Capuchi Capuchi!!!!!

Capuchi Capuchi!!!!!Day tres down in Mexico. Today was hot and amazing. This morning we got a chance for the church to see and hear us and what we’ve been doing lately, it was great to have that opportunity. After this we left to start our build, all the kids and families were so excited to see us “gringos” and help out. By the end of the day it was probably more playing around then work but we got the roof panels finished and ready to start the walls tomorrow. For supper we went and had tacos in the town, they were amazingly delicious! The ice cream we had after that wasn’t too shabby either. after a long day we got back to the compound and had some of the most refreshing showers of life! Great day today and ready to keep on doing the good tomorrow and the rest of the week.Justin and DanielleMexico 2010

I Felt Strong

We meet a lot of people – too many to be able to recount or remember. Some of them are with us for a good time, some are with us for a long time and some of them leave an imprint on us for a lifetime. Cassie is like that for me.There is something very deflating when you feel like you are just another face, another story or another number to contend with. One of our desires in LiveDifferent (formerly Absolute) is for each person that we work with and for knows that they are invaluable; no one can take their place. We believed this in theory, but Cassie has helped me to better understand what that can look like in reality. Cassie has traveled with us to Dominican Republic and Thailand, as well as interning with us in the summer of 2008. Always, she has been an incredible encouragement to those around her. Last week, a hand written letter showed up in the mail addressed to me; it was from Cassie. Within that envelope was incredible insight into what motivated her to be a part of Hero Holiday. But, even more than that, it gave me insight into who she truly is.Cassie grew up on the West Coast of Canada. Like many Canadian teenagers, she struggled with who she was and where she fit in in the world around her. Unlike many of her counterparts, she decided to see what she could do to change where she found herself. The first time we met her was in 2005 at the Canadian Student Leadership Conference (CSLC). We were the ones on the stage and she was one of the hundreds of faces in the crowd.The first time I saw you speak was in 2005 at CSLC. I was in a really rough place at the time, fighting with an eating disorder and extremely low self esteem. Your presentation was one of the highlights of that week and really did make me feel like I had a purpose. When I got back to school I started slipping again, but then the real turning point came when I went on my first Hero Holiday in the summer of 2006 to Dominican Republic. Four years later, that is still one of the best weeks of my life. I felt strong, capable, and like I really could make a difference.I wanted to take the time to thank everyone at LiveDifferent (formerly Absolute) for the amazing amount of effort and passion you put in every day. In the three years I went on Hero Holidays, I never once felt unsafe and always felt like I had lots of people I could turn to for support of any kind.To everyone at LiveDifferent (formerly Absolute), thank you for everything. You are some of the best, most caring people I have ever met. I hope you know this and that you hear it enough.Why does her letter mean so much to me? Because Cassie’s story has been one I have encountered over and over again across Canada and around the world. It is the story of hope, freedom, and ultimately, the realization that there is so much more to live for when we are willing to believe in what we can become. Today, Cassie is finishing up university and getting ready to go out into the world to continue to change it from another angle, and we are proud to know her for who she truly is: a young woman of incredible purpose.Life is a gift and each of us, like Cassie, has the opportunity to decide what to do with that gift. Thanks, Cassie, for being so honest with us and for being willing to allow the truth of who you are outshine everything else.To find out more about LiveDifferent (formerly Absolute) and our programs, check out www.livedifferent.com.

