I woke up this morning with a headache, sore throat, and fever. Some of the other World Racer’s have been passing around a cold and now it is my turn. We were picked up at 9:00 and driven an hour back to Palapa where we had our day off last week. We were invited to attend a church service with about 100 other people from the surrounding area and from 2 hours away. The service was held by Pastor Samuel our local contact in the serene setting beside the river. The other WR teams were there so it was a little reunion. The service started up and the music was so loud that my head felt like it was going to explode.
I went down towards the water and put my head down to have some quiet time. About 30 seconds later I heard a noise, looked up, and my eyes met those of a curious 9 year old girl. I started talking to Olivia and it wasn’t long before four of her friends joined us. We talked about animals, school, bugs, and other fun stuff. One of the boys picked some oranges from a nearby tree and shared them with us. About an hour into the service the congregation started shaking hands. I asked one of the boys if the service was over and he told me no. I asked him if the services here are long and he replied, “Yes they are long, rather long.” He wasn’t kidding two hours later the service ended after much singing, dancing, and preaching. After the service three World Racer’s got baptized along side three Mexicans.
Mexico knows hospitality. We were served a plate with hot beef, rice, and tortillas and a cup of Jamaica juice. Then our team climbed back into the van for the hour long bus ride home. This evening I took it easy and tried to sleep off the cold.
