The quality of the roads changed immediately upon crossing the Rio Grande. But the main roads were smooth compared to what greeted us as we turned into the colonea (small suburb towns). Old tires are everywhere.
Families own the land that they are living on, but the cost is high - around $4000 US. This price means that the families have spent basically all their savings and have sold most of their possessions to obtain the land. So while they are land owners, they have no funds left for their houses, so they use whatever the can find or afford over time to create a home.
The people are very friendly, and we find ourselves waving to kids and adults as we drive by.
We parked the bus and walked a short distance to the local church, pastored by a great couple - Valenti and Grace. These are very godly people who left a career in banking and finance to come live in the colonea and minister to this very poor community.
The teams then divided up to go to two work sites. The first is 50 yards away from the church. This site is owned by a delightful and joyful family who enjoyed showing off their youngest son's spider man shirt. The mother of this family accepted Christ as her personal savior last week.
