I think that the trip from Matamoros to Veracruz was supposed to be about a 12 hour drive. We made it halfway, to Tampico, in about 12 hours. Yes it’s a race, but we’re taking the scenic route.
So our Mama Jama van has a little bit of a problem. About 30 to 45 minutes into the race, we noticed that we were overheating. We pulled over and broke out our water jug and a towel. Gary went to work trying to fix the problem. It wasn’t long until we were back on the road….but then it wasn’t long until we pulled over again, either.
And so that was the day. Stop and go. At one point we were on a stretch of road in the middle of nowhere Mexico (at least that’s how I translated it!), and we pulled over to refill the radiator in front of a lone building. Praise the Lord, it was a mechanic’s shop!
We pulled in and Juan Carlos went to work explaining our problem. Come to find out, our mechanic was also a Christian named Abraham. He was a new believer, but very eager to help out a group of missionaries. He wanted to check out our van and work on it for free. We were stopped for about a hour while he fiddled with the radiator. After he finished, we prayed with him and encouraged him along in his new journey with Christ. We left, praising God for putting Abraham on our path.
It didn’t take long to figure out that we had only gotten a quick fix. And shortly after that we were pulled over on the side of the road again. The whole day continued with stops on the side of the road, stops at gas stations to refill our water jug, and slow driving to keep the engine as cool as possible.
Sarah and I began to wonder if the guy who sold us the van was telling us the truth when he said he drove it all the way from Florida to Texas. His words, “It will definitely get you to Guatemala,” rang in all our heads. Still yet, we are convinced that God brought us to this van for a reason. There is no other explanation for the way it all worked out. We trust that God has big plans for this van, no matter how much of a hassle it’s been to get to Veracruz.
As night closed in, we finally made it halfway, to Tampico. This city is actually quite large, and we were impressed with all the hotels, restaurants, and stores we’ve seen here. I saw a TGI Friday’s, a Sam’s Club, and a Best Western. We found a little Hotel on the side of the main road and got two rooms for the night. It wasn’t the Ritz, but for our tired bodies, it served its purpose. Some of us wished it had been a Holiday Inn Express, and then perhaps we’d magically gain the knowledge to fix our radiator after we woke up in the morning.
So today, we are back inside the Mama Jama van, trying to navigate through a bustling city filled with cars, backstreets, and Spanish words, to find a place to fix this beast. We stopped at a automotive shop and they checked it out. The problem is that the water inside the radiator isn’t circulating. It’s not the thermostat, as we originally thought. He has given us directions to a little-known radiator repair shop down a backstreet.
Here we sit, locked in between houses, mini-super convenience stores, and a school of some kind. The kids scream and play joyously in the background as we wait approximately two hours for our radiator to be removed and repaired.
God is with us, and we don’t doubt that. This incredible journey we have embarked upon may be starting off slow, but we press on toward the goal. Our armor is on, the battle has begun, and we stand firm in our faith. Pray for us as our journey continues. Pray that we find cheap repairs, and that this is the only problem with the van we encounter. Pray that we find our way to our destination, that we minister along the way to whoever comes into our path, and that we have the endurance for this potentially three-day journey. May God be glorified in everything we do.
We leave you from this mechanic shop in Tampico with words from a song.
Blessed be His name, on the road marked with suffering.
Though there is pain in the offering, blessed be His name.
– Ashley Musick, from Team Doulos
