On the Way There

Early Sunday morning, we loaded suitcases onto a rack on the back of the big red van and headed to the Clows for coffee, breakfast tacos, and homemade cinnamon rolls before our long drive to Guanajuato.  Mexican-style, Nono ran a red light on the way there, and we were pulled over by a Mexican cop who had wagged his finger at us as we drove through the intersection. He didn't have a ticket to write on, so he wanted us to drive all the way across town to the police station. When he saw we weren't eager to do that, he offered that we could buy him coffee and call it a deal.  We obliged him.  

Having gotten a nearly negligible amount of sleep the night before, I unsuccessfully tried to nap. Before long, I raised my head and was stunned by the mountains that had risen up around us.  We drove through Monterrey, a city of 3 million, and then continued through the Sierra Madre mountains. Besides Monterrey, I don't recall driving through any major cities.  I had no idea how beautiful and undeveloped much of Mexico is.  We drove along ridges overlooking valleys too splendid to be captured by the camera.  It was a long, wonderfully relaxed drive.  

We drove past isolated farms and homesteads. Although these land owners were as impoverished as many in Reynosa, their homes were cared for, often surrounded by flowers instead of the trash typical of Reynosa. South of the border, Mexicans are proud of their nation.  Border cities like Reynosa tend to be the armpit of the country, characterized by the attitude of "ni modo", which is said accompanied with a shrug of the shoulders.   "Ni modo" is roughly translated, "You can't do anything about it, so whatever."  I'm so glad to have seen another, better part of Mexico.  

As we drove through the stunning countryside, team members in both vans were commenting, "Oh surely there must be hundreds of deaf children and prostitutes here needing to be ministered to!"  And there were many more glories to be witnessed in the next few days.  I'm excited to post more about the staff trip.  It was nothing short of amazing.