We Made It!

We made it!           

I should probably begin with an apology.  I was not able to connect with anyone to let them know that we made it safely to our destination in Mexico. 

We did.

As soon as I get hooked up to WiFi, you’ll know.  (I am...at 8:00 P.M. Tuesday)  My phone was hooked up but the phone didn't have the blog.  Sorry.

We connected with our contact Liz at the agreed upon spot in the United States side of the border.  We drove up at the same time we did…painless.  She led us all to the border crossing…painless.  Then we all went in and had to fill out the paperwork for all the youth…small amount of pain in the form of writer’s cramp.  We all made it out with new stamps in our passports and visas that last 7 days each.  I’m guessing that we’ll be exhausted in three. 

The actual trip across the border was uneventful and I learned that when the man with the machine gun says, “Go Over There!” You go over there.  (I actually knew that before…but I never got to actually test it in real life before today.)  We didn’t have to really answer any questions either.  Nothing about fruits or vegetables, they just wanted to know where we were headed.  Some of us made it through faster than others so our guide pulled over to the side to wait for all of us to catch up.  That was my first impression of Mexico…the rules of the road are a lot more relaxed than those in America. 

We waited for a few minutes for the rest of the team to come through.  No problem.  Then we drove past a lot of people either walking along or running across the freeway.  We don’t see that…ever.  We were able to drive along the coast and see some really beautiful scenery.  At the risk of sounding too literary or smarter than I am, I have to say that I think the Mexico I have experienced so far is a land of contrast.  Specifically, there are homes that would cost a million dollars if they were found in California (I don’t know what they cost here) very close to houses that have corrugated metal for walls. 

When we made it to Ensenada we parked in a very secure garage that had been chosen by our guide, and we all went out to shop, eat, and sightsee.  We were only afforded an hour in town so some of us were hoping to be able to stop again on our way home.  We’ll see.  There are stories roaming around about five hour trips through the border crossing back into the U.S.  I’m not sure we’ll be able to manage the shopping trip.

Here at the camp, Agua Viva, we were treated to dinner as soon as we arrived.  We had been told to expect a lot of beans and rice so when we had spaghetti I was a little surprised.  Well fed, but surprised.  They pulled all of the leaders aside to give us the rundown of our week.  As it turns out the church plant we are assisting with has not even had their first service yet!  We are part of the outreach team that makes it possible for the pastor to get out and meet the community.  I think we all assumed that it was already an active church…new, but active.  It will be exciting to be part of the goings on as it begins. 

We have already had a campfire led by the staff here and we ended the evening by going to our common room and getting a breakdown of the week’s activities now that we are here.  We then got together with our prayer partners to close the evening.  We all settled into our cabin for a little free time and then we got the one minute flicker.  That is when the person in charge of the generator turns it off and then on for a second.  That is to warn us that we are about to have no power and to get yourself near a flashlight.  The conversations are dwindling now and my battery is draining so I think I will sign off for the night.  I have high hopes that I will be able to send this to be published in the morning.  You’ll have to let me know how I did when I get back.

P.S.  For some reason this four room cabin has multiple people in each room…except for mine.  I wonder why that would be?  ZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZