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.