On Saturday, I drove the 12 hours to Dallas from Alabama, and then on Sunday, we headed out for the daylong drive to Reynosa.

After that, I lost all track of time.

I sorted clothes, laid carpet and cove base, painted, scrubbed doors and furniture, and moved pavers. Others busted up concrete, hung sheetrock, and set up basketball goals for the kids. We worked from 8:30 till 4:00 everyday. And it was HOT! Then we’d head in, shower, eat delicious food cooked by the house parents, and play with the kids outside.

On Wednesday night we got to hear Ray’s testimony and the story of how Rio Bravo was started. The condensed version of the story is that he visited Mexico, felt called to be involved there, and did it. He followed God’s calling. Straight on. No hesitations. He just did it.

And it was hard in the beginning. Then miracle after miracle happened. They burned off the garbage that covered the place in the beginning. Hole by hole they dug the foundations, and batch by batch they mixed and poured the cement to fill these holes. With their own hands, and help from mission groups.

I was amazed at Ray’s dedication and faith. I’m sure my head would have been filled with doubts. But it was Ray’s calling, and he was pretty determined to make this home happen. Now, to see and hear how far Rio Bravo has come is amazing. There’s no doubt that God has His hand on this place and the people there.

It was SUCH a blessing to be a part of this trip. I’m so glad I took the chance to email TWCD, and to get involved.

I hope I get to go back down there to help again. Ray mentioned how their help has slacked off over the past few years. The Bible verse they hold to is James 1:27: “Pure and undefiled religion before God and the Father is this: to visit orphans and widows in their trouble and to keep oneself unspotted from the world”. I love this verse, and it really my touched my heart when Ray recited it as his life verse.

It was an awesome week of not only being involved in something I believe in, but being able to literally see the progress, and the impact that our group had while we were there. It was hard work, but it was such a refreshing experience.

It’s always nice to go onto a new projet and find they have a lot for use to do, but those situations also tend to make it even clearer how much there is still left to do when we leave. Unfortunately, it’s not possible for us to do everything, but hopefully we’ll get a chance to go back and help out again in the future.

The sun was about as hot as I knew that it could get, and the work we had to do was exhausting, but there are few things I enjoy more than those days that I collapse into bed at end of the day and cannot keep my eyes open.

Personally, I could not have asked for a better first international excursion. I left the U.S. with the idea of having no expectations. I desired God to work through our group and through me in any way that He would. Looking back I am blown away by the things that happened and the people that I became connected to.

There is one particular moment that I pray will be cemented into my memory and my heart for the rest of my life. A special family that my team and I were able to serve and, honestly, just enjoy life with for three days has struck me in a way I cannot get over. We met John Marshal on his beautiful farm the first day and I liked him at once. Instead of giving us random jobs, he would work with us all day and act like he wanted our opinion on things he obviously knew so much more about. I think that he has one of the kindest hearts I have ever seen. Each night we would sit on his porch with his precious family for hours just talking, eating, and enjoying life together. One night Mrs. Marshal cooked us a delicious lamb dinner and we just talked, played guitar, and got to know one another as the sun set. The only word I have to describe the night is beautiful. It was a beautiful moment.

Mr. & Mrs. Marshal

The Marshal Family

The Aussie people as a whole were so genuine and gracious. I enjoyed them and their beautiful country so much. I love the phrases like, “that’s a good drop,” let’s get this done and then “hit the frog and toad” (meaning let’s get on the road), and of course referring to the men as “blokes” and the women as “Sallys/Suzies.” Australia is a fabulous place. I have to say, however, as blessed as I felt by the Aussies, I came away changed by the team I was privileged to be a part of. From every walk of life we came together with the same goal: to stretch out our hand and serve those who were hurting. It was so neat for me to see how the trip touched us all in different ways and exactly when we needed it. People that I had never even met or hardly knew have become dear friends to me.

