Primer Dia (First Day)

Hi friends, family, and members of FCCB,

We've only been here one day and we've already made meaningful connections across language and cultural differences. This morning we ate breakfast with the two other church groups and got an orientation of the work of Esperanza International. We headed to the community of Valle Verde with our new friends from Trinity Lutheran Church in Lynnwood, WA. We spent the day building walls for the foundation of the home.

As with anything new, some of us felt a little awkward not knowing what work we could help with. As the day progressed, we all found our niche and things felt really natural to us. We worked along side the members of the community, shoveling sand and gravel into buckets to be mixed into cement. Some of us participated in the "bucket line," where we passed concrete in buckets from the mixer to the foundation where it was needed.

After an amazing, delicious lunch made by the community members, we visited the Tortilleria (tortilla co-op), which was sponsored by Esperanza. The ladies that work in the co-op showed us the process for making tortillas in their small shop.

Later in the evening, after a bouncy van ride, we made our way to the border. It was an intense experience to see the division between the two countries. (Specifically the fence that the United States has built.) On the fence, there were hundreds of white crosses representing those who have died in their attempts to cross the border. It was also inspiring to see how the Mexican community has come together to make their side of the border beautiful. They've put in a nice park and created murals on the wall. Our side just looks barren.

We ended our evening with a great dinner and a time of song and reflection. All the youth enjoyed volleyball and basketball around the posada as well.

That's all we have for tonight, family. Thanks for your continued thoughts and prayers.
Love from Tijuana,
Angela, Heather, Andrew, Austin, and Erin