This morning started in Puebla, where we had breakfast at the hotel and then devotions. Sue had asked each of us to find a single verse that describes what we have experienced on this trip. These are the verses we each came up with:
Ken & Jordan: 1 Timothy 4:6-8
Eric: Rev. 3:16-20
Laura: Matthew 5:3-12
Amy: Matthew 6:26
Dave: Psalm 121
Chris: Proverbs 19:21
Shawn: Matthew 5:3-12
Jen: Luke 6:38
Erin: 1 Corinthians 12:12
Bret: 1 Kings 17:8-16 and Luke 10:17-20
Jeremy: Proverbs
Karlie: 1 John 3:18
Sue: Micah 6:8
Sue also based her devotion on Romans 12 and gave us each a verse to read. All in all it was interesting to hear so many points of view, who took what from the trip, and how we were touched by both our service to La Palmilla and their service to us.
We hopped on the bus for the two-hour drive to Mexico City. Every mile closer to home is another mile away from La Palmilla. We can feel the distance tugging at our hearts already.
We made the Mexico City limits at about 11:30 and pulled into the bus station a scant 45 minutes later. We took taxis to the hotel, about twenty minutes away. A short word about the taxis, and traffic in general, in Mexico City. I have come to believe that the lines painted on the road are completely arbitrary, more guides than actual lanes. At least, that's how everyone seems to drive. Traffic lights are also optional, left to the discretion of the driver. Now, at no time did I feel my life was in jeopardy. However, I was praying for the lives of the pedestrians outside the cab.
Twenty minutes later we were at the Hotel Palace and, praise God, no one died along the way. I am constantly amazed at how everyone drives and yet there don't seem to be a lot of accidents. They're either very good or very lucky. Or perhaps God is looking out for them. I'm not sure which it is yet.
After checking in to our hotel where it seems everyone knows Jen on a first-name basis (they ought to; she's been coming here for 24 years), we had lunch at the hotel and then we split up for a brief while. Some of us went upstairs to rest, and others went with Jen to the National Museum of Anthropology (Museo Nacional De Anthropologia). On Sundays, admission is free to museums in Mexico, although we found out that only applies to Mexican nationals. Still, the cost was only $50 pesos (about $4) per person. It was definitely worth it. We didn't have a lot of time to spend there, but the short amount of time we spend we saw a lot of the native history of Mexico. For my part, because we had such a short amount of time, I took as many pictures as I could and then bought a book for $78 pesos that explained it all. There were exhibits for the Maya, Inca, Oaxaca, and other cultures, plus some artifacts from when Cortez arrived from the East.
After the Museum we returned to the hotel to pick people up to go to the Artesanas Ciudela (Artesans Market). We spent about an hour or so looking over wares similar to the ones we saw in Puebla but there were a lot of differences. Everything seemed to be of higher quality and more expensive looking but many of the prices were lower. It was an interesting contrast to the market in Puebla. In the center of the market is a long rectangular open area with an altar to the Santa Maria de Guadalupe at one end. There were several merchants with brightly colored blankets, Lucha Libre (literally “free fighting,” Mexican-style wrestling) masks, handmade guitars, silver jewelry, and colorful artwork on rough handmade paper.
We walked back to the hotel after the market closed at 6:00, and it started to sprinkle. We took time off to rest up a bit before going to dinner and met at 7:30 in the lobby to walk the two blocks to Sanborn's. By then the rain had stopped, and the streets glistened in the fading daylight.
Sanborn's is a department store with a restaurant in it. The food there is great, with several different fares to choose from like salads, soups, seafood, beef and the like. They also have the world famous Sanborn coffee. For those who enjoy good coffee, I highly recommend it.
We had a relaxed dinner and shared stories from the past week. Afterward we shopped a bit in Sanborn's and returned to the hotel. It's our last night in Mexico. Tomorrow our flight takes off from Mexico City at 10:15 so we need to be at the airport by 8:15 or so. We should be back in Philadelphia sometime around 6:30.
We have a lot of stories to share, stories that have not made this blog. The next time I update this, we should be in the United States. Until then, hasta luego.