Experiences like this one are almost overwhelming. I think that is obvious by the posts thus far. You feel so much, you feel changed, you feel inspired. In my attempt to sum something up in my mind I keep landing on one word: hope. It’s something we all desire and it’s the one thing that inspires us when we are at the bottom. We long for hope for tomorrow. I believe that is what we gave a few Aussies and in return, that is what they gave us. I would do this trip a thousand times over to bring hope to those who have lost it. Praise Him.

In Australia we were incessantly greeted with grateful attitudes as we explained our reason for being there.  Every individual we encountered was amazed that we would come from America with the single purpose of helping them recover from the flood.  As our time down there progressed we were able to see a tangible, positive change in the work we were doing.  While we were in Texas, Australia a group of us worked for four days with a farmer by the name of Ian.  In talking with Ian, we found out that between equipment, property, and product damage he lost about $300,000.  That doesn’t include the carry over to the next few years as his land and production will not be back to full capacity.  One day in working with Ian, three of us had just finished doing a line of fence posts.  He looked down the line and said, “Thats about $200 worth of work.”  And that was the third fence line of that length the three of us had done that day.  Wow, in just a few hours three of us had done about $600 worth of work!  Imagine how much work all 13 of us did in the time we were there.  That is a brief idea of the monetary impact we had while we were there.  There was also a large psychological impact as we were humbly able to positively lift the spirits of those we encountered.  Other group members have written on that psychological impact as well, so I will not elaborate on that.

In no way do I say this out of some sense of self righteousness or self justification.  We went to aid the Australians, but I believe we each came away changed in some way by our work and the people we encountered.  I want to convey, to whomever is reading or gracious enough to sponsor TWCD, the actual impact a small group of people can have in a time of distress.  This is written out of gratefulness, but also as a challenge.  You are able to make a difference.  Your donation makes a difference.  Your willingness to support TWCD makes a difference.  Please continue to sponsor and please continue to make a difference.  TWCD does a great job of mobilizing people who are willing to go and serve as well as providing opportunities for people to donate who may not be able to go themselves.

Personally, I am very gracious for the opportunity to go to Australia to aid in rebuilding their flooded country.  It was undeserved but I am very grateful for the chance to help out.  Without the help of TWCD this trip would not have been possible for me and many others

So many memories roll through my mind when I try to think of what to say that would encompass all I felt about my time with this particular group of people in this particular place.  I think of laying in the grass in Hyde Park on Aussie Day, talking and eating delicious thai food and marveling at the gorgeous architecture and bright colors. 

Visions of our first and last day on Bondi Beach, crowded with people and the smell of salt in the air also fill my mind. 

One of my favorite memories of the trip was our “Would you rather…?” conversations that started on our first night in Sydney.  Several us were sitting around, talking at dinner, and in order to get to know one another, we began to ask questions about situations or circumstances to see how we would each react.  “Would you rather __________ or ___________?” 

Those conversations continued throughout the trip.  One conversation that occurred, as we drove our four cars through the Australian countryside like a scene from the Italian job, still makes me laugh when I think of it:

The walkie-talkie crackled and someone proposed, “Would you rather eat a pound of butter OR bite a baby? 

Donnie’s voice came over the speaker, taking the lead: A bite from anywhere?
Kira: Anywhere.
Donnie: A human baby?
Kira, confirming: Yup. A human baby.
Donnie generously offers: Ummmm….I’ll do the butter so no one else has to.

The conversation appeared over.  And everyone returns to their respective thoughts after a good laugh.  But not so fast.  The walkie talkie crackles again:

Donnie: Wait! Are we talking about a fat baby or a regular sized baby?

Cause of course that would make all the difference.   

There were other moments.  One day we are working hard, filthy, and bombarded by flies.  I turn to Drew when he makes a funny noise.  “No kidding!” he exclaims, “I just had a fly go up my nose, I coughed, and I spit it out of my mouth.  Alive!”

It’s laughs like these you can’t put a price on. 

