Family Travel with Purpose

Have you ever wondered what is inside the shacks on the side of the road in Central America or Mexico?

We have traveled for 19 years to 8 different countries and many different locations in those countries, we have always talked about wanting to know more about who is behind those cardboard and tin walls. What is it like to live in a house like that and how can we help. We have always felt like there has to be a way to help even one person or to get to know their story.
A few years ago we started hearing more and more about Ray Loewen, Build a village and what a difference that they are making in a country called El Salvador. We thought we have to go, we have to go and make a difference in this world that we travel through instead of just driving by. To just go and sit on a beach was not enough anymore.
We contacted Ray and asked if we could go as a family to El Salvador and work there. It took a bit of convincing on our part and also on Ray’s part for MCC to give permission for us to go because we wanted to bring our 5 and 9-year-old children. But go we did and it will forever stay with us, the people we met and the friends we will never forget in the small town of La Linea, El Salvador. We spent 2 weeks digging trenches on the side of a mountain in 35-degree heat and living in a house just like the ones we had seen driving through similar countries. We fell in love with the experience of giving back to a God who so blesses us every day.
Since 2006 we have spent our winter vacations serving instead of just hanging out and we LOVE it. We love the relationships we make and also we love the hope that we can show the people we meet who possibly have never even heard of our God. Some of the people we have met live a life of hopelessness that we never really understood before and now we are in the process of learning and also of watching our children learn how we all have the power to make a difference in the lives of others.
We spent part of our time in the winter of 2007 on a remote island in Panama. We visited a small indigenous village of the Ngobe. This trip was geared for children to learn how they have gifts that God has given them to share with others and how these gifts can bridge the gap between culture and language. We saw how this is very true. The children (the indigenous and ours) spent days getting to know each other through play and song. We showed them love and acceptance that they have never received from many others in their country. We taught them “Kidz” style the story of Jesus. We also brought them gifts of “Beanie baby” and “Hot Wheel” cars that local people sent with us to give. With these gifts we placed a Spanish children’s bible story. They loved this Christmas present and loved to read the story.
We ourselves learned so much from the people in Costa Rica and Panama. We have always walked away from these trips having learned so much about God and His love for us. We pray that we have also left that same gift with the people we meet.
To see more about how your family can make a difference go to www.kidzreach.com and there is also a link to a YouTube movie you can watch about our trip.

To answer the question “what is inside the shacks on the side of the road”. There are real people inside of those homes, with real families who they love and they are doing what they can to survive.