We've caught a few mice in the last year that we've been in our house, but started to see the evidence of these things not seen... So we again set mouse traps but to no avail for several weeks. I checked the "Trap line" again the other day only to find that the mice seem to be chowing down on the bait as if it is some sort of Russian roulette style buffet-- but no bodies were to be found. It turned out that the traps had rusted so much in the humid air, that they could have done a jig on the trap and it would not have snapped... so we needed to turn elsewhere... to the glue traps we had bought so long ago and never used under the protest of my lovely, sensitive wife.
The sensitivity dried up a bit at the sight of mouse evidence and she let me lay down the sticky pads to wait for a mouse. 2 days later we found a large (for a mouse) piece of mouse poop right beside the glue trap as if it was taunting us-- "hehe THAT CLOSE!!"
I looked under the sink to see if that one had poop all around it only to find a breathing, writhing mouse with all 4 feet and it's chin firmly glued to the pad! it tried to wriggle away but was trapped we awaited it's timely death as we went about our business....
A couple of hours later as my lovely' beautiful, sensitive wife was making lunch- she could hear high pitched blood curdling screams and a scraping sound under the sink-- it must be it's last fight for life, I thought to myself- the time is near!
I looked to confirm that only to be a bit freaked out that a second mouse had now supplanted itself on the glue- but only it's back feet were caught- apparently it's front paws were protected by the now lifeless body of his companion... he was attempting to drag his self, his pal and the glue trap to a location that would be unreachable for me-- so with the prospect of smelling rotting mouse corpses for a time, I reached for a utensil (which will remain nameless in case you come to my house for a BBQ- don't want you to be too freaked out watching me use it to turn your steak over!!) I took the writhing rodent and his dead friend to the neighbours yard and introduced them both to a large rock....
For some reason, Shar wants me to buy the regular traps from now on--- I have no idea why...
Friday, October 26, 2007
Thursday, October 25, 2007
Update...
The San Diego Firestorm has subsided quite bit and we have not had much wind or smoke here since Tuesday evening...
Today I got a chance to take the new-old truck out to East Tijuana to talk to one of my students who is hoping to get a medical clinic at his church and then visit with 2 more students- one that was hosting a clinic and another student too.... Out there you could see the huge plumes of smoke coming form the San Diego fires that are closest to the border- it looked almost as if it was just over the hill, but I'm pretty sure it is quite a distance away.
One of my students had his kitchen blow away, some other folks in the neighbourhood had there houses blown down-- though the fire did not reach them- the wind did and did it's damage! Another couple sat in their house and prayed as they watched their roof lift off the top of their house seemingly inches away from fully blowing off- but the Lord spared them and their roof and they are doing well...
We went to Pastor Ramiro's church in a squatter camp East of Tijuana. Last Christmas I helped hand out gifts and take pictures in a community close to his and was glad to get back. Most of the folks who live there are very poor- many are new arrivals into Tijuana from Southern Mexico. They are lured north with the prospects of jobs and high wages ( up to $90/ week as opposed to around $30/ week for the better paying jobs in Acapulco and Puerta Vallarta and Cancun-- please tip well when you go there!!) the problem is that the cost of living is much much higher and they are forced to live in squatter camps in squalid conditions so they have enough money for food... Pastor Ramiro and his assistant Lamberto own the land they are on-- Lamberto worked for the railroad and when he left 5 years ago- they gave him 1300 meters of land beside the railroad- so now he has a house there and they have built a church beside it-- it has 3 walls (one of those belongs to the house) no roof and a stage- with donated pews (of which they are very proud!) The plan is to assist them by bringing a medical team down to help with diagnosis, assistance for doctors visits, vitamins along with food and clothing. It will be an outreach to his area- please pray for opportunities to speak of the Love of Jesus at the same time as we show His love!!
