The drive down was amazing with a stop for Taco’s along the way.

It is soooo greeeen down here - so much rain but unfortunately serious wash outs everywhere.

We are now settled in at the Hero Holiday House and enjoying the “home” atmosphere.

The weather is windy, damp and chilly but the “bus boggin” is great.

The house building has begun and the TEAM is awesome. The roof panels and walls were completed and tomorrow the house will rise from the ground and either stand or be carried off in the wind currents.

One amazing event today was the witnessing of Jim working as it was too dusty for him to see the rake handle to lean on. However, it was reassuring to see him understand the nature of the work. Way to go Jim. Clark, you would have been proud of him.

Well, as you can see we are not having much fun but this TEAM is truly amazing and today they proved their worth through the building and ESL teaching at the school.

Stay tuned for more amazing stories.

Les Clarke - Group Leader

Between yesterday and today, the houses have been pieced together rapidly. Lots of hard work, painting and sawing have brought the group two standing houses. Everyone is experimenting with different ways to help out; whether it be playing with the kids, roofing or helping with the interiors. The work days so far have been amazing, and it is very fulfilling to see everyone working together as one well oiled machine. This experience has me doubting that any of us will ever be able to forget this community and the families within. Each member of this town is doing what they can to help; the kids are always eager to help paint to their maximum height and parents willing to help us communicate. Piggy-Back after piggy-back we are creating trust and relationships with these kids despite the language barrier. Weather tonight canceled our evening activity of candy and beach time, but an interesting group discussion had everyone soon forgetting the sugar craze. Readers, I challenge you to balance your wants and needs and see how those may fluctuate to those of something living in the conditions of a developing area.

Until Tomorrow, Greer C-W

To see more pictures, click here.

When you meet her you would never guess how she ended up there, arriving at a place where few would have chosen; yet it is here that she is planted and making a difference. Roxy has a smile that is disarming and a demeanour that is gentle and inviting. Always open and non-judgmental, she immediately puts people at ease. You would never have guessed at where she has come from or what brought her to that place, because you would only see the outcome today.

A freak accident changed it all. Diagnosed with epilepsy at a young age, Roxy was always careful of her surroundings, as epilepsy is no respecter of time, location or dignity. But she never considered it would happen like this. She was 15 and their family had just moved into their new home, and she was about to take a bath. As she stepped into the tub, a grand mal seizure hit. But as it came on, Roxy’s limbs hit the hot water tap that had not yet been adjusted for temperature safety. As the seizure took over, Roxy unknowingly slid deeper into scalding water, and as it dragged on, so did the irreversible damage to nearly half of her body. As she emerged from the seizure, pain engulfed her. Within moments she found herself hospitalized, a victim of third degree burns. As the days wore on and the healing process seemed to never come, depression began to set in. Life would never be the same and she would always live with the emotional pain of shame at her appearance, feeling as if no one would ever see past it. Finally, one day, unable to deal with it anymore, Roxy’s mom confronted her with a choice: to allow her pain to determine her future or to embrace what her life can become. Somehow, she chose life and she chose to live past where circumstance had left her. That was when the butterfly effect began. No one else may have noticed it at first, but the change had been started nonetheless.

The term “Butterfly Effect” refers to the small change that can happen in the atmosphere that can ultimately determine weather patterns or prevent them. Something as small as the wings on a butterfly can be enough to cause a chain of events with huge consequences. That day in that hospital, Roxy’s life experienced the butterfly effect: by making one choice to see past her circumstance, she began a chain of events that has led to countless lives being touched and changed by hope and inspiration. After finishing high school, Roxy joined Absolute’s leadership development program and never looked back. She began to share her story with youth across Canada and began to envision what life can look like beyond pain and disappointment. It has been a long, unpredictable road, but it has always been worth it. Along with her husband, Brett, she is currently helping to give leadership at our School of Leadership base in Mexico. Here she gives direction, mentorship and encouragement to our students and to the numerous students that join us in Mexico for Hero Holiday.

Roxy’s life is the reflection of hope that we are about in Absolute. And like any large movement that can change life as we know it, it started with one tiny choice, one simple flutter of a butterfly’s wings.

You can bring Absolute to your local high school! Our Think Day presentation is currently touring across Canada and we want to partner with schools to bring this message of hope and let students know that change is possible. To find out more about what Think Day is about, our School of Leadership, or how to get involved in what we do, check out www.absolute.org.

