After 3 days, 3 planes, 3 buses and a van we arrived in Palenque, Mexico 6:30 Tuesday morning.
What should have been our first Race Day turned into an altogether different adventure. We landed in the airport in Cancun to find that our team accounts had been closed; this meant we had no available funds to get from Cancun to Palenque. After some re-arranging of money we were able to purchase bus tickets, the only problem was that there were not enough seats. So my team and team BOLD (the married team) stayed behind in the bus station while the rest of our squad boarded at 11:30 pm to begin their 12 hour drive. We purchased our tickets for 11 am and began to wander what we would do for the next 11.5 hours. Sleep in the bus station? No good- you aren’t even allowed to lie down in the bus station! Camp on the beach? No good- we had no idea where the beach was or how to get there. Finally we found a cheap enough hotel and with 6 of us to a room settled in for the night.
We loaded the bus Monday and were off. I found myself beside a very curious guy- asking not entirely appropriate questions and selflessly offering his shoulder for me to sleep on as well as his services as a masseuse (both of which I politely declined). About midnight I awoke to two Mexican Police pacing the aisle complete with M16s. They questioned and searched a few people then focused their inquisition on my helpful friend in the next seat. They searched him, his bag and asked if we were traveling together. Then they had quite a bit to talk to him about, granted I could not understand any of it. All I know is that after that, I no longer felt the need to sleep on the bus.
Anyway, we are staying at Shekinah Bible School, which is set on beautiful rolling hills with mountains in the distance. We have beds with no mattresses and real showers, so life if good. Our days have been spent exploring the city and doing some logistical and cross cultural training. Please pray that the language barrier would not be an issue here and that God will speak through us even beyond the language. I will update you all again soon.
