Postcards From Ecuador — In South America, Thrivent Builds with Habitat for Humanity volunteers found a rewarding adventure full of fun, hard work and faith.

By Gretchen Roberts

When Judy Rullman told her husband, Mel, that she wanted to go on a Thrivent Builds Worldwide trip to Ecuador, he wasn’t sold.

“He thought I had rocks in my head,” Judy recalls with a laugh. “But I said to him, we’ve spent seven years building a second home for ourselves. The least we can do is try to build a first home with someone else.”

Mel and Judy, Thrivent Financial for Lutherans members in Moline, Illinois, had only traveled together outside of the U.S. once before. But Judy, a Thrivent chapter records director and Habitat for Humanity volunteer, had read about Habitat for Humanity’s overseas trips in Habitat World, the organization’s magazine. Then she found out that Thrivent Financial works with Habitat to build homes in the U.S. and overseas.

When the couple learned Thrivent Financial would help fund part of the trip to Tosagua, Ecuador, the deal was sealed. The two met up with seven other Thrivent Financial members for the 14-day adventure, which would ultimately prompt Mel to tell his son upon their arrival home, “That trip was the most significant thing I’ve ever done.”

Outside Your Zone
“Going on a Worldwide trip means stepping outside your comfort zone,” says trip leader Carol Pfleiderer, a Thrivent Financial member and longtime Habitat for Humanity volunteer from Minneapolis. “But you’re with people who have the same interests and values you do.”

The Ecuador team followed a customary Thrivent Builds Worldwide schedule, splitting into groups to work on two different homes from 7:30 a.m. to 4 p.m., with an hour and a half lunch break at the hotel.

The homes they worked on were just 450–480 square-feet each, made of brick to better withstand the earthquakes and flooding common in the region. As part of the Habitat program, the future homeowners invest hundreds of hours of “sweat equity” in their homes, so the volunteers got to know the partner families as they laid bricks side by side.

“The family I worked with has two sons,” Charles Hoffmire, a Thrivent Financial member from Salisbury, North Carolina, reports. “The boys were typical teenagers and sometimes had trouble staying on task. But you could see the joy they had from the process, since they’d lived with relatives their whole lives. They’d never had a bedroom to themselves, and sometimes they’d just come in and stand. One boy came in to touch the walls.”

The building inspired plenty of laughs and camaraderie. Most of the U.S. volunteers had never laid a brick and mortar wall before, but they learned on the job while singing a hybrid English-Spanish version of “Praise Ye the Lord” with the local Habitat volunteers.

The trip provided plenty of challenges, too.

“It was hot and humid all the time, and the work was demanding,” Hoffmire says. “But even with the tremendous age range of our volunteers—from 18 to about 70—everyone put in his or her share. Perhaps because we were in a foreign culture living and working together, we relied on each other a lot.”

After the day’s work was done, the team gathered for nightly devotions. “In the course of a day, volunteers interact with the family members and with Habitat staff,” Pfleiderer says. “They need some time to process it all.”

A Thrivent Builds Worldwide trip isn’t all work and no play, however. When the work on the homes was finished, the group rented a van and traveled to Otavalo, a city well known for its traditional markets, and then to Quito for a tour of the Old City.

Toward the end of the trip, the home of Raul Martinez Cedeño and Rosa Parra, their four children and Rosa’s mother was completed, and the group held a dedication ceremony. “It’s so rewarding to see a house finished—to see something that wasn’t there when we arrived,” Pfleiderer says. She asked Judy Rullman to present the family with a Bible during the dedication ceremony, a long-standing practice of Habitat for Humanity, which is a Christian organization.

“I hope the Cedeños will use the Bible in their new home to grow in their faith, and as a reminder that even though we are thousands of miles away, we are all still members of the body of Christ,” Rullman says.

Paying to Work
“Families in other countries are always amazed that we will pay to go and help them build their homes,” Pfleiderer says. “But we always receive so much more than we give. Building Habitat homes in other countries is an important way for me to put my faith into action.”

The Ecuador trip cost each participant $2,000, and Thrivent Financial members received an $800 member benefit from Thrivent Financial to help with expenses—making their final cost $1,200. All Thrivent Builds Worldwide trips include room and board, local tours or sightseeing, transportation in the host country, travel insurance and a donation to the host community’s building program. Though participants are encouraged to raise funds for the trip, many pay out of their own pockets.

Judy Rullman’s reasons for participating were simple. “My home has always been very special to me. The thought of being able to help someone else own a home was my motivation.”

Hoffmire agrees. “I really believe in the necessity of combining good work with faith. That’s what Christ would have us do.”

Thrivent Financial member Gretchen Roberts regularly covers volunteering and outreach for the magazine.

 Pack Your Bags
Thrivent Financial for Lutherans has formed an alliance with Habitat for Humanity International to build simple, affordable homes with some of the 1.5 billion people worldwide who lack decent shelter.

Thrivent Builds Worldwide volunteers work with future homeowners and local volunteers to build homes in areas of the world with the most need. Trips are from one to three weeks and include work, free time, local tours and outdoor activities.

Though each trip varies, the average cost is $100 per day plus airfare. Thrivent Financial provides two different types of funding support for a Thrivent Builds Worldwide trip. First, each benefit member* is eligible to receive $800 to help offset trip expenses (excluding airfare and leisure activities). Second, if at least 50 percent of the trip participants are Thrivent Financial members, Thrivent Financial will contribute an additional $6,500 toward the cost of building a future home in the same area.

Though many volunteers pay for the trips themselves, Thrivent Builds Worldwide Coordinator Sheila Crowley encourages volunteers to do fund-raising. “Not only are you raising money for your trip, but you’re also raising awareness for Thrivent Builds Worldwide and for Habitat for Humanity,” she explains.

Two ways you can participate:

Open Member Trips—Open to Thrivent Financial members as well as their family members and traveling companions from around the country, giving them the opportunity to meet and work alongside members from other cities and states (the Ecuador trip was an open member trip).

For more information about Thrivent Builds Worldwide trips, visit www.thriventbuilds.com and click on “Explore Worldwide Trips.”

—G.R.

*For questions and inquiries about membership benefits with Thrivent Financial, call the Fraternal Service Center at 800-236-3736.