“Mister”, Frisbees, and a Taco Stand that Could Change Your Life

Greetings from Mexico!So we are all safe and sound here at our base in Vicente Gurrero. Although we have had a long journey our team is feeling renewed and ready to go for our first day at the building sites!On Friday we arrived in Los Angeles and kicked it off with a trip to ‘In-N-Out Burger’ which was a pleasant experience for all involved. From there we made our way through the Friday L.A. traffic to San Diego where we took a stroll along the Board Walk snapping pictures all the way. After our refreshing trundle our team headed to our hotel and then split up to explore our options for dinner. On Saturday morning while some of the team members were woken up by the sounds of their alarm clocks, others were woken up by the sounds of screaming coming from room 158. Four ladies by the names of Christine, Alisha, Meghan, and Lisa discovered that they had acquired a new friend during the night. They called him Mister. Massive Cockroach. Enough said. Luckily Starbucks was nearby to save the day!After a brief refueling in the caffeine department we made our way to the Mexican border where we fortunately got the okay to enter without any problems or major searches. The rest of the trip consisted of pit stops at a local beach, as well as a lunch break at a taco stand ( MUY BEUNO!). Finally we made it to our destination – but before the final stop we made a special trip to meet the families we are building for. It was a wonderful refresher of why we are doing what we are doing. We were greeted by many local children with bright eyes and big smiles. And of course we were ready to play! All of us enjoyed kicking around a soccer ball or tossing a frisbee with a child, and I think we would all agree that the language barrier was no match for the smiles and giggles we all shared! After a sad but promising goodbye we came back and enjoyed pizza for dinner before we had a fiesta with a group visiting from Newfoundland. There was muchos fun had by all!Tomorrow is our first building day, so please pray for our safety and positive attitudes as are finally fulfilling what God has planned out for us and these families.That’s all for now, as we are fiesta’d out from our night of partying with the Newfie’s (Sorry, we just had to throw that in there)Hasta Manana!-Lisa & Meghan

Off to the Work Site!!

We woke up and we had a special breakfast served by our leaders. Which consisted of French Toast with peanut butter in the middle. YUM!! We all got our sunscreen on 😉 and got packed. Off to the work site!! As we got off the bus all these wonderful kids gave us high fives and huge smiles :D!! We got to work and many of the first time users of power tools were fascinated by how much fun it was! It was very hot and hard to keep a good work ethic, but in the end we all got a lot done!! We frequently took breaks to play with the children and water breaks to stay hydrated in the intense heat. We stopped for some lunch at the Pemex which is about the only Gas Station in Mexico. At the point there was quite a few people that were starting to feel a little out of sorts. When we got back to the work site some people had to sit out because of heat (it’s way hotter than last year). After finishing up our day of work we went to the beach except for those who weren’t feeling well. We had a wonderful time!!! At night we had an excellent debriefing session and watched a few slide shows of pictures. Please pray that the team will be able to tolerate the heat and to keep working hard throughout the week. Christine Vis (our team nurse) is nagging us to keep drinking water so don’t worry. Pray that we will also have God’s plan shown to the team. It will be very hard saying goodbye to the kids so also thank God for the impact that they have had on our lives and us on theirs.Kayla and Colton

Greetings from Mexico!

Greetings from Mexico! 

So we are all safe and sound here at our base Vicente Gurrero. Although we have had a long journey our team is feeling renewed and ready to go for our first day at the building sites. On Friday we arrived in Los Angeles and kicked it off with a trip to ‘In-N-Out Burger’ which was a pleasant experience for all involved. From there we made our way through the Friday L.A. traffic to San Diego where we took a stroll along the Board Walk snapping pictures all the way. After our refreshing trundle our team headed to our hotel and then split up to explore our options for dinner. On Saturday morning while some of the team members were woken up by the sound of their alarm clocks, others were woken up by the sound of screaming coming from room 158. Four ladies by the names of Christine, Alisha, Meghan, and Lisa discovered that they had acquired a new friend during the night. They called him Mister. Massive Cockroach. Enough said. Luckily Starbucks was nearby to save the day. After a brief refueling in the caffeine department we made our way to the Mexican boarder where we fortunately got the okay to enter without any problems or major searches. The rest of the trip consisted of pit stops at a local beach, as well as a lunch break at a taco stand MUY BEUNO! Finally we made it to our destination but before the final stop we made a special trip to meet the families we are building for. It was a wonderful refresher of why we are doing what we are doing. We were greeted by many local children with bright eyes and big smile’s. And of course we were ready to play! All of us enjoyed kicking around a soccer ball or tossing a frizbee with a child, and I think we would all agree that the language barrier was no match for the smiles and giggle’s we all shared! After a sad but promising goodbye we came back and enjoyed pizza for dinner before we had a fiesta with a group visiting from Newfoundland, there was mucho fun had by all!

