Thoughts on Affordable Housing

A quick summary of the days in the last week. We've:
-Hit the 4 corners (and crossed into Arizona)
-Enjoyed the hospitality on the Navajo Indian Reservation at Teec Nos Pos, Kayenta, and Tuba City, AZ
-Broken my misconceptions about Arizona. I discovered that Arizona is far from being a HOT, flat desert. In fact, it's actually quite hilly, not that hot (like below 100 and often below 90 over the terain we've been riding), and it rains pretty frequently here with brilliant thunderstorms during the summer (the monsoon season). There are also things like pine trees around, and actually, I've yet to see a saguaro cactus.
-Watched the sunset in the Grand Canyon
-Passed a sign for Los Angeles (458 miles away)--a sign that we're so close to California now!
-Finished a build day in Prescott, AZ, which consisted of moving rocks of various forms (gravel + leveling a cliff near the house), and learned a little bit about affordable housing in the area and the Habitat group there.

Our shorter days in Arizona have given me more time to reflect. One of the things that came up was housing that is both affordable AND adequate. As nomadic Bike and Builders this summer, we have no home and depend heavily on the communities we pass through to provide us a home for the night. A few times during the summer, we've come across difficulties with finding a proper place to shower or use a toilet that isn't leaky, and it has been a firsthand lesson in the adequacy of housing accomodations. I've been able to brush off the roughness of shower or going to the bathroom behind a tree or in the McDonald's downtown by treating them as bonding experiences (which they definitely are!) But when it comes down to it, I realized that there are many places around the country, be it churches, community centers, or people's homes, that have inadequate plumbing, and that's just not the way things should be. People should have a flushing toilet and proper shower available to them. For us, we can shake it off easily, because it's only one night of our life when we won't be in the perfect accomodations, but for many people it's life everyday.

While I was waiting to shower in the pastor's home in Tuba City (don't worry that was a wonderful, well-working shower =), I realized that one of the things I love about this summer is being so welcomed into other people's homes. I think it is a very special experience to have doors opened so willingly to you, one that rarely ever happens except under the right circumstances. When else would someone let 30 young adults shower in their personal shower? Or cook a warm dinner and share conversation with you for a few hours? I think it is wonderful, and I have loved learning about each of the communities, which are often worlds away from the communities I've been a part of. Anyways, more thoughts later and pictures too. The library is closing in 1 minute!