Tomorrow I'm taking Lupita to the Doctors office again- it will be the last one before she is scheduled for surgery. The problem is that neither she nor we have the money in hand now to help pay for the surgery, but it is quite necessary-- my understanding is that she has kind of like a "brain hernia" where her brain is pushed up against her nose and the bridge of her nose is wider than the nostril part-- I suppose it could be life threatening if she ever got hit there... please pray that God would supply her needs... I'l try to get a pic up here tomorrow night...
Thanks for reading and please continue to pray for us as we represent you here in Mexico, May God bless and keep you!!
until next time,
Mike
Today I got a chance to take the new-old truck out to East Tijuana to talk to one of my students who is hoping to get a medical clinic at his church and then visit with 2 more students- one that was hosting a clinic and another student too.... Out there you could see the huge plumes of smoke coming form the San Diego fires that are closest to the border- it looked almost as if it was just over the hill, but I'm pretty sure it is quite a distance away.
One of my students had his kitchen blow away, some other folks in the neighbourhood had there houses blown down-- though the fire did not reach them- the wind did and did it's damage! Another couple sat in their house and prayed as they watched their roof lift off the top of their house seemingly inches away from fully blowing off- but the Lord spared them and their roof and they are doing well...
We went to Pastor Ramiro's church in a squatter camp East of Tijuana. Last Christmas I helped hand out gifts and take pictures in a community close to his and was glad to get back. Most of the folks who live there are very poor- many are new arrivals into Tijuana from Southern Mexico. They are lured north with the prospects of jobs and high wages ( up to $90/ week as opposed to around $30/ week for the better paying jobs in Acapulco and Puerta Vallarta and Cancun-- please tip well when you go there!!) the problem is that the cost of living is much much higher and they are forced to live in squatter camps in squalid conditions so they have enough money for food... Pastor Ramiro and his assistant Lamberto own the land they are on-- Lamberto worked for the railroad and when he left 5 years ago- they gave him 1300 meters of land beside the railroad- so now he has a house there and they have built a church beside it-- it has 3 walls (one of those belongs to the house) no roof and a stage- with donated pews (of which they are very proud!) The plan is to assist them by bringing a medical team down to help with diagnosis, assistance for doctors visits, vitamins along with food and clothing. It will be an outreach to his area- please pray for opportunities to speak of the Love of Jesus at the same time as we show His love!!
Tomorrow I'm taking Lupita to the Doctors office again- it will be the last one before she is scheduled for surgery. The problem is that neither she nor we have the money in hand now to help pay for the surgery, but it is quite necessary-- my understanding is that she has kind of like a "brain hernia" where her brain is pushed up against her nose and the bridge of her nose is wider than the nostril part-- I suppose it could be life threatening if she ever got hit there... please pray that God would supply her needs... I'l try to get a pic up here tomorrow night...
Thanks for reading and please continue to pray for us as we represent you here in Mexico, May God bless and keep you!!
until next time,
Mike
Sunday, October 21, 2007
Santa Ana
No, This is not a blog about Santa Clauses wife, Santa Ana...
Santa Ana winds happen down here mostly in the fall, and we are getting a wild one today. Typically a high pressure system settles over the mountains and begins to force Easterly winds onto the coastal areas. As the wind descends it superheats and as it heats up, it increases in force- espescialy as it drives its way through canyons on the way to the coast.
By the time it gets to us- it has 45mph winds (70km/h) with higher gusts occasionally. It whips up a ton of dust and smoke (from wildfires) and sends them our way!
Typically the temperature can rise into the high 80's and into the 90s whereas the normal temperature this time of year is about 68F-- it's a hot, dusty, dry wind that fills our house with dirt through any East facing cracks we may have!
Here is a pic of our "Baño". We just gave the bathroom a really good cleaning yesterday and here's what it looks like halfway through today... Apparantly someone had neglected to put a TP roll on the dispenser...
This floor had been swept 3 times before this--- After this one we duct-taped the door cracks to prevent this amount of dust from coming in!
