I’ve been neglecting my personal blog in favor of more posting on the Red Team blog, so to make up for it, I thought I’d post my journaling or the adventure from Matamoros to Comalteco. It’s long, but it’s quite a story.
Enjoy…
What a strange and wonderful journey it has been so far. The trip from Matamoros to Veracruz was supposed to be about 16 hours of driving, but ours didn’t really work out that way. It seems our van had one problem after another, resulting in stop after stop and repeated searches for mechanics in various places. Five mechanics and $85 later, we have repacked brakes, a resealed thermostat, a thoroughly cleaned-out radiator, a nonleaking fuel line, and two new fuel filters. It’s far more work than one could get in the U.S. for $85, but it’s taken up a lot of our time and attention.
Even so, I’m grateful for what has happened to us. Every stop, every repair, was an opportunity to share the love of Christ with someone. After about four hours in the car with stops every 40 minutes to put more water in the radiator, we pulled over, in danger of overheating again. We looked up to find that we had stopped right in front of a sign for a mechanic’s shop. The mechanic turned out to be a Christian man named Abraham. He was a new believer who had accepted Christ when another Christian had broken down in front of his shop and presented him with the Gospel. Abraham thought the problem was our thermostat, which he resealed for us. He didn’t charge us, because he considered a gift to the Lord to aid a group of missionaries on their way to minister in the interior of Mexico . We asked if he’d allow us to pray for him, and he agreed. He asked us to pray for his son, who drinks too much, which we were very happy to do.
So then, we were back on the road. But Abraham’s thermostat seal didn’t resolve the problem for us. We still had to stop every 40 minutes or so for more water in the thermostat. We also couldn’t drive more than 35 miles an hour or we’d overheat immediately.
As you can imagine, this slowed our progress considerably.
So, by the end of our travel day, we had only made it to Tampico , which is about halfway between Matamoros and Veracruz . We found a cheap hotel in Tampico , ate some dinner, and crashed out.
The next morning, we went in search of yet another mechanic who could fix our radiator. There was a mechanic’s shop next door to our hotel, but they didn’t do radiators. They recommended a place for us to go, but the directions were confusing and we got lost. Frustrated and overheating again, we pulled into a gas station for refills of gas and water. There, a man pointed us to a radiator shop less than two blocks away. We very excitedly headed there, and we were not disappointed. The repair took some time (about three hours), but the result was a very thorough cleaning of our radiator (which was COMPLETELY plugged up), a new radiator cap, and a couple of gallons of coolant, all for $40. In the U.S. , it might have been five times that price. So the lesson is, if you’re going to break down, do it in Mexico . It’s much more affordable.
So, we were back on the road again…for an hour or so. Then, the engine began cutting out in short bursts. This continued for several minutes, and finally, it cut out entirely. We had been driving through a very rural area with no shoulders on the road or anything, but just as the engine was cutting out, we were limping into a small town. Once again, God was looking out for us in our distress.
At a nearby gas station we met Arturo, who helped us considerably. At first, we thought it might be that we had purchased bad gasoline. So, Arturo and Juan Carlos siphoned the gas out of our tank and into some large tankards we borrowed from the gas station. We then put in new gas from our reserve can, and Arturo also fixed a small crack he found in our fuel line. We fired it up and were on our way again.
By this point in was very late in the day, and we knew we couldn’t make it to Veracruz . So, we decided to set our sights on Poza Rica, a smaller city where Juan Carlos has some family. If we could make it there, we could spend the night with his aunt and uncle, and we’d also eat a home-cooked dinner, which sounded pretty great to us.
So, about 20 kilometers short of Poza Rica, the engine cut out again. It sputtered and surged, and then it died. Right on the side of a large hill. In pitch black darkness.
“What am I doing,” I thought to myself. “I’m way over my head here. I’m stuck on a Mexican highway with no shoulders in a van God told me to buy that keeps breaking down at the end of the second day of what was supposed to be a day-and-a-half journey, and we’re STILL no where close to Veracruz.”
We decided to pray. We asked God to help us make a good decision as to whether we should try walking along the highway, sleeping in the van, or camping beside it. We asked Him to protect us. Most of all, we just praised Him. We decided as a group that our praise for God would not be contingent on things always working out the way we wanted them to.
I was reminded of Joseph. He did the right thing, time and again, and his situation in life just continued to get worse. He was sold into slavery and thrown into prison, and yet the Lord was with him the entire time. As Andrew Sherman taught us just a few days ago, God is more interested in your character than your circumstances.
So, we praised Him. We said, “Hallelujah Anyway.” And just as we were about to start walking, Sarah suggested that I give the engine one more try.
It fired right up.
We jumped into the van and began singing praises to God, asking Him for the grace of just 20 more kilometers to get to Poza Rica and safety for the night. And we made it…sort of. We made it into Poza Rica, anyway. But t he van broke down again before we made it to Juan Carlos’ aunt’s house. Juan Carlos suggested that maybe we should have been more specific in our prayers. After another rest break, the van fired up once more, and we made it to the house.
