Bourgade Catholic High School
Bourgade Catholic's Annual Mexico Mission
The Bourgade Catholic Mexico Mission Trip is one of the most powerful demonstrations of the campus ministry initiatives at Bourgade Catholic. Each year, a group of 50-70 Bourgade Catholic students, parents, faculty, and staff travel to Mexico and build homes for the less fortunate families in Mexico. Over the past ten years, Bourgade Catholic has impacted the lives of many families and given them a place to call home. The trip provides our students with a very clear understanding of the hardships many face around the world, and ultimately make them more globally aware citizens.
2010 Mexico Mission Recap
An Excerpt from "The Talon", Bourgade Catholic's Advancement Newsletter
Greetings Bourgade Catholic Alumni, Parents, and Friends. I hope everyone enjoyed their spring break and had a blessed Easter. Over the break, Bourgade Catholic held its annual Mexico Mission trip. This year’s voyage to Rocky Point, Mexico marks the 11th consecutive Mexico Mission trip on behalf of the Bourgade Catholic community. Eighty-one members of the BC community, including 67 students, participated in the construction of homes #26, #27, and #28. Similar to last year, I thought I would share some of my experience with the BC community. Many people work hard at putting on the trip, but a special thank you goes to Carol Caruso and Rich Browner for their leadership.
Rocky Point, Mexico—Day 2 of Building
For the third time in as many minutes, the rooster next door crowed another roaring cluck while he waltzed around his makeshift cage. As the students unloaded their tools and building materials from our truck, I wasn’t sure if our crew could withstand the constant cackling for a second straight day. However, as the hammers began to swing, the students of Bourgade Catholic made it clear who would rule the roost. Before long, the pesky little bird became nothing more than a backdrop to a melody of pounding, sifting, and sawing. Across the sand road, three boys stood atop the roof of their fragile home, courageously flying their kites in between dangling power lines. Their new toys were courtesy of Mr. Boles, Bourgade Catholic’s Kung Fu Instructor. The ease with which they flew them was courtesy of a steady wind—the same wind that was dumping piles of sand into many of our tents back at the campsite.
As I climbed the ladder onto the roof of our house, the view was like something out of a science fiction novel. Scanty homes made from plywood, tarps, and loose debris stretched as far as the eye could see. It was almost as if 5,000 homeless families stumbled upon a landfill and built their community out of their findings. On occasion, you could spot a ‘normal’ house interspersed among the vast assortment of flimsy huts. But, just like the towering collection of fancy hotel resorts that lined the beach a few miles away, they only seemed to remind us of the disparity that brought us down to Mexico in the first place.
The location of our three construction sites, in relation to each other, was noticeably different than the previous years’ design. This year, I could hit a 7-iron from my site to either one of the other homes we were building. Last year, I never even laid eyes on either one of the other homes—we were all playing on different courses. Our close proximity seemed to intensify the deep sense of purpose that already permeates the trip to begin with. You could almost feel the others nearby, and the elevated view I had while we assembled our roof allowed me to see it. With the Williams house to our right, and the Caruso house directly ahead, it strengthened our belief that we were bridging a gap to those resorts over to the left.
Last year I was amazed at how a bunch of teenagers could possibly build three houses, from the ground up, with no power. Correction: from the sand up. It was so astonishing to me that I never got past the mere fact of how they accomplished the end result. So this year I decided to pay more attention to the manner in which they were doing it, which is equally impressive. The spirit of collaboration among these kids is unbelievable. The passion they exude is inspiring. The pride they take in their work is distinct. They are just as determined as they are organized. When the desert sun, hung high in the cloudless sky, began to take its toll on them, I watched as they drew strength from their faith. And when that ran out, they drew strength from each other. As several of the seniors reflected fireside on the final night, they “just keep on coming on.”
The highlight of my trip this year, aside from presenting our family their new home, was having a chance to visit the family we worked with last year. I formed a strong connection with Karen and Magdalena, the two sisters of the Valenzuela-Cisnevos family. On our final evening down in Mexico, a carload of us meandered up and down the unmarked streets searching for their house. On our third attempt, we finally located their house and pulled up along side it as we parked the van. Just as I was going to knock on the door, Magdalena came around the side of the house, the younger of the two girls. There was something uniquely soothing about the look on her face when she saw me. Without hesitation, she calmly said my name out loud as she gave my right leg a hug. If there was ever a moment confirming the power of the Mexico Mission trip, this was it. She remembered me.
