A Little-Big Life Update

I've sort of fallen off the whole blogging train in the last few months, and there are a few reasons for that. In short: life has gotten really busy! Which is great. Time spent writing is something that I really enjoy but I don't enjoy anything more than spending time with people and making memories. And that's exactly what I've been doing. For those that would love to know where I've been and what's been happening, keep on reading... you know you want to...

Work  So, I now have a job! #adulting I'm working for a children's charity in Kent. A charity that I had the joy of gap-yearing with last year and really couldn't picture myself leaving. I'm so grateful for the opportunity to stay, working with some awesome people and doing some great work, for a few more months.  With my contract being only short term, maternity cover for a friend, I've been putting more and more thought into where I might like to end up career-wise and how I can focus on my path to getting there come June. I'm still not much closer to knowing where to go, but I'm thinking about it. I work part-time and for the most part this has been manageable for me. I've recently changed my hours around a little to suit my fatigue better and my body is currently adjusting to that. It's panto season! Which means all staff based in the same office as me have stopped their collective worship assemblies and their clubs to focus solely on being their inner wise men and shepherds. Amongst other roles I'm playing donkey this year, which is so much fun in a care-free yet humiliating way! I have completely removed myself from my comfort zone to be a part of panto this year and that's been so rewarding - I've reminded myself that I really can do whatever I set my mind to and sometimes, like panto, those things can bring more joy and make more amazing memories than I could've ever imagined! All whilst bringing the greatest birth story ever to so many children and teachers.

Home (Mon, Tues, Wed) The first half of my week, every week, is spent living in the town of my workplace. Here I stay in the spare bedroom of some friends of mine. In October I hit the one year mark of staying with these beautiful people and it's been great - I'm so happy I get to stay a few more months and I'm so grateful for their constant hospitality, friendship, and support. In this first part of the week I share my bedroom with a pretty cute roommate, Tortellini the Tortoise. The patterns on his shell are so gorgeous and he loves teasing Rupert (the cutest dog around) into chasing him. Rupert is a miniature labradoodle who's currently learning so much in trick training - prayers and cuddles are our favourites right now! It's safe to say I'll be back to visit both the animals and the humans of this household lots once I've moved out!

Home (Thurs, Fri, Sat, Sun) The second half of my week is spent at my parents' home. I spend most of my time resting which can get really boring really quickly without a hobby or good Netflix series to watch.  Recently I've started getting into pyrography (burning pictures and words into wood) so that keeps me busy on days that I can't do much or make too many plans. I'm attempting to learn some Spanish in my spare time and really hoping to pick up my guitar a little more. If you're interested in my arty side of life, follow me on Instagram @amywaltersart or facebook.com/amywaltersart.

Mexico I'm off to Mexico again in April and this year I'm part of the Core Team Support Group which means I get to be a part of the wider parts of the trip - the beforehand stuff. I'm helping with the graphics and communication, with my most recent task being to write a letter and make a flyer to go out to all group leaders. In Mexico I will be heading up the Kids Team. I'm really excited to do this again, knowing that it will look different to the past couple of years because the sites we're building on dictate the way the kids club works. I'm already thinking about different games and activities we could do with the children and I'm ready to learn so much from them too. Whilst we're out there I will also be helping to run some prayer sessions/activities with a friend of mine. We have no idea how this will look but we're so excited to see God moving in everyone's lives! Dad and I have been busy fundraising for Mexico, enlisting the help of mum and Becca and a number of close friends! I can't thank you all enough. Our most recent success has been a craft fair event which we organised ourselves. With a little bit of knowledge and a whole lot of Facebook connections, the event was a huge success and raised over £800 for 2 great charities (of which one was ReBuild Mexico).

That about sums up where I am right now and what I've been up to. I'm ever-grateful for good friends (new and old) for their constant support and friendship - we have so much fun! God bless you all in this festive season, and may those of you who find this time of year tough find your hearts filled with endless joy and love, Amy xo

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Mexico 2017 - In Moving Pictures!

So in my last post I promised you loads of pictures. And what better way to fill this post with pictures than to give you a whole load of moving pictures! 
See below for the Mexico 2017 video that I've put together.  If you've never been before, it'll *hopefully* give you a great insight into the trip. And if you were with us there this year, it'll *hopefully* bring back a whole load of great memories!
We did it. Mexico ReBuild 2017. 4 days. 3 houses. 2-gether. 1 family.