Upon our arrival, we met many of Carlos’ relatives: grandparents, aunts, uncles, and cousins. They received us warmly and sat us down to dinner, pork in a chile sauce with black beans, homemade rice, and tortillas. It was absolutely delicious.
So, we stayed the night there and spent the nest morning fixing the van…again. Carlos knew of a mechanic in the colonia, and he quickly diagnosed our problem. The fuel filters were nearly completely clogged, preventing gas from getting to the engine. He replaced them both while Katherine and I waited. The repair cost us a total of $18 for parts and labor.
By this point, this portion of the race was pretty well over. To go from Poza Rica to Veracruz would take four more hours, and then to get to our ministry site, another 5 hours. It would be another whole day of travel, and a whole day of ministry lost. And seeing as we’ll only have about ten days to minister before we have to leave for our debrief, we decided it would be better to just scrap this portion of the race and head for our ministry site, a mere hour and a half from Poza Rica. We called the AIM office and told them of our plans. They agreed that we should proceed to the ministry site, and that the Road Rules Committee would have to come up with a suitable penalty.
Giving up on the race was a challenge for me. I guess I had more pride tied up in winning than I thought I did. But it was a good decision. It demonstrated that, though our team is competitive as can be, we also value the ministry more than the game. I feel good about that.
So we rolled into Carlos’ hometown of Comalteco late in the afternoon Tuesday. We’re staying with his father and mother. His father is a pastor here, and his house is built just behind his church. It’s a two-room house, constructed of cinderblocks, and plastered and painted on the outside. One room is a bedroom with two full-size beds in it. The other room has a kitchen area and another full-size bed in one corner. This is where the pastor and his wife usually sleep, but they’ve given up their bed for Katherine and me. The pastor and his family are sleeping inside the church, and have given us their beds and the full use of their house. We are humbled by their generosity and hospitality.
Last night, we went for a walk around the pueblo and talked of our plans for ministry this week. We’re planting a home church in a nearby pueblo called Mirador. Our plan is to spend several hours each day going door to door, visiting with the people, telling them about the love of Christ, and inviting them to our meetings. Then each evening, we’ll meet together for prayer and worship, breaking bread together, and teaching from the Bible. We pray we will reach many for the Lord there.
So far, the home visits and meetings are going very well. If we could just stay healthy… Being sick and far from home is terrible, but at least we know why we’re here. And that’s blessing enough for me.
So far, the home visits and meetings are going very well. If we could just stay healthy… Being sick and far from home is terrible, but at least we know why we’re here. And that’s blessing enough for me.
What a strange and wonderful journey it has been so far. The trip from Matamoros to Veracruz was supposed to be about 16 hours of driving, but ours didn’t really work out that way. It seems our van had one problem after another, resulting in stop after stop and repeated searches for mechanics in various places. Five mechanics and $85 later, we have repacked brakes, a resealed thermostat, a thoroughly cleaned-out radiator, a nonleaking fuel line, and two new fuel filters. It’s far more work than one could get in the U.S. for $85, but it’s taken up a lot of our time and attention.
Even so, I’m grateful for what has happened to us. Every stop, every repair, was an opportunity to share the love of Christ with someone. After about four hours in the car with stops every 40 minutes to put more water in the radiator, we pulled over, in danger of overheating again. We looked up to find that we had stopped right in front of a sign for a mechanic’s shop. The mechanic turned out to be a Christian man named Abraham. He was a new believer who had accepted Christ when another Christian had broken down in front of his shop and presented him with the Gospel. Abraham thought the problem was our thermostat, which he resealed for us. He didn’t charge us, because he considered a gift to the Lord to aid a group of missionaries on their way to minister in the interior of Mexico . We asked if he’d allow us to pray for him, and he agreed. He asked us to pray for his son, who drinks too much, which we were very happy to do.
So then, we were back on the road. But Abraham’s thermostat seal didn’t resolve the problem for us. We still had to stop every 40 minutes or so for more water in the thermostat. We also couldn’t drive more than 35 miles an hour or we’d overheat immediately.
As you can imagine, this slowed our progress considerably.
So, by the end of our travel day, we had only made it to Tampico , which is about halfway between Matamoros and Veracruz . We found a cheap hotel in Tampico , ate some dinner, and crashed out.
The next morning, we went in search of yet another mechanic who could fix our radiator. There was a mechanic’s shop next door to our hotel, but they didn’t do radiators. They recommended a place for us to go, but the directions were confusing and we got lost. Frustrated and overheating again, we pulled into a gas station for refills of gas and water. There, a man pointed us to a radiator shop less than two blocks away. We very excitedly headed there, and we were not disappointed. The repair took some time (about three hours), but the result was a very thorough cleaning of our radiator (which was COMPLETELY plugged up), a new radiator cap, and a couple of gallons of coolant, all for $40. In the U.S. , it might have been five times that price. So the lesson is, if you’re going to break down, do it in Mexico . It’s much more affordable.
