Day 10, Sunday, The Drive Back

No sunrise photo this morning...it was way too early for that! It looked more like this outside:

We all straggled into the kitchen around 4 a.m. to get coffee, tea, and to refill water bottles. Then after fond farewells to Art and Brenda (and to Edgar and Lili who also woke up early to tell us goodbye), we piled our luggage into the backs of two vans and hauled our carcasses into the seats. Art and Brenda had a little bit of downtime...just over an hour. Their next group was due in on the bus from Nogales at 6 a.m. Can you imagine???

Many of us were fighting a nasty respiratory bug, so we all tried to sleep as much as we could on the 8-hour trip North. So instead of snoring, we heard mostly coughing, sneezing and nose-blowing. I must say, all in all, that part was pretty miserable. (No need to sugar-coat things!)

Brenda had supplied each van with apples, oranges, granola bars, banana bread, and fruit juices. So when we could fit in a bite between sneezes, we did.

The ladies got a taste of the reality of living in Mexico when we stopped for a rest stop. Huddled under a blanket under the counter of a filthy public restroom were a mother and her child, trying to sleep on the cold tile floor. Our hearts ached for them. Before leaving, we placed some of our fruit and granola bars near their heads. And we all prayed for them, and for so many like them.

FINALLY we arrived at the border. Here is part of the wall, shot through the window of the van.

Before crossing to the U.S. side, we had to remove all our luggage from the vans, take it inside the building and go through a security check similar to TSA at the airport. No fruit was allowed to go through, so we had to relinquish our last apples and oranges (we were wishing we'd left them all with the mother and child back a couple hundred miles).

 

That's as far as they allowed photos. Once through the security check, we emerged through another door at the far side of the building and we were in the good old USA!

We loaded our luggage back into the vans and we were ready for one more hour's drive to the Tucson airport....after a stretch break. How do you do that, Kaitlin? And with a SMILE on your face!?!!?

Here's part of the wall on the U.S. Side. I always think it's an interesting design with the footprints going along the length of it...and the little holes through it. Is that an American "in your face" attitude, or is there a kinder message there that I'm missing?

No photos at the airport. Once we arrived, it was a scramble for everyone to get their boarding passes and get to their gates for various points around Idaho, Montana, Texas and parts of Canada. We did have a chance to hug and wish each other well until the next mission trip next year.

Thank you so much for your interest in our trip, and for reading the blog. We put it on Curt's and my personal blog that we started in June 2014, when we took an 11,000 mile camping trip around the eastern U.S. and into the Canadian Maritime Provinces. So if you're interested in reading any of that, please feel free to go back through the archives. We have been really gratified at the response to the blog on this trip. We may open a separate blog for Rocky Mountain Ministries, and if we do, we'll put the address on this blog to direct you to the new one. We're going to try a few things, like putting Lucas's video of the trip on the blog. I'd also like to share some background information of a bit of the history of Rocky Mountain Ministries here within the next few days. So check back here.

As I wind this up we've been home for 3 days, and some of you know that it's been quite a ride in the Shirer household. Curt was admitted to the hospital this morning for emergency abdominal surgery. He's resting quietly now, still in Lala Land. I won't go into detail tonight...will do that in a day or two, since it's 10 pm and I haven't slept since day before yesterday. But do come back here, because I have some great statistics to share with you about this year's mission trip. 

Thanks to all the ministry team, and to all those who supported us and prayed for us from home. We ask that you continue to pray for those whose lives we touched in Mexico. We know God is doing wonderful things in these villages. May His blessings be upon you as well!

Day 9, Saturday, Half Day at Home Base

We always do a half-day at the end of the mission, so we have time to sort out all our supplies, pack everything carefully in the trailer, and then clean up a bit for our final farewell dinner. And since tomorrow morning we LEAVE at 4:30 a.m., we definitely want to end the night fairly early!

After breakfast, I was FINALLY able to get a photo of Art (second from right). Here he is with fellow Montana farmers Brad and Himer (whose real name isn't Himer, but nobody would know who you were talking about if you said Layne). 

