This weekend, I built a house.
Well…not by myself.
And it wasn’t a huge mansion with balconies and landscaped yards.
And to be honest, I’m not exactly the queen of construction.
But I still loved it.
For three days, I got to spend time with 20 other members of my church in a town just outside of Tijuana, Baja California building homes for two families who desperately needed them.
One family had 12 people living in one room.
The other family was a single dad with three kids.
[I was on the team that built his house.]
Javier Montiel works nights so he can be home for his kids when they get home from school. He makes $57 a week for his family of 4 to live on.
They live high up on the side of a hill that we had to hike to because our bus couldn’t drive up it. Their house was about 100 square feet and made out of garage doors. There was no electricity or plumbing or windows. The front door couldn’t open all the way because the walls behind it were caving in.
And when they first moved in, Javier had to PAY for that house.
His youngest son played with the other neighborhood kids while we were there. They asked us for scrap wood, hammers, and nails and used them to build “cars” that they raced around a dirt track they had dug on the side of the road.
His middle son, Brian, doesn’t go to school right now because he has a learning disability. Javier doesn’t have time to help him, and the school doesn’t provide any additional services for him either.
His oldest daughter, Isela, is 13 and absolutely stunning. From the first day we were there, she hopped on our team and started hammering and measuring and stucco-ing [is that a word?] her new house. She takes English classes at school, so we helped each other practice as we worked.
The pastor of the church in Tijuana partners with the US-based organization that we went down with to find people who own land, but not much else. Usually the interview process and wait time to receive a house is about 1-3 months.
Javier had his home in 2 weeks.
He does not regularly attend church, but after receiving the keys to his new house agreed to come by and see what it’s all about.
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I was stoked for this trip.
I was stoked to get a taste of what the next year of my life would be like.
Bucket showers.
Serving others.
Fulfilling my life’s purpose.
Hearing from God.
Working hard and enjoying the results.
But then Sunday came around.
And I was cranky.
I couldn’t figure it out.
I was being used by God in an incredible story of hope and grace.
I was surrounded by like-minded people who wanted to serve the Lord.
I was doing exactly what I thought God had called me to do.
I should have been on top of the world. Hearing from God constantly. Seeing his hand in everything I was doing. Enjoying all the people on my team and feeling like I was following my purpose.
Instead, I was a little tired.
And a little grumpy.
And definitely not as energized as I had anticipated.
To put it simply, I didn’t expect to feel anything except holy.
And accomplished.
And 100% in tune with God.
But that wasn’t reality.
And I think God wanted to teach me that on purpose.
Missions is my calling. It is the purpose God has placed on my heart.
There is no doubt about that.
But sometimes I forget that Purpose doesn’t mean Perfect.
There will be times in the 11 months that I am on the World Race that I am uncomfortable.
And there will be times when I don’t like everything about everybody I meet.
And vice versa.
And there will be times when I hear from God, and times when I don’t.
Being in another country does not automatically make this journey called FAITH easy.
The World Race makes sense.
It’s exactly what God has planned for me.
I will grow.
I will experience life.
I will experience God.
I will love and be loved.
But I won’t feel it every day.
And that’s okay.
What’s important is that I don’t let those days of discomfort define me, or what God has called me to do.
What’s important is that the Javier’s and Brian’s and Isela’s of the world feel loved.
They have to see God through me and my team, even when I feel like I’m walking in the dark.
Not every minute will be perfect. But every minute will have purpose.
And not a purpose that I have defined, but one that He has defined for me.
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