Hello all...
We've made it to Mexico and are at the end of our first full...very full... day.
The trip down went very well until Las Vegas where we ran into a bit of a snag.
We found out after being in a 40 minute traffic jam that the highway we were taking was closed. So we backtracked through the city to take another route down the main interstate and it was jam packed--- all those folks coming back to LA from Vegas during the Christmas Weekend. Taking the family to Vegas for Christmas...a little odd we thought, but apparantly thousands of others disagreed because we spent about 45 minutes to an hour going 11 miles - and the previous 20 miles took us almost as long. So after 3 hours in and around Vegas we hightailed it on a desert road across the mojave through some striking land with huge spiny Joshua Trees. ( google it if you want to see a pic).
We made it to a place we thought about overnighting about 6pm PST or 8:00 Sasktime... and decided to keep going as it was about 2 hours away from the border and very expensive motel rooms.
We arrived in the border area in good time but got lost looking for the Mexican Auto Insurance place. You need Mexican liability insurance. So after finding that and working through a few more snags there, we realized we weren't going to make it in time for the border crossing that I had planned on taking and had mapped out- it was closing too soon- so we went across the main - downtown location and had to drive at night through the downtown of Mexicali.
The Mexico border is odd. There is noone to inspect your documents, no vehicle inspection- just a street light- if it goes green- you can go across freely. If red- you are then asked to produce documentation and can be inspected more thouroughly. We, thankfully, got a green light and so we were off.
45 minutes later we made it through the city to the Bible Institute where almost everyone was asleep- so we were on our own to find the house we would stay at- no easy feat in Mexico during the day- and a lot less easy at night!
So we stopped at a PEMEX ( gas station) to use the phone and found out that it didn't take money- only cards. I purchased one and could not figure out how to use it. It turns out you need to- in this order- take the phone off the hook. put your card halfway in, hang up the phone- wait an underterminable amount of time- let the phone off the hook again- put card all the way in quickly- and the phone may then work. 1/2 an hour later I got that done and called the place we were staying and got a sleepy answer- they thought we weren't coming till tomorrow!
We found the place and made it to bed. It took us all 14 seconds to fall asleep at 11:30pmPST---after gettign up at 5:30am!!!
The next Day ( Tuesday) we spent at the institute getting things ready for the teams that are coming. We cleaned toilets and sinks, swept dorm rooms, emptied trailers of stuff,. sorted $2000.00 of groceries, transported equipment across the campus, lifted, cleaned, moved and changed almost everything...
During this time the boys found some missionary-kid friends and played in the wide open fields- gettign pricked by a cactus, climbing arbutus trees, throwing dates from a date palm tree, hitting people with sticks, making desert oasis ponds- and splashing in them! Enjoying themselves to the fullest- right up to the end this evening when they almost fell asleep standing up...
This week our assignments are to make 300+ sandwiches / lunches for the teams each day and to travel with the 7 teams taking pictures and making a slideshow for them to view on Sunday.
It feels good to be here. The adventure beforehand was more fun than frustrating and it is very good to be here! Thank you so much for your support whether it was financial, prayer or both. We count you as partners with us and know that we could not be here were it not for you. Praise God for His provision through His people.
And thank you for praying. We are sure that there were a few extra prayers going up last night as we were having our adventure- and He answered them... with unusual alertness while driving- even after 11 hours+ of driving! He answered them as Sharlene took over the driving in a relatively easy desert spot and we suddenly came into a canyon type drive that makes Kicking Horse Pass in BC before Golden look easy. He answered them when we made it through Mexicali- at night- to our place to stay. He answered them with us being alert and relatively energetic after 3 days of driving 3300 km+. And I look forward to sharing with you the next few nights how else He has been good to us!
Would you pray that we would hear from God as to how we would fit into this ministry full time? With our experience in Youth pastoring, church pastoring and Camp work- we can fit in almost anywhere here, but we want to know what the good works are He has prepared beforehand for us to do. Please pray that we would be a blessing.
Thank you so much! We appreciate you!
God Bless, we look forward to sharing more,
In His Name,
Mike, Sharlene and boys...
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