Morning came all to soon for some of us, but thankfully after a kick start of caffeine we were out the door…Maybe a little too quickly. Upon boarding the bus Charles asked for everyone to have their passports on hand for our arrival into Mexico. So here I was, settled into the bus and ready to go when I realized my passport was not on hand. Not only was my passport not on hand, it wasn’t anywhere in my hotel room, nor was it in my bag, Sam’s or Emily’s. After a mild panic attack and belongings sprawled across the Best Western parking lot, Brett (our driver and other facilitator) called the airport to track down my missing identification. A quick phone call later we were informed the Alaska Airways staff wouldn’t be able to look around for about an hour. Not taking no for an answer off we went to the airport, and thankfully along the way we got a phone call and YES my passport had been found on the plane. Turns out I did return my tray table to the upright and locked position but however I did not check the seat pocket in front of me. Lesson learned. (Sorry mom and dad, lots of love…Greer)

After the morning mishap, the bus full of tired travelers started the journey to the Mexican border crossing.  San Diego had clean streets and structured houses, giving no foresight into what we would encounter on the other side of the border.  At the crossing we were unloaded from our bus for a random bag search, initiated from a button that picked the lucky travelers to be investigated by armed military forces.  After the border we finally saw the poverty that we were expecting.  Dirt roads, broken down houses and rusty cars were the beginnings to this huge eye-opening experience.  In one case, the fences in Tijuana were bordered with makeshift glass in place of wire. The bus ride was both fascinating and saddening. Our home here is in divvied into a girls and boys dorm which we should probably be heading to sleep soon in. It is 10:20 p.m. which means lights out! We will report more tomorrow, about the families and constructing of the houses.

Hasta Manana!

Layla, Britny, Greer and Angela

This past week, the School of Leadership students took a break from the road tour and headed to Parkview High School. While there, we sat in their leadership class, helped at the lunch program and tutored in the different classes throughout the afternoon. When sitting in the morning leadership class, we got to know the students quite well, they had already become a family but they welcomed us quickly into the clan. These students showed me the true meaning of perseverance. Some of their stories that they were willing to share with the group were things that some of us could not imagine happening to us in a lifetime, and here it is a norm for these teenagers. You see, this school is located in one of the roughest neighbourhoods in Canada.

Yet, these leadership students chose to go to school, they choose to get out of bed and get an education. They aren’t handed a lunch and sent merily to school, they choose to be there. They persevere through the struggles of their life and still choose to do something positive, they choose to speak for those who can’t speak up, they choose to be leaders in their school. I thought back to my own high school experience, where a lot of people would just skip school because they didn’t feel like going to class. My time at this school really put things into perspective for me, if these students can get up and go to school with all the struggles that they have, why shouldn’t I be able to get my work done on-time?

Which brings me back to these boundaries. I always tell myself that I can’t or that its okay to be lazy sometimes, I was building up these walls and day by day the walls are slowly diminishing because of these leaders showing me meaning of true perseverance.

A special thanks to the student’s teacher. He really believes in the students and is making such an impact at the school.

~ Laura, A School of Leadership Student

   The build at Adoffo Lopez Mateos is now completed! The last couple days were very busy for our team. Thursday we put the roof panels on, and then the asphalt roofing. This took awhile because of the sizing on the panels needed to be adjusted but together under Randy, Brett, and Andrew’s guidance for the 5 of us, all hammering like crazy, got everything done on time. I have went on the Hero Holiday in 2007 but only got as far as the ladder. I was too chicken to walk out on the roof. This year I was brave and took those steps off the ladder. Not only did I help nail down the roof but got to enjoy the breeze and amazing view! 

  The rest of Thursday and Friday we finished putting the inside walls up, painting, also painting the bano and shower, putting in the windows and doors and a lot of finishing touches. Randy’s boots after 14 years of loyal service have finally hit the dust during this build and rather then scrap them entirely he used duct tape to hold them together, so maybe they will make it to 15 years. 

   Now today, we put everything together in the house- all the beautiful things that were sent down from Canada and additional items for the family bought at the Mexican Wal-Mart. The beds were complete with frames, mattresses and beautiful handmade quilts. The family and we builders enjoyed a wonderful dedication together, along with tears and hugs of appreciation from all. Then Marcia turned over the keys to Anastasia who opened the door and the family went in to see everything. The game of checkers were a real hit. The strawberries in a lovely keepsake dish from Lance and Pat were also a favorite.The family then introduced us to a special sit down with home made Mexican soup. The skies then opened up and the rain came down. Just as we finished. Now this family has a safe and dry place to get away from the rain. 

   Tonight we gathered at Don Diego’s and reminisced about what the high points were during the week as well as feasted on our last meal in Mexico. What a great trip.