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Mexico 2017 - The Building Begins

This time last month we were waking up to the last full day in the UK before we began our travelling to Mexico. That means it was our last day to pack and, in true Walters' style, it was the day we began to pack! What followed was an indescribable trip, but I'm going to give it a go.

Photo cred: KG

Being the last to arrive at the airport meant we got to say hello to everyone as soon as we arrived! Seeing KG, ET, JB and KB from last year's trip was brilliant, and we couldn't wait to camp and build with them again!

Photo cred: BW

A quick 10/11 hour flight later and we'd landed in LAX. When going through border security I got separated from the rest of my family by a member of staff, which could've proved tricky seeing as we were entering the country on the same piece of paper (landing forms). But I got through really speedy with no problems, made some new friends who were also going to Mexico, collected all 7 suitcases from the carousel and waited, and waited, and waited for the rest of the group. Fortunately I'd packed my Ukulele, so KG entertained us with some tunes. Eventually the lucky 15 (of which I was one), who'd been separated and sent to a shorter, faster queue, were reunited with the rest of the group who'd just spent the last 90 minutes standing in line.
With everyone together we ventured outside in search of our coach. Yellow Prius after yellow Prius sped past until eventually there was a gap in traffic big enough for us to make it across the road. Once we'd made it to our hotel in San Diego, it was about midnight US time and about 8am UK time - we'd not slept in 24 hours. We had dominoes pizza as a US midnight snack/UK breakfast and then headed straight to bed, in order to be ready for the early start to get to Mexico the next day.

Photo cred: BW

The sun was up and following our American-pancake-breakfast we were treated to views like above whilst we waited for the coach to turn up. Through the Mexican border, we were met with more waiting whilst the coach itself was being checked. 
The first drive through Tijuana was just as shocking as last year, but in a different way. I was shocked that I'd completely forgotten exactly what it was like. 'Houses' stacked upon 'houses'. So. Much. Poverty. Driving through was a feeling like no other, you have to be there to feel it.

Photo cred: BW

Some houses were built so close to the edge, they really looked like they might not stand the slightest gust of wind.

Photo cred: BW

We arrived at the Amor camp and it felt like we'd never left! The yellow circus tent still standing, the baños hadn't moved, and the mountains looked as magnificent as ever. Baños, for those of you that don't know, is the Spanish word for toilets. Only the toilets we got to experience were far from ordinary. No flushes, just a big ditch. And something happened that we didn't expect... Because the the ditch below the baños still had some room and therefore the baños hadn't been moved, we were weeing and pooing upon our own wee and poo from last year! Gross.

Photo cred: BW

Baños were best braved in pairs or groups - thanks to air vents, you could have a conversation with a friend to distract yourself from the buzzing flies and awful smell. Top tip: Poo-Pouri works in Mexican toilet ditches as well as it does in flushing toilets (as discovered by mum), perhaps even better as it covers up years of smell! Okay... tmi, moving on.
We'd set up camp, added a few extra tents to solve the tipee over-population issues, experienced our first lunch and our first dinner, come up with a team name and a team chant (which seemed to change every night), and we were just about ready for sleep. Night one. Humans vs Earwigs: 4-0.
Thanks to a cockerel with an underdeveloped 'cocka-doodle-doo' and a donkey that hadn't yet mastered the 'eeyore', the leaders were 'awake' and ready for their 6am meeting.

Photo cred: BW

The buses arrived promptly at 7am, ready for us to leave the site at half past. We loaded the buses with pack lunches, igloos (cold drinks containers), and humans that were ready to build some houses. Singing our way through Tijuana meant the journey from camp to build site felt really short.
Our first impressions of the site were really positive. There were no 25ft drops like last year, and we got the privilege to all build on one site, together. 80 people, 2 single houses, and one double house.
The building began. (Watch this space for part 2)
Thanks for reading, I promise loads more pictures in the next post!

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Why Mexico?

