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Del Rio Texas - Chito Martiarena - What We Can All Learn From The Hardest-Working Man

6/15/2017

Who is this guy? Like just about everyone else that does a double-take the first time they see Chito, I didn’t know what exactly to think. My first impression, however, was nothing further from the truth.

Jose Angel “Chito” Martiarena – a Del Rio native often seen pushing a train of children’s wagons with flashy balloons and road cones attached to a lawnmower down Veteran’s Boulevard, continues to inspire me.

Before you read any further, you have to watch this 9-minute video from the Texas Country Reporter.

Chito is – for lack of a better term – a landscaper. His specialty is mowing lawns – but different from all other local landscapers, Chito almost exclusively mows for free – including the grassy medians of Veteran’s Boulevard. He can be seen out there day, night, hot, cold – it doesn’t seem to matter – and he doesn’t take a cent.

I had the privilege of crossing paths with Chito at AutoZone the other day. I noticed Chito at the register counting coins to purchase a $2 Coca-Cola from the cooler at the store. One-handed, he counted, one-by-one.

It was about 95 degrees outside, and I had noticed his lawnmower entourage coned off along the highway when I had driven in. I’m sure he was exhausted and thirsty. I was beat, and I had been working in an air-conditioned office all day. The least I could do was buy his drink for him.

Chito - Being Awarded the First "Del Rio Doin' Right" Award from the Del Rio Chamber of Commerce

Dedication to his family. Chito continues to mourn his beloved father’s death – and feels a responsibility to care and provide for his mother. He mows lawns for free – although he apparently has a few paying customers.

How does mowing for free provide for his family? Although I can only speculate about the mystery of Chito’s mind, I honestly believe that Chito believes in earning his money. While he may receive a monthly disability check in the mail, I think a strong case can be made that Chito feels compelled to “earn” this compensation by service to his community – Del Rio.

Chito - during an interview with the Texas Country Reporter

Chito doesn’t ask for money. I had to convince him to even let me buy him a Coke – and I honestly feel like he more just didn’t want to argue with me about who would pay for it because he felt like he needed to get back to work along the busy highway in the scorching sun. I don’t think Chito even asks for a “thank you”. Chito just sees things a little differently than us narrow-minded, semi-successful citizens.

Chito - From Texas Country Reporter

But Chito didn’t seem to understand – in his mind, it was his own drink, so he should purchase it with his money. After insisting – I think he finally got the point and began to put each coin, one-by-one, back into his pocket.

Everyone wonders why Chito mows endlessly for free – especially because his disabilities prevent him from speaking. In fact, his physical disabilities give him every excuse to not work at all, but he’s not that kind of man. I believe that Chito understands more about hard work, community, responsibility, and family than any of us will ever be able to understand. Each of us can learn from Chito’s example.

Chito holds up a piece of cardboard littered on the side of the road

Community Pride. Chito’s community is his life. Del Rio is his life. Born and raised here, Chito does everything in his power to beautify Del Rio. While a one-man landscaping crew can only play a small part in maintaining the roadsides in a community as large as Del Rio, Chito continues to work longer and later than the highway department does. Chito pulls the weeds, trims the grass, and collects trash up and down the streets of Del Rio – simply because needs to be done. One article even commented that Chito believes that tall grass along the highway by the car dealerships prevents prospective buyers from seeing the cars – and he wants the dealerships to sell cars!

One of Chito's Road Cones

He inspires us to give our time, effort, talents, and passions to our community, simply because it’s our home. He inspires us to embody and encourage hard work and sense of duty over laziness and irresponsibility. “Entitlement” doesn’t exist in Chito’s vocabulary, even though he has that right more than most of us. Chito exemplifies how priorities should be arranged in life – family, community…and lastly – himself. He is the epitome of a dedicated, hard worker – not because it results in personal gain, but because it’s just the right thing to do. It’s not about glory, wealth, or even long-lasting health for Chito – it’s about using the gifts God gave him at their max potential solely for the purpose of making a difference here in Del Rio. Chito has taught me more about life than any life-skills coach could ever teach me, and yet he hasn’t spoken a distinguishable word to me.

If you’re interested in supporting Chito, he’s not hard to find. Look for the trail of wagons attached to an old lawnmower with a bunch of balloons and road cones. Tell him you appreciate him, thank him, pat him on the back, and spend a moment or two talking to him (and he’ll understand you). Chito gives it all for Del Rio, the least Del Rio can do for him is offer their gratitude (and a bottle of water, perhaps).

