Pallets. You know, the wooden things we ship things on? In America, we take used pallets and burn them at a campfire, or use them to make a cool project we saw on the internet. That's not what I see when I see a pallet.
Rivers of Mercy Children's home is in Jaurez, Mexico, a very poor town in a very poor section of a rather poor country. The neighboring homes are mostly made of concrete; square blocks, flat roofs, small windows. They're not 'humble' homes, they're poor people's homes. End of story. In this neighborhood, they use pallets to build additions on their homes. And now when I drive by a pallet that's all I see: something that we discard being used as a building material in a place where you need to take advantage of any resource you can find. And that's ok, because no matter how much we'd like to feel bad, have pity, or wish they had more, there's little we can really do, at the end of the day, to improve their lives. But we can take solace in the idea that they are doing what they can, with what they have, for those they love.
Brian Bair is a husband and father of three who lives in Cape Neddick, Maine. His current occupation is helping whomever he can with the skills and talents God has provided.