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By Lailani Mendoza
PICTURE an 8 x 12 foot dwelling made of scrap tarps and
cardboard, in the middle of a dusty, arid land. Now picture a family of six
calling this place their home.
In Mexico, where breathtaking beaches and beautiful
people abound, the ugly face of poverty is still prevalent in the Baja
California region, the country’s northernmost state.
Here, in an impoverished community – and despite
working hard for a living – some people merely survive; they cannot
afford to build a decent shelter that will protect them from the elements.
Because of this need, a group of students and
University Christian Ministries directors are leaving for Baja California
May 1, to serve these families by building houses.
The students come from UBC Okanagan, UBC Vancouver,
Simon Fraser University and University of Victoria, said UBC Okanagan
chaplain Matt Duffy.
UCM has partnered with Foundation For His Ministry
(FFHM) and Hero Holiday, both Christian humanitarian organizations.
In addition to the Baja group, a second UCM team of 10
– led by another chaplain – will leave Vancouver on May 2 for
San Diego, to help out with FFHM’s orphanage ministry, Duffy noted.
In Baja California, he and his group will build two
21.5 x 22 foot houses, each with two to four rooms.
“We finish off by building them some kitchen
shelves,” said Duffy. “[We] buy them a stove and a propane
filled bottle. We go to a local second hand store and furnish their house.
We also make sure they have a pit toilet. That’s hard work, all week
long.”
As they build houses, Duffy says relationships and
character are being built in and between individuals as well.
“It is a life-changing period for anybody.
It’s a real, get-your-hands-dirty, real life Mexico experience and so
it is internally formative.” He adds that “hopefully a lot of
things will get embedded” in the students.
“We understand that our motivation is our faith,
but it gets larger than that,” he said. “Something just knits
us together. I think a lot of our superficial guards and masks just drop,
and you become a family – because you’re not focused on you.
You’re focused on others.”
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Participants also practice personal sacrifice and faith
as they come up with funds for the trip and the $5,000 capital money for
each house.
Kevin Duncan, a student at UBC Okanagan who has
previously gone on two of these trips, said the experience has truly helped
him mature and shift his perspective.
“When I came back, my general mindset
changed,” he explained. “I experienced growth and a closer
relationship with God – because it trivialized the things that were
kind of consuming me a little bit and becoming my idols when I was in
Canada previously.”
He cited one element of his experience as particularly
impactful.
“The presentation ceremony on the last day, the
handing of the key, [is very emotional]. We realize that lives have been
changed. We need hundreds of groups doing this down there to really make a
change.
He added, “I’ve been asked by someone
‘Do you think this is making any change?’ And my response is
‘Well, for nothing to change, all we have to do is nothing. But if
somebody stands up and does something, then the possibility exists that
others will come in – and we can see meaningful impact in the
region.”
Contact: ucmonline.ca
May 2009
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