-Dan

Del Rio Texas - It’s Watermelon Time! Summer Melon Business Booms For Local Farmers, Vendors

6/8/2017

It’s June in South-Central Texas, and local watermelon farmers in Quemado, a small town between Del Rio and Eagle Pass along Highway 277 and the Rio Grande, are harvesting sweet, savory melons by the ton.

It’s always about this time of year that local vendors park their pick-up trucks loaded with melons along the busy roadways of Del Rio. If you’re like me, you drive past them every day and wonder who they are and how they make a living selling giant fruit on the side of the road.

Dionisio, A Watermelon Vendor on the Highway 90 Near Del Rio Middle School in Del Rio, Texas

Well, curiosity finally reeled me in when I was thinking of my next article to write about the unique and awesome culture of Del Rio. I decided to interview a couple of these local vendors to get a better idea of what exactly I’ve been missing on my way home from work every day this week.

I didn’t really need to send any formal invitation for an interview – I just happened to pull off Highway 90 near the Del Rio Middle School and end up at Dionisio’s watermelon truck. Dionisio has lived in Del Rio since 1957, originally growing up outside of Acuña. He sells his watermelons for anywhere between $3 and $5, depending on the size, and has been selling them for about seven years.

Dionisio fills his truck, equipped with a camper-top, full of melons for $390 from a farm in Quemado. When I asked him how much money he made from his sales, he replied, “Not much…but it [gives me] something to do”. Although not a man of many words, Dionisio explained that weekdays are not as good for business as weekends are. “If they stop [to purchase a melon], they stop. Otherwise they keep going,” he remarked as we watched rush hour resume on the highway, closing in on 5:00 PM.

Jose's Seafood Stand "It's my wife's," he added. Across Veteran's Blvd from the Civic Center in Del Rio, Texas

After purchasing a melon from Dionisio, I started making my way home in Alta Vista when I noticed another watermelon stand across the street from the Civic Center. I had to flip a u-turn at Cantu Road and swing back around south on Veteran’s Boulevard – and met Jose and Vicente at their shrimp cocktail stand and watermelon truck (quite the combination!).

Like Dionisio, Jose has lived in Del Rio for the vast majority of his life. Vicente, his nephew, helps him with the watermelon business. Jose and Vicente also purchase their melons from Quemado – a load costing about $180 to $200 – and roughly half the size of Dionisio’s produce selection. Jose has been selling melons in Del Rio for about six years, and says that he only sells in town for a few weeks, then heads west to Odessa, Texas and other cities in New Mexico to ensure he catches the start of the produce vending business in that direction.

Similar to Dionisio’s watermelon business, Jose said that weekends were better for business – and that it wasn’t uncommon to sell his entire truck-load on a Saturday and profit about $200 or more – selling small melons at 2 for $5 and large melons for $5.

Despite slower business during the week, he said that sometimes on weekends he could sell his entire truck of about 175-200 melons out. At an average of about $4 a melon, that’s somewhere between $600 and $800 per load – or a profit of about $200-$400. For kicking back under a tree enjoying the outdoors – I’d say that’s worth it, too.

Of course, melons are only in-season for a short time each year, so Dionisio only vends for about five weeks each year. “I’m retired”, he said, having worked construction and on farms most of his life. I did get to see a sparkle in his eye when I asked about his wife. “She’s still kicking!” he chuckled, “we’ve been married since 1960.”

Jose and Vicente's Watermelon Truck, Across Veteran's Blvd from the Civic Center in Del Rio, Texas

All-in-all, I ended up with two watermelons to bring home to my wife and baby daughter (who recently decided she loves watermelons – just in time!).

So, hurry up and grab yourself a locally grown watermelon the next time you drive past a roadside stand and support these local vendors!

- Dan Schreiber

Less House, More Living - Full Time RV Family Follows God, Explores America

6/3/2017

Jared & Kris Gillis, with sons Eli and Matt

Don’t let your comfort kill your courage. That’s Jared Gillis and wife Kris’ motto as they explore the United States with their two boys – Eli and Matt – living full time in their 5th wheel RV trailer.

That first sentence pretty much sums it up – as major life decisions are often based on comfort and stability, not faith and courage. Not for the Gillis family.

Following a near-death experience during a mission trip in Nicaragua in 2015, Jared’s eyes were opened to the power of God. During a ministry outreach in a park in Nicaragua, Jared found himself face-to-face with a local violent gang opposed to his church’s ministry. “I could be dead, or at least injured and hospitalized,” he said as he recollected the gang swarming the park. Out of nowhere, a very strong wind and rain shower [microburst] collapsed the tent that Jared’s ministry was under, shielding him from the swarm of aggressive gang members – who then ran for shelter elsewhere. “I was terrified,” he said. Through this experience, though, Jared realized God’s omnipotence and omniscience, and began to seek God’s will for his life, and his family’s life, even more.

