One thing that I find interesting already is that I seem to be living in Eastern time zone on the West coast. Meaning, I can't sleep a moment past 5 a.m. ( 8 a.m. there) and I am dog tired every night by 8:30 (11:30 there). I also cant seem to ignore the fact that it is very hot but not humid at all and that it seems breezy all of the time. I understand now why there is not a lot of need for air conditioners in homes in southern California.
My first work day was great. We were told by our construction boss that we got more done then he has ever done in a single day with a team. That was a great feeling. We all arrived to an empty concrete slab with several large stacks of stuff laying all around us. After teams cutting wood all day, painting all day and framing, we ending up with what looked a lot like a small blue house. The outside walls and roof framing are up. We even ran the electrical inside before we knocked off. So our progress was good.
On a personal side, I was amazed to see what a neighborhood looks like in Ensenada. Nothing level, landscaped or flat. The yards are very small and often unidentifiable. Crude fences sometimes separate property lines and no one has running water. In fact, the first road in the area is going in now. Most of the roads are more like dirt paths. Some of these houses do not have power. So I immediately thought, how do they wash or cook or clean. Can you imagine? I work very hard to create a clean safe environment for my kids. Grass and nice flat surfaces to run and play safely on. New, often trendy and stylish shoes on their feet. I could not imagine my boys growing up any other way. Manuel is also a hard working up right man. The only difference between me and him is that I was fortunate enough to be born American. He was born Mexican. a simple fact that changes everything for us. I am sure we would love the luxuries that we have. The right to earn an honest wage and provide better for his family.
On this first day, the Dad, Manuel and their oldest son were not on the build site. I was told that he works 12 to 14 hours a day and earns about 13 U.S. dollars a day. One thing that I could not help but notice was there joy. Mom, Moses and their little 6 year old jumped in and helped us. The boys seemed a little reserved at first, maybe because of the language barrier. But soon you could look there way and easily catch a smile. They were glad that we were there. Unmistakable joy. And we were all openly gracious when they would come up to us and jump on our backs or decide to tickle us and playfully run away giggling. All very affectionate ways of connecting and bonding.
So for me day one was very relational, very productive and deeply meaningful. A great start to a week. I am excited to see what tomorrow brings.
God bless the journey! dave
Published on: Jul 19, 2011
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