This is supposed to last until sunset tomorrow night--- It is very reminiscient of a Saskatchewan snow storm- with the sounds of winds buffeting the house, all of the windows closed, the day is darker and we're all huddled inside the house because to go outside is a bit unpleasant-- not cold, mind you, but unpleasant in a sand-blasting sort of way!!
Santa Ana winds happen down here mostly in the fall, and we are getting a wild one today. Typically a high pressure system settles over the mountains and begins to force Easterly winds onto the coastal areas. As the wind descends it superheats and as it heats up, it increases in force- espescialy as it drives its way through canyons on the way to the coast.By the time it gets to us- it has 45mph winds (70km/h) with higher gusts occasionally. It whips up a ton of dust and smoke (from wildfires) and sends them our way!
Typically the temperature can rise into the high 80's and into the 90s whereas the normal temperature this time of year is about 68F-- it's a hot, dusty, dry wind that fills our house with dirt through any East facing cracks we may have!Here is a pic of our "Baño". We just gave the bathroom a really good cleaning yesterday and here's what it looks like halfway through today... Apparantly someone had neglected to put a TP roll on the dispenser...
This floor had been swept 3 times before this--- After this one we duct-taped the door cracks to prevent this amount of dust from coming in!
This is supposed to last until sunset tomorrow night--- It is very reminiscient of a Saskatchewan snow storm- with the sounds of winds buffeting the house, all of the windows closed, the day is darker and we're all huddled inside the house because to go outside is a bit unpleasant-- not cold, mind you, but unpleasant in a sand-blasting sort of way!!
Saturday, October 20, 2007
Class Pictures
A little while ago I had one of our YUGO Missionaries come out with me to the class to take some pics so I could post some on the blog- and then for a potential Prayer Letter as well... here are some of those pics!
This is a picture of the front of the church we are using to teach the classes in-- it is in a Colonia called "Rojo Gomez" after the guy who owned the land and subdivided it to start this neighbourhood.
Pastor Javier and his wife Odillia lead this church and attend the classes...
This is a picture of the class as we worship together at the beginning. I love signing with these folks- no instruments- just vibrant, heartfelt singing and worshipping!
Here I am with Juan, my translator
Here is a class picture with 25 students of the class (out of about 30). They have their Bible's and Workbook... a great bunch!
This is a picture of the front of the church we are using to teach the classes in-- it is in a Colonia called "Rojo Gomez" after the guy who owned the land and subdivided it to start this neighbourhood.Pastor Javier and his wife Odillia lead this church and attend the classes...
This is a picture of the class as we worship together at the beginning. I love signing with these folks- no instruments- just vibrant, heartfelt singing and worshipping!
Here I am with Juan, my translator
Here is a class picture with 25 students of the class (out of about 30). They have their Bible's and Workbook... a great bunch!
La Truck
Here is a pic of our new-old truck!! We got it back yesterday after spending about 36+ days in the importation process...It is a 1991 Ford Explorer 4x4. It will enable me to be able to make it out to East Tijuana on the rough roads- or make it out of our house when it is raining!
Next I need to get Mexican Plates and Insurance-- that'll happen Monday and hopefully, Monday night I'll be able to take this truck out to the class.. It will be nice because i've been giving rides out in the Colonias and my side door on our van does not work so older people, very large people and even a lady with physical disabilities have been coming out and needing to climb in through the front door in the van-- it will be nice to have a workign back door!
Thanks for praying!
Friday, October 19, 2007
Update on Sharlene
Sharlene went to the Dr.'s in Canada this last Tuesday. It was a whirlwind tour, for sure. We drove her up to Los Angeles Airport starting at 7am on Monday and she caught a 1:30pm flight to Calgary arriving at 5:30pm in Canada.
She and Lisa Sawatzky went looking for a jacket for Shar ( it does get chilly here in winter and a fall coat is needed!!) and out for supper.
