Since 1851
ND students and the family with a new home they built in Tijuana.
Students hard at work mixing cement.
Students gather inside the frame of a house.
Preparing the frame for stucco.
Day One by Rachel Weed
Why am I choosing to go back to grueling days under the sun or even worse, the rain? To not be able to shower for a week? To not sleeping on a soft mattress? It all comes down to the families that we served in our short time in Tijuana and the difference we made in just 4 short days. To begin with day one: the foundation. Besides the fact that this is the most grueling day of work including leveling the ground and hand mixing cement for over 6 hours, it is also one of the most life changing. On the first day we get to meet our families. The first, Vanessa, was an 18 year old mother of three. The fact that someone our age was in such a dire condition really helped open our eyes to the work we were doing and help we were providing. From the first day, we began to build community with our families. The other family was a mother, father, and son who were continually helping us build our house. They would carry water for us, and even sifted an entire pile of rocks into fine grain overnight. We never asked them to do one of these things for us. Needless to say, friendships were created instantly. As we built the foundation we saw the smiles appear on their faces because it was not only cement, this was a foundation for hope. This new platform of their house would not only keep all their possessions dry, but it was a foundation for a new start, a new platform on which to begin again with hope. The fact that we could build such community and hope in just the few hours in Tijuana can describe the immense experience the Tijuana Service Immersion is.
Day Two by Michelle Balcazar
Day two of The Tijuana Immersion trip was not any easier than day one, during day two we worked on the framing of the house. Although day one was exhausting with all those volcanoes, day two was stressful and frustrating trying to get all those nails in the wood. To begin the day we sorted out the good wood from the bad and began our measurements. It was always measure twice cut once because we could not afford to make any mistakes because of our limited supplies. While building these walls we were met with many obstacles ranging from bad wood with many knots to hammering a nail in an unusual angle to having to fit in pieces of wood together. It was almost like a puzzle. Every time we were met with frustration we had to find motivation by thinking of the families we were helping as well as motivating each other because while we are down there we're all family and we all had to work together to complete the two houses. While working on a side wall frame for the house me and fellow leader Rachel worked continuously on a wall fighting to get the nails through the knots in the wood as well as fighting to get bent nails out of the wood using a crowbar. This was not easy but Rachel and I used both teamwork and motivation to complete this wall. If one of us was having trouble the other would come in and offer help, or we would switch off and give the other person a break, or just offer motivation. Although there were many times when we felt like giving up we always had the picture of the families of Vanessa and Esmeralda in our minds. Whether it took us 2 or even 45 minutes we were able to complete these frames with the help of teamwork, motivation and the pictures of the families in the back of our mind. Throughout the day I worked at the site of Vanessa's home and when the skeleton of the house was up and finished we presented Vanessa and her family with a broom so they could sweep their new home. By this time it was finally starting to sink in that they were going to get a house, you could see the excitement and joy on their faces, and one image that I will never forget was seeing Vanessa sweeping the floor of her new home as we left the worksite. Though the house was not yet finished she was already taking care of it as if it were. This taught me so much because of how grateful she was and also how much she appreciated just the framing of her new home. This whole experience has taught me more than you can learn in any classroom. It is one thing to learn but it is another to live and see it firsthand. Before I would take things for granted like food because of how easy it is for us to access. After this experience I was able to see the struggle these families had to go through to get their own food. Whenever we brought our extra food to our families they would be so grateful because that was one less thing they had to worry about. Now more than ever I am able to appreciate everything and take nothing for granted.
Day Three by Patricia Nguyen
When referring to immersion, the word I would use to describe this experience of immersion is radical. Often, the word radical is used to describe something that is extreme, drastic. Certainly, immersion is an experience that is extreme. It is a departure from what is most familiar—the comforts of home, family, friends, language, and environment. As a Tijuana traveler last year, I remember what was most radical for me was the lack of running water and not being able to shower. However, the word radical has another meaning that is a bit more obscure, but it is a definition that I think better describes immersion in a theological and spiritual sense. The word radical comes from the Latin word radix, meaning root. In this sense, radical can be defined as the basic, the essential, or the root. Rather than looking at radical in the sense of a departure, I’d like to see it as a return—a return to what is most basic and essential, the “root” of the human spirit. It is through immersion that we are allowed to Meet God in the Journey, to see not only the face of God in those whom we serve and live with, but in the act of solidarity, are able to see our own faces in the faces of others. The radical, or the root, of immersion is the recognition of God and self in others.