Tomorrow is our first building day, so please pray for our safety and positive attitudes as we’re finally fulfilling what God has planned out for us and these families.

That’s all for now, as we are fiesta’d out from our night of partying with the Newfie’s (Sorry, we just had to throw that in there).

Hasta Manana!

-Lisa & Meghan

Hola from Mexico!

Hola from Mexico!We have arrived in Vincente Guerrero safely, and this is day three of the house build! Everything is going smoothly and we now have the house up and standing! I believe there are some pictures up on the site but I’m not certain. Feel free to take a look if you’re curious! It’s always a really good feeling to get the walls up and feel accomplishment in your hard work. Today we are working on tarring the rooftop. It’s incredibly hot here, especially for us Newfie’s who are used to our summers consisting of two degree weather and constant rain, (haha) but we’re keeping hydrated for the most part, drinking lots of water and getting lots of electrolytes.As for the family themselves, they are nothing short of spectacular. In case you don’t really know a whole lot about them, the family members are dad Antonio, mom Eulugia, eleven year old Carmen, nine year old Julian, three year old Veronica and newborn Marco. Everyone is so friendly. The old house that the family used to live in was made by Antonio, and it is remarkable. It’s constructed from mostly cardboard and plastic but it is beautifully crafted. He’s so resourceful. I could never have been able to put together anything near what he has with the same materials. They truly deserve to have this house built for them.The kids are really cool too. Julian keeps mocking everyone whenever they speak english. It’s really cute, like he wants to learn english. Veronica is adorable. She’s a really big daddy’s girl. Whenever she sees Antonio, she runs right for him and her tiny face completely lights up. When we were putting up the walls he was helping us out and Veronica started to screech for her papa. She was so sad because she couldn’t be by his side for that moment. Seeing how much she loves her dad just breaks your heart. Carmen is also really smart too. Her families native language is “Trike” but she also knows a lot of spanish. She translates to her mom what is being said because Eulugia doesn’t know spanish very well. She’s also very helpful with the housebuild as well. All the family and the neighbouring people are as well. Most of the kids can use the tools better than us! I could go on for pages about how much fun they are to play with too. There is a language barrier, however you’d be surprised how much you can understand one another even if you don’t speak the same language, and laughter is always universal.Anyways, that’s all from me! Everyone here sends their love back home. Emily misses her dog a lot. We wish you all well, but don’t be enjoyng yourselves too much without us! (haha, just kidding)Peace & Love,Brittney

