Article submitted by Gavin Martin, son of Field Coordinators in Nicaragua
Last month, with the help of some friends, I was able to build a house for a needy family. I went to Cristo Rey, a very poor area next to the dump. The people were moved there 3 years ago from a different place by the government. The government didn’t provide food, water, or shelter, all they had was a field and a small dump from a local city. In three years make-shift houses have gone up but most of the people in the houses are starving, sleeping on the dirt floor, and cramped up with 11 or more people in the house.
I went to that place and decided that, it would be a good place to help. I started a Facebook event inviting most of my Facebook friends to join me. The house cost $500 for everything needed. After several months, the money was raised. We told Pastor Marcos, from the church in Cristo Rey, about the money we had raised and we asked him if he could choose the family that deserved it most.
We picked the day of July 24, to build the house because there was a team of guys coming from my youth group at my old church that week to visit and learn about Nicaragua. So on July 24, Everette Johnson, Chris Tallman, Bradley Fulp, Paxton Hammed, and our family all left for Cristo Rey. The pastor introduced us to the family of 4 had been living with another family of 8 in a house the size of my bedroom. There was a dad who, unlike most husbands in Cristo Rey, was working hard and caring for his family. There was a mom who was also working really hard and caring for her family. She had two boys. One was 10 years old, Angelo, and there was a baby that was really sick, Alonso. The baby was turning 1 year old that week and had almost died because of hunger and sickness 2 weeks before we got there. The local feeding program has helped the baby but the family was still hungry and hardworking. That is why the pastor chose that family.
We got to work right away in the morning by first building the frame. Next we added cement to the floor so when the rainy season happenes it won’t flood and get too muddy. We mixed the cement with our feet. While the door was being added I went with the pastor to get the bed for the family. The family had not expected a bed at all and were very happy and surprised. Throughout the entire time local kids would come to watch and help in any way they could, like shoveling cement or gravel and holding the door in place while we attached it.
Once we got done with the house we gave them a huge bag of rice, beans, and oil. Pastor Marcos prayed over the house and the family and dedicated it all to God. The family was very excited!
