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Mexico Mission TripMission trips by members of Pleasant Grove Community Church |
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The travel to and from Mexico was uneventful. A 7-passenger van was rented to accommodate the 5 men and their luggage; it was rented in San Antonio and eventually driven over 1000 miles. I was one of the two drivers and did most of the driving in Mexico, especially in Monterrey.
We arrived in Monterrey about 4:30pm on Sunday, 7 Jan as a caravan of 3 vans, a pick-up and a car. Another group of 19 was from Moline, IL and included children and their pastor and his wife. We went to a church service in the NW part of the city (population between 2 and 3 million). It was obvious that this is a God-honoring church. The spirit and enthusiasm were astounding and very up lifting. The congregation, although small, is genuinely in love with the Lord. After the service, the Moline group was assigned individual homes while we traveled back across Monterrey to set-up our housekeeping with a short-term missionary couple from Loveland, CO. They will be there 2 years.
While the Moline group had daily work with children and women we worked in a recently purchased office building (originally described to me as a strip mall). This building has full basement and 2 above ground levels. It is of concrete and block construction. The building housed multiple small offices each with a bathroom. The project is continuing to remodel the small ‘locales’ into various sized rooms for the planned activities.
By mid-week it was very apparent that not all of the projects would be finished but we worked on, diligently.
Our days started with wake-up call at 6:30, driving to the facility for breakfast and then work, work, work until 12:30 or 1:00 and a break for lunch (usually cold cuts, fruit, chips, soda, etc.). One lunch was tortilla soups (2 kinds) accompanied by a salad made from lettuce and cactus (what type I don’t know); those dishes were very good. In the evenings we went to the church across town (never did get the name of that facility) for dinner. The Mexican ladies that prepared the meals really outdid themselves; that food was extremely good.
This church was a two-story structure with windows but many of the panes missing. The temperature was around 40 degrees (Fahrenheit) and we really got cold those evenings. We got to bed about 10:30 each night after showers. Our sleeping quarters were very adequate but no heat – so – we wore socks and warm winter pajamas.
This trip was a very meaningful experience and I look forward to another, the Lord willing. The group sent an appreciation letter for the $500 used toward materials and supplies. I would strongly recommend others to be involved in this type of work. If and when I hear of another trip I will let people know of the opportunity.