Humbled

January 11th, 2017

I want to squeeze and kiss my kids back home in Canada so badly after today.

In the afternoon today there was a mom sitting in the shade on the hillside at our job site, and she was kissing her baby like crazy. Her name is Yamileth (pronounced “Jamilette”), she was sitting on the hill and had her 18 month old son Eddie laying down, with his head near her knees. She kept repeating this playful kiss, a really aggressive snuggle-kiss like I do with my kids. In the middle of building her home with her husband, Jose Sigfredo, I stood there dripping with sweat holding my drill and was mesmerized. I watched her for what must’ve been minutes. I loved seeing how clear eyed and happy she was with her baby. Throughout the day when Eddie cried she would laugh playfully and get him to cheer up so quickly. One time she turned him to face me as a mothering technique. Smart – I actually may have been the first white person he’s ever seen, and at that moment I had very large messy red hair. This would be like me showing my baby boy a large monkey, it would definitely displace his crying with shock and curiosity.

It made my heart sing as I thought about what a healthy kid Eddie will grow up to be, with such present parents there in that simple farming community valley. Yamileth had happiness in her face and a countenance of joy all day. And in the observation of her spirit it occurred to me how simple and rich her life is there. Not rich in the way we think of it in Canada, but rich in the things that matter most in life.

The valley they live in is roughly a 2.5 / 3 hour walk to the nearest town (Victoria) uphill the entire way (it’s a struggle for our diesel truck to get up the hill, so you can imagine how hard a walk it would be). Victoria is where our team is staying, it’s a very small town and by Vancouver standards there’s not much happening. Almost none of the people where this family lives have cars, but most of them will walk into town once a week to get supplies, etc. Most of the people are farmers to keep themselves fed and a have little extra to trade or sell.

I say her life is rich there because I could see her richness all day. I realize I’ve never lived with want of money and that I have no right to speak about her context in that regard, but I can speak as a father who loves his children, a fellow parent. And on this very hot day I had a chilling thought that in all that’s “happening” in Vancouver, busyness is normal for me. I walked to the back of the house where I had to install a panel, and I felt a poverty in my heart as I was strongly compelled to slow down when I get home. Compelled to be more present daily and to realize again and again what wonders my children are and how much they need my wife Ashley and I. I was blessed with a vision today, a free type of wealth that I was given through this momma and baby sitting on a stone on a hill in the shade.

– Paul

Carmen and Edgar have four kids, Maria, Flor, Anayeli and Edgar (Maria was somewhere else in the village at this time) Poppa Edgar is a corn and bean farmer, Maria stays home with the kids when they’re not at school. Maria’s mom and brother live beside them and the mother is currently trying to get to the US for health reasons. 

Calis and Andrea have 2 children – Mauricio and Zenaida.  They are very happy and thankful to God and to us for their new home.  The house that they had has been torn down.  It leaked and had a lot of damage.  In rainy season, they had to move beds because of the leaks.  Calis is a farmer and works harvesting corn and beans.  From January to May he does not have much work and would like to find some more.  Andrea does not work outside of the home because there really is not much work available.  They would like us to pray for more work for Calis and for safety for their young family.  They love their new home which has a great view of the surrounding hills.
Senor Daniel and 3 of their 8 kids. Daniel is a farmer and his kids are vibrant and full of life (his wife was in town cooking meals for the building teams). We built their new house (300 sq ft) with Daniel today and they are stoked! It will be dry and lockable! He was so excited to be a part of building his own home, you could see the pride and hope in his eyes. When we asked what his biggest hope was, he said “that my family would be together and happy”.