Tuesday Shar took the bus and C-Train to her Dr.'s appointment, waited for an hour, had a 10 minute appointment at which the Doc said everything looked good! She is healing well and progressing well and needs to keep going! Her biggest challenge is re-training the muscles so that her leg walks normally--right now she still has a bit of a limp and some stiffness, but none of the joint pain! Praise God!
From there she hopped a train and then a bus to the airport where she caught a 5:30pm flight to Los Angeles VIA Vancouver and was back in LA at 9:30 that night. From Landing in Calgary to Take off the next day she was in Canada for 24 hours and 3 minutes!!
Thank you for praying for Sharlene and her recovery. She is doing well and is progressing as she should. God has been very faithful to provide for our needs, including a whirlwind Canadian medical trip ( She has been back to Canada 3 times in 4 months!) as well as our vehicle importation issues...
Speaking of Vehicle Importation... I have our 1991 Ford Explorer in the importation process still. Usually it takes 3-5 days, this has been in for over a month now. The lady who has been doing the importation shut down her office (I don't know if she is out of business!!) but keeps in contact on the phone saying it will be soon--- We have had paperwork issues and I'm not sure what else is holding it up, but the main issue is that with me working out in East Tijuana teaching the Bible Institute classes, the roads out there are beating my van to pieces. I was out there 4 times last week for classes and helping a little girl get to dr.'s appointments in the city and my van takes a beating on the rough roads every time. The Explorer 4x4 will be more apt to handle the rough roads, we are hoping...
Please pray that this gets imported soon! Hopefully today!
Thanks for praying and partnering with us!!
Until Next time,
Mike
She and Lisa Sawatzky went looking for a jacket for Shar ( it does get chilly here in winter and a fall coat is needed!!) and out for supper.
Tuesday Shar took the bus and C-Train to her Dr.'s appointment, waited for an hour, had a 10 minute appointment at which the Doc said everything looked good! She is healing well and progressing well and needs to keep going! Her biggest challenge is re-training the muscles so that her leg walks normally--right now she still has a bit of a limp and some stiffness, but none of the joint pain! Praise God!
From there she hopped a train and then a bus to the airport where she caught a 5:30pm flight to Los Angeles VIA Vancouver and was back in LA at 9:30 that night. From Landing in Calgary to Take off the next day she was in Canada for 24 hours and 3 minutes!!
Thank you for praying for Sharlene and her recovery. She is doing well and is progressing as she should. God has been very faithful to provide for our needs, including a whirlwind Canadian medical trip ( She has been back to Canada 3 times in 4 months!) as well as our vehicle importation issues...
Speaking of Vehicle Importation... I have our 1991 Ford Explorer in the importation process still. Usually it takes 3-5 days, this has been in for over a month now. The lady who has been doing the importation shut down her office (I don't know if she is out of business!!) but keeps in contact on the phone saying it will be soon--- We have had paperwork issues and I'm not sure what else is holding it up, but the main issue is that with me working out in East Tijuana teaching the Bible Institute classes, the roads out there are beating my van to pieces. I was out there 4 times last week for classes and helping a little girl get to dr.'s appointments in the city and my van takes a beating on the rough roads every time. The Explorer 4x4 will be more apt to handle the rough roads, we are hoping...
Please pray that this gets imported soon! Hopefully today!
Thanks for praying and partnering with us!!
Until Next time,
Mike
Wednesday, October 17, 2007
Project Joy
Project Joy
Project Joy is a unique Christmas ministry that invites individuals of all ages to give gift-filled shoeboxes to poor children in Mexico. We invite you to join us by providing shoebox gifts to the children of Mexico.
This project makes for a great Sunday school, church or family project!
In Mexico, poor children may not receive any gifts at Christmas. These shoebox gifts are evidence that someone cares for him or her. Since it's likely the only gift a child may receive, it is special to him/her and greatly appreciated. The children's parents are also grateful for your generosity and touched by the gift.
The gifts are presented to the children during a Christmas program in their village. This creates a warm environment for the Gospel to be heard and understood. Children (and parents) are told that God loves and cares about them, and like their gifts, He too, offers a gift...the gift of eternal life.