~ Nora, a participant headed home from a Mexico Hero Holiday

Timeline:

• January 15 - We arrived in Port-au-Prince to assist the orphanages which we support. We spent five days helping and assessing the best ways we could be a support to both them and the families which they are now helping to survive.
• January 21 - We reached out to our Absolute network to assist in helping those we are connected with in Port-au-Prince and you responded with compassion and love.
• February 3 - We left for Port-au-prince with the first $10,000 raised for Haiti through Absolute. In The Dominican Republic we filled a commercial truck with approx. $8,000 worth of aid.
• February 5th - We were delivering the aid to the orphanages and tent cities.

 Aid supplies (approximately)

• 200 cases of water
• 400 packs of rice
• 400 bottles of oil
• 400 bags of ban
• 600 bars of soap
• 1000 pack of soup mix
• 900 roles of toilet paper
• 1000 packs of cookies and crackers
• 6 cases of milk
• 600 packs of pasta
• 400 small bags of detergent
• 300 cans of sardines
• 900 bags if corn mix
• 5 Large tarps
• 2 tents
• 6 Large boxes of medical supplies. (donated by servant heart min.)
• 4 boxes of clothes (donated by Servant’s Heart Ministries)
• 500 candles
• 2200 Honda generator

Other Giving and Expenses

• $1600 went to support the orphanage (orphanage staff, orphanage vehicle maintenance, baby supplies and orphanage bills)
• $400 went to pay translators, travel expenses, border fees, and other misc. items needed for this project

The Aid was divided into 4 different places: two different tent towns, the orphanage and a displacement camp.
Most of the tent towns we delivered aid to hadn’t seen any aid yet. Absolute is now preparing for our Hero Holiday in Haiti for May. We will also be working with participants on the boys orphanage, installing doors, building a kitchen and replacing a roof on the children’s school.

The first time I sat down to talk with Kru Nam, we were on the bamboo-slat floor of a rickety shack on thicker bamboo poles, in the middle of a bare patch of land. With each movement we made, the bamboo floor stretched and groaned underneath us, threatening to let go under the weight of all of us. Beside me, Vaden nervously held his breath, fully aware that his 250 pounds was the biggest reason for the bamboo’s objections! That land and that little shack were nothing to look at if you are only capable of seeing what is in front of you. But we didn’t see it with our eyes that day - we saw it with our hearts as Kru Nam painted a picture for us of what freedom could look like for the 100+ kids that they had rescued off the streets and out of brothels. On that dry little patch of land, far away from the eyes and reaches of predators, traffickers and corrupt law enforcement, they could create a place of safety, a place of hope, and a haven of love. At the time that we met them all, they were seeking out an existence with these orphans in a two-story storefront building. Meals were never taken for granted and every baht (Thai Currency) was tightly accounted for. They had nothing but love, hope, and a dream - and an incredible dose of sprezzatura!

As we sat there that day, we joined our dreams with hers of how Absolute could help and of what this could look like. Kru Nam pulled out the plans for the homes that they were believing they could build on that land, and we began to see it all take shape right in front of us. These homes would mean more than we could ever dream for these kids and the staff that worked with them. They would have room to play and be kids in, they would have access to clean water, they would have an office which they could set up and begin to reach out to the world around them in. After that afternoon, we were returning to Canada with a goal: to rally the troops and get them some help. And we were able to do it: through the help of Absolute, the Not For Sale Campaign, and a few other international organizations, money and resources were raised to start the project.

One year later we returned with our Hero Holiday team and we weren’t quite prepared for what was there when we pulled up to the property: new, beautiful and clean buildings sat proudly on the property, laughing kids danced around our truck, waving excitedly for us to come see their new home, and in the midst of all of them, Kru Nam and her staff stood there beaming at us, waving us on. I was in awe of how far they had come and I said so to Kru Nam right after I hugged her hello. She smiled, as usual, and calmly said, “Yes, we have come a long way this year.” Despite much opposition, being taken advantage of by corrupt officials, money and resources being continually stolen from them by construction workers and other people as they attempted to get settled in their new place, and the heartbreak of losing some kids back to the streets and to sickness, they were still standing and they weren’t going anywhere. Still, they stood there that day, welcoming us with grace and poise to their new home - their new home that had cost them everything and would continue to be full of healing and heartbreak every day. They stood there with sprezzatura, and as I watched them in action, it made me want to try a little harder, work a lot smarter and reach a lot more lives.

