Sometimes we get some very unusual donations and are not sure what to do with them. This was the case when someone donated a portable dance floor made of wood. The well-worn floor was in 3 foot sections that fitted together when placed down, making a smooth surface for people to dance on. Since we were not sure what to do with it, these floor squares stood piled up in a corner of our building for many months.
One day someone said, “Why don’t we use this as the floor for Miguel and Tomas’s house?” Miguel (age 11) and Tomas (age 9) attend our Las Alitas youth center in Juarez. Their parents, Tomas and Alma, had recently constructed a tiny house made of wood pallets and cardboard, which was all they could afford. The roof was a piece of plastic tarp covering the walls and dirt floor.
So we crossed the flooring over to Juarez and some of the men installed it in the house. It was raining that day, and as they worked, water was pouring in through the plastic roof. We had 3 priests and a seminarian visiting at the time, and after helping install the floor, they blessed the house. Alma and her boys were so excited, grinning from ear to ear.
On a recent visit, Alma invited us inside. The house was tidy, with the old wooden floor swept very clean and neat. The hostess of a mansion could not have been prouder to welcome her guests.
I’m sure the person who donated the dance floor never imagined the joy it would bring to a poor family in Mexico. Nor did we!