- Tomorrow I'm flying out to Mexico with my family and some friends. In Mexico we will be building a house, along with a group of people from Plymouth. There will be 3 other builds taking place at the same time, being built by people from all around the UK. We will all be eating together, praying together, camping together and hearing about each other's progress throughout the builds. The building will take 5 days and we will also spend a day either side of the build in Mexico to set up and pack down camp, and to hand over the keys to the families. -

-

"Why help people abroad when those on our own doorstep, in our own country, need help too?" The number of times I've heard this response to mission work abroad is countless. So I thought I'd write an open response to anyone who has thought about this question before or to anyone who has no idea how to respond to this kind of question but would like to. -

-

There are people in the world who need help and there are people in the world who can help. In fact, I'm sure we could go as far as to say that everyone needs help and everyone can help. You see, the help we all require is different and relative. One woman needs help getting a job, whilst one woman needs help getting to and from her job. One man needs help with childcare, whilst another needs help and support after the loss of his child. Sometimes the help we require can be a long and seemingly never-ending list. Does that mean the list isn't worth denting? Checking some things off is surely better than none at all.  - What can you offer to someone who needs help? A friend is struggling to stretch their finances to the end of the month, could you bless them with a meal? Perhaps you are that friend that needs help financially, so could you invite a friend over for coffee and encouragement? Perhaps you are that friend that needs a shoulder to cry on and a whole heap of encouraging, could you smile at someone in the street to give them a warm and hopeful feeling that everything is going to be okay? Perhaps you are that person who needs a smile, could you bless a family with a meal? These small acts of love really do make the world go round. Not everyone can give everything, and not everyone needs everything but it becomes a beautiful cycle when we all give what we can to the people that need it. - There are opportunities around us every single day to help people locally and, occasionally, the opportunity might arise for you to help someone further afield.  A project abroad has a much bigger impact than the obvious: blessing one family with one house, blessing an orphanage with supplies and volunteers, etc. The 'help' reaches so much further. For the people who receive some help, they get a weight lifted off of their shoulders - an item ticked off of the list of things that they need help with. They feel loved and supported, and they feel safe. For the people embarking upon the adventure, they come home with a fresh new perspective on life, family, and what it means to be happy. They work towards helping a problem much bigger than they can imagine, empowering them to know that they can make a difference in people's lives back home too. For the people at home who have cheered them along, they get to see the fruit of their own hard work and support, which in turn encourages them in knowing that they are valued, needed, and that they have purpose. I could go on!  - Sometimes, no, all the time, the project is about the people. The people who need help, the people who give, the people who are inspired. The people. We're all people on earth in search of love and happiness, purpose and direction. So, let's get the ball rolling! Start helping out and start asking for help this week. - Why Mexico? To make love look like something for all of the people involved. - See you on the other side! Expect a picture-filled post in a fortnight's time! - Amy xo -

Mexico Spring 2016 Part 4

Safety barrier!

"Our trip to Mexico was one of the greatest things I will ever do. Building a house for a family less fortunate than yourself really opens your eyes and mind to see what is going on in these areas of the world and it hits your heart when you see the extent of what's going on. I, myself, have come back home and have made a conscious decision not to take anything for granted, from my bed to my phone, as I have seen a society where most people don't have anywhere near what we have."

- Matt Chegwin

We knew the basic assembling of the frames into position was going to take place today! With that in mind, safety barriers made of spare timber and nails were put together. They provided a small amount of protection for us from the 12ft drop that we'd been facing each day so far. Once the frame was up, the most dangerous areas became 'leaders only' zones. A zone that was still deemed safe for all was the sewerage corner. A few youth were 'blessed' with the opportunity to wire and Stucco the wall side closest to the leaking pipes on days 4 and 5.

And the walls went up!

After the walls went up on the afternoon of day three everything else was such a blur! We had just 12 build hours left to completely wire up and Stucco the entire house. One of the really lovely opportunities we had on Thursday morning (build day 4) was to write notes of encouragements on the outsides of the walls before they got covered in Stucco.

Encouraging songs, verses, and notes

I think the best way to sum up the rest of the build is going to be mostly pictures:

Day One | Levelling the site, building the frames and moving concrete from the top of the site to the bottom.
Day Two | Mixing the concrete with cement, water and fibres and laying the slab.
Day Three | Assembling the walls of the house and some of the wiring to hold the frames tight.
Day Four | Writing words of encouragement on the frames, finishing the wiring and papering the walls. We also started the roof.
Day Five | All hands on deck for finishing touches! Finishing the roof, installing the doors and windows and applying 2 coats of Stucco (a cement based mix).

