So I lost track of the journal! It’s Sunday now as I’m writing this and I wasn’t able to write Thursday, Friday or Saturday nights. I’m a little bummed, but it just wasn’t going to happen. Thursday night ended up being an all nighter for me. I was up until just after 5am finishing the plan and finalizing the graphic. I figured I’d go ahead and stay up, then be able to cruise in the morning before leaving for Arriaga. We found out they had a projector, so that saved having to do a hand rendering.
This was a good decision and it was nice the morning to be finished and meant I had plenty of time to take a shower and get ready. I was so tired - the week had caught up with me leaving me mentally and physically exhausted. A lot of the team is sick with some type of flu. I’ve had some congestion, but others have it bad with fever and bad cough. Not good!
After lunch on Friday we headed down to Arriaga for our presentation. Our designs were well received and everyone seemed to like the master plan. Afterwards Tammy was expressing her thanks to the team and was talking about their desire for excellence and to live and serve in ways that are excellent because it’s all for our God. She said how nice it was to have a team of people who were excellent at what they do working on the project and helping them achieve this with the ranch. It was so nice to hear, as I was striving to provide a quality design and it took some effort to get there. So often the approach is areas like this is one of apathy, thinking it doesn’t matter because it’s just kids or it’s just rural Mexico, but all week I didn’t want to go that route – but rather one of quality. It was great to hear they were of a similar mindset and would appreciate an attempt to raise the bar.
After our meeting we got to spend time with kids before dinner and it was a great time of interaction. We had a lot of fun and I got some good photos of the kids. Although I enjoyed being there I’m kind of glad we didn’t drive there every night. It’s over an hour each way and our van is full. Without the rear seat, two people have to sit in the back on the floor. One guy didn’t travel with us today, but I took my turn in the back. Not fun! It was nice passing on the gifts I brought along, and Tammy was so thankful to receive them.
Friday night we have a few more testimonies. I was so tired and growing weary of the trip and being surrounded by people all day everyday.
Saturday was our tourist day. Bill and Kevin (a helper at the orphanage) drove up to be our guides. Kevin had a truck for all of our luggage, allowing us to put the rear seat back in the van. We loaded up and went to Tuxtla, where we checked in and dropped off our stuff. We continued up into the mountains to visit a tourist town named San Cristobal. I was tempted not to go and simply sleep at the hotel, but I wanted to get some photos. It was about an hour drive (through some thick fog) to reach the city but we arrived safe. I’m glad I went because I think I got some unique photos. San Cristobal is a historic town and popular tourist spot for Europeans. It’s packed with old colorful buildings and had a flea market type place with all types of junk of questionable authenticity. After learning of this I was weary of purchasing anything, but finally bought a little $2 woven something from the ladies hounding us the street right as we were about to get in the van.
Saturday night we had dinner in Tuxtla and then a debriefing meeting. At dinner I sat at one end of the table near Bill and Kevin. We had some good laughs which helped so much! I had spent some time with Kevin in San Cristobal as well, he’s a cool guy. It was unfortunate he wasn’t around for most of our trip because he’s recovering from hepatitis. Um humm…I’m glad I got the shot! But I digress…
After dinner I was so tired, in a bit of a bad mood and just wanted to go to bed! We mostly finished up testimonies and skipped the list of closing questions as most people were tired and sick. However, during the meeting I got a bit of a second wind and was hoping to hear more about what God had done in other people, but since everyone was so sick we ended it. I did have a good conversation with Tom that night, but we had to get to sleep as the shuttle to the airport left at 6am.
As I’m writing this from Mexico City getting ready to fly to Houston, the trip home has been much easier now that we know the drill and am more comfortable in these surroundings. Here at the gate there are more Americans around, which is interesting. I’ve been with a team the whole week, but for some reason it feels weird. Where did these people come from? Haha. It’s only been a week, but I guess it’s a bit of culture shock. It’s been a significant enough step out of my comfort zone to shift my mindset away from the familiar. The thought of being back in the states feels a bit weird, and almost foreign itself, and the thought of letting my guard down seems a bit boring – bringing the thoughts that the adventure is drawing to a close.
I’m pretty much exhausted and ready for some time alone to myself. Being along for the ride and on a fixed schedule is taxing and has caught up with me. Off to Houston, then Denver, then home!
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