Kru Nam and her staff stand as beacons of light in very dark place in Northern Thailand. Every day there are hurdles to overcome, unexpected predicaments and often heartbreak, but through love and determination, they work with each one of the kids they harbour to live a life of recovery and wholeness. This is love at the grassroots and it is vital to the future of our global family. This August, Absolute’s Hero Holiday program will be returning to Thailand to help Kru Nam, her staff, and the incredibly inspiring kids that they love and work with, both on the streets and in their homes. We would love to have you join us! Check out http://heroholiday.absolute.org/thailand to find out more about how you can join us on the experience of a lifetime!

With excitement, our team left our San Diego hotel and boarded the Hero Holiday coach bus for Vicente Guerrero, Mexico. The border going into Mexico went quite smooth – get off the bus, pick up your suitcase, and walk across the border. But push the button first to see if you were randomly picked for a search. The only person who got a red light was me! I was absolutely delighted to discover that I had not grabbed my suitcase, it was Blair’s. No problem. A fairly quick stop in Ensenada for a bite to eat and purchases for our house. Then continued the great trip down the Baja and surprised to see it is verdant green! The peninsula had been inundated with rain in January, which ruined the bean crop near Guayabitos on the mainland and some of the strawberry crop in the Baja. The rain also wiped out a few bridges along the highway south. One passage way we forded and the other was being “filled in” with dirt (ingenuity). The rain also caused most of the villages to become mud bogs, so getting in and out was an adventure (Alan, we needed your dune buggy!). The water just sits on the top layer of the compacted soil so it is not going away soon.

Tuesday, February 23rd.

With our Hero Holiday hosts, Andrew and Dawn, we took a 40 minute bus ride out to our building site. Our team has grown to 14 people: Nora from Princeton, Lance from Kelowna, Randy, Art and Marcia from Summerland, Elisa from Kamloops and Blair from Kaleden/Penticton as well as 6 participants in the SOL (School of Leadership) and their fearless leader Brett. Our new extended Mexican family quite excited to see us, Grandfather age 81, Grandmother 70, madre Anastasia (mom), her sister Fortunada, Anastasia’s son Carlos, 12, son Jiovanni, 11; daughter Alexandra, 9; and son Sevastian, 4. Our first day on the work site was productive. We completed: 4 roof panels (and painted); 3 ½ walls; a partially dug hole for the bano (outhouse for you gringos); fascia painted (by grandfather, little girls, and Nora); some long boards that I have no idea what they are for (also painted). But most of this done by our crew and the SOL class. Roberto has been hired by us to dig the hole as no-one in the family is physically able to do this hard task. I am unclear on the amount this will cost (perhaps $60. USD), but it is great to have Roberto there for translating, particularly medical problems, as Sandiego and Andrew had to leave for a medical crisis elsewhere. Grandfather has been told by a doctor that he needs hearing aids. I think we have arranged to get him to a clinic tomorrow to see about this, as well as change his catheter. Hopefully we can have Alexandra’s cleft palette receive some attention . Grandmother, Sabrina is a wonderful gardener. When I showed a little interest in her garden she took me around and showed me each plant – and named it! I surprised her when I gave her the Spanish name for cilantro. “Cilantro” I said. Same, same! Several peach trees decorated her garden which she started by seed. She offered me a few of her bedding plants but I pantomimed that I could not get them back to Canada. I wish I had brought some of my heritage seeds. We were taken to a Taco stand for supper.

Wednesday, February 24th

Work completed: Four walls and the roof went up today, bano built, a free standing shower house that looks exactly like the bano on the outside but more like a sauna on the inside (slatted floor, 4 walls, no bench). The rule for showers is a BYOW “bring your own bottle of water” policy. The Bano hole is down about 6 feet. Supper at  John’s Place: Roasted chicken, salads. Yummy!

Wednesday was very different for me. At our request, Andrew loaded Santiago, me, Modesto (grandfather), Anastasia (mother) and Alexandra (9 year old daughter) into the van and headed to the clinic in the Orphanage in Vicente Guerrero for medical help for Modesto and Alexandra. Both were seen quickly by Ellie, a very helpful nurse. Modesto’s needs attended to quickly and also a referral to a hearing doctor in Ensenada and for Alexandra, a booking for cleft palette reconstruction May 7 also in Ensenada. At this point, all travel is arranged!!! Santiago received a date and time for Modesto at the hearing doctor – so we all leave early tomorrow for his 11:00am appointment. Meanwhile, back at the ranch… Two purple “outhouse” looking structures are looking very spiffy!

~ A participant on the Okanagan Group’s Hero Holiday