Would you like to help bring joy to the children of Mexico? Individuals of all ages are invited to participate by giving gifts. You may ship the gifts to us for distribution through a local church in Mexico. Or, you may form a group to come and present the gifts and share the gospel. You will 
witness first hand the changing of lives.
If you would like to participate in YUGO's Project Joy Program, you may download the Project Joy Specifications. You can also request a Starter Kit, which includes a DVD for your church as well as sign up forms, gift labels and the Project Joy Specifications.
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Tuesday, October 16, 2007
Mexican Breathylyzer
A friend of mine was out at night last week when he came up to a police check stop. The Tijuana police officer asked him if he'd been drinking beer that night.
He said "no" cuz he wasn't...
The office asked him to breathe into the breathalyzer for 5 seconds.
He exhaled as asked...
The cop then took the breathylyzer, held the blowing part up to his nose and took 3 good whiffs and said "ok, you can go."
Mexican breathylyzer.... no batteries required!
He said "no" cuz he wasn't...
The office asked him to breathe into the breathalyzer for 5 seconds.
He exhaled as asked...
The cop then took the breathylyzer, held the blowing part up to his nose and took 3 good whiffs and said "ok, you can go."
Mexican breathylyzer.... no batteries required!
Esperando
Waiting in Spanish....
Part of living in Mexico is waiting...
Last week I was drafted to provide transportation for a medical visit for a little girl, Lupita. Lupita lives in the area I do my teaching and has contacts with a local pastor out there.
She has an issue with her nose-- The bridge of her nose does not narrow, it has expanded- in other words her nose is wider at the top, in between her eyes, than it is down near her nostrils. It has been like that for most of her 8 years and we're hoping we can do something about it...
Friday we had an 8:30am appointment at a hospital near the border in the Mexican side. It is about a 50 minute drive from my house to her house and another 50 minute drive to the hospital.
Our 8:30 appointment turned into 11:30 and after we went through 3 or 4 different smaller waiting periods during which they made other appointments and recorded her results... We finally got out of the hospital at about 1:00pm-- and went to go to lunch.
We got into a traffic jam and it took us 20 or 30 minutes to get 2 km and then we were off to take Lupita for pizza. Lupita has 11 brothers and sisters and they are all quite poor and so she does not get pizza very often- she and her 15 year old brother ate pizza like it was going out of style! They saved 3 pieces to share among their siblings.
I watched them eat-- and they (and Pastor Juan who was also with us) ate their pizza like a taco!- they put hot sauce on the pizza (like a tabasco sauce) and some chile peppers (not lupita - just the guys) and they then take the piece and either fold it up like a taco and eat it or rip pieces off te crust and pick up the cheese and toppings like they would with a tortilla! It was an interesting pizza experience- the only downside for the folks was that there was not any ketchup to put on the pizza... which Many Mexicans seem to like...
I dropped them off at the house and had to run across the border to get a new printer that was on sale. The radio called for a 45 minute wait a the border- it took me 1 hour and 15 minutes to get across---
all together i spent more time waiting then anything- but that is part of Mexico-- it sure has helped with my patience!
Waiting to hear from you,
Mike
Part of living in Mexico is waiting...
Last week I was drafted to provide transportation for a medical visit for a little girl, Lupita. Lupita lives in the area I do my teaching and has contacts with a local pastor out there.
She has an issue with her nose-- The bridge of her nose does not narrow, it has expanded- in other words her nose is wider at the top, in between her eyes, than it is down near her nostrils. It has been like that for most of her 8 years and we're hoping we can do something about it...
Friday we had an 8:30am appointment at a hospital near the border in the Mexican side. It is about a 50 minute drive from my house to her house and another 50 minute drive to the hospital.
Our 8:30 appointment turned into 11:30 and after we went through 3 or 4 different smaller waiting periods during which they made other appointments and recorded her results... We finally got out of the hospital at about 1:00pm-- and went to go to lunch.
