After many deep and profound brain things in my head...

I have been back for over 2 weeks now from building homes in Mexico...  

I have wanted to blog about it many times, but it's just one of those experiences that I don't even know where to begin to put into words... 

The experience itself was AMAZING... but it doesn't stop when you come home... my heart, soul and brain are still spinning and I have... 

"Many deep and profound brain things in my head"!!!

It's easy for me to tell you all about the trip with the team and especially "my boys" Justin and I brought along... 

the 60+ hour round trip bus ride (including the bus breaking down)...

... the building of the new homes...

 ... to replace their old homes that we here in Canada could NEVER imagine having to live in...

...working side by side with Reynaldo the 17 year old who has never had a real bed to sleep in let alone his own bedroom...

I can tell you how FUN it was to watch Justin and "my boys" play with children of the families we were building for...

... how happy and full of joy they were despite having almost nothing...

And I can tell you how completely and utterly emotional it was on dedication day (total "ugly cry" moments) to finally be able to hand over the keys to the family and hear from the single mom how this will alter their lives forever...

And then how proud we were to take them on a tour of their "furnished" new home...

... including a "full kitchen" of food, supplies and a new stove...

Reynaldo's new bedroom (above) and mom and 2 boys (below)!!

And I can try to describe how it felt to go back and visit the precious family we built for last year...

... and see that Beatriz still had hers and Lindsey's photo proudly displayed in her bedroom and hear the dad tell of how he had a dream that we would return one day and how grateful they still are that we "sacrificed sooooo much for them" (and to hear that mom is pregnant again!)...

But I don't know how to tell you about our experience at the local cemetery...

... how to convey the depth of emotions as Santi our interpreter told of how he lost a baby girl all because of the fact that he is too poor to own a vehicle, couldn't get his wife to a hospital quick enough, couldn't get a simple medicine that would save his baby's life once she was born and that thousands of others have buried their babies in this cemetery because of similar stories... 

... we walked silently though the rows and rows of makeshift crosses symbolic of the far reaching extent of poverty... it made me angry... we were just 5 hours south of one of the wealthiest places in the world (USA) and yet basic needs of food, clothing, water, shelter and medical care are woefully absent... 

... and people, children and babies are dying because of it... 

... and I have the gall to complain about a poor selection of tomatoes at the grocery store, how hard it is to find my size shoes and a 2 hour wait at the hospital emergency in Canada where skilled doctors are plenty with medicine readily available.

I don't know how to tell you how hard it was when one of the moms asked us why more Canadians don't come to help.

We had no answer to offer her.... just silence and an honest shrug.

I know we all have busy lives and I know we all have our own problems to contend with, but I gotta say, it has sure made me think all over again about how I'm living my life... how I'm using my time, my energy, my attention, my heart, my talents, my passions and yes... my money.

Live Different gets hundreds of requests each month, but can only build as many homes as teams that come down... and to hear how they have to choose which families get to receive a new home... just imagine how tortured an experience it is for them to have to tell so so so very many, "Sorry, but we can't help you."

But I'm an eternal optimist and I promise I won't end on a down note... because one thing I do know is that I have hope and I understand that... 

EVERY LITTLE THING MATTERS!!

How do we change the world?

One person, one family, one community at a time.

One smile, one act of kindness, one meal, one dollar at a time.

This picture is one of my favourites from the entire trip as it says it all... 

you know I have a soft spot in my heart for teenagers and it pleases me like nothing else that I can have "children" all over the world that I feel in my heart are mine :)

I told Reynaldo and his mother about the ladies back in Canada who couldn't make it on the trip with me, but who still cared enough to contribute financially to help build them a home... that photo of the ladies from "Crop For Mexico" meant the world to him... he proudly displayed it in almost every photo we took from that point forward!!!

And so to these "Crop For Mexico" ladies... heartfelt thanks from Reynaldo, his Mom and two little brothers for helping change their lives... and love, tears and abundant thanksgiving from me for helping make it happen... we couldn't have done it without you and I need to know you "get that"!!  I have seen first hand how EVERY dollar matters... every single solitary dollar together makes a difference and so that is what I'm holding on to as I continue to process and ponder the many deep and profound brain things in my head from this experience!!!

And just maybe some of you will actually join me and "my boys" next time :)