The final day

This post was written on Saturday, June 30th.

By Calvin Antonetty

Hiiiii Everyone!

It’s Calvin again and this is my last blog post! It is currently 1:00am and we have to be awake at 4:30am to start leaving for the airport by 5:15am later today…soooo excuse me for any typos!

Today was our last day in Mexico and we went HAM CRAY FATTY STYLE (in Vince’s words)!!! We made it to the worksite early and just finished those houses, like, the houses didn’t even know what was coming!! Finishing involved tar guns, roof nails, white trimming, and complicated doors. I can’t even begin to describe how hard everyone worked today! All the groups had their own special little systems and tactics to getting the job du-dun-done! By the end of the work day, most people had tar stains on their pants, arms, and hands…OH and a nice hint of white paint!

Something AMAZING happened within the first five minutes of our arrival. (Grab the Kleenex, you might shed a tear or two) Papa Adrian pulled me aside and told me that his son (Adrian) is working on his first communion and that they go to the cathedral every Sunday. Everytime they go, Papa Adrian buys a new rosary or a new bracelet. Adrian Jr. decided he wanted to give his rosaries and bracelets to our team (orange team!!!!!). Now think about it. Little Adrian is 9 years old and here he is giving away these precious rosaries and bracelets to people he has only known for six days. In case you’re not familiar with the catholic logistics, to get your first communion, you have to sit through an hour or two of Sunday school every week and study the bible in depth. It’s not easy work AT ALL. I remember being that age and working for my first communion for so long. So all day we have all been wearing these amazing rosaries and bracelets and trying not to cry.

Leaving that work site was a melting pot of emotions. Excited that we finished the houses, in love with our new families, deep pain because we are leaving and may not ever see them again, relaxed because things were only gonna get easier, and confused as to why it couldn’t have taken us a month to finish these houses LOL. We also locked hands with Papa Adrian and his family and prayed. Andrew led us in the prayer and I translated his words into Spanish to Adrian. Throughout the entire good-bye process, Adrian tried not to cry. I must have said bye to him like five times. He said to me “I am so grateful that God put you all in my path and made a house for us to live in. I hope that God blesses you all and stays with you throughout your lives. I can’t even think of any more words to say because I’m trying not to cry.”.

Papa Adrian and his brothers were born amongst drugs and violence into a poor family in Guerrero. None of them made it through Elementary school because they had to work to make money for their family as they grew up. As they had kids, they picked up extra work to support their kids and their expensive apartments and skipped meals daily. They moved to TIJUANA to be SAFE and to take their kids out of the dangerous environment of Guerrero. All four families have been living in one little living room sized house for five years. Our Mission team came on Monday and built three more houses by Saturday morning. They now have four 12x24ft houses they can call their own. Now, the adults can starve, stress, and fear less. Now the new generation of kiddos can go to school and church and grow up with tons of opportunities they might have never had if their parents weren’t such amazing people. Instead of growing up to be in a gang, the kids might end up being the president of Mexico and putting an end to drug cartels! Who knows! After this week, I have learned that ANYTHING is possible. I will end this post with the last thing Papa Adrian wanted us to know about himself and Mexico. “I love living here because when the wind blows, it brings with it all of the happiness and the joy all around Mexico, and fills me with that same happiness.” The Soto-Ortiz family has a future, and now that I know of this amazing family, I know that Mexico does as well.

Much love,

Calvin Antonetty