We got into a traffic jam and it took us 20 or 30 minutes to get 2 km and then we were off to take Lupita for pizza. Lupita has 11 brothers and sisters and they are all quite poor and so she does not get pizza very often- she and her 15 year old brother ate pizza like it was going out of style! They saved 3 pieces to share among their siblings.
I watched them eat-- and they (and Pastor Juan who was also with us) ate their pizza like a taco!- they put hot sauce on the pizza (like a tabasco sauce) and some chile peppers (not lupita - just the guys) and they then take the piece and either fold it up like a taco and eat it or rip pieces off te crust and pick up the cheese and toppings like they would with a tortilla! It was an interesting pizza experience- the only downside for the folks was that there was not any ketchup to put on the pizza... which Many Mexicans seem to like...
I dropped them off at the house and had to run across the border to get a new printer that was on sale. The radio called for a 45 minute wait a the border- it took me 1 hour and 15 minutes to get across---
all together i spent more time waiting then anything- but that is part of Mexico-- it sure has helped with my patience!
Waiting to hear from you,
Mike
Sunday, October 07, 2007
Elijahs Birthday, Update on Shar...
It has been 1 month since Sharlene's surgery! She is doing very well as she recuperates...
Right now she is walking around without the aid of cane or crutches-- for the first time in over a year! She is able to walk around the block ( a large, hilly block) and not need a rest. She has minimal pain most of the time and is now only taking extra strength Tylenol, mostly at night.
Please continue to pray for her continuing recovery! She is off to the Doctors in Canada next week (October 15, 16) for her 6 week appointment. Her biggest struggle right now appears to be learning to walk without the limp she's been used to for quite a few years! She needs to continue retraining her leg muscles to walk without the limp... Praise God both for her speedy recovery and His provision of our needs with Shar's plane trips back to Canada for appointments!
2 Weeks ago we had Elijah's 10th birthday party! We had some missionary friends over and a friend from the Children's home as well. He got a LEGO set (Mars Mission) and was very happy with it! We had to wait for his party because Shar had JUST gotten back a day or two before and needed a week to rest before we could host a party!
Washing Cat, Caleb day...
Here are some pics
Rosie the Boy Cat has fleas... He seems to have them so bad, that he is scratching around his neck so much that he's been drawing blood!! We took serious action and Shar washed the kitty in flea shampoo while I helped (by taking pictures for posterity sake...) It actually went quite well, even though Shar disagreed with my preferred method of rinsing the cat off via the "Swirly" method... we opted for pouring water on him- He responded with a desperate, pathetic, howl of protest...
He still has fleas...
We celebrated "Caleb Day" last Sunday afternoon. Caleb has his birthday in the summer and this summer we were in Canada, in between camps. We had an rhubarb crisp with a sparkler in it in Turtleford, SK, but for some reason, he wanted to celebrate with other kids too!
So we decided to have a "Caleb Day" which happened to fall on the same day as another Missionary kids birthday, so we celebrated both! We had 18 people over (4 adults) and whacked a piñata, played some games and ate cake, Carne Asada and Chips. It was a good Caleb day!
Here is Caleb and Ethan (the other Birthday boy) with the severed head of the Spiderman Piñata. Cute!
Caleb and his Caleb Day cake!
Rosie the Boy Cat has fleas... He seems to have them so bad, that he is scratching around his neck so much that he's been drawing blood!! We took serious action and Shar washed the kitty in flea shampoo while I helped (by taking pictures for posterity sake...) It actually went quite well, even though Shar disagreed with my preferred method of rinsing the cat off via the "Swirly" method... we opted for pouring water on him- He responded with a desperate, pathetic, howl of protest...
He still has fleas...
We celebrated "Caleb Day" last Sunday afternoon. Caleb has his birthday in the summer and this summer we were in Canada, in between camps. We had an rhubarb crisp with a sparkler in it in Turtleford, SK, but for some reason, he wanted to celebrate with other kids too!