A few words about Art. He went with us on our early mission trips as part of the construction crew (farmers can build or fix ANYTHING). In those early days, Brenda was living in a little house in the Ranchitos area of San Carlos. helping short-term mission groups connect with small villages in the area that needed help. By the end of the first mission trip that Art attended, several of us were thinking, "Hmmmm, there could be a match here." And sure enough, in time, Art and Brenda got married and together built this ministry far beyond what either of them could imagine! (Isn't that what God promises?) Now they work together at Casa de Esperanza in the winter and spring, and farm together in Montana in the summer and fall. It's not a coincidence that Brenda came from a Canadian farming family!

Too bad the babies around here are so neglected! Juan Carlos is telling Alek some kind of a secret in Spanish.

 The final set-up:

Mark asked that we have everything as clean as possible for the final packing-up. No need to carry extra tons of Mexico dust back to Montana...it puts a dent in the gas mileage!

Here's Jessica cleaning off the Triage table:

Helmut and Anna, our greeters extraordinaire! They hail from Canada, and with their 8 children, they head to Mexico every winter in a motor home to escape the cold and to offer their wonderful kids an opportunity to minister alongside them in a different culture. Their children are extremely helpful, upbeat and energetic. They speak several languages (at least German, Spanish, and English; perhaps more.). It was wonderful to see the oldest three, Lili, Edgar and Rosie acting as interpreters when needed. And I got a kick out of listening to the conversations between them...Edgar might ask his sister a question in German, and she'd answer in Spanish. 

Here's the whole wonderful crew:

Another couple was on the move so much that I wasn't able to photograph them together: Mat and Donna from British Columbia were an invaluable asset to our day-to-day operations. They shepherded the local volunteers from the San Carlos Community Church and were always on hand to make sure everything flowed smoothly at each ministry site. Their servant hearts were so evident in everything they did. Donna led the praise music at each evening's devotions (accompanied by the young men Lucas and Edgar on guitar). Here they are in action (there was no other way to catch them!):

Matt showing a patient where to go next:

And Donna checking out the action at the dental hygiene table: 

Their goal is to leave the far north, move to San Carlos to work alongside Brenda and Art full-time.

After another delicious lunch...

The packing continues...

The doctors' tents and the pharmacy are always the last to pack up:

In case you're wondering what we do with leftover meds, they're packed into two separate categories. The ones that will expire before next year's mission will be given to local doctors to dispense to their patients who can't afford to buy them. The meds that will still be current next year are stored in a cool closet in the Andersons' home (remember that 8000 square-foot house?). We keep an inventory from year to year so we know what we already have on hand in Mexico.

And the empty pharmacy boxes? They double as cubbyhole storage in the dorm rooms at Art and Brenda's during the rest of the year.

Almost done!

Here's the final shot of the construction project. Not quite finished. The supports will all be painted black, and the shade canopy will be stretched over it, much like the one over the dining area.

In the afternoon there was a little free time to pack our suitcases, or rest, or shower, or just hang out.

A small group was going shopping at our favorite San Carlos shop, Sagitario. Since I'd missed Wednesday's shopping trip, I jumped in the van to go along. I took lessons from two of our team's power shoppers!

Back at "base camp" I wandered into the main meeting area. Himer had a guitar out, and Hanna started singing hymns in her beautiful soprano. I picked up Edgar's guitar and added my alto, and before we knew it, we had an hour-long impromptu praise and worship session, as more and more people came in and added their voices. When Himer and I had to leave to get cleaned up for dinner, all the others carried on in beautiful acapella 4-part harmony. It was spectacular! I recorded most of the songs on a recording app on my iPad, and a few hours ago when I tried to listen to them, not ONE of them came through. Probably operator error...I don't think I can blame that one on Mexican technology. I'll just have to let the memory of those beautiful hymns suffice.

Meanwhile Brenda and her tireless crew worked hard in the adjacent kitchen, preparing our feast for the evening:

Around 5:30 the volunteers from town, who were invited to our dinner, began arriving. They clean up pretty well, don't you think?

And on our last night in San Carlos, we were treated to a spectacular sunset silhouetting Tetakawi:

Pastor Glenn from the San Carlos Community Church opened in prayer:

And we all enjoyed appetizers and a special meal:

...followed by Mark's closing remarks and Lucas's slide show.

