Our fourteen member team has been working in Mexico since Wednesday night and it has been a very emotional in inspirational time. We left home at 3:30 a.m. on Wednesday and flew out of Bradley at 6;00 a.m. We landed in Washington D. C. and by 8:15 a.m. we were back in the air for the six hour flight to San Diego.
Everything went smoothly until we reached San Diego. We had our first test when we got to the rental car place. They had our reservation but National doesn't allow their cars to be driven into Mexico. :-( Fortunately we were right next to Hertz and we walked across and they were very accommodating. We ended up renting two vans and a car and after a one hour delay, we were back in business.
We reached Calexico, US, the border town, at 4:00 p.m. and met or missionary partners, Rick and Mercy Barnes. hey led us across the border and to the seminary. Once again we were greeted with the utter poverty that many of the residents face. The things we take for granted, housing, water, schools are all very limited.
We arrived at the seminary and quickly settled in and were given an orientation by Rick and Mercy. Then we went to the church to meet Pastors Ramon and Alma. The plan for Wednesday night was to walk around the neighborhood and distribute fliers to the families announcing Vacation Bible School for the kids. We got a chance to see the place where the church ministers and some of the people who we would be serving.
One of the most touching scenes was at the very moment we arrived. A whole group of children saw us pull up in our vans with California plates and they started following us and running behind us as we pulled up to the church. We were like celebrities to the children. They immediately surrounded us and embraced us with love.
We were tired by the time we got back to the seminary. Last year we were about 45 minutes from the church. This year we are working with the Good Samaritan Church and it is only five minutes from the seminary. That is good news. But we also found out we will be working longer hours here to make up for the longer ride.
We start each day at 7:00 a.m. and end about noon. Then we come back for 5:00 p.m. and work at the Vacation Bible School until 8:00 p.m. You know you have been busy by the time you hit bed. Since there isn't any television or Internet capability at the seminary, going to bed at 9:00 p.m. and getting up at 5:00 -5:30 a.m. is not very difficult.
We are working on the exterior of the church this year. It begins with putting chicken wire on the outside and then applying cement to it. It is demanding but fun.
On Sunday we will be worshiping at Sion Church where we worked last year with Pastor Gregorio in the morning and at Buen Samaritino in the evening. We will be going out to lunch with Rick & Mercy and their family and one or both of the pastors and their families in between services.
I could go on and on but for now I am going to send some pictures so you can get a taste of what life has been like for us here in Mexicali.
Cal
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