So we decided to have a "Caleb Day" which happened to fall on the same day as another Missionary kids birthday, so we celebrated both! We had 18 people over (4 adults) and whacked a piñata, played some games and ate cake, Carne Asada and Chips. It was a good Caleb day!
Here is Caleb and Ethan (the other Birthday boy) with the severed head of the Spiderman Piñata. Cute!
Caleb and his Caleb Day cake!
Thursday, October 04, 2007
One Evening in Mexico...
Last Monday I left the house early to go hang out with one of the pastors from my class. He is looking at planting a new church and has to look for some land, so I went to drive him around, because his car is not really able to get very far these days...
I took the 50 minute drive out, after having stopped for a couple tacos, and at the end of the highway when I tried to stop- it worked for a few seconds- then I lost brakes! After i let the brake up- it regained some strength- but then the brake would quickly hit the floor with little efficacy.. I decided I was close enough to the church to keep going...
Now to get to the church you need to turn left into a gas station and then drive down the dusty, rutty, shoulder of the road- the wrong direction- for about a block. Halfway down the block you actually have to go out on to the road (going the opposite direction of traffic!!) and then turn left down the back roads. For the most part you don't really need strong brakes because it is so rutted you cannot drive very fast anyway. but at the end of the road, you go down a curvy hill over a train track. Monday they happened to have 2 busses stopped at the end of the road... I decided to forgo the stopping and drive quickly past the busses into the oncoming traffic- which actually turned out ok because Mexicans are very polite drivers if someone needs to do something unorthodox, they'll assume you have a good reason (like no brakes) and let you through. I made it to the church and then off to a mechanic-- down a huge hill with a sizable ditch at the end... via the old- brake pumping method-- there was enough brake fluid left in the system to keep us from going over the edge.
The Mechanic decided it was the master cylinder and sent us on a 30 minute drive to the store to get the part ( without brakes...) halfway there the brakes were almost completely gone-- we made it out onto a 4 lane throughway down a hill and up a hill and then halfway down another hill and into the car parts place parking lot...
for $30 we purchased another master cylinder and for another $5.00 a super-large bottle of brake fluid- which we put into the master cylinder for the 30 minute return trip.
5 minutes into the trip i had no brakes again and once again we crawled back to the shop where for $10.00 labour the mechanic spent an hour fixing the master cylinder.
We went to check out some land and then to class-- which went well. We had an exciting discussion about eternal security and the perseverance of the believer...
Then I piled about 10 people into our 6 seat van and drove them back to their home... then the brakes failed again- My side door is permanently locked for some reason so all the folks in the back had to climb out of the front door--- It must have looked like the clowns in the VW bug with the never ending line of folks coming out the front door!!
So back to the mechanics (up and down large hills in the dark- with little brakes) to wake him up and fix the brakes again at about 10:00pm...
He replaced a brakeline (actually kind of fashioned his own line out of spare parts!!) and adjusted the brakes and sent me home at about Midnight...in Mexico...
It's not wise to drive that late at night, but had little choice and so off I went. about halfway home I saw 6 cows in the median of the road. I gently slowed down from 100km/h to 80km/h and kept my high beams on regardless of oncoming traffic. The week before we saw someone on the side of the road after hitting a cow and destroying their vehicle. 2 weeks before I saw a van on fire on the side of the road. Normally you would think to stop- but it is not too unusual for thieves to burn an abandoned car waiting for someone to stop to help- and then rob them-- also in Mexico you are guilty until proven innocent, so if the police were to happen to see you there- you would be assumed to be the culprit and held in jail until you could prove your innocence... I slowed down and noticed no one around or in the van and kept on going...
I'm thankful for the safety I had and the economical fix to the problem-- please continue to pray for our vehicle situations-- I am waiting for red tape to be cleared in importing a 1991 Ford Explorer 4x4 to handle the roads better. Right now the trips on the bad roads is slowly dismantling my van! I think sometime in the near future we may just need to buy a newer 4x4 as a regular vehicle. We ought not buy a new one because in the neighbourhoods we work in a new SUV makes you a target for kidnappers or thieves or corrupt police or uncorrupt police assuming you may be drug dealers-- so older, and reliable is better!!
