Hola from Kevan and Ella,
This was a new
experience in a number of ways as it was the first time that Phil and I were the chief navigators through Tijuana and the surrounding
Colonias. Esperanza usually has a long term volunteer who helps groups navigate, but we missed the newest volunteer by a couple of weeks. To our credit we only got lost once and that was on a stretch
of road that had changed since the last time we were here and it was at
night. The main road to El
Centro is named "Cuahlhtamoc Sur ote", so you can see why we had a
difficult time asking for directions!
We offer high praise for
the five College of Wooster students who worked with us in the trenches this
year. This is the smallest group we've ever taken to Tijuana and at first
we were a bit concerned about our ability to complete some of the significant
work that happens here. We found, however, that we came to know one
another better as a small group and learned to work as a cohesive team.
There was never any negativity or dissension among us despite the difficulty of
some of the tasks assigned to us.
Each year,
the Friday workday is special because our mission trip concludes with
a Fiesta provided by the families that we work with. We were in Colonia "Cumbre" where we had never worked in before.
It is a new development in the Esperanza Organization. The Fiesta always
includes a "la Leche" cake. For those of you who don't
know what this means, it's an otherwise perfectly good cake made soggy by a
thorough drenching with milk. The tradition is that the birthday person
has their face pushed into the cake. On a number of occasions, a
"worthy" worker is chosen to be awarded a ceremonial first bite of
cake. When they bend over to taste their
cake, someone comes from behind to create a frosting face.
A little boy
named, Alexandro, celebrated his 5th birthday with us during this special Friday Fiesta. Alexandro loves soccer so we selected a soccer ball piñata for
him and brought him a gift of a soccer ball. One example of the inclusive
hospitality we experienced with this family was their recruiting many members
of our group to take a turn whacking the piñata. Alexandros' little
white 6 week old Chihuahua was popular with the workers. At the Fiesta,
his Grandmother joked that his puppy would make good "Carnicitas".
Alexandro didn’t think much of this idea!
Our work on the last day
involved pouring a floor. Some of the challenges involved a very steep
wooden staircase which led from the top area where the cement was made to the
home area where the cement needed to be poured into a previously prepared
frame. I ended up being the last in the bucket line and poured the cement onto the floor from each bucket. Ella ended up being the "bucket catcher".
This means that I had to throw the empty buckets about ten or fifteen feet to
Ella, who handed the bucket to a neighbor who then threw the bucket back up
twenty feet or so to a student waiting on the edge of a mound of dirt. In
the past, marital conflicts have ensued when husbands threw buckets to their
wives, but Ella and I survived this experiment without any disagreements,
although she slipped on loose gravel twice in the process. This would be
a wonderful marital test for any couple who would like to go with us in the
future! It would be much better than any "Marriage encounter"
weekend.
We also had the nicest
weather we've ever had on an Esperanza mission trip. 70's by day and 50's
by night which was nice considering the snowstorms in Ohio this week. La Cumbre colonia is located close to the ocean and on occasion
you can catch a glimpse of water from the neighborhood we worked in.
Light fog often wafted overhead. Wealthy people have bought up all of the
oceanside properties but this neighborhood was within sight of large ranches
and a couple of very large olive orchards.
Before saying goodbye to
Eduardo for another year, we shared in a time of reflection on our experiences
over the week and even of the past years that TUCC members have been coming to
Tijuana. While we only see pieces of the houses coming into being, we enjoyed
hearing stories about families we have worked with in past years and the
difference having a secure home has made for their family. It was
clear that each of us will be taking home special experiences and warm memories
to share with our families and friends.
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