This morning was especially tough for our team as we bid farewell to our new good friends at La Palmilla. Our host families fed us well and helped us get our baggage to Jennifer's house by 8:30. We loaded everything onto a truck and then piled into pickups, SUVs and minivans and headed to Tlapacoyan to catch our 9:40 bus to Puebla.
Dave is feeling better today, but he's still not 100%. Still, it's good to see him back on his feet. I know a lot of people back home have been praying for him so we thank you all for that.
We boarded the bus in Tlapacoyan and prepared ourselves for the ascent into Teziutlan. The road winds and turns back and forth, back and forth, as the bus rolls and pitches up the narrow roadway. I am still in awe of the bus driver's skill at keeping the bus on the road while dodging oncoming traffic. All we could do was trust in God that he would deliver us whole. A few of us took Dramamine before the trip, remembering the road from last week. So when we got to Teziutlan we were all still basically in once piece and feeling OK. The trip on to Puebla was basically flat and straight but the bus does bounce quite a bit.
We went on to the hotel, back up the ramps to the bridge over the road that we remembered from last Saturday when we were here before. Was it really only a week ago that we were in Puebla? Seems a lot longer. But we stayed at a different hotel this time, Hotel Grenada, which was very nice and had big soft beds and hot showers. After a short break to settle in we had lunch in the hotel restaurant and a lot of people ordered las hamburgesas (hamburgers) which the waiter described as having mayonnaise, mustard, butter, avocado, lettuce – you know, the classic burger. (We all had a good laugh about that.) Ken had some trouble ordering the hamburger and especially when he said “with cheese.” The men of La Palmilla reminded us that Chiz (pronounced like”cheese”) is a slang term kids use for going to the bathroom. So once Ken asked for the burger con queso everything was fine.
After lunch Jen took us to the market near the center of Puebla. The market is a couple rows of shops with awnings with all kinds of wares laid out in front plus the more expensive items inside. Most of the stuff outside was your typical tourist fare – brightly colored handbags with Puebla stitched on them, small pottery, leather wallets, toy guitars, wooden snakes, the kind of stuff you find wherever you find tourists. But a lot of the stuff in the back was very nice and very nicely priced. Remembering the lesson Jen taught us before we came down, we haggled for pretty much everything, and for the most part got what we wanted for what we offered.
While we were at the market the skies opened up and poured rain for about ten minutes. We huddled under awnings until the cloudburst passed and then we continued on to the center of town.
In the middle of Puebla is the city center, el Zócalo, with a cathedral on one side and the government offices/governor's residence on the other. The first cathedral we went in, Santo Domingo's Church, was built in the 1500s and had amazing gold fixtures and gilded wood everywhere (it seemed a bit out of place among some of the poverty we've seen thus far but it's quite old and historic). There was a wedding going on in one room (the Capilla del Rosario) that absolutely shone with all the gold in it. It was quite beautiful.
The second cathedral we went in, Puebla's Cathedral of the Immaculate Conception, was just as old but not as opulent as the other. It's inspiring to see how people worshiped when they first came to the new world. Over the centuries they have collected artifacts and items that were important to how they relate to God.
We still have a few on our trip who need prayers. Jeremy is having a lot of pain in his back and his chest and feels generally run down, and has been experiencing chills. Erin has a heat rash that is very painful, although she was able to find a farmacia that had an anti-fungal cream that we're hoping will work. Jordan has a sore throat and is finding it difficult to eat anything. And Karlie and Sue have been having digestive system troubles since we got to Puebla. So please keep praying for our team as we return.
In two more days we will be back in New Jersey. Tomorrow we will be in Mexico City to see the sights there. We have been so blessed on this journey already but we are definitely looking forward to being home. Still, a part of us will long for the friends we have made, the places we've been, the sights we have seen in Mexico.
Today started later than other days. We managed to sleep in to about 8 AM (we've been getting up every day at 6 but today is not a work day). When we got to Jen's house at 9 we heard the news that Dave is still not well, and in fact had taken a turn for the worse. Jen said she'd stay at the house until the doctor got there, and we would go on to the beach without her and she would catch up to us. She wrote a note for Adan and gave me some money to buy lunch for everyone.