We appreciate your prayers for safety!!
Until next time,
Mike
I took the 50 minute drive out, after having stopped for a couple tacos, and at the end of the highway when I tried to stop- it worked for a few seconds- then I lost brakes! After i let the brake up- it regained some strength- but then the brake would quickly hit the floor with little efficacy.. I decided I was close enough to the church to keep going...
Now to get to the church you need to turn left into a gas station and then drive down the dusty, rutty, shoulder of the road- the wrong direction- for about a block. Halfway down the block you actually have to go out on to the road (going the opposite direction of traffic!!) and then turn left down the back roads. For the most part you don't really need strong brakes because it is so rutted you cannot drive very fast anyway. but at the end of the road, you go down a curvy hill over a train track. Monday they happened to have 2 busses stopped at the end of the road... I decided to forgo the stopping and drive quickly past the busses into the oncoming traffic- which actually turned out ok because Mexicans are very polite drivers if someone needs to do something unorthodox, they'll assume you have a good reason (like no brakes) and let you through. I made it to the church and then off to a mechanic-- down a huge hill with a sizable ditch at the end... via the old- brake pumping method-- there was enough brake fluid left in the system to keep us from going over the edge.
The Mechanic decided it was the master cylinder and sent us on a 30 minute drive to the store to get the part ( without brakes...) halfway there the brakes were almost completely gone-- we made it out onto a 4 lane throughway down a hill and up a hill and then halfway down another hill and into the car parts place parking lot...
for $30 we purchased another master cylinder and for another $5.00 a super-large bottle of brake fluid- which we put into the master cylinder for the 30 minute return trip.
5 minutes into the trip i had no brakes again and once again we crawled back to the shop where for $10.00 labour the mechanic spent an hour fixing the master cylinder.
We went to check out some land and then to class-- which went well. We had an exciting discussion about eternal security and the perseverance of the believer...
Then I piled about 10 people into our 6 seat van and drove them back to their home... then the brakes failed again- My side door is permanently locked for some reason so all the folks in the back had to climb out of the front door--- It must have looked like the clowns in the VW bug with the never ending line of folks coming out the front door!!
So back to the mechanics (up and down large hills in the dark- with little brakes) to wake him up and fix the brakes again at about 10:00pm...
He replaced a brakeline (actually kind of fashioned his own line out of spare parts!!) and adjusted the brakes and sent me home at about Midnight...in Mexico...
It's not wise to drive that late at night, but had little choice and so off I went. about halfway home I saw 6 cows in the median of the road. I gently slowed down from 100km/h to 80km/h and kept my high beams on regardless of oncoming traffic. The week before we saw someone on the side of the road after hitting a cow and destroying their vehicle. 2 weeks before I saw a van on fire on the side of the road. Normally you would think to stop- but it is not too unusual for thieves to burn an abandoned car waiting for someone to stop to help- and then rob them-- also in Mexico you are guilty until proven innocent, so if the police were to happen to see you there- you would be assumed to be the culprit and held in jail until you could prove your innocence... I slowed down and noticed no one around or in the van and kept on going...
I'm thankful for the safety I had and the economical fix to the problem-- please continue to pray for our vehicle situations-- I am waiting for red tape to be cleared in importing a 1991 Ford Explorer 4x4 to handle the roads better. Right now the trips on the bad roads is slowly dismantling my van! I think sometime in the near future we may just need to buy a newer 4x4 as a regular vehicle. We ought not buy a new one because in the neighbourhoods we work in a new SUV makes you a target for kidnappers or thieves or corrupt police or uncorrupt police assuming you may be drug dealers-- so older, and reliable is better!!
We appreciate your prayers for safety!!
Until next time,
Mike
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