(Summary taken from Sam's website, here)

D a y   3

How many people does it take to saw some pretty wood?

D a y   4

It's starting to look like a house

Upon the roof!

Kings Academy putting a shift in

D a y   5

First coat of Stucco

Door installation

All hands on deck to get the last coat of Stucco applied before the day was up 

Makeshift overflow sewerage draining system with left over rocks

Holly 'The Machine' Grob

K e y   h a n d   o v e r   d a y

Handing over the keys 

Unlocking the door

A feast cooked for us by the family we built for

The completed house!

We experienced an extreme culture shock when we left the emotional roller coaster of Mexico and arrived into excessive consumerism back in California.

We've got so much more that we want to say.

"I didn't know what to expect going to Mexico this Easter. My original reason for going was to support the young people from WBC who had courageously stepped out in faith to serve God through Rebuild Mexico 2016.
Now that we have all returned from the awesome experience (of Mexico Rebuild 2016) I realised that I need to be part of the WBC team who went. The experience, and privilege, of seeing young people facing poverty first hand and working as a team to give a family hope by providing a new home. Who wouldn't want to witness that??? But there was more: to see God at work was a great thing and it had helped to rebuild my own, personal faith which has taken quite a battering over the last couple of years. I have returned from Mexico stronger than when I left and am so glad I took part.
Would I go again? Too right I would! :D The challenge to those reading this blog is would you take part in a Mexico Rebuild trip?????"
- Mike Walters

I imagine we'll post very soon with some more highlights about our trip and the celebration pool party afterwards! For now, though, that is us done! We've loved being able to share some of our stories with you. If you'd like to know more about ReBuild trips, visit the Urban Saints website here.

Thank you again for all of your support,
See you soon.

Mexico Spring 2016 Part 3

"Wait... so these are garden hoes?"

Hello, if you've just joined our Mexico blog posts - Welcome! If you've been following our journey so far - Welcome back!

To read our first Mexico 2016 blog post, click here.

To read our second Mexico 2016 blog post, click here.

"It was such an awesome experience, building a house for a family who needed a safe and secure home... I was able to see how happy people were even if they don't have the basic things in a home or even a proper structure around them. They live life to the full and are so thankful. Seeing a 15 year old boy watch us solidly whilst we built him a house really got to me as he had a smile permanently on his face... It really hit home how grateful and thankful we should be for every bit of detail in our lives... I am changed!"

- Emma Matthews

A local family surrounded us as we stepped out of the bus ready to embark up the big hill to the build site. They were trying to sell us beautiful handmade bracelets, headbands, ponchos, and blankets. Whilst we wanted to give them everything we had, we needed to walk on, leaving them with a few smiles and nothing more. Although the story doesn't end there. The same local family visited us a couple of days later, when we were on a break, and we bought our 'souvenirs' from them, knowing that the money would be supporting their household that week.

The open door of their too-small-for-eight 'house'.

By this, our second day on the build site, we were pretty used to our surroundings - including the animals: the chihuahua puppies in the all-too-small cage, the larger dog held on an all-too-short lead, and the flies that would not leave the entrance of the house alone! Putting our used toilet paper in a bucket so that it didn't go down the baño had become second nature and climbing down the 10ft makeshift 'double ladder' was no longer a challenging task. It was fact: we had settled in.

Just as soon as we were feeling slightly comfortable, Emma and myself (Amy) leapt at an opportunity to experience yet more unknown surroundings. It was time for Kids Club day one.

"Pato, pato, ganso"

As it was the first club of the week there were only a few children around before word got out. This meant that to start with we had more than one volunteer per child. So Emma and I stepped back and chatted to a lady from Amor. She taught us how to ask an older lad, who looked about 15, what school year he was in. Emma tried it out loud a few times before approaching the young boy and asking '?dónde está mi piña?' The confusion on his face scared Emma into asking again, this time she altered the intonation in her question. An even more confused look arose on his face as he realised she actually had asked where her pineapple was the first time. Much to Emma's distress we all found it extremely funny. Emma then learnt how to say sorry and the lady from Amor explained to the boy that she had played a trick on Emma. He laughed along too.

