This past week, I traveled to Reynosa, Mexico, with my grandson, Anton Peter (the 5th), and my son-in-law, Zack, to help build homes for families in need. Many of these families have been living in makeshift shelters constructed from materials gathered at the local dump. The family house pictured had managed to build a more stable structure, but it leaked badly during storms.

Our church partners with a local ministry calledStrategic Alliance, which selects the families and prepares each site in advance. They pour a 12' x 20' concrete pad with J-bolts embedded to anchor the walls against strong winds. This year, 127 volunteers from our San Antonio church caravanned down in buses and trucks to build five houses in just four days.

One of the best parts of this trip is that most of the volunteers are high school students—including my grandson—who come to experience the privilege of building a home for a family. It’s incredibly valuable for young people to witness living conditions so different from their own. I was proud of how hard Anton Peter worked and how fully he engaged with the family throughout our time there.

I always enjoy watching the students learn construction skills and use power tools, often for the first time. With five job sites operating simultaneously—each with table saws, radial arm saws, nail guns, and more—it’s remarkable how rarely we have injuries.

By the end, most students are surprisingly capable builders. Some become regulars; one young woman on this trip had already helped build 10 houses, trying to catch up to her older sister, who completed 21 before leaving for college.

You can imagine the impact of 127 people showing up in this desperately poor area with vans of people and five trucks pulling trailers. We have interpreters who communicate with them. As part of this mission, the team brings down art supplies, soccer balls, books, and other kid-friendly stuff, as many of our younger students spend most of their time playing with the local kids.

On the first day, each team organizes its materials—lumber, paint, roofing, and more. With about 24 people per house, space can get tight.

The construction leader divides tasks into painting, site prep, equipment setup, and building. We pre-paint nearly all the lumber so that once the house is assembled, most of the painting is already done. Nearly everything is built from scratch: window and door frames, sash guides, wall panels, and roof trusses. Each house has a team of about 24 people, which can get moving around, especially in difficult situations.

The construction leader wisely separates the team into groups for painting, site preparation, setting up power equipment, and construction. After this, most of the team is focused on painting all sides of the wood, so when the house is built, 90% of the painting is completed. Almost everything we build from scratch, including the door and window frames, guides for sash windows to open, walls, roof trusses, etc.

We welcome the local kids and adults to join in on the building, which many have already had a house built for them. This one little girl pictured joined us most of the days to help the painting team.

During the construction, the teams help each other as the skill levels vary between the teams. By the end of three days, the five houses were mostly built except for some final touches. On day three after lunch, a group of 4 or 5 (not 6 or 7!) people go shopping at the local Walmart to buy all the household items along with perishable foods to stock the shelves.

On the morning of the fourth day, the teams decorate, stock the shelves, hang curtains, and set up tables and the bed. The students are particularly excited about this part of the project, turning a building into a home. I am always impressed with their creativity. They paint the front door and tables with cheerful Bible verses and colorful artwork.

For lunch, these five families treated all 127 people with food they prepared. We were deeply moved by the significant sacrifice they must have made to put together such a delicious spread. The event turned into a festival with lively music playing and a conga line dance around the tables.

After lunch and the food was put away, it was time for the key ceremony. We locked the front door after all the decorations were done earlier that morning, so the families have not yet seen the finished product. Gathered at the front of the house, we speak to the family with the interpreter about the honor of building this house for them. We pray for God’s protection over them for years to come.

Then they unlock the front door and walk in. It’s a very emotional experience, and not a dry eye among us. In a very short time, we have all gotten to know each other and the family. It is hard to believe how quickly the days went by. Finally, it is time to clean up, pack up our equipment, and load up into the vans and trucks for the long drive home. We are all exhausted and excited about the change we were able to make for these families.

What Does This Mean to Me?

The holidays always seem to bring our hearts into sharper focus. This time of year reminds us how important it is to show appreciation to the people we love. Health experts say that strong relationships are key to our well-being—but I don’t need a study to tell me that. I feel it every time I’m surrounded by family or working alongside friends for a purpose greater than myself.

In Mexico, the children are not allowed to graduate until the fees for the end-of-year tests are paid. Many families can’t afford these fees, so the children stop going to school sometimes as early as 2nd or 3rd grade. My wife and I sponsor one family to cover school supplies, required uniforms, and test fees. If you would like to sponsor a child, click this link toStrategic Alliance. The cost is around $35 per month or about three trips to Starbucks.

Traveling to Mexico and working for just a few days feels like such a small effort compared to the impact these teams have on the five families we serve. Now that I’m back home and Thanksgiving has passed, our whole family is shifting into Christmas mode. With ten grandchildren, Granny and Papa are expected to deliver something “amazing.” No pressure, right?

One moment on the trip keeps coming back to me. The mother of the family we built the house for brought in a small Christmas tree. When I saw it, it hit me just how much in my own life I take for granted. I’ve never had to worry about staying dry during storms or warm through cold winter nights. I’ve never once wondered whether I’d have a home in which to put up a Christmas tree. Yet for this family, that little tree was a symbol of hope, stability, and new beginnings.

It made me realize how the simplest things, food, shelter, safety, family, friendship, meaningful work, are the blessings that truly matter. A Christmas tree in my home isn’t just a decoration; it’s a reminder of how deeply blessed I am.

Merry Christmas. I pray your holidays are filled with joy, gratitude, and moments that draw you and your loved ones closer than ever.