Reflection from volunteer, Gary Baits

“Dios las bendiga” (God bless you). That’s what I wrote on one of the 2x6s in the house I’m helping to build. Everyone on the team wrote something for Carlas and her daughters, the family that will be living in their new home here in Baton Rouge.

Working on a Habitat project had been a dream of mine for a long time. I’ve had friends from Oregon, Washington and even Costa Rica (our current home) involved with Habitat, but for whatever reason I was never part of a build, until this week. I never imagined that my first build would be with my Costa Rican sisters Pastor Nidia Rodriguez and Cindy Sterling and that we would be coming as invited guests of the Great Rivers Region of ABCUSA and accompanied by Randy and Pat McNeely. It’s been fun to cooperate with a National Ministries project and to get to know people like Vickie Goff, the project coordinator with NM.

I’ve helped host work teams in Costa Rica, but usually act as a coordinator and a bridge between the cultures. It’s fun to be one more team member here and not to be in charge. As construction workers go, you might say I’m a pretty good Bible teacher. But in my first two days here I’ve learned how to use a nail gun, how to “walk a wall” and even how to eat catfish. Yesterday morning there were only concrete slabs, but now there are walls, braces and insulation. Nidia and Cindy have pitched right in and are working like pros. We’ve asked God to bless the families who will be living in these houses, and we know without a doubt that we’ve been blessed by this experience.

Gary Baits
International Ministries Missionary Costa Rica
p.s. Abrazos a Mylinda, Jamie, y Micah