But it wasn’t all fun and games.  There are other memories that resound in me.  I will always think of spending an entire day removing debris from beneath a conventional foundation house with Caroline.  Sweet Caroline who is my “birthday twin” (we were born on the same day, 10 years apart) and a woman I came to deeply respect.  Hopefully she will be a life long friend/little sister…

It was hot, hot, hot in Texas, Australia…but under that house…words can’t even describe.  The only way we could get under the house was to bend over at the waist and half-walk, half-crawl for the 25 feet to the pile of debris the flood left behind.  For the entire day.  Now, just add in five crapping chickens (or “chooks” as the Aussies called them) and a Border Collie intent on having “Chook” for lunch…and you’ve got one crazy job worth remembering.  It taught me that you could never, ever emotionally prepare for what you may be called to do when you are serving, but with the right attitude and the right company (thank you, Caroline!) you can get through anything.  Among all of the filth and back pain, I feel like I realized that “doing life” with people aint always fun and it aint always pretty.  But you’ll be equipped with what you need, when you need it. 

It was such a priviledge to serve several families in Australia but the one that stands out to me was the Marshall family in Toowoomba. 

Our team…Drew, Brandon, Caroline, and I with John Marshall:

Our precious family…

When we were leaving them, it felt like leaving family.  I think Jenny, the “mom” of the family said it best and touched my heart the most when she emailed us a heart felt “thank you” after we left and told me, “You didn’t just mend fences, you know?”  Well, the feeling was mutual.  In blessing others, I know that I felt like I was the one blessed.  As I sat on the porch with this wonderful family and Caroline on our last night, quietly listening to Donnie sing and play guitar, Drew play the harmonica, and Brandon use an old ice chest to beat out a rhythm, I knew without a doubt that these are the moments and memories that make life soooo worth living. 

On our trip home, Brandon, Caroline and I were in “our” car…the same group that had started the trip together, looking out our window at the beautiful scenery. 

After a long two weeks, we sat quietly, each of us lost in our own thoughts of Australia when John Mayer’s version of Free Fallin began playing in the background.  As if we’d planned it, each of us began to quietly sing…

She’s a good girl, loves her mama
Loves Jesus and America too
She’s a good girl, crazy about Elvis
Loves horses and her boyfriend too

It’s moments of harmony like this that I’ll remember.  Breath taking views.  Hard work.  Sweat.  Being so tired I can’t sleep.  Making a difference in the lives of those who were strangers to me but now I call friends.

The last time I had the opportunity to go to Australia, it was borderline surreal. Everything happened so fast, that I wasn’t sure exactly what was happening. What I do know is that the opportunity to go to Victoria after the bush fires was one of the most amazing experiences of my life. It was one of the truest blessings I can recall. I smiled more on that trip than I had in two years. I met people half a world away who were able to love me in spite of who I was. I was able to offer nothing but good, and love, and help to people. It was awesome.

When I heard that the country that had offered me so much hope had suffered from another disaster, I could not wait to get back on the plane. I wanted to help. I reached out to so many of my close friends, and was again humbled by the response I got. Twelve of the greatest people you can imagine were chomping at the bit to join me. They wanted to help out.

We have all suffered in one-way or another, and there is certainly no quantifying the human experience. Some certainly suffer more, but the one thing I think that we can all agree on is that the world we live in is broken. It is one thing to recognize this, but another thing to stand up and say that you want to do something about it. Here I was faced with a dozen young people who wanted to do what they could to make the world a better place for others. They were willing to go out of their way, and make themselves uncomfortable, exhaust themselves, burn themselves in the hot sun, go without sleep, and do all that halfway across the world without a thought of personal gain.  The world may be broken, but I am certainly grateful for the people who are unwilling to accept that.

I am afraid I do not have the words to describe my experience down there, other than to say that it was truly amazing. I got to hear some horrific stories about the floods, but always capped with stories of hope. I am grateful to an old farmer named Lindsey who told me how grateful he was that his son had been spared, and that when we showed up to help from a world away, that it was just something that let him know that God was still paying attention, and He still cared. I get choked up with goodbyes, and so did some very tough farm hands, but I am so grateful for the new relationships that I have forged.

I am truly grateful.