Perhaps you recognize the quote above from the classic movie "Blues Brothers" and it is just as fitting for the youth as we embark on our journey to South Texas. We are leaving the church Sunday morning at 7 am ready for the 14 hour drive ahead of us. We are going to Los Fresnos, TX where we will assist Southwest Good Samaritan Ministries in their mission to refugees and their community. I hope you will follow us on our journey by checking the website for updates and read our Mission Journal.
Sunday June 19, 2011
We made it to South Padre Island without incident. Well, the GPS gave us only a couple wrong turns and then Daniel decided to go a little (ahem...hour) out of the way because someone suggested we eat at Red Lobster (but we ate at Wendy's across the street). The girls did really good on the trip, and it was not until the hot spicey chips being washed down with several bottles of water to put out the burning mouths that Dan began hearing "we need to stop...NOW!" After the screaming subsided crossing the bridge to reach the island we arrived a little after 10 pm. Thankfully, weveryone quickly drifted off to sleep.
Monday June 20, 2011
today we went to a refugee camp and we worked on three rooms,we accomplished two rooms and finished the ceiling of the thired room.when i was finished i was sweating from head to toe and i was told to drink alot of water,but the water tasted like dirt.then we went to the ocean,the waves were HUGE!!!!!! so that was my day and it was fun!
--kayla haverstick
today we visited. A refugee campand met a dog name sam. We helped put up dry wall for a lady who lost her house because she had to pay for kemo so we are making an edition to her house. Then when we got done for that days work we went to the beach. The waves were huge and powerful. It was very very fun!!!!!
--Hayden Burleigh
We had a slight change in plans as far as the work site goes, helping a woman with Leukemia with an addition on her house. Our focus was the drywall in 2 bedrooms and the living room. It was hot and dirty work but the girls did an amazing job (well, Dan too). They were measuring, cutting and fastening...and impressing me the whole time. The family raised chickens so they got to hold baby chicks and the dog, Lucy, was a big help (aka distraction). After a long day we were ready for some cooling off in the ocean. The waves were huge, just crashing into us. The laughter and smiles was the best part though. Tomorrow we anticipate finishing up with the drywall at this home and moving on to the home we initially planned on going to. Must rest.
--Valerie Mayfield
This week we are doing alot of drywall work. Mostly cutting and hanging, and a great deal of patchwork. Fortunately, my dad was a professional Drywall Finisher and as you might guess one of my summer jobs growing up was doing drywall. Now, years later, that training comes back so easily as I teach the girls what to do and pass on my knowledge and skill to others. The boys in the family also watch closely and help greatly as I teach them how to hang drywall also. The one thing everyone is fascinated with is how to make a straight line with a chalk line and everyone wants to snap the string.
~Daniel
Tuesday June 21, 2011
Hey its Kelsey. I had a huge day today! I think the hardest part was waking up ha ha. The funniest part of the day was swimming in the ocean. We didn’t get to stay very long this time but it was alright. Feliberto is a cool guy. I love seeing his big smile and him light up the room J. Manny (Manuel) is all of our best friends. We love joking around all the time. I want to give a BIG thank you to all the helpers that made this trip possible. And we are making sure that all of these people have a nice home and that we can be closer to god.
Love you all
-Kelsey
So far this week has been a blast! We have done a lot of construction work, played in the water, and even made new friends (Manny). It’s really hard work but it is totally worth it. These people really need our help. If you could how much pain these families are in you would want to help them too. Feliberto was really nice to us and told us the hard but amazing story of how he was able to help all of these families. I just want to say a humongous thank you to everyone who made this trip possible just so we could have the experience. Dan has been a huge help with all the heavy lifting and screwing. And the women (including Diana, Tina, and Valerie) who do the high work.
I miss you all
-Allison
Why I came this week is to help people in need we are here to help two families that are really struggling with some problems like the first family or house we went to her name was Martha and she has 3 sons but the point is her house got token down because soon before that she had got cancer and you have to go to therapy to get rid of the cancer but she couldn’t pay for the bills so they took her house and she had to move into her mother’s house and it’s just too crowded there so us 8 girls Daniel and Mike also Manny and we built a extension to the house and the second house this lady’s house got destroyed mostly in a hurricane and its bad but all of us working together we can get it done and the families will be happy again and live in a good environment
~Paige Talbott
"This is the youngest group we have had here in a long time, but they are some of the hardest workers we have ever had here."
