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!
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!
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