Randy Wray’s Blog

Can you smell the sawdust?

Today we get back to what we know, at least we get to work with good ‘ol fashioned Mexican lumber anyway.  We plan to put on the ceiling that will become the floor of the second story.

The steel structure is impressive.  After we placed the 40′ beam we placed 4 cross beams that were 18′ in length.  This type of construction is very out of character.  As Jess said "it’s the first time I’ve ever been to Mexico and over-built."  We’re actually thinking about having some t-shirts made up which proclaim "I went to Mexico and over-built."

There was a fire next to the church the other night.  At first glance it appeared that a taco cart had caught fire.  Initial reports said the FD showed up and hit the cart with a blast of water that sent the grease onto the wall of an adjacent building.  It made for a humorous story until the truth came out.  Funny how that happens!  It seems an RV caught on fire sitting out on the curb next to the auto mechanic shop.  No injuries to report and Tacos still abound.

At least that’s what I heard. 

You can continue checking the Gateway Church Mexico Mission Blog for updates.  Against my better judgment I let them use my camera so they should have some new pictures posted.

Despite the thievery the morale remains high.   The long arm of Walmart has reached Ensenada (a supercenter no less) so critical items like underwear and toiletries have been purchased.

Yesterday, the team tore down the old patio covering and removed the old columns.  The new columns were constructed last week prior to our arrival and we placed a 40′ steel beam on top of the columns to begin the foundation of the super-structure. 

We’ve never worked with steel beams before.  It kind of has that feel of what you see in those old pictures of constructing the Golden Gate bridge.  We managed to place that 40′ beam using the truck that delivered the beam as the pivot point and good ol’ fashioned American / Mexican muscle.

Tomorrow I’ll tell you the humorous, yet tragic, story of the taco cart. 

You can continue checking the Gateway Church Mexico Mission Blog for updates.

When it rains it pours and no one knows that better than the group from Oregon.  Trouble is, trouble continues to find the Oregon group. 

During the evening devotional an alleged person (or persons) snuck into the sleeping quarters and stole luggage and personal goods from the girls and Tim, the fearless leader. 

Cameras, laptops and clothes were the replaceable items stolen.  Though replaceable is a dumb word because you still have to deal with the emotions of losing such things to theft AND you still have to replace such items. 

The critical item stolen was the accordion folder containing birth certificates and other documentation to get the group back into the US.  We will spend today trying to sort that wrinkle out and figure out how to get the group back into the country.

You can continue checking the Gateway Church Mexico Mission Blog though all the pictures from yesterday were on the camera and the laptop that was stolen.

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. 

We’ve been up at Bible Camp all week.  Without internet access I was not able to post or keep up with your posts.  I’ll steal a few minutes tonight (hopefully) to catch up.

I was one of two counselors for the 10 year old-boy cabin.  Our cabin was the messiest all week long but we (the other counselor and I) exchanged that for them showering every day.

We left early to come home wash clothes, pack again and off to Mexico for the first week of our two week summer mission trip.  

I’ll post as I am able regarding our project and our progress.