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Homes of Hope – October 2021 Build

One of our core values at Renovia is to serve first and to be a light in the world. For decades, our team has been partnering with Homes of Hope (HOH) to help build homes for families in Tijuana, Mexico. Providing these families with homes offers them more than just a roof over their heads, but an opportunity to grow. 

In 2021, our team was able to go on a home build with HOH in October for the Rivera Palominos family. When we arrived at the site, there was only a concrete slab for their house. Next to the slab was the home they had been living in, made from different pieces of plywood and tarps over a dirt floor. Upon meeting the family, we introduced ourselves and got to know them better with the help of our HOH translator. 

 

Usually, when we’ve gone on home builds with HOH in the past, maybe one or two family members help with the build. However, the Rivera Palominos family was all in and worked alongside us to complete their home, the father on the roof and his wife and daughters helping to paint. 

 

By the end of day one, we had completed 75% of the home. That night, after we returned to our base, we sat around a fire and shared some of the most touching moments from the day. There was no doubt that we all felt an immense sense of being in the right place at the right time to serve the Rivera Palominos family. 

 

 

On the second day, we split up into two groups to ensure we were able to finish setting up the home and take the family grocery shopping. The group at the family’s home continued to place finishing touches on the home, put together a new bed, set the table, and install the fridge. The fridge was a special extra contribution we gave the family because of the generous donations we received before heading down to Tijuana. At the store, we kept telling them, “¡Mas! ¡Mas! ¡Mas!” to ensure they loaded the cart with food and toiletries for their new home. 

 

Later that day at the home dedication, we shared a meal with the Rivera Palominos family, gave them their keys, a bible, and a picture frame with a picture from the first day of the build. The tears and excitement that radiated from them as they looked around their new home was indescribable. At that moment, there was no doubt that God was present in that home, and for the first time that night, they were able to experience something we so often take for granted. The Rivera Palominos family could sleep safely that night in the comfort of their new home with a locked door. 

 

None of us who were there with the family will ever forget this experience and will forever relentlessly pursue acts of service to be a light in the lives of others.

 

If you’d like to learn more about Homes of Hope and the work they do across the globe, you can visit their website.

 

To read more about WHY the Renovia team continues to build homes through HOH and how it all began, check out the blog post. 

 

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