Then off to our rooms to finish packing and catch as many winks as we could before our 4:30 a.m. (sharp!) departure.

Vicam Pueblo, Day 8, Friday

Sunrise of our last full day's clinic:

Vicam Pueblo is another Yaqui village, and the poorest and most remote village we visited on this trip. I was starting to get sick that day, and we thought it would be best for me to stay back at camp, away from all the village dust that would aggravate my cough. That turned out to be a wise decision, because the team later told me that in addition to the normal dust from the village, the local men were mixing cement just upwind of the clinic site. Everyone got to breathe an extra amount of dust that day!

So I have only a few photos, shared by others on the trip. Lucas sent me a couple of emails with some amazing shots, but communications being what they are in Mexico, I never received them. Bummer! But we're going to try to see if we can put Lucas's video of the trip on the blog, or, if not, at least provide a link for you to click. 

So here are the few shots I have from Vicam Pueblo:

A typical Yaqui home:

The glasses table is always in high demand. We let each person test out the strength of the various magnifications of reading glasses by handing them a Bible in Spanish to read. And if they don't have a Bible at home, we send it home with them. It may be the only book they own. 

These next few photos were actually taken several days earlier at Vicam, but other than a dirt floor instead of concrete, it could have been Vicam Pueblo. The Yaqui men are characterized by their cowboy hats, bandanas, and often plaid shirts and denim jackets. The women wear bright colors, long skirts and shawls. Despite the dusty village, most of them are remarkably clean.

He's not a bandito... Many of the Yaquis wear their bandanas over their faces to keep from breathing the ubiquitous dust.

The women's shawls are multi-purpose, protecting them from sun, wind, and dust.

9 pm and we're finally ending a VERY long day! From this shot of the Benda family and friend Rachel, 

Can you tell that we're all winding down? 

Unfortunately, that's all I have from our day at Vicam Pueblo. But I'll include a few miscellaneous shots from throughout the mission:

Here's a common sight. We refill our water bottles from the cooler of "safe" water and try not to let any tap water into our mouths. That means brushing our teeth and rinsing toothbrushes with bottled water, and making sure not to open our mouths in the shower. As far as I know, nobody in the group was stricken with "Montezuma's Revenge" on this trip, though some of us ended up with a nasty respiratory bug. We know you'll all appreciate us bringing that souvenir home to share!

Mike is the perfect head of the Triage team. He loves the children, especially, and he often lets them hear their heartbeats with his stethoscope. It's a new experience for many of them!

This little guy was so proud of his balloons that there was NO WAY he was going to remove them from around his head and neck! So he couldn't hear his own heartbeat...his buddy had to listen for him.

I love this silhouette shot of Mark, "el jeffe." His attention to detail, with good-natured humor, is a character trait we all appreciate. He's firm but flexible, and I think he's really in his element when he's leading our mission trips. 

And here he gets a shoulder massage from Jessica to reward him for all his great work.

Finally got the whole pharmacy team to face the same direction...usually when I go to take pictures of them, I get the tops of 3 heads bending over paperwork, and 2 rear ends of those selecting meds from the cabinet. I think they'll appreciate this photo much more!

Apparently witchcraft is a real concern in many of the areas in Mexico. Here is a sign prohibiting witches from entering one of the Mexican churches

Here are two of the Glasses divas, Robin and Maureen, modeling their most fashionable eyewear. We provide all styles of sunglasses for the people to choose from, and usually the ones with the most "bling" are snapped up first.

And Rachel and Robin peddling eye drops, to soothe dust-encrusted eyelids.

The Mexican intercom system at work: when the nurses are free and ready for another patient to be brought to them, they hold up 2 fingers. That signals our San Carlos volunteers to escort the next person in line over to the nurses' station. And when they're finished with a patient who needs to go to the doctor, they hold up a fist. Then our volunteer will escort the patient to the next available doctor.

Tomorrow will be a welcome half day of clinic right here behind Casa de Esperanza. Then we'll sort and clean and pack all our gear and we'll enjoy a farewell dinner before heading out EARLY Sunday morning.