Goodwill in Guatemala

MANAWA –Judy Trull spoke about her trip to Guatemala last November to build homes alongside Lisa and Jason Severson. She described it as life-changing.
Trull made the trip to Guatemala to join a group of ladies to build concrete block houses for those in need on the small country.
“I mean, we’re not an island so we know not everyone lives like us, but we know that at the 10,000-foot level not at the ‘boots on the ground’ level,” Trull said. “So when I say its life changing, I mean your changing their life but at the same time you’re helping them. You’re working with other people that are amazing, and they’re changing your life, too.”
Lisa has been going to Guatemala for many years on trips to visit children’s home but connected with an organization called From Houses to Homes and started to build homes while they were in the country.
Trull worked with Lisa at the Busy Bean in 2018 when Lisa mentioned possibly taking a trip to Guatemala to build homes.

Trull decided to get her first passport and finally take the trip this past November.
Trull said she was taken back when her crew first came to the land that the homes were being built on.
“I looked at [Lisa] and she said, ‘It’s ok, it’s a lot to take in,’” Trull said. “To see how kids are living, it isn’t that they’re not loved, it isn’t that they’re not taken care of, it’s just not in the same sense that we have here in the states.”
Lisa and Trull took the opportunity to name one of the many stray dogs that they came across while building a home, the name they chose being Chiquita Banana.
Trull emphasized her life changing experience not only with the sites that she saw, but with the people she was able to meet.
Both ladies said language was a barrier; however, Lisa said they prefer to be spoken to in English so the Guatemalan’s can also continue to learn the language.
“Kindness and a smile can go a long way in translating what you’re trying to get across to somebody,” Trull said. “And humor, I mean I didn’t understand hardly a word those ladies were saying when we were making tortillas, but my God, we were all cracking up laughing, it was so funny.”
In order for families to qualify for a home they must prove that the land that the home will be built on belongs to the family.
It is about $3,000 to build a home, with a lot of materials being donated. Along with the home they also get a stove to use that is placed in the front of the house. The roof they added to the homes was flat and metal and the home itself had a couple windows as well. The home doesn’t have running water; however, they have a rain barrel set up with a gravity-fed system to get the water into the home. As far as furniture goes, they get a bunk bed, a recent donation, while the parents will often bring a hammock or straw bed that they had been using.
Jason said the home is built out of concrete blocks; every six rows the blocks are turned in order to make a channel in the building, of which they use to pour concrete down in order to further stabilize the structure. The structure is 16 feet by 20 feet and is one room with a concrete floor.
The family gets to pick the color of their home, and they also have a locking door on the home, something not a lot of families have in Guatemala.
Trull also joined Lisa and Jason along with their crew to a few excursions, including visiting a coffee farm and a school where they were able to see more into the culture of the country.
As the house was being finished up, Lisa said it is tradition that the house is dedicated to someone, which Trull decided to dedicate to her late husband, Tim Trull, leaving his medical identification bracelet above the window in the walls of the home.
“I’ll just say it was way more emotional than I really anticipated that it would be. I can’t say enough how appreciative the family was for us being there and helping with their home,” Trull said.