Week 3- First Build With Faith Lutheran Church

Before I talk about the week, I want to say how this trip has already changed me. During the weeks I have been here I have been able to try multiple different churches. This has been very educational because I have learned what I enjoy and will look for in a church. Through the teams that come down, I have had devotionals and worship just about every day. Additionally, I am on a plan to read the whole new testament over the summer, and this has helped me to stay close to what God is telling me daily. During the week I have been working for and with God to build homes for families. What I am trying to say is that every hour of every day has been saturated with God and it has been an amazing experience. This really has just been a very positive environment and because of that, I have learned and grown in my faith so much in just the three weeks that I have been here. 

Now about my week... This was my first time leading a build and it went really well. To be honest, I was really nervous to lead a build, but the group we had this week was very easy to get along with and were really good workers. They had no problem getting their hands dirty and when I had a job for them, they were ready to tackle it. We had a young group of people, so on top of leading the build I felt like I also got to be a role model. I was able to share my story and my journey of how I got to Casas with many of them and I think it was very encouraging. I also really enjoyed talking to the team members and learning their stories. It was interesting to hear how other people got here and what their plans for life were. I had a lot of deep discussions with people and there was even a member that had just finished seminary school, so if you know me, you know I basically had a list of questions to ask him. I think my favorite part of mission trips will probably be getting to know and talking to a vast number and variety of people.

This week gave me the opportunity to grow in my leadership and interpersonal skills. I have a pretty good understanding of how to build the Casas house at this point, so I was not really worried about that aspect, but I did not know how I would do at leading. I would say that my first week was very successful leading-wise. I definitely felt more confident as the week went on. I even had a couple people compliment me on my leadership and one person really encouraged me and told me that I had an amazing attitude and lots of love for the Lord and that he was sure I would go far in life. That being said, there is always room for improvement, and I already have things I want to focus on during my next build. I feel even more ready for this summer now, especially with one leadership build under my belt. I know I'm going to have a good summer full of lots of growth and memorable experiences. 

The family we built for this week was very gracious and generous. During the week- and this is not normal or expected- but the family cooked lunch and played live worship music on the drums and guitar and sang for us every day while we built. The husband and wife we built for this week both played music in their church since they were little, so they did an amazing job. Although they sang in Spanish, I was still able to recognize many of the songs. At the end of the week when we dedicated the house to the family, they played more worship music for us and even gave a little gift to each of us. It was a key chain of a picture of their family- the mom, dad, and their 2-year-old girl- and the memory verse Philippians 4:19, "And my God will meet all your needs according to the riches of his glory in Christ Jesus." in Spanish. At the end of the week when we dedicated the house to the family, it reminds me just how special giving a house to someone is. To many of the families we build for, they are just amazed at how kind of generous our teams are for building them a house, and it is so momentous when we get to point that kindness and generosity back up to God. This really is the reason that our teams come down- to show God's love to others who may not have experienced it before. In the mornings during the week, I lead mini devotionals that relate to what our teams are doing. To end this post, I would like to share one of the verses that I talk about with the teams that relates to gift giving from God. 2 Corinthians 9:11-13 :

You will be enriched in every way so that you can be generous on every occasion, and through us your generosity will result in thanksgiving to God. This service that you perform is not only supplying the needs of the Lord’s people but is also overflowing in many expressions of thanks to God. Because of the service by which you have proved yourselves, others will praise God for the obedience that accompanies your confession of the gospel of Christ, and for your generosity in sharing with them and with everyone else.