Krista and the Ultima Dia con Los Familias

Content by Krista

The Hotel in Tecpan where we have been staying has been cold and lacking in certain necessities by our standards such as hot water and clean towels and sheets etc. However there is no comparison to what these two families lack in their everyday lives and yet they put more than a foot forward to trudge through life and make the next day better than the last. I remind myself that what I have is a million times more than many others here and despite the hotel not being a 4 star, I have somewhere to sleep tonight that is safe and “warm” unlike many people here.

I, like my team mates have had the ultimate pleasure of working side by side a man with great strength and determination not only as his trade as a Mason, but also as a husband, father and grandfather. It is his family whom he is building this house for. The relationship has been strengthened by our determination to learn and to help someone much less fortunate than us affected by Mother Nature’s wrath. We were able to bridge some language gaps and share stories bringing us closer as a team and establishing a bond of trust with our new found friends for life.

Team Timoteo all gathered in the new bedroom.

As our team sat at breakfast this morning you could see the somberness on everyone’s faces myself included, knowing that we would be saying goodbye later today not having finished what we had started. We headed off to the work sites in different directions and had our final day with Timoteo and the other team with Juan. Team Timoteo chopped through and moved what we often referred to as the endless piles of dirt, and moved so many concrete blocks from one spot to another I don’t dare count. I learned how to lay brick and watched with curiosity as Timoteo measured and fitted blocks, trimming them when needed with his Machete as the sparks flew sporadically. It was a great day but it was filled with emotion. Timoteo gave me a huge hug shortly into the day and told me how thankful he was and how much he would miss us when we left today. I developed a great bond with this man and we both had tears well in our eyes as we expressed how much the other had grown to care for them.

Packing up to head to the other site for our closing ceremonies was also a difficult task as it meant saying goodbye to the children next door that I have grown to love and have enjoyed so much seeing their smiling faces everyday. This family nest door to our site was a huge part of our experience here and we got to see first hand how so many people share such a small space to live, work eat and sleep in, with nothing more than a dirt floor and space being shared with the animals.  

Juan

Timoteo and his wife

The closing ceremonies consisted of many, many expressions of thanks and gratitude towards the people that volunteered their time to help these two families that were affected so deeply by the Agatha storm move forward and rebuild their homes. The team and families shared in prayers, expressions of thanks, and of course tears of happiness for the families to move forward with life but also sadness of saying goodbye for now. Before we left both families we had the opportunity to travel up through the field to where Juan’s previous family home had been washed away by a mudslide that leveled his home, killed his wife, son and brother and left him with a broken leg and arm to care for his other younger son. This new home is bitter sweet as this family continues to grieve the loss of their previous home and loved ones as they put on a brave face and attempt happiness with a new home in a safer location away from the hills.

As I stood having juice with Timoteo and his family as we awaited our ride back to the city I thought to myself how incredibly amazing this experience was for me and how blessed I felt to be surrounded by amazing people that are caring and willing to put forth a small amount of effort to make and incredible difference in the lives of many, in our own country and abroad.

My name is Krista and this was my first Habitat build, and it definitely will not be my last!