Mike Robinson
Tonight we had a late night returning to the condo since we went to the refugee camp to visit with Feliberto. The youth were on the edge of their seat with the presentation of everything Southwest Good Samaritan Ministries does as well as listening to Feliberto's story of being in a concentration camp in Cuba and the forced labor and starvation he faced before escaping to the United States. It is amazing all that is done here and how many people are helped. Everyone is tired, sore, but working hard. I am so proud of all these girls are doing. It has been difficult to watch our words today as the family we were helping today are living...no, existing in a home that we do not know how they have been able to stay there. We wanted to be careful with the "eeews" and "gross" and words like that around the family as we saw the ceiling caving in and the walls falling apart. We have a new appreciation for our own homes now.
Wednesday June 22, 2011
Today we acomplished a lot. We got to finish on the first house we started on, and put all of our focus on the second house(which greatly needed our atention). luckly we went in yesterday and ripped the drywall out. today we got the very back bedroom done. we also got the middle bedroom patched and done. but the first bedroom still needs work(there is hole in the floor you can fall through). The ceiling got patched but then the rain came through the roof and got the drywall wet. It was a short rain thankfully but it was enough to get it wet. But mike thinks we can dry it out with fans.it was an awwesome day!
-Megan
Today we were able to finish the our first house, and move all of our attention to the second one. Hayden and I were in charge of cutting pieces of drywall to fill in spaces. We finished the very back bedroom. We had a little of trouble finishing the middle one because we were trying to put the drywall up the wrong way. The front bedroom was almost finished but it started to rain and we couldnt finish putting up the drywall. We had the living room done but the rain made the roof start to leak and it got all over the living room. Mike says he will be able to dry it all up and make it all better! We had a good day and had fun while we worked. It was amazing!
-Shaianne
Today we finished putting up dry wall at our first house. The lady of the house was appreciative wshe would refill our water coolers and ask us if we needed anything she also helped out a lot. we left her in tears she was so happy. So at about 9:45a.m we left that house and then we went to the next house it was in horrible shape there were holes in the floor, mold and bugs such spiders ants and COCKROACHES! We had to wear safety goggles, gloves and masks. Toward the end it started ti RAIN! and boys were still working on the roof and we had just finished the drywall were the leaks were so the rain started to pour through the ceiling and it was messing up the drywall but it all turned out ok. Every house that we went to atleast had one dog but this second house was unusual they had tons of CATS! and they had three kitties we got to name 2 of them but there was 3 there was 1 named tiger because he looked like a tiger but brown and there was a black one and we named him panther because he was very sneaky and he was black like a panther and the last one was a girl and her name was colors the little boy that lived there came up with that name because she had so many colors on her but it wierd because the mom all black. it was an AWESOME day.
-Julia
I want start out telling you all how honored I am to represent ESCC with this group. I am so impressed with this group of girls. I really wasn't too sure about the amount of work that we could get done here but these girls even impressed Mike the supervisor. He said they were one of the youngest groups he has worked with but one of the hardest working. The girls are also working well together. We have learned how tear out old drywall, measure, cut and install new drywall. What a change we have seen in the houses we have helped work on. I believe all of us have developed an even greater appreciation for all that we have at home. I have been really moved by the people we have met here. Both the families we have worked with and everyone we met with Southwest Good Samaritan Ministries. I want to reassure all of the parents and grandparents of the girls that they are all very polite, behaving themselves and even eating their veggies. But expect that they will sleep all day Saturday when we get home! Thank you for allowing me to share this experience with them.
Diana
Thursday June 23, 2011
Mike, the construction manager was so impressed with the amount of work we accomplished in 3 days that he really wanted us to have a day off to go have fun. Besides, much of the work came to a stand still until the plumber and dumpster arrived. So, today we started out at the beach enjoying the waves crashing to shore. Valerie and I gathered up most of the tools and took them to the camp and we donated much of what we bought for the job. We had four screw guns, a couple hammers, drywall tools and the drywall lift that made hanging drywall so easy. Then we went on an Eco Tour and Dolphin Watch Cruise. This was so fascinating because they brought the sea life right on board the boat for the kids to touch and see. We saw several dolphins swimming in the ocean along with a couple baby dolphins. After the cruise we went to the Schlitterbahn water park before hitting a few stores for souvenirs. Then we had diner with Mike and Manny. Each night before bed we ended the day with a small worship, but tonight's was so moving that I do not think there was a dry eye before the night was through...including me. It is amazing how wonderful and life changing trips like these can be.
