Finding Sophia - The Beginning
After spending many years on service trips to Mexico with large groups, Heidi wondered if it was possible to create a trip that was small and more intimate with more time to connect in a more relaxed environment. Heidi called Hector (our main man in Mexico) and asked him if he thought it would be possible to build a house with only women and only fifteen women each trip. Hector said "of course, what an opportunity!" Heidi called Trish and the rest is history . . .
The first trip was in September 2007 and it was an amazing success. A home was built for our first single mother, Teresa and her family of five. They went from a living room underneath a blue tarp, to a sturdy home and roof over their heads. It was an exciting beginning!
The purpose of Finding Sophia is to bring women together outside of their everyday lives. We give them an opportunity to do nothing but serve others. Very often in our fast paced lives, women have many roles to fill each day. On this trip, when the ladies show up at the San Diego airport at the beginning of the weekend, they are finished making decisions (at least for a few days). Heidi and Trish take care of everything so that the women are free to concentrate on looking, hearing and feeling what is happening around them. They will be able to absorb all they can in this short time, to assimilate each and every experience throughout the weekend without distractions.
The new home is built on Friday, YES IN ONE DAY! Then it is up to the women to decide what to do on Saturday. We can deliver rice, beans, carrots and fruit to very hungry communities. And/or we can go shopping for items to fill the home of the family we built for. We also have "fiestas" complete with hotdogs and pinatas in needy neighborhoods. The women's hearts are the guide for the day. One trip was spent buying inventory to set up one of the families with a store to sell school supplies and ice cream.
By building the house for a single mother, we give her a chance to change her future, for herself and for her children. We believe the first step up in life is feeling safe, having a clean dry place to sleep at night, a locking front door. The families will have a chance to stay healthier, perhaps develop some industry from their home, in general have more confidence in their ability to make a change, perhaps a better life for themselves.
The hope is that the women on our trips walk away with a few different insights. One, that they are much more capable than they usually give themselves credit for. I mean really, how many people can say they helped build a house in one day? Two, that it is much easier to change a life than we imagine it is. Three, that they look around their homes, communities and lives when they return home and discover where they can make a difference, that they see life with new eyes.
We hope to see you on our next trip!
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