A Wild Ride to Ciudad Mante and Beyond

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Monday night when we got home, Beto and Nora really wanted to have devotions again. It was such a sweet time of sharing...this time Mallolhi was with us also. Chris shared out of Ecclesiastes 4:9-12 and applied it to their lives as husband and wife, as Christians, and as parents. Beto shared from 2 Cor 5:1-7, and Nora shared from Joshua 1:9. Then we sang for quite some time. Two hours passed before we knew it and it was nearing 1 am, so we decided to turn in.

Tuesday morning...Chris felt a lot better, so we just prayed that the Lord would lead us in making a decision to leave or to stay another day. The weather was nice, and our boots were finally dry, so we thought it was probably time. It was really hard to say good-bye to Beto, Nora, Joshua, and Alessandra. I was glad that Carlos was there to pick us up, so my heart was distracted from being sad!

Carlos and Lupita wanted to fix sopes for us at lunch time, so we were able to tell them and Hna Olga good-bye before we left. While we were eating, Carlos y Lupita shared about Carlito's birth. Lupita has a really rare blood type that makes carrying a baby to full-term rather difficult. She didn't know it until she was pregnant. At 7 months, the doctors decided that she needed to have the baby right then because he was no longer attached as he should be to the ambilical cord. Although she was 7 months along, he appeared to only have reached the size and development of a fetus of 6 months. So after emergency surgery, Carlitos was born. The doctors didn't tell Lupita, but they told Carlos that Carlitos wouldn't live through the night. His lungs, heart, and brain weren't developed sufficiently to survive. They placed him in an oxygen bubble, and Carlos went out to his truck. Carlos prayed and sought the Lord for a miracle because there was no other way for his son to live. When Carlos went back into the hospital the next morning, the doctors couldn't explain what happened...Carlitos's lungs, heart, and brain had begun functioning like normal. They moved him to an incubator until he could gain sufficient weight to go home. He's 4 now...a walking, talking, energetic, little miracle!! (Carlitos is the little soldier standing beside the narrator--absolutely precious!) Praise God!



After lunch, Carlos, Lupita, and Carlitos took us 5-6 miles outside of Linares and dropped us off. It was really hot because it was around 2 pm. Probably not a good time of day to start walking, but off we went. After walking about 12.5 miles, it started to get dark. We were both hurting pretty badly...apparently from washing and drying our boots we need to break them in again, so they were causing blisters like they did in the beginning. Then two really big tractor trailors blew by us...up until this point we had a nice path on the side of the road, but it ended just as we were entering a series of curves. We kept walking just trusting that the Lord was going to provide...and that His yoke is easy.

Just when we didn't think we could go any further, a big truck pulled off on the side of the road. He asked if we wanted a ride into CD. Victoria, CD Mante, or CD Valles. (CD stands for cuidad which means city.) We told him that we'd ride as far as CD Victoria when we saw that his wife and children were with him. He opened the doors at the back of the truck, and we climbed up. The ride was beautiful...we were right beside a huge mountain range, so we watched it until the sun went down. We started getting a little cold, but the stars started coming out so we just laid back and observed the sky. When we arrived in CD. Victoria, he asked what we had decided. We knew ultimately that we needed to end up in Tampico, so we checked the map. CD. Mante is a little closer than CD. Victoria, and the towns are closer together. Adolfo (the driver of the truck) told us that he knew the people closer to CD Mante were really friendly. Then he started talking to us a little more...it seemed like every sentence out of his mouth was a different Bible verse. I was shocked...not many people can just speak scripture like that. We knew it was okay to trust his advise, so we decided to ride on with him. A few minutes later, he stopped at a gas station to get us some food and to feed the puppy that was riding in the back with us. We pulled out our sleeping bags and laid down...underneath God's blanket of the stars. We were driving through the mountains, so we felt like we were in a planetarium...the sky rotated back and forth above us...it was gorgeous!! Around midnight, Adolfo pulled over to rest. So we slept a couple of hours underneath the stars...with all kinds of animal noises all around. The puppy cried most of the night because he was scared and lonely. Around 4 am, we started our journey again. This time the puppy found out where we were and tried to join us on top of our bed of styrofome. He was so cute, but he was making a big mess. We put him back in his box, but he just climbed out to find us again. Finally, he just cuddled up next to Chris's pack and let his ears fly around like Dumbo's. I guess he was enjoying the ride too because he didn't cry very much after that. Around 7:15 we arrived in CD. Mante. Adolfo let us out and we said goodbye to his wife and daughter. (His son was still asleep in the truck.)

