We arrived safely in Mexico after an arduous trip to get here. The Oregon group had some brake problems so we had to limp along and I ended up pulling their trailer through Mexico (something Jess and I swore we would never do again). I had to back the trailer into the small space of the church in between cars (all around) off of a busy street. My dad would be proud.
We settled in to our host families and were fast asleep when I awoke at 2:30AM by the sound of a car crash right outside our house. The Camacho family lives at the bottom of a hill (roller coaster worthy) and cars get going pretty fast up and down. When the car going down at a high rate of speed meets the car coming up at a high rate of speed the impact is tremendous. Miraculously no one died at the scene. One car flipped and both had to be towed away. I’m always very anxious in these moment about the appropriate response. My medical training says to go render aid. My lily-white skin is a barrier in such situations (especially in a foreign country). It’s hard to sit by and do nothing.
I laid back down and watched Reese sleep a while. He was sleeping sound, didn’t even hear the crash - which is probably a good thing. I began to think about the job we have as parents of protecting him (and his sister). I felt an overwhelming impulse to pray. Like me you probably experience those moments when you know you should pray. Some are just more intense than others.
Meeting with the church was encouraging, as always. I like to preach in Spanish. People pay attention, they take notes of what you say, are appreciative of what you say and I get to use my outside voice!
The work begins tomorrow bright and early. You can follow the first week of activities by checking the Gateway Church Mexico Mission Blog. They are doing a great job of chronicling the trip.
