Day 2

Dear Atonement Parents, Staff and Congregation.

I am sitting this morning in the upper room of Juan’s church, listening to children playing, roosters crowing and dogs barking. I can see the community we will be serving out the window and I know that God has brought us here to touch the lives of this community with His message. I am even more convinced that this journey is going to set these kids on fire for Christ. In the Bible, it is written that those who go out and spread the word of Jesus Christ will have their spiritual lives changed forever. And we absolutely will. We had a long day. It finally ended at 4:30 this morning. The chaperones are in awe of these kids. They are such troopers, so upbeat, positive and excited about going on this mission trip. They’ve had wonderful attitudes as we have made our way! There is no doubt in my mind that we have the best kids in the FM area with us and that they truly will be touched and spiritually changed forever. Alleluia!

Our day started as planned – we pulled out of Ok. City at 7:00 and started another long day on the road. We stopped only once yesterday, as we hoped to make it to Laredo early. We arrived in Laredo at around 5:30pm, and the marathon began. As is typically the case when traveling, we’ve had our share of hang-ups! It started at the airport. It ended up taking us about 1 ½ hours to get the rental vans figured out. We finally pulled out and sped to a Carl Jr’s fast where we had a great meal together. Then, it was on to the border. The excitement was palpable as we approached the international bridge. Upon arrival, we got a little confused about where to go. The CIIDEV (customs) is not right off the border, so we pulled into a little parking lot and a kind man, Diego, hopped into the lead van and led us to the customs area. While confusing, we made it to the CIIDEV where we met Enrique and Juan, two of our hosts while we are here.

Customs was a 3 ½ hour process. First, we presented all passports. However, there was a problem with the vans. Apparently, the rental agency in Texas leased the vans we rented, so it raised some red flags. However, we were blessed to have Enrique with us and after the four drivers spent 2 hours waiting and talking to the customs agent, we got that cleared up. However, everything is done by hand, so it was another 1 ½ before all the passports and travel cards were copied, printed and signed. The kids were FANTASTIC as they waited. The customs agency had a little cafeteria area, so everyone hung out, had some beverages, and kept themselves occupied while we waited. We hit the road to Monterrey at 12:12 am. We traveled the Mexican equivalent of an interstate – except the road is closer to about a lane and a half. A few kids commented that they’d never seen so many semis – I think it has something to do with the poor infrastructure. In the States, I don’t think we realize how much shipping is actually done by train and by air!

We stopped for a bathroom break at a little rest area. While there, the girls saw a woman sleeping in the bathroom on the floor. Her job is to keep the bathrooms clean and she must work constantly. Our girls were worried about her, but we explained that she probably works long days and rather than walk home, she just sleeps there. We left a few pesos for her.

We finally arrived in Apodaca, a suburb of Monterrey. While coming through, we were touched by the difference of the cultural landscape. Loose animals run freely here and the kids are bothered by the gaunt nature of the dogs and cats. In our van, Kyle explained that Mexico likely does not have the animal control agency that the US has, and that people treat their pets as animals! No little shirts and padded beds for the pets here. We continued to make our way but were pulled over by the police…

I will admit that this was very frightening, but I want to talk a bit about what exactly happened. We pulled into town at 3:45 am. Unfortunately, we are in a country that has serious drug trafficking problem – most of us in the States understand that this is an issue in Mexico and the Southern US. When you are in a country that has drug trafficking as a major issue, they have to be suspicious of anything that looks out of the ordinary, and frankly, four white vans following a car at 3:45 am looks suspicious. We were pulled over by four armed police vehicles, and were surrounded by many police. Enrique and Juan got out of their vehicle and shook hands with the police. I heard Juan mention that there were “el ninos” in the vans – kids. It was clear that the Monterrey police were simply doing their jobs, but I will admit that I was nervous about the situation, mostly because of the hour. They collected passports and talked to a couple of drivers, and after about ½ hour we were on our way.

As a parent, I want to address the parents of these kids who may be reading this and are worried about their child’s safety. If I were sitting at home reading about this, two things would cross my mind – worry and fear. But, I would want to know what was happening, which is why we are blogging about this today. Again, this was a very uncomfortable situation last night, and I know that all of us were rattled by the situation. However, it is important to note that they were doing their jobs and we were not in danger. As Gene explained, the weapons are the police department’s tools, just as a wrench is the tool of a plumber and a computer is the tool of a Microsoft employee. Unfortunately, at 4:00am in a foreign country, low on sleep, with a huge language barrier, this is a scary situation, and I know we have some kids who were a little shaken. But again, angels have been with us this entire journey, and this is certainly part of the process of being changed. In the final words of Matthew 28, Jesus said that “surely I am with you until the end of the age.” He was with us last night, and as I sat at the stop, I prayed for His continued presence. He’s here. He’s in this place. I feel it as I sit and write this morning.

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Thank you all for your continued prayers. Today, we are deviating a bit from schedule. We are letting everyone sleep and will take it easy so the kids and chaperones can recuperate from the long, stressful days of traveling. We will post again later… there is much to share about this place. This is a fantastic opportunity and our work is just beginning.

Blessings, Andrea