Temporary Miracle

She had no money, barely an education, but enough passion and determination to change the world. She was fifteen when I first met her. We were walking through a Dominican village, the road was rugged and the dusty, but she was barefoot. The excruciating heat was almost unbearable, but her face didn’t show it. I noticed her right away for two reasons: she looked almost my age with a glowing smile and she was pregnant. I walked over to here, and unknowingly and ignorant of what I was about to hear. Immediately, she took me into a gracious embrace as she recognized the similarities between us. We were the same age, the only difference being that she was born in the Dominican Republic, and I was born in Canada. This reality was overwhelming and almost impossible to empathize with.Right away, we started talking. Her words resonate in my head to this day, and I can’t bring my thoughts away from her will and raw desire to learn and thrive in the world that she was born into. She explained in the simplest way she could that she wanted help. This astonished me because the idea that the helped was wanting to help in return. This fifteen year old girl was heavily pregnant, and was going to night school everyday in hopes of one day becoming a teacher and sharing her wisdom with her community. I was and continue to be unbelievably inspired by her maturity and consciousness of everything around her. Although I only knew her for a day, I could already see right into her selfless heart through the words that she spoke. I felt as though we had known each other for a life time.Even though her circumstances, she was a teenager like myself, she loved to laugh, to dance, and just be surrounded by love. We continued to talk, and the conversation led us to where she called home. We sat down, and if you could just hear us, you would think that we were two teenagers chatting over a cup of coffee. But when the lights of reality sunk in, you could see the walls of her house eaten away by termites, bug carcasses scattered across the dirt floor, and the table that was laden with a single basket of food that was meant to feed a family of over ten for a possibly a week. Inevitably, it was eventually time to leave. As she stood up from the table, I was suddenly reminded of yet another burden that she carried that was unlike mine: her baby to be…Now, over a year later, I saw her. The brightness in her eyes instantly drew me in. Once again, I was taken in by her maturity and sense of purpose. I watched in awe as she balanced a healthy looking baby in her arms. Although she may not reach her potential in terms of an education, a miracle had occurred: her baby made it. Her safety, and that of the baby was extremely uncertain due to the Dominican health care system, an the disease rate that could easily sever her pregnancy. But a sigh bigger than words can describe what was let out when I knew that she was okay. Currently sixteen, she continues to go to school, pursue her dreams, and now, care for another life apart from her own. The idea of miracles happening in everyday life can come about in unexpected situations, but in a way, it can bring us back down to where we really are. I am now content in the fact that she is alright and safe. I know now that year of endless worrying and constant fear is now over, at least for the time being.~ Megan, an intern in the DR.Many of the lives the our participants encounter on their Hero Holidays change their lives and views on our world. Now longer is poverty something that they hear about and see on TV, it is the faces and stories of the people they encounter each day on our work sites. Theses moment then fuel them to make a difference in the lives of people and communities back home but often continue these kind of humanitarian experiences in the future.

Thunderstruck

 When the opportunity to write a blog for Hero Holiday came up, a spark lit up inside of me. I am a guy who passionately enjoys writing, and passionately enjoys everything that LiveDifferent (formerly Absolute) stands for, so how I never realized the potential for combining the two is beyond me.I have been on three Hero Holiday humanitarian trips prior to this one, and each one has held substantial significance in my eighteen year-old life. It is almost hard for me to reconcile my own state of mind prior to my first experience in Mexico. It seems like maturity could not have happened if my eyes were not opened up to the things I’ve seen, or the atrocities I’ve experienced.This trip brings a whole new perspective to my life that I hadn’t before had the ability to comprehend.     The fact first hit me when the first crack of thunder rolled through the hills of the Dominican Republic. It was as if my heart stalled as the impossibly loud boom echoed throughout the skies (I later found out that this was one of the most violent storms in a very long time, according to the one of the locals). The reason the thunder struck fear in me was not because of its obvious awesome appeal; instead it was because of a story Cole Brown had told my ‘team’ earlier that day.We toured through the village of Agua Negra (Black Water) and as we did Cole showed us his true passion. A passion I will never cease to admire, respect, and envy. He explained to us that the low setting most of the impoverished community resided on provided an inescapable vice. A nearby river, which was flooded with trash, dead animals, sewage, toxins… and swimming children, was incredibly susceptible to flooding if the down poor of Dominican rain was heavy. He explained that most of these families would find themselves at least ankle deep in water, and many of them would have to resort to climbing up on mattresses and shivering as a feeble attempt to obtain any sort of comfort.A story is a story, and words are words. When Cole shared these facts of Agua Negra with us, I listened intently, and I felt an immense flood of sympathy and pity for the people forced to reconcile that sort of lifestyle. But the true reality of the situation did not hit me until that first crack of thunder.That crack of thunder, followed by a heavy rainfall, forced me to think about the people of that poor town. I contrasted their dismal situation in regards to nature’s wrath with my own back home. I thought about the fact that if a storm stirs in Edmonton, I need simply to hoof it home, or to a friend’s, and wait it out. For these people however, the nearest haven is not enough… and for their entire lives it never has been.That is a fact I have trouble reconciling; that people in this world cannot even get out of the rain. I remember reading books when I was young about hiding from the rain, and finding sanctity in the nearest building. That is how I always saw it, it was something I had overlooked and taken for granted. I cannot even imagine having an inability to simply be dry. It is such a small concept to the people of wealthy North America, getting out of the rain. Fleeing from the elements is an easy feat for the fortunate, and I never realized that because of the location others were born, it proves to be an impossibility. These people are not stupider than anyone else, they are not lesser than anyone else, they are not less deserving than anyone else, yet it is them who are forced to reconcile a life of fear, caution, and struggle. I have always been thankful for being born into a blessed environment the way I was, but I have never been as grateful as I was when that thunder struck. Imagining the faces of the children forced to shiver in the cold, forced to frantically move about in their cramped homes and move their food to higher ground. I cannot even imagine back home being in a situation where I am forced to attempt a futile salvage of my household necessities.I have experienced and dealt with the drastically poor before, but it was not until then that I understood why people like those who work at LiveDifferent (formerly Absolute) are as passionate as they are. I truly saw the disparity of our world clearly, and my own reality made me sick to my stomach. The people we are helping down here are amazing. Back home one of our biggest fears is that we will not try hard enough to achieve all the goals we wish to in life… but down here these people are not given the chance to even progress and make their own lives better. These people are not even granted the foundation to reach their potential.  These poor people have not failed in any way to deserve the world they were born into; instead the world they were born into has failed them. I have always personally believed that a fundamental human right should be having the foundation to reach ones full potential… whether they achieve that potential is up to the individual. The fact that these people do not have that foundation sickens me, and it is the primary reason driving my purpose of being here.I have fallen in love with the unfortunate not out of pity, but out of hope. Hope that one day the world will realize its failings and salvage the purity left in it. A hope that one day it will be possible for an average American, to serve an Average Dominican or Haitian. A hope that one day humanity will see eye to eye, and flourish in this complicated dilemma we call life… together.~ Mason, an intern in the DR

