MISSION TRIP!

We leave THIS Sunday, May 24 at 9:00 a.m.

We will be going to Puerto Penasco, also know as Rocky Point.  It is a fishing and tourist town of 60,000 people located on the Sea of Cortez.  It is 60 miles inside Mexico and about 240 miles from Phoenix.  100% of our trip fees goes toward the house construction and 1Missions ongoing operation in Mexico.  Each family that gets a house built for them is required to volunteer their time in community service to earn their house.  Currently the family we will build for lives in a temporary structure constructed from whatever materials they are able to salvage from the area or the local landfill such as cardboard, wooden pallets, car hoods, old boat hulls and discarded construction material.

Over the course of 2 1/2 days, we will construct an 11' x 22' house that will provide basic shelter.  We will be working alongside local volunteers and community members.  And we won't use any power tools!

We will be staying at the 1Mission base camp in bunkhouses.  It is located approximately 8 miles north of Puerto Penasco.

They sent us a typical schedule of our time there:

Day One:  Eat breakfast, pack a sack lunch and drive to the job site (you will drive your own vehicle to the site). You will meet your family for the first time. You will mix concrete in wheelbarrows, pour the concrete slab floor and frame the walls. After returning to base camp you’ll have dinner prepared by local volunteers and then your evening is free. You are welcome to go into Puerto Peñasco and explore the city provided that your group leader approves and you notify 1Mission staff of your intentions.


Day Two: You will get up (a little slower than Day One) take some Advil or Tylenol and then eat breakfast, pack your lunch and head to the job site. Today you will erect the walls and roof, wrap the house with tar paper and chicken wire and then complete the first coat of stucco on the exterior walls.
After returning to base camp you will prepare for Fiesta Night! This evening your family will join us to share our evening meal. This will be a time where you can get to know the family better and work on your Spanish language learning. Fiesta Night will end around 8:00 and the rest of the evening you are free to do whatever you choose, which, after two days of hard labor, usually means going to bed.


Day Three: You will get up even slower than Day Two, more Advil, eat breakfast, give thanks that you don’t have to work like this everyday, and then leave for the jobsite. Today is an easier day since you should only have to do the second coat of stucco and clean up the job site. You will do a house dedication ceremony with the family where you’ll turn over the keys for the house.
And then comes the hard part…saying goodbye to the new friends that you’ve made.
After returning to base camp there will be lunch provided and then your weekend concludes.