Wednesday morning, we walked into town...by 8:45 we found a place to eat breakfast. Then we walked a little further to find a place to sleep. We were exhausted!! We ended up at Hotel Bonitto Inn. The manager gave us a reduced rate, and we decided to sleep a bit! When we woke up that afternoon, we ate and then asked around about a church that had service on Wednesday night. Magdalena (one of the ladies who works at the hotel) told us of 3 churches nearby. We set out to find which one had a service that night.

The first church we came to was a Nazarene church, but no one was there. So we continued on to Emmanuel Baptist Church. A young man named, Melvin was sitting outside. We asked him if there was going to be a service. He said there was and invited us in. He's only 19, and no one else in his family is a Christian, but he really loves the Lord. He's actually going to bring the message at the youth group meeting this coming Saturday. It was a prayer meeting, so Hna. Nohemi gave a short lesson on prayer and then the congregation spent quite a bit of time on their knees (literally) before the Lord. I was impressed because most people I know don't want to kneel very long on a padded bench or on a carpeted alter...then knelt a a concrete floor! Talk about being humble before the Lord! I have a lot to learn! After the service, we talked to several of Pastor Samuel's daughters, Nohemi, Berta, and Orfa. We asked about their dad and where he was. They explained that he had a 2nd stroke in February and hasn't been able to get out of the bed. They invited us to his home to pray for him. As he shared his testimony of his and his wife's planting 4 churches in Mexico and raising 8 children (all of whom are serving the Lord today). We were touched...his genuine love for the Lord's work moved us to tears. He is struggling to figure out why he's still on this earth. His wife of 51 years went to be with the Lord in 2000, and now he's in a bed and can't move from it without help. Please pray for him to continue to seek God's face, so that he can learn what his new service to our Lord is going to be. Pray for his healing and for his daugther, Berta, who is taking care of him. After we prayed and visited a little with Pastor Samuel, Berta invited us to eat supper. They also invited us to accompany them for any other services that we were in town for.

Thursday morning when we woke up we still didn't quite feel 100%. So we decided to take a work day and catch up on the website and writing in our journal. God had other plans of course...we did work on these things, but we also talked with the people who work in the hotel. We met Lorena (pictured with RE) who testified of coming to know the Lord only 3 years ago, but she spoke of the difference He had made in her life...of the changes that had taken place. I talked with Miguel who helped me with some computer work that I needed to do. I also spent a good amount of time talking to Magdalena. She went to church pretty faithfully at one time with her husband and children. Her husband claimed to be a Christian, but he beat her and her children. Finally, they divorced, but he tried to take the children claiming that she was an unfit mother. Thankfully, he lost the battle, and she kept the kids. The people in the church didn't know what went on behind closed doors in her marriage, so they turned their backs on her...they didn't reach out with the love of Jesus when she needed it the most. She was very hurt by all of this, so she quit going to church. Some time ago, a pastor's wife began reaching out to her--demonstrating what a Christian love in word and in deed. Just recently, she started going to church again. Please pray for Magdalena...that this church family will reach out in love and that Magdalena will surrender her life to the Lord as well.

Friday morning...we decided it was time to move on...Pastor Samuel's daughters had invited us over for a visit, so we decided to stop by on our way out of town. They weren't there, so we kept walking. Just outside of CD. Mante there's a big canal that runs beside the road. Since people are still on vacation, tons of people were out and about swimming and having fun with their families. We saw God really orchestrating several meetings--giving us words to share & providing for us at the same time. Psalm 139:3 "You chart the path ahead of me and tell me where to stop and rest." This is part of the verses that we always share...we literally see it happen everyday that we walk...from shade that He provides out of no where when it's time for a break to people He brings a cross our path...Thursday was no exception...

First: We met the Nuñez brothers-Marcos and Ruben. Most of the family are believers, but Ruben told us that he was the black sheep. He tried to hide his bottle of beer, but I told him not to worry about me...I'm nobody...he needed to be concerned about God. I also shared with him the story of the prodigal son...explaining that our Heavenly Father is just waiting for us to come to him. He's the one who makes the changes not us. Pray that the seeds planted in Ruben will fall on a fertile heart, and that his family will reach out to him and love and not with a judgemental attitude!

