WillieBuild 2010 set for May: Reflecting on the impact of Willie Tichenor's life

Editor’s Note: This reflection by Robert Doviak, a sophomore at Biola University, La Mirada, CA, and a former member of the Highland Park youth group, highlights his experiences with the late Willie Tichenor as the time nears for the fourth annual Carpenters for Christ/Habitat for Humanity WillieBuild project, scheduled May 8–22 in West Dallas.

BY ROBERT DOVIAK
Highland Park UMC, Dallas

If you have any encouragement from being united with Christ, if any comfort from His love, if any fellowship with the Spirit, if any tenderness and compassion, then make my joy complete by being like-minded, having the same love, being one in Spirit and purpose. Do nothing out of selfish ambition or vain conceit, but in humility consider others better than yourselves. Each of you should look not only to your own interests, but also to the interest of others. Your attitude should be the same as that of Christ Jesus. Philippians 2:1–5 NIV

When I first entered the youth group at Highland Park UMC, I was overcome with the feeling that I somehow didn’t belong. I looked through the crowd of strangers for any sign of familiarity, but that only reinforced my initial suspicion, that I was alone.

Suddenly, a voice broke through my isolation. A warm, compassionate voice that had a strange way of making me feel that I was part of the group, that I belonged. His name was Willie Tichenor. We talked for several minutes and went our separate ways, meeting again nearly every Sunday after that for several years to share laughs and stories with each other.

One Sunday, he told me about the Juarez, Mexico, mission trip that the youth group took every spring break. He spoke about it with more enthusiasm and passion than I have ever seen someone have. I knew that I had to experience this for myself. It was not until this point that I learned that Willie was sick and had been sick for quite some time. I was  astonished. In roughly two years of conversation, he had never mentioned or even hinted that he was sick.

Upon arriving in Juarez, I was ecstatic to discover that Willie and I were on the same worksite, but by no means were we equally productive. Compared to Willie, I was moving in slow motion. It was absolutely incredible to watch someone who was in constant pain due to cancer work with the profi ciency and urgency that he displayed.

One day at lunch, my curiosity got the best of me and I asked him why he worked so hard when he was so physically limited. His answer shocked me and is now permanently engraved in my heart. In the same compassionate voice I had become so familiar with, he said, “because I love the feeling that I get when I make a difference in someone else’s life.”

When we presented the finished house to the family, the mother, father, and eldest son were all openly weeping with gratitude. It was at this moment that I began to understand what Willie really meant.

Throughout his entire life, Willie was a perfect example of someone who had the type of love the Apostle Paul was talking about, the type of love he was imploring us to share by being one in Spirit and purpose. I was not a major part, or even a minor part, of Willie’s life, but the impact he has had on me is extraordinary. This year, we would like to invite you to join us in Spirit and in purpose as we come together again May 8–22 to work with a family to build their house in West Dallas. Help us honor Willie’s memory as well as God’s unending love by coming together and loving our neighbors as ourselves.

More information on WillieBuild 2010 and how to become involved is  available by logging on to website www.williebuild.com.