Vacation Part 2

Saturday
Visited w/Leslie at the “Flying Pig” a nice little neighborhood pub and grub. Swapped internship experiences and realized that both of us had pretty decent sites and supervisors. Also to be going back in sept w/only one semester left. It was good to see Leslie be more confident about her self, her gifts, and her abilities.
Went to Agape and it was there that the questions began about where I, was what I was doing, and when would Deb and I be returning to W. WA. do not get me wrong it was great being back in the Emmaus community. It was good to be with old friends and to get caught up on what was happening in their lives. And it was good to serve the pilgrims on the walk. Frankly though this stuff can wear me out. After arriving back at the Hotel Jepsen I was asleep by 1am.

Sunday
Up at 6 am to get ready to assist Pastor Gary in worship. Had to get there early top meet up with the accompanist to rehearse the liturgy (now the feast). This too was great to be back in our home community, to be among those who have supported Deb and I through this whole process called seminary. To assist them in worship was a privilege and an honor. And everyone here too wanted to know when we would be back to W WA, how everything was going at sem and what the next step was.

At this point it doesn’t seem like much of a vacation, although in one sense it was in that I was not doing the usual, and that this was in some ways a new experience. After both services it was time to race to the north to be reunited with the Emmaus community for the closing service. More people to see. More questions. And although I was tired (!) the outpouring of love was overwhelming.

The closing was, as always, an amazing time. To hear the testimonies of 30+ women speak of how their lives had been changed in 72 hours, reaffirmed the power of God’s love. There is no better way to spend one’s Sunday afternoon! And then to hear of Pilgrim’s pilgrims, talk about their weekend over pizza later and to be within the smaller community is always a blessing.

It was on to the Reed’s (thanks guys!) to shed excess clothing, get a shower for Deb, repack the bags for our flight to Mexico, and to get a little bit of rest before leaving for the airport at 2am. (Seriously, this is a vacation?)

Monday

2am. It takes us a half hour to get away from the Reed's. Fortunately there is no traffic at that time of day to impede our travel to return the rental car. And there are few people out around the airport as well (not surprising that it is now 3:30). Who really travels at this time of day? Why would an airline schedule a departure at 5 in the morning? Going into the terminal it is empty except for the line at the US Air counter. People, bags, kids who are beyond tired, workers who are putting up with sleep deprived travelers. Deb and I are second guessing ourselves as to whether this was a good idea. Through the line, and on to the TSA checkpoint. Closed. Opens in 7 minutes. We are the third in line. What happened to the rest of those who had checked in before us? Through the line and to the gate where waiting for us are those who had been checked in earlier. Must have been another TSA checkpoint. We continue to wait at various stages until at last we leave the gate, the tarmac , and the ground, bound for Phoenix and beyond. Sleep intervenes.

Phoenix. We depart the plane we will get back on in 50 minutes. Restrooms, more line standing, Starbucks to refuel, more line standing, and departure. More sleep until we arrive in sunny Mexico. Even before we land it is evident that this is different. A brown landscape viewed from the air is our first clue. Very few roads are evident. We land in what seems to be a remote area (as it turns out we are at least 20 miles from the city). On to retrieve our luggage and to pass through customs. Smiling faces and strange words greet us. We pass unmolested into the concourse and find out taxi. The ride from the airport is otherworldly.

One of many signs advertising the resorts in the city

In addition to the scrub brush, I was not able to get pics of cows, chickens, and horses that would graze right up to the sides of the roads

Not surprisingly it is different. Gated communities with bars on all of the dwellings. All surrounded by small farm plots with one room houses. Everything made of concrete (termites!).
New cars and cars that look like they should have come off the road years ago. Open air taxis built on VW chassis. And traffic that beats Seattle’s hands down.

These taxis are called "pulmonias". the reason for that is that after riding in one of these a person will catch a cold.

Thee vehicle on the left is a taxi, also. it will fit up to 8 people in the back under the tarp. The bus is typical for that type of public transportation. They are loud, and the drivers have two speeds: stop and GO. they are constantly racing each other down the streets!

A Home Depot! An Applebee’s! What are they doing here? We travel out towards the resorts, large edifices that greatly contrast with their surrounding neighborhoods.

We arrive at the resort, are greeted by Dave and Sue, tour the room and the grounds, eat get caught up and then nap. Dinner, more catching up and thankfully and finally to bed.

The beach where we spent many a day relaxing!