I Heart Miracles

Miracles are cool. I don’t mean the Jesus-in-a-Taco style of miracle or the miracle that comes when you order the Holy Water from the televangelist with a bad hairpiece that’s on TV at 3:00 AM. I mean the kind of miracle that makes you wonder and marvel at the incredible gift of being alive; one that truly makes you want to keep going and believing that there is more.Mari-Terése might fall under the miracle category – at least according to Megan, one of our Hero Holiday interns in Dominican Republic.

She had no money, barely an education, but enough passion and determination to change the world. She was fifteen when I first met her. We were walking through a Dominican village, the road was rugged and dusty, but she was barefoot. I noticed her right away for two reasons: she looked almost my age with a glowing smile – and she was pregnant.

We started talking. Her words resonate in my head to this day, and I can’t bring my thoughts away from her will and raw desire to learn and thrive into the world where she was born. She explained, in the simplest way she could, that she wanted to help. This astonished me: the ‘helped’ was wanting to help in return. Heavily pregnant, she was going to night school every day in hopes of one day becoming a teacher and sharing her wisdom with her community. I was, and continue to be, unbelievably inspired by her maturity and consciousness of everything around her. Although I only knew her for a day, I could already see right into her selfless heart through the words that she spoke. I felt as though we had known each other for a life time.We continued to talk, and the conversation led us to where she called home. We sat down, and if you could just hear us, you would think that we were two teenagers chatting over a cup of coffee! But when the lights of reality sunk in, you could see the walls of her house eaten away by termites, bug carcasses scattered across the dirt floor, and the table that was laden with a single basket of food that was meant to feed a family of over ten for possibly a week.Inevitably, it was eventually time to leave. As she stood up from the table, I was suddenly reminded of yet another burden that she carried that was unlike mine: she was about to become a mother.Now, over a year later, I saw her. The brightness in her eyes drew me instantly and once again, I couldn’t help but notice her maturity and sense of purpose. I watched in awe as she balanced a healthy looking baby in her arms. Although she may not reach her potential in terms of an education, a miracle had occurred: her baby made it! Her safety, and that of the baby was extremely uncertain due to her limited access to health care, and the disease rate that could easily have terminated her pregnancy. But a sigh bigger than words can describe what was let out when I knew that she was okay. Currently sixteen, she continues to go to school, pursue her dreams, and now, care for another life.The idea of miracles happening in everyday life can come about in unexpected situations, but in a way, it can bring us back down to where we really are. I am now content in the fact that she is safe. I know now that my year of endless worrying and constant fear is now over – at least for the time being. Life is fragile and we live in the unexpected every moment of every day. Somehow, once you have been exposed to the extreme inequities of the world, you understand that on a whole different level. Each day is a gift and nothing is taken for granted. Birth is often the only true separation between those who have plenty and those who go without. Right now, as you read this, Megan is witnessing that reality firsthand on Hero Holiday, as together with the team of over one hundred participants, we work to bring hope and help build a future for the community that Mari -Terése is a part of. To find out more about how you can be a part of LiveDifferent (formerly Absolute)’s Hero Holiday programs, check out www.livedifferent.com.

