Being in real estate business for so long, I’ve had the opportunity to appraise many lavish estates with movie theater rooms, recreation rooms, butler rooms, underground wine cellars, man caves, garages with boat parking spaces, pool homes larger than most apartments and many more. It was not until I went to Mexico to build a 10 by 20 room to house a family of 8 (sometimes more) that I learned how fortunate we are just on the other side of the border. Back in high school I started volunteering for Habitat For Humanity and I thoroughly enjoyed my time building a home, mainly cuz I thought it was fun to hammer things but also because it was for a good cause. As the years went by my church partnered with AMOR Ministries and offered a trip to Tijuana, Mexico, where I actually learned the meaning of service and gratitude. We took two twelve passenger vans and my parent’s old station wagon (the one with two seats in the trunk facing the back) and drove down to Mexico with out tents, gloves and hammers. We were given the opportunity to build a home for a less fortunate family consisting of parents, their children and their grandchildren all living in a two room shack without running water. The goal was to move one of the children’s household out of the main house and into the small 10 by 10 room we were going to build in the back. After three long hard working days with 26 people, no machinery or running water, sleeping in tents in a dirt lot, we were able to lay a foundation, build the walls and place a roof over this family’s head. They amount of joy and gratitude they had on their faces at the end of this labor intensive weekend was worth coming back three more times. This time was just as great as the first time!!
I recommend to reach out to AMOR Ministries if you’re interested in volunteering for future trips, you never know what you will gain from it! Also, wear sunscreen, lots of it!
