We have just completed a sacred, marvelous experience. We have a new understanding of poverty and charity. We have been inspired by the amazing people we served with. With all my heart I hope we can "retain in remembrance" the feelings of this week.
We arrived in San Diego on Friday night after a panic filled flight. Our panic was induced by the security woman who loudly announced that Tony and my passports were expired and that we were not going anywhere out of the country. We had prayer and I called the organizers to tell them the bad news. Boarding our plane was an exercise in faith. We got to our hotel in San Diego around midnight and collapsed. When the sun came up in the morning, we got a text from Brad and Kim indicating that we would be just fine at the border. We grabbed McDonalds breakfast and snuggled in to listen to General Conference. After conference we enjoyed the beautiful pool and sunshine then headed for the beach. We spent all afternoon at Sunset Cliffs exploring the tide pools, playing in the waves and hiking. Amy Kolb joined us with her boyfriend Jared. At dinner time we headed to the Mormon Battalion to meet the Hainsworths. We took the tour with the missionaries and then had a late dinner at our favorite Mexican restaurant in Old Town. We had quite a wait, so we may have had a few more after dinner mints than allowed.
After dinner we tucked into our hotel on the border and got ready for our adventure!
Early the next morning we got into our Sunday clothes and met our group. Immediately we felt the pleasure of being with like-minded people. Most of the families were returning members, on 5th or 8th trips. That was a good sign! Brad explained the Tijuana rules: absolutely no drinking the water, no touching the animals, no going anywhere alone. We crossed the border together and went directly to the church in Tijuana to listen to conference. We had our first taste of the terrible poverty as we drove through the streets and saw thousands of people living in unacceptable conditions. Between sessions we went to Chispa, the house where families stay while they work, unpacked and had lunch. Chispa has an Lds family that serves as the caretakers and cooks and the food was traditional and delicious! We returned to the church for the second session of Conference. During this session Elder Kiernon pled with the members to care for the poor and the refugees. President Uchdorf was so emotional he could barely talk. It was an inspiring way to start our trip. After conference we drove to a Home for children. One of the boys on our trip had gathered school and hygiene supplies for his Eagle project. The children were anxious for attention and were all in when we pulled out the rip rope. I was happy to see my kids jump in and love the children. I lost Marcos in the sea of brown faces and Eliza had a kid in her arms the whole time. Tony was in his element, as usual speaking Spanish and playing hard. The beautiful woman who ran the orphanage concluded our visit with a blessing and the spirit was strong. We returned to Chispa for dinner and games and began to get to know our new friends.
We got our sleeping bags set up in our bunks and headed to bed.
Brad started singing Our Spanish hymn "Hay Una Hora de Solace," at 7:30 sharp and we hurried to prayer and scriptures. Brad did a good job teaching from Mosiah 4 about caring for the poor. After breakfast we were off to the building site. Our family was assigned to finish the eaves and siding on the back of the house. With our minimal experience we gave it our best and got the job done. I did not do well the first day remembering that the primary purpose was to work together, not get the house done. I had a hard time keeping Marcos engaged and he got into mischief. One. Our favorite things was called first lunch: a peanut butter sandwich and chips. Second lunch came at 1:30. I need to incorporate this into our daily life. That night we returned to to Chispa for dinner and FHE. My favorite part of dinner was a zucchini and cheese casserole with cream. Everyone else loved the tortillas and beans. We drank probiotics with every meal and it significantly helped our digestion. That night Rosco gave a presentation about his experiences climbing the 7 tallest peaks on the 7 continents, including Everest. He taught us that we can do hard things and that we should dream big, write our goal down, and say our goal to someone.
Tuesday we all made it to prayer and scripture by 7:30, but it was a little harder. On this morning we discussed the fruit of the tree of life, the love of God, how good it tastes and how good it is to share. Brad taught us how everything for better, looks better and even tastes better when we are feeling the spirit. It was proven true when 2nd lunch was a torts sandwich with American cheese and pressed ham on white bread. Absolutely delicious. We worked hard again, this time on dry wall, mudding and taping and Cooper became a roof laying expert. That night we went to the 2nd best taco stand in Tijuana for dinner. The tacos, carne asana and posada, were celestial. We finished it off with michcuana ice cream-coconut and pistachio!
That night we stayed up way too late laughing and talking. We shared stories of courtship, adoption and cancer. Tony broke out a little manipulation on Brad and Roscoe and had everyone in hysterics when he pronounced their "high riding ilius."
Wednesday was the toughest wake up of all, but we were rewarded with a beautiful scripture study from 3 Nephi Chap 12, the sermon on the mount. The words of the Savior seemed more relevant than ever, when he talked about us caring for the poor, feeding the hungry, clothing the naked. We learned that poverty applies not only to material possessions, but also to understanding identity. We enjoyed our last Chispa breakfast of chilequile, eggs and beans and we're off to work. We barely achieved our goal of finishing the roof and drywall by 5:00. Rosario joined us with her daughter and son and we presented the family with a signed picture of the Savior. Myrna the translator shared with us that Rosario works nights in bar restroom. She has to pay the owner 15.00 a night and keeps the rest of the times to feed her family. Myrna explained how a corrupt government taxes the poor without the benefits of government infrastructure: roads, sewer, water, electricity. A home for these families would be impossible without the help of others. Sitting together in that home we realized he sacred privilege we had enjoyed of practicing pure religion. The gospel was the great equalizer and we were experiencing Zion. It was a powerful moment I'll never forget.
We returned to Chispa for a delicious chicken dinner and to pack up. Our final stop before crossing the border was the Tijuana temple, arguably the most beautiful temple the church has ever built. After being surrounded by slums and poverty for three days the beauty and cleanliness of the temple was stark. It was so evident that God has so much more to offer. He has a literal mansion prepare for us and it was right before our eyes. It was very hard to say goodbye to our friends. Max especially made a great friend and although Cooper fought it the whole trip, he relished the friendships at the end.
It took us about an hour to cross the border, which gave us time to buy hot churros. Our expired passports were no problem, which we considered a miracle. We arrived at our hotel and slept for all of 5 hours before we boarded our plane for home. We made it with 10 minutes to spare before Cooper jumped on a bus to go with the SJE band back to Disneyland!
I'm so proud of my kids for how hard they worked in sleep deprived, uncomfortable situation. They were patient with each other, kind to the other kids and hard working.
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