A Day with Madeleine

Only a few days in and already this has been one of the best experiences I have ever had. I know Hero Holiday is going to change my life.  Of all the worksites and projects we’ve been a part of yesterday’s visit to the dump was definitely one of the hardest. At the dump we paired up with Haitian refugees who work there.  They collect recyclable materials and earn a meagre 85 cents per bag. As soon as we drove up I was shocked by how much garbage there actually was.  There were literally mountains of garbage.  I teamed up with a little Haitian girl named Madeleine who’s 12 years old.  She was incredibly helpful and an amazing inspiration to me.  As we helped them find recyclables I found I kept picking up the wrong things.  Digging through the piles and opening up bag after bag of garbage only to be met with disappointment.  It was hard to find anything useful.  Madeleine had a great eye for finding plastic bottles though; she could spot them from miles away.Madeleine had a smile the entire time.  She laughed every time I celebrated the fact that I had (finally) found an acceptable addition to our bag.  She was wearing 2 different shoes – a ballet flat and a runner- but she didn’t think anything of it.  Some of the other Haitians were barefoot or wearing flip flops which hindered their work.  I can’t believe that Madeleine is considered lucky to have 2 closed-toe shoes even though they didn’t match and probably didn’t fit.   I kept thinking about how I had bought 3 new matching pairs of shoes for this trip while Madeleine doesn’t own a single one.The most heartbreaking part of the dump was the discoveries Madeleine kept making.  First she found a battery-operated fan.  Her eyes lit up and for a second I think she thought it was going to work.  When it didn’t she laughed, as happy as ever, and held it to her face pretending she was feeling a breeze.  After that Madeleine came across another plastic bottle but this one still had some water in it.  She opened the bottle and started to drink it.  I stopped her before she could have any and brought her back to the truck for a cup of clean water.  It horrifies me that back home we won’t touch water that hasn’t been filtered, purified and bottled yet there was Madeleine about to drink from a disgusting bottle she found at the dump.My North-American reaction to the garbage was to back away and not touch anything.  At times I would turn something over and have to hold my nose for fear of vomiting.  It’s a terrible job to have with the smell and the heat and the incredibly unrewarding pay for such tireless work.  I only had to do it for an hour and half.  Madeleine does it for 7 or 8 hours every single day.  One look at the determined little girl beside me and I was right back at it, digging in the dumps.  In the time I spent there Madeleine, I earned less than a dollar.  At my job in Toronto, I would have earned $10 and not worked half as hard.  When it came time to leave I filled up Madeleine’s cup, left her my gloves and gave her my sunglasses.  She was shocked and really happy.  We said our goodbyes and as we drove away I saw Madeleine running back to the garbage truck that was dropping off fresh garbage.  I can’t fathom what keeps her going and what keeps her happy working and living in conditions like that.  It makes my problems at home seem so insignificant.  Madeleine is my inspiration.  If she can work as hard as she does every day for almost nothing then who am I to be complaining about late buses, homework or long commercial breaks?  I may have only helped Madeleine make an extra 50 cents or so but she has done so much more for me then she’ll ever know.~ Riana, an intern in DR