini block party, complete with dancing and music from the stereos of the vans. After the welcome break a small group once again stayed behind to help prep the roof for pouring. Unfortunately, we hit yet another snag as we discovered that the beams we were to hang were not long enough, and we were thus thrust once more to the breach to finish the trenches, and then the real fun began, as the base of the foundation was filled with sand and cinder-blocks were passed around to provide the first layer of support. The pouring of the cement and the laying of the levels will happen tomorrow (we hope) while yet again we try to get some more roof work done.


After work, we made a quick trip to the beach at the boarder, where we found a monument marking the border, and a collection of crosses in memorial of those who lost their lives trying to cross the border. Something that is little publicized is the death toll for those attempting to cross, and from the number of crosses, some with names, some without, it became abundantly clear just how much was risked in crossing. This prompted me to wonder, "What is it that is so important, so encouraging, to people?" And I realized that the work that we are doing is never going to be enough, that help from foreign helpers bringing goodwill will never be able to solve the problem that drives people from their homes. That sort of systematic change must come from within, but every little bit that we can do to help will make a difference in the lives of that many more families. Thanks so much for the support.
~J.B.

hola, como estas?! yo estoy bien y yo conozo solo este. haha. i'm pretty sure i butchered that as well, but day two is warm tijuana has been a blast! it's great to be back. i've missed the sights, smells, food, people, and most of all sense of community. today we did work on the trenches. finishing most of the digging right before lunch and then finishing the work day by pouring in some sand and laying some bricks for the foundation of the wall. once again i got a nice cool refreshing shower made from dirt falling above me from the bucket line. haha. it's really great to see the teamwork that had stemmed from a group the i feel didn't really know each other in the beginning. sure some of us are from the same schools and sure we know faces. but we didn't have as much team-building activities as we did in previous trips and it was just really nice to see that despite that, we are still able to pull together and become one human machine on this trek. you really should see us. those bucket lines were prime. and the way we look out for each other and have all those inside jokes after three days was AWESOME. this was one of thee best groups i have ever gone on a mission trip with and i'm really looking forward to serving with them the rest of this week and hopefully years to come. i can't tell you how much closer we've grown and all the memories we've made thus far. all i can say is, you really had to be there.

love from tijuana. xoxo. thuyvy.

p.s. dear skip's mom. he threw his smelly sock (with holes in them) at me. he should get a talking to.