Mexico Mission 2010 Day 3- Sunday, March 21

We woke up this morning around 7 for breakfast. The entire group of 77 is now here and we are all leaving at 8:00! We ate, had a short prayer and a few songs together and hit the road. We drove for about 1 ½ hrs through windmill alley and the Coachella valley, past the Salton Sea, to the bustling metropolis of El Centro California! There we had about 2 hrs to buy any last minute items while the group bought the last of our food needs at Costco. We ate lunch at Sonic and then headed to fix a new “problem” that had arisen. It seems that last night, my brilliant idea of loading up a foam cooler with ice and Gatorade fro the trip backfired. The cooler busted, dumping gallons of water into the carpet of the new van ! So……..we found a car wash with a super vac and sucked up the last of the excess water before rug rot set in!

After getting gas, it was time to roll out! Our huge convoy set out for the border at Calexico some 20 miles away. We got across rather quickly and hit the road to San Felipe. It never ceases to amaze me how quickly things change by simply crossing some imaginary line. On one side is riches and opportunity. Just on the other side, we are quickly flooded with the realities of oppression and poverty. It takes your breath away, and I am sure our rookies were all a little surprised.

The next several hours were spent traveling through the hot desert of Baja California Mexico. I relented and let the gals listen to their music. Despite hurting, the country did not kill me! It almost got Jude though as he offered the quote of the year: “Dad this music is like a Dementor..it is sucking the soul out of me!”…..ahh I love that boy! 

We finally pulled into camp only to be surprised that a huge and yucky junkyard had moved in literally RIGHT BEHIND camp and ruined what had been a nice view of the mountains before. We were quickly put to work as we unloaded the trailers and supplies, followed by finding our sleeping quarters and setting up our homes for the week!

That night we ate a nice dinner and worshipped together with song, the word of God, a reminder to be a mirror of God this week and communion. The rest of the night was spent with the kids all playing basketball knockout and the adults watching and struggling to stay awake. It was great to see the girls jump right in and make friends like they’d grown up together. It is going to be a great week.