Mexico - summer 2010

Well, we had a great time in Monterrey - just with a few unexpected adventures! We arrived shortly (like 2 days) after MAJOR flooding occurred in many parts of Mexico from Hurricane Alex - Monterrey was a "flood disaster" according to news reports. There was no damage where los abuelos live since they don't live near a river or mountains, but there were so many who lost everything! Victor and his folks were able to take some clothes to one of the shelters (hopefully we'll have some photos to post soon). The first week we just enjoyed family - it rained almost every day that first week, making the temperatures much nicer than they normally would be. The second week was the beginning of their three-week long Bible school marathon! They have VBS at their two mission churches and then their home church each summer - we try to plan our vacation to be able to help out some with at least part of that. This year Victor used the van to take workers to and from Mission Las Palmas and he helped with rec a few days. We discovered after the first week down there that Hurricane Alex's effects were not all behind us - they reported on the news that the Texas/Mexican border had been flooded and there was no way to get to Laredo (our normal crossing point). We didn't worry too much since we still had several days left of our vacation - surely it wouldn't last long, right? Well, as the week progressed and things didn't look any better (the highways were lined with 18 wheelers waiting for the road to reopen), I started to worry. The news reports showed people who had been waiting in line for hours, for days, they had run out of food, water, gasoline, they were getting desperate, to the point that some were trying to go through the road blocks and getting washed away . . . I was imagining myself in that situation with three small children . . . Aaaahhhhh!!!! The roads finally reopened on the Thursday that we were scheduled to leave, but Victor wanted to allow things to calm down before we tried to cross. He put the kids and me on a plane to Houston on Saturday, and he and his brother came across the following Tuesday without a problem. It was a lesson in trusting God for me - a lesson that I seem to have trouble learning . . . Lord, I believe - help my unbelief!