There's so much more to kid's club than we could ever put into words. Each individual child brings a story so precious. A little girl was sat making bracelets with us out of pipe cleaners and plastic animal-shaped beads. She taught us how to say the word for 'hippopotamus' and then threaded one onto her masterpiece. Once she'd finished the bracelet she took my arm and tied it on, signalling for me to keep the present. How amazing it is that we can give so much to children who have so little and they find joy in giving back. It wasn't about material objects for her; it was about making me smile, that's what made her happy. Wow. She really gets it.

They did it! Slab complete.

Upon returning to the build site we found an impressively smooth completed slab and some very tired and happy teammates! Emma and I had been fortunate enough to visit 3 of the 4 other builds which had really shown us how tough everyone's sites were and gave us another boost to keep pushing forward to complete the house in the time we had left.

The post-build discussion swayed towards the Camp Ronald decision. The Camp Ronald (as in Ronald McDonald) dates back to an old mistake made one year on ReBuild involving a lot of hungry kids and an under-staffed McDonald's. Since then Urban Saints have found a Camp Ronald at the end of each ReBuild trip. This year they decided that each build team should nominate someone for this title at the end of every day. Each nominated Ronald then had to play the pie face game. 

Day two's Camp Ronald from King's Furnace was Sam.

Sam's Pie Face.

Sam saw a pile of clothes in his tent and thought that they would make a comfortable seat. Comfortable though the seat may have been, his suitcase below was now broken. Unable to close or zip the suitcase back up he panicked that he wouldn't be able to take anything back home on the plane with him. Classic Ronald.

*Later that week his suitcase was fixed and he didn't have to leave all of his belongings in the Mexican desert*

Day 3 is when the build really came together, and we've got a time lapse video coming your way in the next post. Stay tuned...

To read the next blog post about Mexico, click here.

To read our first Mexico 2016 blog post, click here.
To read our second Mexico 2016 blog post, click here.

Mexico Spring 2016 Part 2

"We love you Furnace we do... Kings Furnace we love you!"

If you haven't read our first post about Mexico, you can find that here.

"ReBuild Mexico was, hands down, one of the most amazing experiences of my life. It was amazing to be a part of a group of young people (and some not-so-young people) who all wanted to make a difference in people's lives..."
- Samuel Houghton

Upon returning to the campsite on our first build day we ran straight to the shower block. Standing around us were four large concrete walls wearing large old, rusted hooks. We lifted our showers onto the loop of metal and hoped not only would the shower hold up but that it would be warm too.
As cold water trickled down our backs, we felt all hopes of a warm and powerful shower wash away.

Our solar showers.

Filling up our solar showers was a whole different experience altogether. We approached some large cylinders of water with apprehension, finding them to be filled with dead bugs and dirt. As we walked back to our tents, with our now-full solar showers, we discussed where best placed they would be to catch the most of the sun, hoping for a warmer shower tomorrow than the one we had just experienced.

Solar shower fill up station

Thoughts of the build site facilities flashed through our heads. Witnessing the Mexican family's bathroom at our build site each day, how could we complain at our solar showers? We each had our own shower full of water that, though filled with bugs and dirt, had been treated with chemicals. While we were only 5 solar showers away from the more-than-comfortable hotel shower, we knew that many people live like this all of the time.

Almost simultaneously the yellow circus tent felt like home: our very own lounge, the food tasted good: you'll eat almost anything when you're hungry, the tent pod felt comfortable: our very own bedrooms, and the baños were no longer scary: the smell was dulling too.

Campsite baños.

"The baños at the campsite were not quite what I expected. It was an experience I will never forget, I'll tell you that. They were Portaloos without any plumbing. Instead of flushing, you just let gravity take over. Every bit of human waste fell 12ft below you. It made me realise how priveleged we are just to have a flushing loo. Some people who are in poverty don't even have the luxury of having privacy. It just makes you realise how lucky we are to have things like plumbing and running water."

- Becca Walters

On went the worship music, down went the sun, out came the campfire under the stars, and off we went to bed. An early morning was fast approaching...

Check back here for more soon. We've still got the building experience to cover and we haven't even told you about the camp Ronalds yet!

If you missed our last post about Mexico you can find it here.
To read our next Mexico post, click here.