Editor’s note: The following is from the Grade 9 class at Vernon Christian School, who recently returned from a mission trip to Tijuana, Mexico.
Every year, the Grade 9 class from Vernon Christian School, along with parent and teacher volunteers, head down to Tijuana, Mexico for a week-long, eye-opening experience. This was the 13th year that the school has gone and worked alongside Amor Ministries to build a home for a family in need.
The school has built 19 homes to date. The short-term mission trip is part of the students’ curriculum and allows young people to do something positive in the world. While practising their basic carpentry and Spanish language skills, the team has a chance to put their faith into action by doing what Jesus would have them do (Matthew 25:45).
In Mexico, the group camps in tents at a secure campground with limited access to water and plumbing. This gives the students an understanding of what it is like to live in poverty, as often the people they build homes for are living in conditions that we would find shocking. Usually they are in homes that have dirt floors and the walls are old pieces of plywood that hardly protect them from the elements.
This year, the group built a home for a widow named Evelia, who makes only $46 a week cleaning homes. Students were stunned to see a blanket serve as a front door. They worked hard, without the help of power tools, to build an 11’ x 22’ home with cement floor, a locking door and two windows. Each day, Evelia would greet the group with hugs, calling them, “mi familia.” What also surprised the group was how the people living in poverty could be happy.
“I experienced the kindness and genuine happiness of the Mexican people even though they were living in poverty,” said student Caleb Haberstock.
This experience changes perspective not only of the group travelling but for some of the Mexicans, too. While building, neighbours often enquire about the group and what they are doing. One neighbour had a difficult time believing that kids from another country would take the time to spend a year raising money to buy a home for a complete stranger and then come and build the house as well.
“I have so much and they had so little…I went 10 days without some things that they go a life time without,” said student Brennan Seltzer.
Students are required to raise their own funds for the trip. Some class time is allotted to fundraising activities such as going to a local orchard and picking up windfalls to make apple pies, but most of the fundraising is done on the students’ own time. Without the help of the parents and the generosity of the school and local community, this trip would not be possible. A portion of the money that the students raise goes directly into purchasing the building materials for the home. A donation is also given to Amor’s backpack fund which is used to purchase the mandatory materials a Mexican child needs in order to attend school.