As a participant in last year’s Tijuana Service Immersion, I was blessed with the opportunity of meeting God in the journey through the faces of two women, Vanessa and Esperanza. Vanessa is a 19 year old single mother of 3 daughters and Esperanza, a wife and mother of a little boy who likes to play soccer. Perhaps it was because we are all connected by our experiences of womanhood. Perhaps it was because Vanessa was not much older than I was at the time and already and 3 daughters to care for. Perhaps it was because Esperanza lived in a dirt-floored house no larger than own bathroom and yet her smile was true to her name—Esperanza, meaning hope. Perhaps…but the 5 days I spent in Tijuana helping to build new homes for Vanessa, Esperanza, and their families, I experienced something quite radical, something at the root of my experience as a human being.
Looking at Vanessa and Esperanza, I saw the face of God. The way Vanessa tenderly carried her youngest daughter, the way Esperanza was always standing by the work cite as we were building, watching us, seeing if we needed any help. The concern, the kindness, the spirit of hope I witnessed was certainly the good God himself. I saw the possibility of their faces being my own. “She could be me,” I thought. It was this recognition of God in the journey that transformed me. Initially, my task was to build houses for the poor. However, that was no longer the radical, or the root, of my experience. The radical was about building a vision of hope that serves as the link between God, self, and other. It is a link that breaks down the many barriers—social, cultural, lingual, and other preconceptions—that prevents us from seeing clearly how God’s love is present in everything and everyone. I saw how similar Vanessa, Esperanza, and I were. Just as they were in search of a new and sturdy house that would serve as the foundation, the root, of shelter and home, I too was in search of something at the root of my existence. Along my journey, I was in search of God and I was in search of myself. Where is God amongst the poor? How is his work present even in such a barren place like Tijuana ? Where do I fit into this picture? The many questions I had and meeting of God in the journey were answered through the faces of Vanessa, Esperanza, and even my own.
To see the face of humanity, to see God in everything, is to be open to the transforming vision that allows us to witness the goodness of God in another culture, another way of life, another language, another person. The transformation occurs when the face of another person is no longer just a face of the masses, but a spirit—a spirit that is God’s spirit, a spirit that is so similar our own. This is the radical experience of immersion. Within that experience, there is an internal conversion that occurs—one that as Angela Davis puts it, “grasp things at the root.” The root is seeing the human face of Christ and self in everything, which is evidence of our own transformation of hearts—a heart that cries with and laughs with, a heart that lives in community with, a heart that sees beyond the exterior of face, house and grasps the root—the root that we are all looking to find God in one another.
Day Four by Tora Troop
The 4th and final day of building was a big one for us. Not only were we all very tired, but we all just wanted to get the job done and come home to our showers and beds. Throughout the day, we all had to encourage each other, support each other, and remember that we could not just stop working.
The excitement and anticipation in the family’s eyes were visible and even through my physical and mental exhaustion, there was a certain energy in the air that I could not ignore. At one point during the day, when I was taking a water-and-sunscreen break, I looked at the house that we, 30 juniors and seniors and our adult leaders, had built in just 4 days. We were people who did not have any background in construction. We did not know much, if anything, about building a house when we first started. Yet we were able to provide a solid, safe, structure, a home for two families. It was then that I understood the full impact of our work.
At the end of the day, when we gave the keys of their new home to the families, what I had imagined as just another moment suddenly became something more. I realized that we had built more than a house. I had built a community, started new friendships, and given hope to two families that previously did not have any. All the preparation, time, and effort we had put in to getting ready for this trip did not matter anymore. In that moment, it was not about us. It was not even about the families and the two 11x22 houses we had just built. It was about the difference a small group of people made, the difference I made. It was about the hope that was given, the lives that were restored, and the community that had rallied around two families in need. It was about giving back to our community, and taking 6 days out of our spring break to forever change the lives of those families.
I realized that I did not have to be part of something gigantic in order to change the lives of others. I just had to work as hard as I could, work with my community, and accept that I could do something. I can change lives.