Mud and Rainbows

Confusion reigned as the hearty team of volunteers worked to overcome the chaos of the blizzard on Dec 26th. We were all amazed to find out that the airport was still recovering by Wednesday. Almost everyone’s flight plan was interrupted . Finally all but one volunteer made it to San Diego airport by the appointed 12 noon meet up time. Due to confusion at the JFK terminal and several gate changes, Miguel missed his flight. By a great miracle he got the last seat on the 4 pm flight to San Diego. Getting Miguel from the airport to the border was bit of a challenge but by 10 pm we found him sitting in Mc Donalds having Big Mac in downtown Tijuana. To make it more eventful, on the way to the Posada, we got a flat tire, and faithful Esperanza team member Victor rescued us and changed the tire in the pouring rain. When we arrived we found all the lights out and everyone sleeping.

Those without blankets had a bit of a sleepless night. Morning broke, with a bit of rain. Eduardo, the director of volunteers met with us to give an orientation and soon the bus was packed up. We were off to “La Morita” to meet “Theresa” whose home we were going to work on. The rain continued and we got out into mud filled streets. Despite of the off and on showers we mixed 12 bags of cement and poured the floor of Theresa’s home. The whole neighborhood turned out to help. In about 2 hours the floor was finished and lunch was served.


The sun finally came out during lunch and we were greeted by a beautiful rainbow arching over the mountain. For many of us it was the first time to see a full rainbow with all it’s colors. We knew the week would be good (especially if it stopped raining and the mud dried up.) We finished the walls of Theresa’s home and we headed back. It was a quiet ride back as that most of us were sleeping.


Reactions to the day? “You don’t need language to communicate. You can speak with smiles, hugs and laughter.” “The living conditions were more severe than I thought.” “The work was a lot harder than I expected.” “The people were so friendly and happy.” “Too much mud.”





After a spaghetti dinner the group rested and was soon off to bed.