update on journey so far!

Well I’ve been on the road for a fortnight and it feels like a lot longer, in a good way!  The first week was spent in the States helping prepare for the trip and driving from Oregon in the North to Arizona in the South, via Redding and Los Angeles in California, collecting team mates along the way!

We’ve been in Mexico for a week now and have visited three places - a small town (Pescquina), a city (in Cinola) and a coastal resort (including a work camp).  In Cinola state and Pescquina we worked in partnership with local churches and in Pescquina we got to visit people in their own homes and do some childrens work.

Highlights so far have been:

-          Seeing the sights of LA and the road trip in the States

-          Driven both the camper van (in States) and the big car towing the tent trailer (in Mexico! – slightly scary both for me and my passengers!!)

-          Seeing the children responding to the Bible stories and being keen to act out the story of the good Samaritan (the boys in Pescquina particularly enjoyed the part where the guy gets beaten up!)

-          Meeting people from the Tricqui (hope that is spelt correctly) tribe and seeing their faces light up when the audio Bible was played to them in their own language

-          Seeing young people help lead the church in Pescquina

-          Visiting a work camp on the coast (where agricultural workers and their families live – up to 6000 people on a base where each family has one room and an outside cooking area.  These camps are known for high rates of violence and alcohol use).  I enjoyed spending time with mother Olivia and her two children Montserrat (aged 5) and Jesus (aged 2) as well as telling the story of Jesus calming the storm with Spanish translation to a group of children!

-          Getting to swim in 2 pools – hurrah!

‘Pause’ points (both sad and funny):

-          Seeing a mother and her children stay for ages after a church service in Pescquina so they could share in the meal.  All four children, including the toddler ate 3 platefuls of food as they were so hungry.  Thankfully we were able to send them home with extra food too.

-          My skirt being pulled down by children when they were trying to get the stickers I was giving out (praise God for leggings underneath!)

-          My team mates from the States finding my accent and use of the English language amusing

-          Observing the living conditions at the work camp

Vital sleeping statistics (if you’re interested!):

Bed: 8 nights      Trailer tent: 5 nights        Floor: 1 night      Tent: 0 nights (hurrah!)

Next stop: to the Mexican mountains (ie the tent will now come in useful)!