Before our devotion we went upstairs to pray over Dave and then we sang “The Lord Bless you and Keep You.” This has been our rally cry on this trip. When we sang it at the church the other night, the villagers were very moved. Our prayer this morning was that God would touch Dave with his healing hand and put him back on his feet.
Our devotion this morning was given by Shawn Gross and was based on 2 Corinthians 12 – When I am weak, then I am strong. She also talked about 1 Corinthians 13, agape love. The love we have felt from the villagers this week has been incredible. Everyone has given freely of everything they have in order to make us feel welcome and comfortable. Everyone has been amazing, and we've felt the love of God like never before.
We went up to the church where we could see the work that was completed when we went to Martinez yesterday. The footers and retaining wall for the altar have been poured. There is an asymmetry to the sanctuary but it seems only fitting. After all, the love God has for us is so much greater than the love we have for Him. In this, our relationship is asymmetrical, just like the sanctuary of el templo.
About 10:30 we piled into several trucks to go to la playa – the beach. The drive from La Palmilla to the beach is about an hour. On the way we stopped at Martinez de la Torre for chickens. We estimated 5 people per chicken so 14 chickens for 70 people. We got 4 with no chile, 5 with chiltepin (very spicy), and 5 with barbeque. Then we went on to the beach.
San Rafael is the last little town we hit before the beach. It was originally settled by the French. It's a smaller town than Martinez or Tlapacoyan but it has a certain European charm to it – stucco buildings, statues, fountains, everything you'd expect in an old European city, yet with a Mexican undercurrent to it. The shore area looks like a shore area – lots of hotels and restaurants, lots of recreation areas, lots of people out trying to make money from the tourists. When we got to the beach we settled in a cabana on the beach with a thatched palm roof and several hamacas (hammocks). The hamaca is my favorite place to lie down. It's open and breezy and very relaxing. At our host family's house they have two hamacas and I found it best to lie there when we were resting after desayuno (breakfast).
The sand was very hot. It's darker than the sand at the Jersey shore and it burns your feet so you either have to run across the sand or wear your sandals down to the water. Some of us waded and some swam, while a few of the guys from the village went fishing. Fishing is different here – they use a large net with weights on it to trap the fish and scoop them up. However, after early success they didn't catch many fish.
There were vendors everywhere selling trinkets – little carved birds, bracelets, shell sculptures, and my favorite – hamacas! Eric wanted to buy a hammock but they were 150 pesos and he only had 100 so the guy said OK, 100. Then he sold them to everyone for 100. So I got my hamaca. I know just where it's going when we get home, too.
The chicken was fantastic. I'm all about the picante so I took the chiltepin which also came with roasted jalapeños, onions and cactus. It was so delicious, roasted on the fire and falling off the bone.
We stayed on the beach until about 5 and then we headed back to La Palmilla for a farewell service at the church. We got to the church at 7 (most of us, anyway... we got off to a late start but that's fairly normal here!) and the service began in earnest. Their services are always well-attended but tonight we had people in the overflow and out the back door, all waiting to say Adios to La Caravana. A few of us got up and gave a short testimony about what we experienced on our trip, translated by Jennifer. We spoke of the incredible love of the villagers, and of the amazing way they showed their gratitude for us. We each feel like we received more than we gave while we were here.
After our testimony and a sermon we heard from Adan from the building committee. He presented us with receipts for the materials and services they purchased with the money we brought down – 120,000 pesos. Afterward the praise band asked us to play a couple more songs and we played a couple easy songs we all know. Our favorite part was when we taught the church how to do “Allelu allelu allelu allelujah – Praise ye the Lord.” Everyone enjoyed the standing up and sitting down. It was fun.
We finished with communion, which in Spanish is slightly different format than we're used to but includes all the same elements, confession, prayer, and sharing the body and blood of Jesus. Afterward we lined up outside and said goodbye to each of the villagers as they walked by, while they each said to us “Dios los bendiga” - God bless you all. All in all the service lasted three hours. It was very moving.
It was tough for each of us to say goodbye to our host families. For me, over cena with Damian and Doris, I found it hard to put my feelings into words, especially in Spanish. But I finally offered this sentiment, which I believe is shared by us all: “Yo regreso a Estados Unidos, pero mi corazón esta aqui.” I return to the United States, but my heart is here.
