I'm 17... When Did That Happen!?

Writing Prompt Number 2

A/N Here is the second writing prompt (obviously) enjoy!

2. Something you feel strongly about

Well there are a few things that I feel strongly about, and when asked its hard to think of a good example... Everyone has felt that at least once in their life, right? Ummmaaa....

Well this and last summer I went to Mexico on a mission trip with a Mission group called Amor. This year there was 32 of us, and not just from my town/church. There was 3 churches from Washington, and then a group from Oregon and California and one person from Mexico. 

What we do is we go down and a family that was picked by local churches down there gets a house built for them. This year it was a family of 7 living in a one room house. Their floor was made out of pallets that a friend or neighbor had given them. Their kitchen was outside and the tap in the sink wasn't hooked up to water, because there is no water that they could have hooked up to. The bathroom also didn't have running water and was an outhouse sort of thing. Their water was a big container outside of the house. It is crazy to think about how good people have it some places, and then to see them, struggling to stay healthy and to send the kids to school.

How it happens is that all of us that want to go down raise up a ton of money. And I mean a ton. Then we buy our plane tickets and fly down to California, where someone from Amor meets us there with the Amor vans. Then, after lunch, we drive across the border, to the Amor camp grounds. After setting up our tents in our area, we eat dinner and go to bed. Wake up early the next morning, eat breakfast, pack lunch, grab our tools and head out for the first day of work.

The house we build is simple, and we don't do any of the inside decorating. We build the frame, and the roof, and we make and pour the concrete ourselves. We have absolutely no power tools. Amor supplies the materials needed, and we provide the tools and the labor. We then put tar paper around the house, and put tar over the roof. The outside of the house then gets stuccoed, which we also made ourselves. After two layers of that, the house is done! Oh, we also have windows that we put in and two doors.

The fun stuff is meeting and interacting with the family. Also the vendors come with new, different stuff everyday. After working hard all day we can hang around the camp fire back at the Amor campsite, or play frisbee/ football. If you are in Mexico on a Sunday, you can also attend a church service. Even if some things about the sermon are confusing because of the translator having to catch all of it, the church experience there is completely different and eye opening. The people in the church treat you very well, and the church I have been to has fed us after the sermon, and if you left hungry, that would be your fault.

I feel strongly about this because I really do help people in need, and this really is a super good cause. Just because it is also a ton of fun, doesn't mean that it doesn't benefit people. Go if you possibly can; and I promise it will be worth it. By doing this trip, I have changed lives while getting closer to God, and that, my friends, is a wonderful feeling. :)