So this if the first time in 15 missions that I did not
bring an overstuffed 52 pound suitcase or 2!!! I actually “packed light” with a
35 pound carry on & probably a 25 pound backpack. The no checked luggage
was WONDERFUL!!!!! I decided a lot of what I sometimes bring for the kids I
could get in country as I understood the needs.
The flight from SLC to Mexico City was easy – one movie
& some reading & a snack & we were there. It was all uneventful
until we landed & I grabbed my cell phone that had been plugged in & on
airplane mode I thought BUT had somehow decided to update itself on the gogo
wireless…at least to the point where you have to log on & it has a “few
more steps” that of course require wifi that I of course didn’t have when I
landed. I breezed thru immigration – I had been shown how to complete
everything on line & printed it out so that was a breeze but after
immigration you have to go back thru security with your next boarding pass…the
electronic one that was on my phone I couldn’t activate!!!! One of the ladies
just outside of immigration tried to help me with my phone but there is no
internet in the area she did help me get a paper boarding pass so that I could
get to the gate area….bless her heart. In the terminal I assumed I could get on
wifi but that was wrong – I tried 3 different restaurants or bars with wifi
& none would get my phone activated.
At this point I was desperate realizing that I would be landing in
Chiapas with no way to call or contact anyone if I needed to….no whatsapp, no
calling, no texting – YIKES!!!! But I decided to not “borrow trouble” something
I tell others.
The Tuxtla airport was TINY it had gates for 4 planes but we
were the only plane there….aside from one very old plane off in a grassy field.
They did have a jet bridge though & some places I have been have not had
that. It was pouring rain when we landed & hot so think sauna like
conditions. AND….once I got outside the luggage area (that I didn’t need to
stop at 😊 ) there was a
young man with an Op Smile sign & my name…so it all worked out without a
phone!!!
My driver was Edgar who was 26 & has lived hi entire
life in San Cristobal – he drove a beat up car I have never heard of or seen on
the roads on the US….but I was okay with that. He spoke only Spanish & my
Spanglish was very rusty from the last time I used it over a year ago….I REALLY
need to learn Spanish 0 that Rosetta Stone still in the box is not helping me
-I need an immersion class or something!!! The drive from the airport to San Cristobal
was about 90 min – mostly because the speed limit was 90 Km/hr & the car
only went about 60 km/hr. We drove on a 2 lane paved road that wound thru the
mountains – I din not expect that at all. Edgar drove very close to the right
side of the road so that all the other cars could pass him. Our conversation
was probably at a kindergarten level based on my Spanglish but I found out he
has one older brother, his mom died of breast cancer when her was 12 & his
father is not in the picture so it has been him & his brother raising each
other.
He talked about San Cristobal with a sweet reverence saying
he loves it there it is “muy tranquil” & muy bonita”. They do burn trash
here like in other countries so we saw that a few times along the drive. He was
super nice. There were not many places where people seemed to live along the
way – a few small “shanty towns” but no real infrastructure. San Cristobal is a
larger city with a large church in the main town square & cobblestone
narrow streets with a colonial feel to it – much like some of the other South
American countries I have been in. I got
to the hotel & mission #1 was to see if I could get my phone to wor –
within 5 min I was on the hotel wifi & my phone set up completed –
HOORAY!!! Brittany the darling girl from Denver who was my Morocco roommate is
my roommate here so that is really fun. I got settled in & when I scanned
my emails I saw that Brother Perez from my church had emailed me back & has
some very specific needs of church members here – I immediately teared up &
realized – I am on the Lords errand. Perhaps I thought this mission trip was
for me to get my self rejuvenated but really I am here for many other purposes
still to unfold. I am going to church tomorrow & will met Brother Perez.
Brittany came back – they have screened 300 children & we will do 110
surgeries this week. A group were going to a local place for dinner so I joined
them. Katrin my dear sweet friend was
out with another group so we connected & walked back to the hotel together.
She comes on this mission every year so she is my official “guide &
leader”. Brittany & I talked & got caught up & now it is almost
midnight & time for bed. I am SO GRATEFUL to be here & see how this
week unfolds for me, the children & families here in Chiapas & the
local member of my church. There is a master plan of that I am sure but I don’t
know what it is…I do know I am supposed to be on this mission for perhaps MANY
reasons & I am BLESSED. Good Night from San Cristobal de las Casas Chiapas
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