Mérida '05 Journal
D and I and five other team members arrived home safely Sunday, June 26th, from a successful mission trip to Mérida, Mexico and, with the prayer and financial support of many, God was glorified and seeds were planted for the continued growth of God's work in Calvary Church and its village missions.
I was so blessed, I could write a novel (those of you who know me well can insert laugh here!). We had so many wonderful experiences over that week, please allow me to share the highlights from each day. I pray that you will take some time to read about our days and allow God to touch your heart.
The first "obstacle" to the whole trip seemed to come even before packing. Two days before leaving, a call from Mérida revealed that our hotel reservations had been cancelled. The employees of The Pensiones, a modest hotel near the church, were on strike! We refused to let that attempt by the enemy hinder or discourage us and trusted the Lord to work it out for us, even if it meant 
sleeping on the floor of a church member's house in the "cool" nighttime indoor temperature of about 90 degrees! (As it turned out, Pastor Sam scrambled and secured other reservations for the team and I, for one, was thankful for small blessings as the new hotel was much "nicer" than the Pensiones - more like a Motel "Four" with poor lighting!) So, D and I and the team of five other women (including D's mom) packed up and readied our hearts.
We had asked for many specific prayers before we left, but one in particular was that we would be able to take all the extra bags and carry-on luggage we would have. Our VBS kids at Harvest Church had worked hard the week before, collecting gift bags full of toys for their counterparts across the gulf, and we had 10 extra large suitcases heavy with toys of every shape and form. The generosity of the VBS kids warmed our hearts, and we knew that God's plan was at work when all the toys collected fit exactly into the 10 extra suitcases!
During the planning stages, there were conflicting instructions from the airline and charter-flight company about baggage and weight limits so we were wary checking them in, but the airline clerk barely batted an eye, and nothing was weighed! Praise God, we avoided over $300 in extra fees before even leaving town, saving more money for use in the mission work at Mérida!
After a rather uncomfortable flight at the very back of the plane, we headed into our next "challenge" - Customs in Cancun. We had a huge cart piled high with luggage and after weaving through a line about 1-1/2 hours long, we finally came to the moment of truth. "Red Light - Green Light" as D affectionately calls it - green light and you pass through customs without inspection, red light and they search all your luggage. God was with us (as always) and when the first team member pushed the button, behold - green light!
After explaining our mountain of luggage, we all followed through without any of us others even pushing the button behind her! God is so good! The only slow-down was an inspection of one of our carry-on boxes full of tracts. The agents required D to cut through the tape and open the box. "He must need to see this!" D figured - and handed out the first tracts right there in Customs!
God blessed again when the National Car rental team arrived at the curb with a van. Two employees quickly loaded the luggage for us. Then, to our surprise, we learned that it wasn't a shuttle van to the checkout counter across the airport, but our van for the week. D was so happy - no more wondering about how he would get 17 pieces of luggage, three big boxes, seven carry-on bags and seven people into a rental van for 12!
After the 2½ hour drive from Cancun to Mérida, we arrived at last at 1 a.m. on Monday, June 20, 2005 after a total 12 hours of travel. We were weary but excited. After 3-4 hours of sleep, we hit the ground running, starting with an early breakfast at the "restaurant" across from the church. (Breakfast was here at this "Comida Economica" every morning - prepared by a friend of the church in his kitchen and served on his patio.)
The excitement built as Pastor Sam and other church members began to drift in - people with whom D has been developing friendships over the past five years of Mérida mission trips. (I met many of these wonderful people last January on my first trip to Mérida, when D and I visited during a short leisure trip). It was so good to be with brothers and sisters in Christ again and to meet new ones - a little taste of heaven on earth that transcends continents, cultures and languages.