So, we were back on the road again…for an hour or so. Then, the engine began cutting out in short bursts. This continued for several minutes, and finally, it cut out entirely. We had been driving through a very rural area with no shoulders on the road or anything, but just as the engine was cutting out, we were limping into a small town. Once again, God was looking out for us in our distress.
At a nearby gas station we met Arturo, who helped us considerably. At first, we thought it might be that we had purchased bad gasoline. So, Arturo and Juan Carlos siphoned the gas out of our tank and into some large tankards we borrowed from the gas station. We then put in new gas from our reserve can, and Arturo also fixed a small crack he found in our fuel line. We fired it up and were on our way again.
By this point in was very late in the day, and we knew we couldn’t make it to Veracruz . So, we decided to set our sights on Poza Rica, a smaller city where Juan Carlos has some family. If we could make it there, we could spend the night with his aunt and uncle, and we’d also eat a home-cooked dinner, which sounded pretty great to us.
So, about 20 kilometers short of Poza Rica, the engine cut out again. It sputtered and surged, and then it died. Right on the side of a large hill. In pitch black darkness.
“What am I doing,” I thought to myself. “I’m way over my head here. I’m stuck on a Mexican highway with no shoulders in a van God told me to buy that keeps breaking down at the end of the second day of what was supposed to be a day-and-a-half journey, and we’re STILL no where close to Veracruz.”
We decided to pray. We asked God to help us make a good decision as to whether we should try walking along the highway, sleeping in the van, or camping beside it. We asked Him to protect us. Most of all, we just praised Him. We decided as a group that our praise for God would not be contingent on things always working out the way we wanted them to.
I was reminded of Joseph. He did the right thing, time and again, and his situation in life just continued to get worse. He was sold into slavery and thrown into prison, and yet the Lord was with him the entire time. As Andrew Sherman taught us just a few days ago, God is more interested in your character than your circumstances.
So, we praised Him. We said, “Hallelujah Anyway.” And just as we were about to start walking, Sarah suggested that I give the engine one more try.
It fired right up.
We jumped into the van and began singing praises to God, asking Him for the grace of just 20 more kilometers to get to Poza Rica and safety for the night. And we made it…sort of. We made it into Poza Rica, anyway. But t he van broke down again before we made it to Juan Carlos’ aunt’s house. Juan Carlos suggested that maybe we should have been more specific in our prayers. After another rest break, the van fired up once more, and we made it to the house.
Upon our arrival, we met many of Carlos’ relatives: grandparents, aunts, uncles, and cousins. They received us warmly and sat us down to dinner, pork in a chile sauce with black beans, homemade rice, and tortillas. It was absolutely delicious.
So, we stayed the night there and spent the nest morning fixing the van…again. Carlos knew of a mechanic in the colonia, and he quickly diagnosed our problem. The fuel filters were nearly completely clogged, preventing gas from getting to the engine. He replaced them both while Katherine and I waited. The repair cost us a total of $18 for parts and labor.
By this point, this portion of the race was pretty well over. To go from Poza Rica to Veracruz would take four more hours, and then to get to our ministry site, another 5 hours. It would be another whole day of travel, and a whole day of ministry lost. And seeing as we’ll only have about ten days to minister before we have to leave for our debrief, we decided it would be better to just scrap this portion of the race and head for our ministry site, a mere hour and a half from Poza Rica. We called the AIM office and told them of our plans. They agreed that we should proceed to the ministry site, and that the Road Rules Committee would have to come up with a suitable penalty.
Giving up on the race was a challenge for me. I guess I had more pride tied up in winning than I thought I did. But it was a good decision. It demonstrated that, though our team is competitive as can be, we also value the ministry more than the game. I feel good about that.
So we rolled into Carlos’ hometown of Comalteco late in the afternoon Tuesday. We’re staying with his father and mother. His father is a pastor here, and his house is built just behind his church. It’s a two-room house, constructed of cinderblocks, and plastered and painted on the outside. One room is a bedroom with two full-size beds in it. The other room has a kitchen area and another full-size bed in one corner. This is where the pastor and his wife usually sleep, but they’ve given up their bed for Katherine and me. The pastor and his family are sleeping inside the church, and have given us their beds and the full use of their house. We are humbled by their generosity and hospitality.
Last night, we went for a walk around the pueblo and talked of our plans for ministry this week. We’re planting a home church in a nearby pueblo called Mirador. Our plan is to spend several hours each day going door to door, visiting with the people, telling them about the love of Christ, and inviting them to our meetings. Then each evening, we’ll meet together for prayer and worship, breaking bread together, and teaching from the Bible. We pray we will reach many for the Lord there.
So far, the home visits and meetings are going very well. If we could just stay healthy… Being sick and far from home is terrible, but at least we know why we’re here. And that’s blessing enough for me.