The hour-long visit back to their home is one of the many examples of why I feel blessed to be apart of the BC community, because you can’t put the look Magdalena had on her face into a paycheck. The fact the girls remembered me certainly made my day. However, what they really remembered were the students of Bourgade Catholic, and how they changed their lives. I just happened to be the guy kicking a soccer ball around with them while they were doing it. Even at such a young age, they realized the impact a group of high school kids had on their family. Their delight in seeing the group of us back at their house is a testament to what an extraordinary experience the Mexico Mission trip is, both for the families we serve and for the BC community alike.
If you think of Bourgade Catholic as a giant machine, then the Mexico Mission trip would be one of those hidden gears tucked away in the middle of our contraption. While it occasionally goes unnoticed, it’s vital to the engine that is Bourgade Catholic, and it’s constantly in motion—long after these students return back to campus. Sure, the trip is centered on the construction of homes for the less fortunate. But these kids don’t just build three houses. They build more character in four days than most people do in a year. They build relationships, not only with the family they are assigned, but with each other. Most importantly, every time that parade of vans and trucks makes the trek to Mexico, they build our community.
Most high school students sit in a classroom and talk about the mission of their school. Ours live it.
Rocky Point, Mexico—Day 2 of Building
For the third time in as many minutes, the rooster next door crowed another roaring cluck while he waltzed around his makeshift cage. As the students unloaded their tools and building materials from our truck, I wasn’t sure if our crew could withstand the constant cackling for a second straight day. However, as the hammers began to swing, the students of Bourgade Catholic made it clear who would rule the roost. Before long, the pesky little bird became nothing more than a backdrop to a melody of pounding, sifting, and sawing. Across the sand road, three boys stood atop the roof of their fragile home, courageously flying their kites in between dangling power lines. Their new toys were courtesy of Mr. Boles, Bourgade Catholic’s Kung Fu Instructor. The ease with which they flew them was courtesy of a steady wind—the same wind that was dumping piles of sand into many of our tents back at the campsite.
As I climbed the ladder onto the roof of our house, the view was like something out of a science fiction novel. Scanty homes made from plywood, tarps, and loose debris stretched as far as the eye could see. It was almost as if 5,000 homeless families stumbled upon a landfill and built their community out of their findings. On occasion, you could spot a ‘normal’ house interspersed among the vast assortment of flimsy huts. But, just like the towering collection of fancy hotel resorts that lined the beach a few miles away, they only seemed to remind us of the disparity that brought us down to Mexico in the first place.
The location of our three construction sites, in relation to each other, was noticeably different than the previous years’ design. This year, I could hit a 7-iron from my site to either one of the other homes we were building. Last year, I never even laid eyes on either one of the other homes—we were all playing on different courses. Our close proximity seemed to intensify the deep sense of purpose that already permeates the trip to begin with. You could almost feel the others nearby, and the elevated view I had while we assembled our roof allowed me to see it. With the Williams house to our right, and the Caruso house directly ahead, it strengthened our belief that we were bridging a gap to those resorts over to the left.
Last year I was amazed at how a bunch of teenagers could possibly build three houses, from the ground up, with no power. Correction: from the sand up. It was so astonishing to me that I never got past the mere fact of how they accomplished the end result. So this year I decided to pay more attention to the manner in which they were doing it, which is equally impressive. The spirit of collaboration among these kids is unbelievable. The passion they exude is inspiring. The pride they take in their work is distinct. They are just as determined as they are organized. When the desert sun, hung high in the cloudless sky, began to take its toll on them, I watched as they drew strength from their faith. And when that ran out, they drew strength from each other. As several of the seniors reflected fireside on the final night, they “just keep on coming on.”
The highlight of my trip this year, aside from presenting our family their new home, was having a chance to visit the family we worked with last year. I formed a strong connection with Karen and Magdalena, the two sisters of the Valenzuela-Cisnevos family. On our final evening down in Mexico, a carload of us meandered up and down the unmarked streets searching for their house. On our third attempt, we finally located their house and pulled up along side it as we parked the van. Just as I was going to knock on the door, Magdalena came around the side of the house, the younger of the two girls. There was something uniquely soothing about the look on her face when she saw me. Without hesitation, she calmly said my name out loud as she gave my right leg a hug. If there was ever a moment confirming the power of the Mexico Mission trip, this was it. She remembered me.
The hour-long visit back to their home is one of the many examples of why I feel blessed to be apart of the BC community, because you can’t put the look Magdalena had on her face into a paycheck. The fact the girls remembered me certainly made my day. However, what they really remembered were the students of Bourgade Catholic, and how they changed their lives. I just happened to be the guy kicking a soccer ball around with them while they were doing it. Even at such a young age, they realized the impact a group of high school kids had on their family. Their delight in seeing the group of us back at their house is a testament to what an extraordinary experience the Mexico Mission trip is, both for the families we serve and for the BC community alike.
