Mexico

This is a true story. It all happened somewhere in yesterday....
   
    So I had turkey dinner on Sunday for thanksgiving at my mom's place. It was a lot of fun and it made me start thinking about past holidays. The thing that I find funny is that I find myself remembering the holidays when I wasn't at home. The prominent one was Easter in my grad year.

    I remember that year very fondly and I still don't regret missing Easter. I missed it in order to go on this trip called Project Help Mexico. It was a great trip. The purpose of Project Help Mexico is to build a house (or houses) for those less fortunate than us in Mexico. The unfortunate part about it was that we were only allowed to build for people who owned their own land. If they didn't, then the landlords would be able to kick the people out of their homes and rent them out for a higher rent after the new house was built. The people who owned their own land needed just as much help as those who didn't. Their living conditions were not what we in Canada would call good. So, we built a house for this wonderful family in Tijuana, Mexico.

    Anyways, the best part of this trip was that we went over Easter weekend. The build site was just next to a church where we could hear people singing during one of the days we were working. Another great thing about it was that we handed the keys to the house over on Easter. It was a great moment and there were a lot of tears. We didn't just give them a house, either. A few of the guys on the trip built the kids of the family a set of bunkbeds that were mounted on the wall and we all chipped in money in order to buy them some housewarming gifts. We even brought some stuff from home. I personally brought them some wool blankets. Others brought them a sewing machine and clothing and other such things. The biggest thing we got for them, I think was their oven/stove. I remember how important this piece was because the mother of the family was very excited to be able to cook a turkey for her family that Easter. It made us all realize how fortunate we were for what we had back home.

    Project Help Mexico was a great experience that I would definitely do again if I could. It was the first time in my life where I felt like I was truly making a difference in someone's life and it helped that I did the trip with friends. We had a great time. I didn't completely miss out on my Easter either. When I opened my suitcase in my hotel room, I found that my mom had put a chocolate bunny and an Easter card into it while I wasn't looking. It made me smile and I shared some of it with my friend Kayla, who was sharing my room with me.

Anyways, my assignment for everyone today is this: Help someone. It can be anyone. I would suggest making a donation to Project Help Mexico. But, not everyone can afford that. So, just help someone however you can.

Ciao!