Trip Follow-up - the Roof is on!

Roof complete 4/1/2023

 

Our last workday Friday 3/17/23

As a follow-up to our Esperanza Mission Trip 2023 - our trip ended on Tuesday March 21, 2023.  Since then the walls have been finished and this past Saturday April 1, 2023, the roof was poured so the house is pretty much done.  The house has to sit for three weeks before then can remove the wood forms.  Then the family will finish both the inside and outside of the house.

We have posted some more pictures of the finished house at the end of our photo's link.

Link to Photos

In April we held our church reflection service - we created a video about the trip:

click to view the Esperanza Mission Trip 2023 video

Phil Starr

Monday update - rain day

 

Unfortunately, for our last workday - we are rained out again.  In the 16 years that I have been coming this is only the 4th rain day - two this trip and one in 2019.  Global warming???

The family is coming back here for a fiesta at lunch today.

We plan on leaving the Posada at 1 am to cross the border to head for the San Diego airport for the 6:20 am flight - we hope to eat breakfast at Denny's on the way.

Link to pictures

We had a "fiesta" with Ulysses and Mirna Aldrete and their three children back at the Posada.  The food was great and we had a lot of fun talking to the families.

We had a closing circle with the family and a closing circle with Eduardo.  

As I have said many times this is a fantastic place to serve.  We have become great friends with Eduardo and the entire Esperanza staff.  They are so dedicated to their work in sometimes trying conditions.  The families and the Esperanza staff are the reasons that I have come back so many times.  This has become our home too.

Phil Starr

Dealing with Unbreakable Borders

 In March 2016, Hannah visited the USA side of the USA / Mexico border.  After our Esperanza trip in 2016, Hannah stayed in San Diego a few days visiting relatives.  She visited the USA side of the border close to where we visit on the Mexico side.  

Hannah was on our trip this year but left yesterday as she has to work Monday.

Here is Hannah's post from 2016:

Link to Hannah's post - visiting the border from the USA side

Sunday outing

Today, a few of us went to Mass at the Catholic church just around the corner from the Posada.  

Then we went to the border and walked on the beach and boardwalk.  After that, we went downtown to Revolution street, ate at Giuseppe's.  Then walked around shopping and listing to the music.

We are currently back at the Posada - we plan on going to the taco stand for dinner and then to the ice cream stand.

Tomorrow is our last workday.  We have had a few sprinkles of rain and they are calling for some rain - hopefully we are not rained out again.

Talk to you soon.....

Link to pictures

Phil Starr

  

You will never believe what Phil Starr did today!!!!!

Trinity Friends,

I hope that you are reading this blog because of the provocative title!  Gotcha.  Honestly,  you will never believe what our work group did today! In the morning, we visited a home site owned by a recently widowed mother with two boys, 14 and 10.  Esperanza selects families based on need as well as their sweat equity in the program.  The program works much like Habitat for Humanity in the U.S.

The families in the neighborhood pitched in with us to help pour a cement roof and a patio for the family. This kind of altruism doesn't happen in every neighborhood! Neighbors who live in the vicinity of Esperanza families  always come through. Some of them also made lunch for all of us after the work was completed.  The house we worked on is in a Colonia named "La Morita" best know for the mountains that identify the area.  The streets are very steep and at one point we were chasing a run away stream of cement down the road!

The College of Wooster students who came with us this year have all been great!  They have worked diligently for two different households so far.  It feels good to do good.  These students have enabled us to complete more projects through their dedication because they can see the need.  Pouring cement is hard work and we have done more pouring on this trip than usual. Some of the students worked on the roof tying rebar to make a frame for the cement to be stronger.  Others worked near the patio, shoveling dirt into buckets to ensure that the patio is poured evenly. 

Thanks for following our Mission Trip and especially for your support of these efforts.

Rev. Dr. Kevan S. Franklin,

Pastor, Trinity United Church of Christ

Wooster, Ohio  

Saturday Night

 After showers and naps we went back to Rosarito and ate dinner at El Nido's - where we normally eat at on every trip.  We then went shopping and returned back to La Gloria.  After stopping for ice cream we are back at the Posada tonight.

We have a great group of College of Wooster students.

We will write more tomorrow.

Phil Starr

Saturday work

 Today we worked at a house in La Morita (?) - our group poured a roof, leveled out and moved dirt from behind the house and smoothed out an area so they have a cement patio at the front of the house.  

This is the first time that we have had a cement truck with a second truck with a large hose to move the concrete from the truck up to the top of the roof.  Much simpler than mixing the concrete via the mixer.  

We are back at the Posada - a few of the group went to a birthday party - a relative of Steve's that lives close.  We plan on ice cream and fish tacos for dinner.  

We said good bye to Hannah today - as she had a 2:00 pm flight back to Denver.  She has to work Monday morning.  Thanks again Hannah for helping us out!!!

We will write more later.  I uploaded more pictures.

Link to photos