Second: We met the Sosa family. They were having some watermelon and pineapple, so they invited us to stop and share some with them. It was exactly the time for a break for us, so we stopped and enjoyed their company. The dad said "Sometimes God will squeeze you tightly, but He'll never choke you." I just smiled...it was hot that day, and I knew it would be a test for me. We shared with them a little about our journey, and continued on.

Third: After that we walked a bit more...I was dragging...we took our next break in a little shade and then got up and started walking again...I wasn't sure how much more heat combined with the weight of the backpack that I could take. About 15 minutes later, a man carrying a load of concrete blocks stopped and offered us a ride. Chris barely consulted me before he accepted...he knew I was nearing my limit. We met Jota, the owner of the business who was driving, and one of his workers. The worker quickly lifted the packs and climbed onto the back of the truck. I couldn't believe his sacrifice. I cooled off while we were riding, and the conversation began to flow. Jota went to church until he was 12...then he just stopped. Now he just watches the preachers on TV. He realizes there's more to it than that, but he says that his business takes up too much of his time. We encouraged him to find a church to attended...Christian fellowship is so important we explained. More seeds planted...pray that the Lord will use them to glorify Himself. Jota also offered us some wise advice from someone who spends a lot of time in the sun...try to be inside between 12-1 until 4:30-5. It's going to take a little adjusting to our schedule, but it's a smart suggestion.

Fourth: As we were walking a rancher, Juaquin, from Edinburg, Texas came out to the road to talk with us. He's lived in Mexico most of his life. He was not at all interested in hearing anything about the Lord. When we tried to share even a little about our journey and how the Lord has provided for us, he asked a different question...we kept walking...

Fifth: It was getting darker, and we were still a good 9-10 miles from Gonzales, the next city. It felt nice out, so we were enjoying our walk. The only thing we were struggling with was a place to walk. We had to walk just on the edge of the road because there was no shoulder and no path along side of the road. We probably only walked 9-10 miles all day so we felt pretty good. But apparently God thought that was enough, so a black SUV pulled off on the side of the road. The principal of the middle school from Gonzales, Mr. Aureliano, offered us a ride into Gonzales. Mr. Aureliano and his friend tried to decide where to drop us off...they finally decided on the First Baptist Church. We shared a little of our story and what we are doing, and they asked quite a few questions. I asked them if they went to church anywhere. Both answered that they didn't. I explained that God sent them to us because we couldn't make it to Gonzales before it got dark, but that God also sent us to let them know that God loves them, and He's waiting for them to get to know Him.

We walked into church...late and really sweaty...but we made it! A bonus at the end of the day because we had no idea that we'd get to go to church again until Sunday. When the service was over, several people greeted us. One of the first was Eddy. He asked us where we were going after church, and we told him that we didn't know. He quickly told us that he was all alone at his house and would love for us to stay with him. Another brother, David, came up and told us that he wanted to take us to supper but couldn't go at that moment, so he wanted to pay for it. We ended up going to supper with Eddy...we ate Entomatadas...simliar to enchiladas except for with tomato sauce instead of with hot sauce. As we ate we learned a little more about his life. About nine months ago, his wife left with their 5 children. He's really praying that the Lord will bring their family back together. He told us he doesn't really know what happened or why she left, but he has been in contact with her and the children. He's hoping at the end of the school year they all come back to live with him. Right now they are living two states away with one of his wife's brothers. He's really lonely and wanted to show us all of his pictures of his kids. It's obvious that he misses them a lot.

Saturday--So here we are in Gonzales again...only this time in Tamualipas, Mexico. Gonzales, Texas...we are remembering our time with you and keeping you lifted up in our prayers!! We've decided that we should stay here for a least until Monday...to catch up on some of our correspondence and wash some clothes, but more importantly to encourage Eddy to keep seeking the Lord through this difficult time! We are looking forward to going to church again tomorrow!! We hope that all of you are doing well! We'll be in touch soon! God bless you! We love you!

The view we had while walking on Friday...El Cerro del Bernal between Mante and Tampico...