“Therefore encourage one another and build each other up, just as in fact you are doing.” 1 Thessalonians 5:11

My second summer as an intern I began site-leading. Previously each site I had worked on had been run by someone else and I was one of the assisting interns, but my second summer duty called and ready-or-not it was my turn to be in charge. To say I was nervous is accurate, but by the glory of God the house went up despite my mistakes and short-comings. That week was stressful for many reasons both internal and external and I was relived to be on-site building, but not in charge during the build week that followed.

A few recovery-builds later it was my turn to site-lead again. This time I knew the build far better and prepared thoroughly in an effort to correct my earlier mistakes. However, when the group arrived new worry struck me down again. One of my group members was a professional contractor, and had been for many years.

“Oh no,” I thought. “This guy will know I’m a phony.”

This group was interesting because instead of it consisting of one or two parishes that brought 10-20 people, it consisted of at least 4 parishes all mixed together. Among those volunteers from at least four different states, besides the contractor, there was a priest, two doctors, a handful of accomplished professionals in various fields, the wife of a construction specialist, and at least one person who had built homes with Project Mexico over ten summers in a row. That’s a lot to live up to. These people from all over the country took time out of their busy schedules and traveled to Mexico to build a home for a worthy family. They deserved excellent expertise and leadership, and instead they got me. Some 21-year-old from Ohio.

I studied, and I prayed and I prayed and I studied. Once again God blessed me with far more than I deserve, and the week went incredibly well. No one questioned my requests or disagreed with one-another. 30 strangers from four different states (6 different states if you include staff members as well) became a small family. As the outsider, I quickly forgot who came from which state and while I watched everyone work and interact, I couldn’t tell who had known each other for their entire lives and who had only met days prior. Two men who had only known each other for 48 hours were carrying on fluently in Greek and when I watched in amazement, a third man from a third group assured me not to worry because they weren’t talking about me.

The contractor took two kids under his wing and taught them all his tricks. The kids from all the groups laughed and took photos together. I walked inside at one point and found the priest, despite language barriers, working with the father of the home to install the door. In that moment and to this day I look back fondly on that week, and thank God for bringing that group of people together.

At the end of each build we come together to discuss and decompress. I sat in wonder as each of those accomplished, experienced professionals thanked us profusely for our work as interns. I had, and still have, so much less to look back on, so few years of experience compared to them, but it never showed. They treated me with the utmost respect and approval and I never felt as if I was lesser than anyone. They taught me humility, kindness, and servitude, not by speech, but by example. I hope and I pray that I can bestow the kindness and respect everyone that I meet that that group showed to me. I was assigned to be leader of that site, and through my experience on other sites and by watching them interact, I learned how to become a true leader from their examples, and their love.

Anna Cunningham is the Homebuilding Coordinator for Project Mexico and St Innocent Service Works