After leaving his job, Jared and Kris prayerfully decided to either build – or purchase – an RV trailer and truck to pull it. Turns out, God was faithful and provided the Gillis family with both – exactly within the budget that Jared and Kris had set. “God was just speaking so clearly to us,” Jared remarked.

Solid Rock Film - Handcrafted Films

Jared’s plan was to become more involved in his filming industry – Solid Rock Film – by documenting his family’s journey travelling the country as well as producing and selling promotion videos for RV parks and testimonial videos for church ministry.

Solid Rock Film on Thankfulness by Jared Gillis - From Sermon Spice (Click For Preview)

Although some believe that full-time travelling is expensive, Jared explained that his family spends less money on the road than they did owning a house. “We don’t live like we’re on vacation,” he said as he stated that his family’s monthly budget hovered around about 2,000 dollars. “We pray a lot about our truck,” Jared remarked, stating it had over 200,000 miles on it and that every time it breaks down, the money spent to repair it taps into their monthly living budget. “We just pray God will keep it going until we get back to Arizona,” he said as he commented that his family was headed back to family in Prescott for a short period of time before hitting the road again.

“One time I took the engine apart thinking it was the turbo [that broke]. It ended up just being bad diesel fuel,” Jared laughed, in hindsight, after recalling that the RV park did not allow any major mechanical work to be done on-site, yet remembering he was covered head to toe in grease while explaining to the park owners why his family couldn’t vacate their camp site, yet.

“We’ve had to rely heavily on God,” reflected Jared, as he explained the numerous opened and closed doors his family has encountered in regards to income during their adventures across much of the west and central United States. California, for example, was not great for the RV-park promotional filming business because the high cost of living has driven a surplus of permanent RV residents, leaving no room for tourists. "Every day is a fresh new day," said Jared, "[God's] mercy and grace are new every day. It's an idea of living in God's grace [that] gives me an optimistic outlook."

Less House, More Living - The Gillis Family Truck and Trailer

“God just told me one day, when we were in church, to sell the house,” Jared said, after returning from his mission trip. His wife, Kris, had been praying for two weeks about the same thing, but hadn’t mentioned it to Jared, yet. “We listed the house that day, and it [only] took one day to sell!”.

Without a house, the Gillis family decided on a theme for their new adventure – Less House, More Living. “I wanted to be able to spend as much time growing as a family as we could,” said Jared, as he explained how having a bunch of “stuff” can often be a distraction from living life the way God designed it. A general contractor-turned church board member, Jared was often spending over twelve hours a day with the various ministries at the church. “I didn’t want my kids to resent church because [I was spending all my time away from them working at church]."

Of course, there were plenty of concerns, even before embarking on their journey – concerns like vehicle trouble, tires blowing out, lack of personal space, severe weather, and financial stability. But, the benefits outweighed the concerns to the Gillis family – seeing God’s creation, spending time and growing as a family, encouraging one another, and exploring new places together.

Matt and Eli – ages 11 and 13 – are home-schooled on the road, and have been afforded the great opportunity to explore much of the Rocky Mountains, Great Plains, and the Pacific Coast in the past 11 months of their travels as a full-time RV family. “We don’t really look at days as weekdays and weekends, but travel days and non-travel days,” Jared said, “sometimes we do school on Saturday.” In a recent video, Kris explained that she feels that Matt and Eli are learning and retaining much more when they visit places - like National Parks - than they would simply reading and writing about them. Jared concurred, “The [knowledge] that they get from when we travel is just amazing.”

The family records their travelling lifestyle weekly on YouTube, under the title “Less House, More Living”. Jared, an expert video photographer and editing specialist, generally creates short videos of their adventures. He has also been contracted to create a number of promotion videos for RV parks, and hopes to continue sharing the beauty of God’s creation with online viewers. Jared also shares testimonial videos on Sermon Spice – topics that God has laid on his heart to share.

Although money remains tight, both Jared and Kris agreed that God has spoken very loudly to both of them – and has set many opportunities in motion that have allowed them to continue discipling and growing together on the road as the family, and make some great friends along the way.

To support Jared and Kris and their family, subscribe to their YouTube channel and "like" their Facebook Page using the links above. To learn more about Solid Rock Film, contact Jared via the mail button above.