9 meters for Christmas

It has been a very busy December and it’s hard to believe that tomorrow we’ll be leaving for the States to spend Christmas with our family. After I arrived home from a trip to Colorado in which I was helping my buddy Greg with some framing it was back to work in trying to get everything ready for the group that was coming for Christmas and the groups that will be arriving right after Christmas. We have one group from Bear Valley CA that has been coming down every year for the past 8-9 years helping and serving the women at Casa Esperanza, which is a home for battered and abused women and their children. At first they just came down to spread the Christmas cheer with presents for the children and to provide a special meal for them. Now however they roll up their selves and dig into what ever kind of work I can find for them. This year they spread a different kind of cheer and they even invited some friends from Desert View Baptist of Arizona to participate in some dirty, messy, and back breaking work, but it will prove to be a big blessing to the women at Casa Esperanza. This year the guys and girls from Bear Valley and Desert View spread the cheer in the way of 9 cubic meters of Concrete!!

This is an ongoing project that started last year by pouring sidewalks in front of the homes that the ladies lived in, but still they had to walk on the dirt to get to the main building for meetings, meals, and special events. Then there is the mud factor that just makes things a whole lot worse as mud gets tracked all over the place. I’m not sure if it really means anything to them to see the group there setting forms, moving dirt, chasing away the kids, watching the big truck roll in and hearing all the noise as the truck revs up his motor to spill out the concrete, but I think it will mean a great deal to them when they get to walk on it for the first time. I’m sure for some of these women they were excited to see 9 Meters of Concrete roll in, and that they know they will not have to walk through the MUD and it will actually make things a little bit cleaner. So I think all of us considered it an honor to serve them in this way, and it feels all the more of a blessing in being able to do this right before Christmas.

Another big part of the day was handing out Pizza and shoe box gifts! When we asked the director Jasmine what would be a good meal to serve for lunch she said “PIZZA and Soda’s!!” She explained that the kids rarely get to eat pizza and they

The Kids went crazy over the Pizza and Soda

LOVE it! So Donna from BV placed the order at Costco and Whaaaa laaa,,,,Pizza for all, and yea, they were very excited and they loved it.

Next was the shoe box gifts! As the names were called out the kids would break out into a round of cheers and the clapping of hands, and they all showed excitement for each others as the gifts were handed out. For me it was a kind of a tender moment to see these Men and women standing there that just got done pouring and finishing 9 meters of Concrete to now be handing the gifts to the children, and yea you could see that they were tired, but they also just as excited to be a part of spreading some love.

So it was a long day and it seems that there should be more to write, but I’m tired and I still have clothes to pack, a car to pack, a shower to take, and prepare for our departure, but hey, it’s only 9:30 and I still have concrete in my hair—no worries! For me this has so much to do with what really Christmas is all about, and it’s what life should be about,,,making a difference through God’s Love. Working hard to show someone that there is a God that loves them, and to know that the smile or hug that you receive is payment enough for that hard work. And for you my good friend Pastor Kurt just think,,,it all started with that one phone call many years ago,,,who would have thought that it was going to lead up to 9 Meters for Christmas!

Merry Christmas EVERYONE!!!