This summer, I took part in another amazing, life-changing experience as I was one of the 40 volunteers, many of which were students, who travelled to Paraguay, with Bermuda Overseas Missions. BOM are affiliated with Habitat for Humanity, which is a global organisation that aims to build homes for families in need. David Thompson, our incredible team leader, along with co-leaders Matthew Tavares and Kyle Martin, made this trip one to remember. David has worked with BOM for many years and this was his tenth mission. An enormous amount of organisation and funding are required to make these overseas missions possible.In the short time span of two weeks, our goal was to build additions to ten houses. Many Paraguayan families live in extremely small houses, often consisting of one room only. As most families have several children one family that we helped had 11 a one-room house is clearly inadequate. Most of the houses that we worked on had makeshift kitchens and bathrooms outside the main structure of their existing house. Adding an extra room or bathroom can make such an incredible improvement to the living conditions for impoverished families.We travelled 40 minutes from Asunción to our worksites in Aregua on a daily basis and our teams worked tirelessly from 8am to 4pm. The work day consisted of jobs such as digging foundations, mixing cement, laying bricks, digging cesspits, and plastering walls. Most of the Paraguayan families struggled to understand the concept of people from Bermuda giving up their time and energy to help improve the life of others less fortunate. They were very excited to invite us into their homes, and they were so eternally grateful. It is also very rewarding establishing relationships with the families, and by the end of the build, it can be heart-wrenching when it comes time to say goodbye.I learned many construction skills on my first build with Bermuda Overseas Missions in 2011 in Zambia, Africa, so I was able to help the new volunteers. Each work site had limited building supplies and the work was strenuous, but at the end of the day, the motivation was right in front of me watching the progress of the build.One of the most rewarding parts of the trip for me was spending time with our Paraguayan families as we worked on their house. I have created lifelong friendships with the children of my family and I will never forget the time we spent together. It is indescribable to experience the heartfelt emotions of the families when the house is completed.Another amazing experience for me was the opportunity to enhance my Spanish skills with the local people. Paraguay has two languages, Spanish and Guarani, but mostly all locals speak both languages. It is very rare for locals to know any English at all, so it really forced the Spanish speakers of our group to use their Spanish skills.Whilst in Paraguay, we were privileged to be able to visit a children’s community centre and an institute for the mentally ill and physically disabled. Thanks to our funding efforts and kind donations, our team was able to provide these facilities with much-needed clothing, toy donations and monetary donations, which will be used to provide additional benefits to the many impoverished people they assist.At the community centre which takes about 70 young children, it was heartbreaking to see how little they had and that these children were actually outside in the cold weather, under shelter, as the facility was not large enough to accommodate them inside. These poor children are left at this facility during the day, and they get a hot meal for lunch. Their parents are out working and without any childcare options the children would otherwise be on their own in the streets of Aregua. The institute for the mentally ill and physically handicapped was also a very eye-opening experience as there are so many people there because their families cannot afford to care for them. There is a 200-person waiting list to enter the institute and the facility is just not capable of taking any more people.At the end of each mission, there is always an R&R weekend. This year, the volunteers went to Brazil where we were lucky enough to be able to visit the beautiful Iguazu falls. Not only did we get a tour of the falls, but a large number of the group, including myself, went white-water rafting which was a fantastic experience in itself. It was winter in Brazil so the water was really cold, but despite getting absolutely soaked, it was still a fantastic experience!In conclusion, every trip with BOM is an amazing experience and this one was no different. I think every volunteer will agree that the trip was life changing and worth every aching muscle and, for one unfortunate volunteer, student Ryan Spencer Arscott, a dislocated knee.There are so many benefits when taking part in an opportunity like this: meeting and making new friendships with people whether they are locals, or even other volunteers with BOM, learning new traditions and experiencing different cultures, seeing incredible places around the world, the rewarding feeling of helping people in need, and most of all seeing a change in yourself.Participating with Habitat for Humanity really does open up your eyes, especially because living in Bermuda is such a privilege, and most people here have not seen firsthand the terrible conditions that so many people in third world countries live in. I recommend a trip with BOM to everyone and guarantee that you will have an amazing time!