history can tell us all about that the country blowsI was standing in the middle of a desert in Juarez, Mexico when I saw a married couple sleeping in their car. In front of the car was a heap of construction supplies. These supplies were on their way to becoming this couple's new home. Jose and Malena had been living in their car for some time. They choose this because they could not afford to live anywhere else, but also that they had to stay and guard the supplies that had been at the work site for some time.
Jose and Malena Vasquella were the couple for whom we built a house. Jose worked in a factory. This job brought home less than one hundred dollars a week. Malena was pregnant, which made this house even a bigger blessing. The knowledge that this greatly changed their life with just one week of work gave me such a feeling of joy.
Couple married in a shinto ceremony in Takayama, G...
jose
San Jose Diridon Station Track #3I rose with the sun, I worked until noon, and then a few hours later I went back to work until the sun went down. It was the same thing for five days. I could just have gone through the motions and built this house, but I am not that kind of person. I choose to get everything possible out of this experience.
I was overwhelmed with emotions on this trip-from the sorrow I felt when passing through the streets and seeing people living in cars, shacks, and run-down homes, to the amazement I felt when I saw the faith and positive attitudes of those living in this poverty-stricken area.
I know that I am blessed with many things, and I feel that it is my obligation to help those who are less fortunate than I. I hope that I may achieve this goal at Southern Illinois University.
Katie and her Bianchi San Jose
Faner Hall, Southern Illinois University Carbondal...
English: 801 building