It is the end of our fourth day here in Costa Rica and as I
am writing this blog, I hear the sounds of laughter from newly strengthened
friendships all around me and it makes me smile. That is what happens when you
travel to a new country together, eat together, share prayers and smiles,
encourage each other and work so hard you can hardly take another step
together. We are a team with one mission, to build homes for a family. As the
week has progressed, we have had the opportunity to meet the people who are
anxiously awaiting the big day tomorrow when they finally get to move into a
real home. A home with screens and glass on the windows, a concrete floor, a
door that locks and a roof. A roof that will protect their little ones from the
pouring rains that often comes in the heat of the afternoons.
The smiles on the faces of these families show pure joy in
their anticipation. Several of them have been working side by side with us each
day because they want to help make their own dreams come true. The young
children are so happy to see us each day and greet us with high fives and smiles
every time we arrive. This is why we are here. This is why the Mercy Home
Ministries team does what they do. This is not easy. This is hard. It is hot,
it is uncomfortable, we rarely have a bathroom, and we eat on buckets with
chickens and puppies around us. They put on metal roofs in the hot sun with
nothing to shade them and never, ever complain. These men inspire us all day
long. We may speak different languages but somehow we are all able to work
together side by side to get these homes built and ready for these families to
move in when we dedicate their homes to them.
Each family has selected a verse from the bible which will
be painted on a beautifully painted piece of wood that will be hung above their
front door. This verse will remind them of God’s love for them and the love of
the team from First Church of Lombard who came to help them have a special home
to raise their children.
Today the first house has been finished with only the door left
to be put in place. The second house is
ready for the roof to be put in place tomorrow morning. Certainly there have been challenges but
there is plenty of laughter and some ingenuity to solve the issues before us.
I had the chance to ride with Maximo today to run errands
around Nosara. It is an amazing experience
to spend time with him. He stopped to
show us some of the 40 plus homes Mercy Home Ministries has built in the Nosara
area. Folks are always excited to see
him and share stories of their families.
However, more families are in need of a safe, dry and adequate space for
their families. They write letters or
have someone write on their behalf to express the need. He shared the story of a group of students
who came to build a house and one of the locals who volunteered to help build
asked if he could be considered for a home.
They challenged one of the students to raise the funds to build this
hardworking man a home and it looks like it will happen. Maximo and his entire team are so dedicated
to what they do it is inspiring to all of us – to help make a change for one
family at a time.
So as we eat our meal tonight we are ready to finish the
last hours of work and experience the dedication of these two homes, numbers
128 and 129 for the Mercy Home Ministries team, to see the joy of the parents
and children. We have learned so much
from them.
By Stacy and Mark Meyer
