Five years ago a childhood friend of mine and his wife sold everything they had and moved from Los Angeles to the city of Ensanada in Baja California Norte, Mexico. Their plan? Start a social service organization to aid communities in poverty and to give cultural and education experiences to international volunteers. And for five years, Lantern Hill has successfully carried out this mission.
When JJ and I reconnected via Facebook two or three years ago, I knew we had to visit sometime. My wife is a Spanish teacher, is a native of Puerto Rico, and has a desire to travel to Latin America. So there’s that. Plus, we like to help out whenever we can. And I was in such awe of what JJ and Abby were doing that I wanted to see it.
We also took a trip to Guatemala with Habitat for Humanity in 2010, and that enhanced our motivation to visit Baja and work with Lantern Hill.
So earlier this month, my wife, our daughter, my parents, and I hopped a cross country flight to San Diego where JJ and Abby met us for the drive of 90+ miles south to Ensenada.
Barring distractions, I’m hoping to write some other blog posts specifically about the communities where Lantern Hill works, but here’s the takeaway from this trip. Although we did some work to help out, this visit wasn’t about what we gave. The real value in our trip was the cultural and educational experience for us.
When we went to Guatemala in 2010, we saw some examples of extreme poverty. That was an important lesson. But in Guatemala, we drove by people and towns on our way to our work site.
In Mexico, we stood in the midst of communities in poverty. We smelled it. We walked amongst it. We talked with the people who are living it and heard some of their stories. This was different from the Guatemala trip. One isn’t better than the other. But they are different experiences that taught us different things.
It may sound strange to hear that “the real value” was what we learned. But JJ told me that this is a very important aspect of the work that Lantern Hill does. What they want most is for their volunteers to build relationships with the locals they interact with. Lantern Hill’s mission statement is as much about the volunteers as it is the locals.
To educate, feed, and care for children and families in Baja California, Mexico.
To offer real, genuine, life-changing transformational servant experiences.
To create a change of perspective.
To change the world through service and education.
We delivered blankets, food, and strollers to the families of migrant farm workers. We worked on the construction of a school cafeteria. We fed lunch to about 50 kids and moms in a local village. My wife taught an English class.
But what I will remember the most about this trip is the people. We met people who are either completely invisible or at least anonymous to our fellow Americans. We saw how they live. And that’s something that cannot be erased from our minds.
Tags: Guatemala, Habitat for Humanity, Lantern Hill, Mexico, Poverty, social justice
August 26, 2011 at 12:05 am |
[...] to Ensanada, Baja California, Mexico and our visit with the folks at Lantern Hill. The previous posts were relatively serious, so I want to lighten it up a bit with just random observations about our [...]