If you think of Bourgade Catholic as a giant machine, then the Mexico Mission trip would be one of those hidden gears tucked away in the middle of our contraption. While it occasionally goes unnoticed, it’s vital to the engine that is Bourgade Catholic, and it’s constantly in motion—long after these students return back to campus. Sure, the trip is centered on the construction of homes for the less fortunate. But these kids don’t just build three houses. They build more character in four days than most people do in a year. They build relationships, not only with the family they are assigned, but with each other. Most importantly, every time that parade of vans and trucks makes the trek to Mexico, they build our community.
Most high school students sit in a classroom and talk about the mission of their school. Ours live it.
2009 Mexico Mission Recap
Rocky Point, Mexico
It was Tuesday evening, the night before three families would have a new home unveiled to them. As I nestled into my chair, I looked around. The campsite had not changed much since my arrival three days earlier. A handful of students were cleaning up after the dinner they just prepared for everyone. A couple more rejuvenated the fire pit with fresh wood, while a few others played horse shoes with Mr. Williams. In the far distance, the mountains began to swallow the sun, causing the rest of us to scamper into our tent and grab a sweatshirt or blanket of some kind. Running water was still nowhere to be found, electricity was out of the question, and cell phone reception was about 70 miles away. The only thing that did change, for me anyway, was my ability to understand what separates Bourgade Catholic from the dozens of other Catholic schools I have been involved with in my educational and professional careers.
As the pile of logs and cardboard began to blaze, the entire camp started gathering around the fire. As everyone became settled, we were encouraged to reflect upon our experience over the past couple of days, and to share any insight we may have. One by one, people stood up and gave a brief narrative about what stood out in their mind. Some told a quick story, while others expressed what the trip meant to them personally. Midway through the discussion, sophomore Liana Stalzer decided to stand up and explain what the trip meant to her. She said, "The reason I love this trip is because 60 people decide to get in a van, drive away, and become selfless for 4 days. Not many people can truly say they have been selfless for even one day, but I'm certain that everyone here has been for the past three days. It's an experience that opens your eyes on many levels." Aside from being able to sum the trip up in three sentences, I was impressed with the fact that it was Liana's 16th birthday. While most teenage girls are busy wrapping up a sweet 16 dinner with their family, Liana was sitting in the middle of the desert discussing selflessness.
The trip itself was simply remarkable. The only thing that was more amazing than the level of poverty these families faced was the leadership of the Bourgade Catholic students. The passion and energy these teenagers demonstrate throughout the trip is compelling, to say the least. They literally transform a stack of lumber, a huge pile of dirt, a few buckets of nails, 50 bags of cement, and a couple wheelbarrows filled with saws into a life changing experience for an entire family. What's more impressive is how they do it--all by hand. Since there is no power, hammers take the place of nail guns. Handsaws and 2 buckets are substituted for power saws and a workbench. The dirt used for cement mixing is shoveled over a hand made contraption to sift out the rocks. These students truly built three homes, with their bare hands, from the ground up.
Two instances, in particular, stick out in my mind from the trip. The first was, of course, when we presented our family with their new home. All the hard work put into the construction of the home was a very small price to pay when you saw the joy it brought to the family. The second one took place on the second day of building. Several students and I had just finished laying the tarpaper on the roof when I noticed that senior Alex Ebertz was wearing his "March for Mexico Mission" T-shirt. (The "March for Mexico Mission" was this year's theme for our Walk-A-Thon, which funded a portion of the Mexico Mission trip) As I thought about all the time and effort (and sometimes headaches) involved with the Walk-A-Thon, I came to a very strong realization. There are many times when the intricacies of our daily life cause us to lose focus on the big picture. We tend to lose sight of what our work here at Bourgade Catholic is truly about. But as I sat there, on the roof we literally just put above these beautiful girls' heads, I realized how rewarding it was to be involved at Bourgade Catholic.
Since I began at Bourgade Catholic, I have alluded to this "magical vibe" that encompasses our school community. But I have not been able to put my finger on the ingredients that foster such a unique environment. After having the opportunity to participate in this year's Mexico Mission trip, that is no longer the case. I realized a great deal throughout my stay in Mexico, but the most important lesson I learned was to take a step back and listen to our students. Their compassion, coupled with a delicate sense of humanity, influenced the lives of three wonderful families. But the impact they had on me may have been even stronger. They demonstrated, loud and clear, how the mission and message of Bourgade Catholic is alive and thriving among our students. I did not pinpoint all the ingredients, but the Mexico Mission trip is a very real and powerful example of the "vibe" I, often times, have trouble putting into words.