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It has been hot. As you see in the screenshot, El Paso is on a streak of more than a month with temperatures rising above 100 degrees.

Teams are struggling to build in these conditions. When you step outside, the heat seems to hit you like a concrete wall.

At the heart of Casas por Cristo is building homes. And in June, I had the wonderful opportunity to build with my family, some of my casas peers, and a Church from Missouri.

Overall, I would say it was the best Casas build I have ever been apart of. Working most of the summer behind the scenes, it was so refershing to have a first hand, hands-on reminder of what it is Casas is all about. 

One of my responsibilities for Casas por Cristo is taking aerial footage for the first look/ follow-up videos that are sent to teams. These are made to give volunteers a look and feel for what their worksite will be like, potential challenges, and a look at the surrounding area. One of my hobbies is flying drones, so it's neat to be able to use that passion for the organization too.

The local children are usually interested in the Drone so I always try to show it to them, and sometimes let them fly it a bit.

Most weeks, I will cross the boarder twice (well, technically 4 times: twice into Mexico and twice returning). However, I don't ride across the boarder. I walk across. It ends up being much quicker this way (reason being, my co-worker has a fast pass for the vehicle lane and I don't) As a result of this experience, I have a new found appreciation for being a US citizen. The difference between Mexico and the US is night and day. The US passport is a powerful book, and having it allows me to freely pass between the two countires on a daily basis.

When it comes to infrastructure, Mexico is pretty far behind the US. Paved roads are filled with pot holes, although many are just dirt (and very bumpy). A few days ago, we were driving to a worksite and passed by a building burning down. It burned all day. There weren't any fire hydrants or trucks able to put it out. However, perhaps most shocking is the sheer amount of trash everywhere. It's very sad. I took the following photo in Mexico but it overlooks the El Paso skyline.

Each time a team volunteers with Casas por Cristo, they will recieve a "first look" video which introduces them to the family and worksite. Around 3-4 months after the house is built, the serving team will receive a "follow-up" video which gives an update on the family.

One of my main roles this summer is to shoot these videos. Most weeks, I will spend 2 days in Mexico doing this. Each video consists of a family interview, a interview of the pastor, and footage of the worksite so that the team can expect what kind of area and property they will be working with.

A part of my role here at Casas is to create photo/ video content. The following video is a complication of clips I took while on the intern training build.  Most of the time, I was helping with the build itself, but when I got the chance, I captured some content  Throughout the summer, I will do more in-depth project of this nature. In fact, one of my main roles will be capturing the "first look" video that Casas sends to teams before they build for a family.

Edited on 5/24/2023

Here are some of the people I will be hanging out with this summer! They are all build interns but we get to hang out on the weekends. As you will see below, I am actually the only person from the south, so I've already had to explain what we call shopping carts; we call them buggies.

Pictured from left to right: Me (North Carolina), Thomas Hudson (Missouri), Hamlin Wing (Wyoming), Aaron Peavy (Arizona), Clay Jansson (Arkansas), Ryan Prell (Arizona), Audrey Hofer (South Dakota), Marissa Meyers (Indiana), and Isabelle Scheidler (Michigan). 

Building for this family was unique in that they were not there most of the time, until the dedication day. I beleive they had to be somewhere else. However, the grandmother visited the worksite daily, and on Thursday she cooked us all lunch. One of the benefits of building is often getting fed by the familes you are building for. At this dedication, the father of the family got emotional, which is often times rare in the Mexican culture, is all about power and where men rarely show much emotion.

Most weeks I won't be building. Rather, I will be working at my desk editing photos, videos, and going to Mexico to shoot content. The office is a nice space and lively environment. Most days, there are typically 12-15 people here.  Each morning, we have daily devotions and for lunch we commonly play board games with one another.