Late Friday afternoon on November 29, 2024, 61 of us traveled from San Antonio to Reynosa, Mexico to volunteer for Strategic Alliance to build three houses for three related families all living in small shacks. 

Our caravan consisted of four passenger vans and three trucks pulling trailers with all our luggage and tools.  Our group consisted of young and old people who mostly had minimal construction experience.  What they did have was a determination to help people who were homeless and living in shacks barely 6’ tall, poorly constructed of old plywood, cardboard, fencing, and anything else they could gather from the local dump.

The “houses” we built were nothing remotely like what we in the Western civilization would consider a house.  In fact, they were 12’ X 20’ sheds without electricity, water, or sewer.  However, the impact on these families and the improvement of their standard of living was indescribable. 

The first day was driving to Reynosa which took us about 5 hours to get to the border and almost 1 ½ hours to get through customs (what a mess!).  We finally arrived at our “hotel” around 11:00 pm which had minimal amenities but fortunately reasonably comfortable mattresses.  The water flow in the showers for several rooms (including ours) was barely more than a fast drip.

The next morning the hotel served breakfast that was mostly refried beans, scrambled eggs, and tortillas.  After breakfast, we drove to the families’ lot to build their houses in an area that was formerly a dump and currently a flood zone. The dirt roads were so bumpy with deep potholes we had to drive very slowly.  It appeared thousands lived in this area all with similar types of housing. The cartels stay mostly away from this area because the people are so poor and have nothing to offer.  Each team consisted of about 19 people with a construction team lead and paint team lead.  The unique challenge with this project is the lot was small so the three concrete pads for the houses, poured the week earlier, were set about 24” apart. 

The leaders of the three teams provided instructions about where to organize and separate the building and painting materials and locations to set up work areas.  All were involved in this process which took most of the morning.  After everything was separated and work areas set up (some in the dirt road and in front of cooperative neighbor houses), the construction team started laying out the framing for the walls while the paint team started painting all the wood including the siding. 

I have been to Mexico three previous times to build similar types of houses with other organizations.  It was interesting to observe the differences in how these projects are designed and constructed.  Strategic Alliance likes to paint everything first so at completion the house is completed with only minor paint touch-ups.  Another difference is they focus on living conditions and supplies for the families by saving time and money leaving the interior with exposed painted studs and plywood.  Other organizations focus more on the quality of the house, finishing out the interior with insulation, drywall, and paint but leaving minimal supplies for the family.  Most organizations team up with local churches, so these families have additional support to transition out of absolute poverty teaching them work skills and educating the children. 

By the end of the first day, walls were being stood up while the paint crew had set up painting areas along the dirt road in front of the building site.  One challenge was the building area was at the back of their lot with access only by a narrow path through trees past the families’ living area.  This quickly became an obstacle course of people flowing back and forth, especially for those carrying supplies or plywood siding.  For lunch, we walked about a ¼ of a mile to a small building hosted by three local ladies that served peanut butter and jelly sandwiches, chips, bananas, and water. 

By the end of the second day, the three teams had the roof rafters framed, most of the siding installed, and doors and windows cut out.  The paint teams had painted nearly every piece of wood and plywood and started painting decorations on the front doors.

A very special event took place during the afternoon of the second day.  About 25 of the team members had been sponsoring local kids through Strategic Alliance to support their costs for schooling and clothes.  The parents brought their sponsored kids to the work site to meet with their sponsors and exchange gifts.  Randy, our construction lead started sponsoring a girl seven years ago and now she is a young woman getting ready to graduate high school.  Randy told me that she plans to go to college, which is not very expensive in Mexico, and he plans to continue to sponsor her.  Randy has been going to Reynosa for many years to build houses and meets with them every year.  His financial support of less than $100 per month has been transformative for the family.  Pictured below is Randy (wearing a hat) speaking with both her (in a maroon shirt) and her mom next to her.

For the first two days, it wasn’t hard to keep everyone busy as our three teams of 61 people were spread out in different work areas.  But on the third day, it got very crowded around the building site as almost all the work was now focused on finishing the three houses. 

The third day's goals were getting the last stages of the houses done which included finishing the metal roofing, installing windows, and exterior trim, hanging a front door, and touch-up painting.  Several people from each team went shopping at a local store to buy many household items including beds, sheets and pillows, curtains, food, dishware, propane cookstoves, etc.  Many of us also brought additional gifts like puzzles, soccer balls, coloring books, pencils pens, etc to add to each household.

The fourth day was crunch time to finish everything by dedication ceremony time at 12:00.  The three houses were very busy and crowded as the construction teams were building shelves on the walls and creating mini kitchen areas while others hung curtains, brought in all the furniture, stocked the shelves, wiped down the walls and swept the floors.  It almost felt like a game show with time running out as everyone was hustling back and forth to get the houses done.

Even though we all had the same plans, all three houses had different nuances in design.  It was neat to see the different styles, paint colors and finishes in each house.  Pictured below is the house we built and furnished. 

The house dedication and key ceremony were very emotional as each team presented their house to each of the family members.  I could only imagine what they were thinking as they walked into their new home complete with a bed, curtains, and food on the shelves. Grandma walked into the house we built, looked around, and sat down at the table.  Through crying eyes, she said she had been praying for 25 years that God would build her a house.  We later learned the grandmother of the three families was one of the first people forced into this area.

Not a dry eye in the group.

Afterward, we walked to the same lunch building for our last peanut butter and jelly sandwich and celebrated a productive week.

What Does This Mean to Me?

It is hard to appreciate all we have until we travel to almost every other area in the world.  During our long drive back home, I could only imagine what it was like for these three families to have a solid house to live in with no worries when the rain came.  What we accomplished in a few days with very little sacrifice of time and money will have years of impact on these families.  For some of us, these houses would be a nice playhouse in our backyard but for the poor in Mexico, they are mansions.

If you would like to learn more or support Strategic Alliance and its ministries, visit their website at www.strategicalliance.org.