Good news: we did not get left in the parking lot at the AIM base as I had feared—praise the Lord for that! But it wasn’t much better, instead we got left at an obscure little park plaza in Reynosa, a border town about thirty minutes away from Matamoros. The three teams of Squad B were all huddled in a bus together with all of our bags to get our internal Mexico visas and then dropped in the heart of Reynosa. Ready, Set, Go!
Here’s all of squad B in front of the bus:
Wow. We had no idea what the heck we were doing. Other teams shot off ahead of us running towards something, while the rest of their teammates held their bags. We wondered how in the world they knew where they were going. Our team opted for us to all stick together and work through things as a team. We had no plan. We just knew that we needed to stay together and work it out. So we hoofed it with our 40-70 lb. loads on our backs and tried to ask locals where the bus station was so we could purchase our tickets to Palenque, the finishing point of our first race.
This is our official starting picture when we were dropped in Reynosa. Do we look like we have no idea what we’re doing? …cuz we don’t…
When we finally got to the bus station all the other teams had already arrived, one team had just bought out the last remaining direct tickets to Palenque, and the other team was next in line for the bus heading through Veracruz. We designated a few teammates to sit with all of our bags and Steph (our fearless Spanish speaker) along with Shawna and I went to investigate our options of travel. After a few phone calls to the aeropuerto to check on flights “just in case” it was cheaper, we finally purchased tickets on the last bus out at 9:45 that evening. Since they dropped us off in the park at about 1:00 pm that afternoon, we already had time to practice our waiting skills. Yay! Some people pulled our their journals, some cracked open a new novel to read, others played a quick game of hacky sac, Shawna pulled out her guitar, and I just thought of the best way to get comfortable on the dirty concrete floor as the roof constantly dripped water forming little cess pools on the floor…mmm…
This is us at the bus station with our long line of tickets for our over 40 hour journey that was only just beginning.
As I nestled into the little make-shift bed I had made in the jumble of packs around me and sang a few worship songs I thought about how insane this all really is. I thought back to my last Mexican adventure with a crazy group from Minnesota a few years prior and of all the things God taught me through that short 2 week trip. That was a ridiculous journey as well and I just shake my head as I think of the level of insanity I’ve now plummeted to. I can barely squeak out a comprehendible sentence in the Spanish language and I feel terribly ill-equipped to be a part of this ministry. I don’t know what to expect. I have no idea what is coming or how I’ll be used—but I’m jumping in. I
have to. I can’t explain this thing in me that says I must do this…all I know is that I
HAVE to do it. It’s what I was created for. Nothing will stop me now. nothing.
We arrived in Palenque just as the sun began to shine brightly in the windows more than 2 days later…and as soon as the bus stopped, the race was in full force. Ironically enough all of the B squad teams and one of the A teams rode the exact same bus into Palenque. It just so happened that with all of our layovers and connections we ended up on the same bus in the end…so much for all that strategy in the beginning eh? I was completely exhausted by the time we got there that I didn’t care even one ounce about the race anymore because my body just wanted me to lay down. Having only intermittent intervals of sleep for two days just doesn’t put me into the best of moods and surely doesn’t get me pumped for racing up stairs of ancient Mayan ruins at 8 in the morning.
This is us in our taxi racing towards the park…and man, those cab drivers sure know the meaning of “Rapido!” haha…it was a fun ride!
My small team was pretty much on the same page as me and so we decided to just take it easy, head to the park as a team, and walk up the stairs together. Other teams again had split to reach the top first and eek out the win. After it was all said and done, we got third place—which makes it sound not so bad, but third is actually last place since we just compete with the other Squad B teams. So we didn’t win the race, but we made it. We arrived in Palenque with no hiccups really, just a lot of waiting and sitting. God was all around us though through the entire journey. We met some people, worshiped, connected as a team, and truly started our journey together on the right foot. I can honestly say I’m glad to be here!
We made it! Team Nessa on the top of the ruins—our official end of the journey picture.
And the view was definitely worth it!
Praise the Lord!! We are in Palenque finally! This week is filled with more training for both Squad A and B as we live together at a Bible School just outside of town. We actually walk for 2 miles just to get an internet connection…so be thankful you’re hearing from me!! …hehe…you know I love it! 🙂 Seth Barnes, Gary Black, and Andrew Shearman, all mighty men of God, are just pouring into us in this time and equipping us with the tools we’ll need for this journey. It’s all about the IMPARTATION not the
information and I am SO thankful that these guys are taking the time to give us what God’s given them! I’m not leaving here until I have it all! No reason to go into the battle unequipped, right?
We’re already seeing miracles and the hand of the Lord all over this trip and our teams. I can’t wait to get into some actual hands on ministry with our small team. I have NO IDEA what we’re going to be doing…but man, it’s gonna be GOOD! Thanks for all your prayers!