Lansing Christian School seniors went to Tijuana, Mexico for their senior trip. Thirty-two LCS seniors traveled to California, then on to Mexico to building plywood homes for families living in poverty. The students met as a group each morning for devotions, then headed to the mountains or into the city to meet local families and work with them to build a home.

To see more pictures from this trip, click here. 

Update #1 - Tuesday, May 20th

Buenos dias!

We are in day two of the trip.  This morning there were 4 new houses around the Tijuana area after our day of work yesterday.  What a blessing!  Here's a bit of a summary of our day yesterday courtesy of LCS senior, Summer Seelye:

We woke up after a much needed night of sleep.  We started the day with small group devotions, then breakfast, then a time of worship with the whole group.  We loaded up the trucks and vans and headed out to our different worksites after that.  When we got to our work site, we started building a house for a lady and her two sons.  I don't think that she even had a job, and she didn't have enough money to feed us, so we had an enjoyable peanut butter and jelly meal as our first "authentic" Mexican meal.

It was really cool to see how happy they were to have us there.  The oldest boy kept smiling.  We had to get used to building a house because most of us hadn't used tools powered by man-power before and some people didn't know a hammer from a saw.  I think I had to take out more nails than I put in for the first three hours!  We started by cutting a bunch of 2 x 4s with handsaws to the correct length. Next we framed the four walls for the house and then we put plywood on the frames.  We then put the walls together, framed the roof and put the roof on the house.  We covered the roof with some sort of black paper with sheet rock on top of that.  It was fun and scary to be on the roof, but I was able to nail down the paper without falling!  We also painted the house and added shutters and a door to it. The youngest boy in the family even pitched in and helped paint his family's new house, which was amazing to see.  When we finally got done, I saw the older boy walk in and he just started laughing and talking very fast because he was so excited to have a roof over his head.  They couldn't even afford cement and now they have a house.  We couldn't believe we actually built an entire house in one day.  We stood in a circle and prayed for the family and their house.  After that we headed out to a taco stand for a great dinner and then showers which felt amazing!  It was a great day!

Our groups were spread throughout the Tijuana area. Some went  up to the mountains and others were in the middle of a neighborhood. Everyone came back excited by what they had done and with great stories to share.  It was a great first day, and we are looking forward to building four more houses today and impacting the lives of the people here.  We're learning a lot and are looking forward to what God has in store for us.  

The singing has begun upstairs, so we're off to go worship.  The students all say "hi" to their parents and hope you are all doing well.  Continue to pray for us as we head out for another exciting day!

- Summer Seelye and the Senior Trippers

Update #2 - Wednesday, May 21st 

The Senior Trip has been running smoothly so far and all of us have been able to learn and grow. You will be glad to know that there have been no major mishaps on this trip, and we are not expecting there to be any in the future. 

Tuesday was an extremely productive work day and most groups were able to build faster and more efficiently. So far, the class has built eight houses in the two days of work. Everyone has done their part regardless of strength or experience. The families we have built for have been very appreciative and gracious of the work that we have done. Many of the kids have enjoyed using the little bit of Spanish they know and communicating and interacting with parents, teenagers, and children of the families who are receiving the homes we are building.

At lunchtime, most every family has cooked and prepared a meal for the whole work group. Each and every meal has gotten rave reviews. We were struck by the generosity and sacrifice that the families made in preparing a meal that cost them nearly a week’s wages.

The work sites have been great, but the devotional times and worship services back at the dorms have been a beneficial time as well. On this trip, there has been a lot of personal sharing and testimony. People have really opened up to each other and have shared personal experiences and insights. There has been a speaker that Caravan Ministries has brought in every day, and Tuesday even had two speakers. The speakers have discussed the call of missions and the idea of sacrifice. Many of us have really been hit by the word “sacrifice.” These missionaries have taught us that we have to surrender our lives and say, “God, this life is not mine, do with me as you please.” All in all, these times of teaching have gotten people discussing the ideas of sacrifices and looking into their own lives for sacrifices that they need to make. Thank you for your continued support and prayers as we continue our week of service and fun.

Update #3 - Thursday, May 22nd

Thank you so much for your prayers!  Everyone would say that we have been tremendously impacted through the building, meeting the people, and experiencing a life very different than our own.  We completed the 12 houses and it was obviously exciting for us and the families involved.  The houses were 12x12 or 12x16, dirt floor, a window (with plywood shutters) and a door (also plywood) … and a roof!

We all were able to cross the border just fine into the United States, and have just arrived at Coronado Beach in San Diego.  It is a sunny, breezy, mid-to-upper 60s day.   After we have lunch we will go to the beach, then check in at the hotel, then we have choices:  either the Padres’ Baseball Game or La Jolla to eat, shop, and watch the seals.

We’ll try to send another update before we leave Saturday.  We look forward to the rest of the trip and sharing more with you when we return.

 - Tim Blamer and the Senior Trippers