We loaded the bus this morning excited and ready for our group’s first build of the trip. Our excitement was quickly squelched when Kurt stepped on the bus and told us where our build sight was going to be for the day.
Our bus was headed to the dump to build two homes. He told us there would be no complaining about the smells, and we would be staying until it was finished. Someone on the bus spoke up and said “We will just be there one day. These families live there daily. We will be fine.” When we arrived at our site, we promptly started applying bug spray and warning our kids to watch out for all the medical waste. We would be here just one day. These children live here daily. The family we built for already had a house on the site that had to be torn down. 
The saying “never judge a book by its cover” would describe our next few minutes perfectly. As we stood in the yard of this house, we looked at each other thinking this house looked fairly sturdy. It was mostly wood and had a tin roof. Stepping inside the home quickly shut down any doubts we had about the family’s need for a new home. We hadn’t even made it inside the house before someone was bringing out a small rattlesnake that had just feasted on something inside the home.
We would only be here one day. This family lives there daily. We will be fine. Dirt floor, paper stuffed in cracks, walls that came down with one swing of a hammer just proved how much of a need this family had. Our group took on the job of pulling nails from the wood that had been taken down. Everything has value, and everything must be saved. Five minutes in the hot sun to remove one bent, rusty nail puts things into perspective. Josue, a four year old little boy, was so eager to help pull nails and clean up. We didn’t find out until later it wasn’t his home. He was just a neighbor ready to pitch in and help a friend. On the outside he looked like a regular little Honduran boy, to me he looked a lot like Jesus. For two hours we worked to save rusty, bent nails and rotten wood while a group of boys dug holes through rock and set posts. Now it was time to start the real work. Blair and Camryn jumped right in and got to work. 
We hauled lumber and drove nails for hours. I never heard one complaint and everyone was working with a smile. No one minded the heat, the sweat in their eyes, or the smell. We would only be here one day. This family lives here every day. We will be fine. Neighbors came by to watch. Two boys about 10 years old came by after school, grabbed a hammer and started swinging. Josue was still working cleaning up our scraps and keeping us entertained. Brandi channeled her inner ninja and climbed a post to get up on the roof to drive nails for the rafters and to put the tin on the home.
Don’t worry, I’ve got plenty of pictures for those of you who want to see. As we came to the part of the work where few hands are needed, Blair and Camryn, along with a few other kids on the build, played a game of soccer with a group of children from the neighborhood. 
After the final wall was up, the family came in and looked at their new home. Anna, the youngest girl said it was “bonita”. We all agreed. We prayed for the family, took pictures, exchanged hugs and said our goodbyes. The walk back up the hill to the city dump was hard. Physically we were exhausted from a day of work most of us aren’t accustomed to doing. Emotionally we knew we were leaving the family at the bottom of the hill, just below the city dump, in a home most of us would use for livestock. We were there just one day. This family calls the small community on the edge of the city dump home. We are fine, but we are changed. A piece of our hearts will always be at the bottom of that hill in the little community at the edge of the city dump. ~ Tiffany and the ladies on the build
