Day 5- Whew!

Well, the end of our week here in the San Luis Valley has come. All of the work crews finished up their jobs, realizing of course that the work here is never done. We learned from our CCSP liaison Suzanne, that this summer they had commitments from 7 church/work groups to come to the Alamosa area to work to improve the living conditions of residents in and around the city of Alamosa. When all was said and done, only 4 of the 7 groups fulfilled their commitment. This of course left many jobs undone and many homeowners pushed to next summer's list when hopefully they can receive the help they so desperately need.

The highlight of our day today came at dinner time. Yes, Amy's spaghetti dinner was wonderful but the highlight had nothing to do with the food, but everything to do with some visitors that came to dinner with us. Laura, the young mom who's house the Habitat crew worked on, her 3-year old daughter Aliana, and Laura's mom came to have spaghetti with us (Laura's fiancé Jacob was working and unable to come).  They were so thankful for the work of the team and could not get over the bags of groceries of leftover food that we sent home with them. Laura cried as she filled grocery bags saying, "This is the best grocery trip ever! I don't have to add up as I shop."  As you can imagine, it was an emotional moment for all of us.

I think we all feel truly blessed to have had the opportunity to do just a small amount here. There are so many things that our church as a whole, or that individuals can do to lend support from afar. The PALS program for example, has a wish list on their website that is updated monthly. What a blessing it would be to them if we continued to support their work with at-risk children. Or, what if we sent a truckload of food for their food bank down once in awhile to help feed the hungry in this area?  It may sound cliche but it is true that the needs here are so great, but the resources are so scarce. I feel honored, humbled and blessed to have had the opportunity to share this experience with you. I hope that it has made you all feel a part of the team, and I hope that you will give serious thought to joining in continuing what we did here.

For more information:

PALS Program-  www.lapuente.net/pals.php

LaPuente-  www.lapuente.net

Habitat for Humanity San Luis Valley-  www.slvhabitat.org