Martha's Story
Martha has been an inspiration for the youth and I. In a way it is kind of sad to say that, since her life has been filled with so many difficulties. Yet, her faith is what keeps her going despite the immense loss she has faced. You see, a little over a year ago she and her husband enjoyed a nice home with their three boys. They both had great jobs and she helped run a home health company. Then a tragic accident took the life of her husband. Shortly after that she was diagnosed with cancer and had to begin chemotherapy. Then due to the medical bills and the loss of income her home was forclosed on. In a matter of months she lost her husband, her health and her home. She was able to move in with her parents and now in this tiny home there are 11 people trying to live together. She has just had to restart therapy. Here we are, helping to build a couple rooms onto this house to help her out, and in all reality, knowing her is a far greater blessing to our lives than anything we will be able to do for her. To face the fear of cancer, and what that could mean to your children, and to thank God for every day seems so amazing to me. She has truly blessed my life.
-Daniel
40,000 pounds of rice and 5,000 pounds of beans
Becky’s Story
Becky’s home has been in the family for over 50 years and when she bought it she paid $10 for the house to the family member who passed it down to her. However, the damage from hurricane Dolly left this home in shambles and barely standing. According to the construction manager, FEMA came to help after the hurricane, they repair a few select homes, but the majority were never even looked at and nothing was done to help many families. This is one of those homes. The family tried to make repairs, but the roof was not repaired correctly and the ceilings and walls began to cave in as the wood and drywall molded and rotted. We could have spent months doing various repairs on this home and never finishing.
Becky’s husband lost a really good job due to the hurricane but this did not stop him from working. He went to work at an orchard, 6 days a week and 12 hours a day to try to provide for his family. The kids went to work also, the ones that could find jobs. One young man makes barely enough to cover the gas money it takes to drive to and from work, hoping to get more hours and better pay from his loyalty. There are five kids living with their parents in this home and how they came into contact with us is from the help of the school. The school counselor heard of the condition of their home and then told Feliberto at SWGSM. After several years of living like this, we were the first ones to step foot into this home and to offer a helping hand to this family.
What we did seems so little to me now, but I know we laid the foundation for so many others to come in and finish the job. When we finished the repairs in one bedroom one of the boys came in so excitedly saying that they can now put the air conditioner in there. The next day it was there and this was the only cool room in the house. We patched many hole, and repaired the ceilings. Then on Wednesday our hopes and work were rained on when the first rain in about 8 months poured in on the house. Workers scrambled to cover the roof, we put new felt down, but not before the work got wet. Fans will dry out our work though, so not all was lost. Another group will be there this week to finish the repairs of the roof by putting a new roof on.
Even though the physical work we did may have stopped, our work was not finished. We donated a $1,000 towards the continued work in this house. You see they have been taking showers in a trailer behind their house because the plumbing didn’t work in the bathroom. Actually there was not much of a floor in the bathroom. That money paid for a plumber to come out and redo their bathroom and put a new floor, tub, toilet and sink in there. By the time you read this they will be enjoying showers in their home again. The money also helped repair a second bathroom and the kitchen repairs.
The husband, so grateful for the work being done offered to donate his pickup to SWGSM for the work they continue to do. He has a work truck and does not drive the other truck. What an inspiration, that they have so little, ask for nothing, and still offer to give to others.
The 4 Muslims
Feliberto is always getting refugees released from the detention center which houses anywhere from 800-1,200 refugees at any one time. When a refugee enters the United States, they end up in one of these “prisons” for as long as 6 months or until they can prove they are facing death, religious persecution or ethnic persecution in their home country. Only 6% are ever allowed to stay in the U.S. as citizens, the rest are deported. Not too long ago 4 men from the Middle East were released into Feliberto’s custody, and they stood before him shaking with fear. He told them not to be afraid, I am a Christian. Only one of the four spoke a little English, and he did his best to explain that the reason they escaped their country was because of the fighting and persecution they faced from those who called themselves Christian. You see, these four were Muslims. Feliberto reassured them that not all Christians were like that and they were welcome here at this camp.
Over the time they spent with Feliberto they learned that his words were true, and they were treated with respect for who they were. Through the compassion shown to them through Feliberto, they insisted on giving back. They had no money, but they were skilled carpenters and wanted to create something with their hands. Then, when it was time to leave, they brought their one Quran and offered it to Feliberto, saying that they had found in him a brother of God. He did not want to accept it because he knew how important their holy book was but they insisted. They then left to be placed in I believe Boston, with new jobs and new homes. Then a week or two later, Feliberto received a call from the one who spoke a little English. He said he had just been paid the first American dollars he had earned and with that he made his first phone call to say, “thank you”.
