Home Again

On Tuesday, March 27^th I boarded a plane in Huatulco to begin my journey home. The trip provided a couple of interesting experiences, but I made it safely home. We are staying for the time being with some relatives. I am going to be aggressively looking for employment.

           The last days in Huatulco were busy packing up what I was taking home and disposing of the rest. Two good friends, Art and Betty, have a ministry through which they collect anything you could imagine and distribute it to people in need. It helped a lot and it was satisfying to know that things went to people who needed them.

Saying my good-byes to all of the people who had become close was the most difficult thing I had to do. There were a few tears on both sides, and I am still overwhelmed by the expressions of love I received. A part of my heart remains with them.

Art and Betty rode with to the airport and generously paid for the cab ride. When we arrived, I was met by another friend Eddie (& Irasema) who works for the airline I flew. He called me to the head of the check in line. He had already prepared my boarding passes giving me the choicest seat assignments. Later, he ran out on the tarmac to say good-bye one more time. He also took my carry-on bag, which had to be stowed in the cargo hold because the plane to Mexico City was very small. Again, I didn’t have to wait in line. He treated me feel like a celebrity.

When I boarded the plane to Chicago from Mexico City, I waited to be one of the last ones to get on the plane. My carry-on bag wound up having to be checked because there was no room left in the overheads. No big deal because that meant I wouldn’t have to lug it off the plane and through the airport. When I got to my assigned window seat in the first row of coach, I found it occupied by an older lady. Her husband was in the center seat and the aisle seat was piled high with loose items. They refused to move. He wouldn’t clear the aisle seat for me saying that his property needed to be there. I had to ask the flight attendant to help. I let the older woman her keep my window seat and I took the aisle.

My kindness was repaid double-fold. First, the aisle seat provided more legroom than I needed because there was no wall in front it. Second, I realized that I was not going to have to wait for them to be out of the way when it came time to deplane. This convenience became especially important when I realized that my passport was in my carry-on that had been put below with the other luggage. I would not have access to it until the other side of Immigration. Since there is no getting through Immigration without your passport, I had a potential problem. I didn’t think I would be as successful as Tom Hanks at living in the airport and I didn’t want to try.

As I stood in line thinking about what I was going to say, I saw an officer in front of the desks. I decided to approach him. His response was, “Come with me.” He took me past the desks to the luggage carousel and helped me retrieve by bags. When I handed him my passport, he took me back to the desks and handed the paperwork to an officer who immediately processed it. I didn’t even have to wait in the long line to be checked in. What a blessing!

IT IS GOOD TO BE HOME AND i LOOK FORWARD TO RECONNECTING WITH EVERYONE.

Perhaps the Final Edition-For now.

I’m down to 8 days and a wakeup. I remember saying things like that as I counted the days and calling myself a single digit midget when I had less than 10 days left in the US Army almost 40 years ago.  Back then, I was as excited as anyone could be to finish my three years of service and move on with my life. I find myself today excited to be returning home to see family and friends, but I am also feeling sadness at the thought of leaving behind the work and especially those who have become a part of my life. I don't like the waiting. I wish it was today. At the same time I wish the final days would go slowly.

I am in the process of saying my goodbyes. The final English classes will be Wednesday. The rest of the time I will be spent visiting and also doing the final cleaning of the apartment. We are blessed to have had Arturo and Beatriz as friends. A part of their ministry is something they call the Gymnasium of Hope. They collect clothing, food, furniture and whatever else then they distribute it to people in need. It is helping us out because I have only two 50 lb. suitcases for everything I am able to bring home. The rest stays behind. Much of it has already passed through the Gym and into the hands of those in need.

This is the third time we have had to shed almost all of our possessions. It has given me a very clear picture of the unimportance of “stuff” in life. I have said it here before, but I have learned so much in the past year about God’s love, life and myself. God has used the circumstances of life and the people and culture here to open my eyes to see from a completely different perspective. I am a little bit nervous about losing that as I reintegrate back into the culture in the States.

This will probably be the final blog from Mexico. The last few days are going to be very busy. I have more invitations than I am able to accept. The plan is to board an Aero México plane on Tuesday afternoon. I should arrive in Chicago late Tuesday night and be back in the Rockford area some time Wednesday. The first order of business will be finding employment. Then I will be looking for a restaurant that serves authentic Oaxaqueña-style food.  I look forward to seeing everyone.

Visiting Old Friends

My flight home is booked for the 27^th of this month. That leaves me a little more than three full weeks in Huatulco.  I will be continuing regular activities until the twentieth and spending the last week with friends as much as possible. I really need to make sure I get to the beach at least one more time. I am excited to be coming home, but I am already missing things here. I have gotten really comfortable with the culture. I am not looking forward to a couple of weeks of culture shock when I return.

Ramon, his wife Margarita & their Daughter

Tlaxiaco Preparing for Market
 in the Early Morning Mist

I had the opportunity to visit Tlaxiaco (Tlac-i-áko) this week. It was a long journey of eleven hours by bus along winding, bumpy roads. It was well worth it though as I was able to visit some friends we had made when we were there about six years ago. I was welcomed with excitement and treated like royalty. It was great catching up and seeing how their families had grown and prospered. I also was able to go up to San Pedro Yucunama. It is a small a village we had worked in. I took a cab up, but had to walk the 9 kilometers out. It was a tough walk with a lot of steep up and down and little shade. Overall, the visit brought back many good memories. A part of my heart is still buried in that part of Mexico. Another part will be left in Huatulco.

Andres & his Goats

In Mexico, they use a lot of 15 passenger vans called Urvans. The seats are small and people are really crammed in. I had a good seat on the leg to Oaxaca City, but I was stuck in the smallest seat in the back on the leg to Huatulco. The seat afforded less than zero legroom and I was smashed between two other people. Added to that were the unbelievably curvy roads with constant topes (speed bumps) and construction. It was seven hours of indescribable torture. Today I stayed home to re-hydrate and recuperate.

Atop the Church in Yucunama
Built in the Year 1575

 One other great part of the trip was that I was able to share with many people the Gospel through the telling of the story of my own conversion. At one point, my friend Andres started telling it for me when he introduced me as his cousin. When Ramon was helping his 13-year-old daughter remember me, he used the incident of how we had prayed for her once when she was sick and she had been instantly healed.

Tlaxiaco

Church in Teposcolula

Yucunama

The trip was a blessing in many ways. I was able to see that we had made a positive impact on the lives of people there. It helps to ease the pain of leaving Huatulco to know that we have also affected the lives of many people here. It is a reminder that, no matter where we are, we are having an influence on those whose lives we touch. We must always be mindful of that. Are they better off or less so for having crossed paths with us? We must be intentional about making it positive. We never know when God will use even a fleeting contact to change the course of someone’s life.