Las Cruces (the crosses in Spanish) has been an interesting place to live for a couple weeks. We have enjoyed seeing the desert, Southwestern style homes, and especially the Organ Mountains looming over the east side of the city.
Mesilla Valley Habitat is building six houses right now, and one family of new home-owners-to-be worked with us all last week. She explained how her family emigrated from Mexico to make a better life here since everything is so poor where they lived. They tried a number of times to buy a house, but with no down payment and an only moderate income, they did not qualify for a mortgage. She said she prayed and prayed, and God answered their prayers through Habitat for Humanity. She even brought her own homemade red enchiladas one day for all of us for lunch. What a treat!
This week Don and I installed windows, did some interior bracing, cleaned up a bit, and kind of helped install a door. The leaders trained as we went along and made us feel valued and productive. As we always have, we signed the house asking for blessings for all who live there.
Ron and Jean Gratz were the team leaders for this build.
Everyone on this build really connected. We feel like we have a whole group of new friends. They came from all over the country from a wide variety of professions, and all worked together beautifully. I was also impressed with the strong women on this build and how women were valued as builders just as the men are. No wimpy, girly behavior is allowed. The women all identified with Mary Jo’s T-shirt that said, “I fought like a girl and won.” One grandmother was a bit unsure of her construction skills and her strength with the hammer. By the last day of the build she helped install sheetrock and was declared the “supreme screwer” of the build to everyone’s delight.
Being God's servants with a hammer is evident from everyone. It feels good to do physical work as service. No job is too lowly for a servant of God. It always feels like a blessing to us to be able to help put a family into a house of their own.
Saturday we attended the Mesilla Valley Balloon Rally and the wonderful downtown market.
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