Mission Trip to Ensenada

June 18-25, 2004
From Velta's Journal

We had 16 on our team—8 kids and 8 adults; the youngest was 12 and the oldest 77.

Adults: Mary Anne, George, Trish, Amy, Marcella, Denise, Joe, Velta
Children: Daniel, Travis, Kori, Katey, Tyler, Aaron, Hannah, Anna Rose.

Friday, June 18 - Excitedly, we began the trip to our mission in Mexico. We met at the family center at 8:00 am to pack our things in the vans and the trailer. We left at about 9:30 am. The destination was to El Refugio, a camp run by Azusa Pacific College, near Ensenada. We arrived at Azusa College in Southern California at 8:45 pm. We put up our mattresses and sleeping bags. Then walked over a block to the restrooms. We all took showers and prepared for bed. The boys slept in one classroom and the girls in another.

Saturday, June 19 - We left at 8:30 am and later stopped at San Ysidro to buy Mexican insurance. We had an uneventful border crossing. About halfway between Rosarita and Ensenada, some of the kids had to go to the restroom. This was a very barren stretch of highway and there were few houses and no businesses. Amy drove up to a fancy gated area, 'Mission Coronado.' When we explained our need to the two men there, one named Carlos; they offered us the use of the banos at the gatehouse. I explained to them our kids were going on a mission to Ensenada.

We arrived late at camp at 7:00 pm. We had to set up the tents, eat and go to Chapel by 8:00 pm. We were given sites close to the banos that were outhouses. Jason, one of the onsite helpers, gave Joe and me a ride to the place they served dinner. It was stew, mashed potatoes, pineapple, and a roll and instant coffee. We went to Chapel from there. The rest of the group had set up the tents and brought the chairs to put up in front of the stage. It was just dirt on a hillside. The next day they dug a little ditch so that the back legs of the chairs would sit in it and we were more on a level.

Our group went back to the tents at 10 pm and blew up our air mattresses. When we tried to sleep on them, they were too inflated and we rolled off. We fully deflated the bottom one and partially deflated the top one. The kids finally went to bed at 11:00pm and settled down. We awoke at 5:00 am to the crow of the rooster who lived on a farm nearby. We found that Travis had slid down beside Joe and Daniel's feet were at my head. That's what comes from sleeping on a hill!

Sunday, June 20 - At 10 am, we left for our church 'Puerta de Salvacion' which means 'Door of Salvation.' This church was in a very poor area of Ensenada about 15 minutes from our camp. Pastor Ernesto and his wife, Ely, welcomed us. We visited with them until church started at 12:30 pm. Marcella translated the announcements, which were given by Ely, and Joe translated for Pastor Ernesto. Afterward some people gave their testimonies, which Marcella translated. The Pastor's son, Reuben and his nephew, Marcello Salvador, played guitars. Amy had made poster signs with the words of the songs translated into Spanish. The kids had learned these songs before they came to Mexico. We found out that the Pastor's cousin is the Carlos who has the band. The Pastor played in that band before he became a Christian. The kids brought us the lunch, which was provided by the camp. We shared with those people who were there. It was peanut butter and jelly, bread and apples. Amy gave the pastor two boxes of her prizewinning jam. He asked her to distribute them to those in the congregation.

They needed some painting done on the church. If we had known this, we could have come prepared to help them. Perhaps in the future we will. We put up the sign advertising the VBS on the front gate. We gave out handbills to several ladies to bring their kids. The ladies plan to come, too. We started back to camp at 3:30 pm. We stopped at Acapulco Thermal Banos for baths. Then we stopped at a big supermarket, Calimax.

Monday, June 21 - Each morning the camp was awaken with a loud "Good Morning, Ensenada" from the loudspeakers. The Barnabus (a group) went around in their pickup and called to those in the tents. We found out on Monday morning that Trish had brushed her teeth with the water and had a touch of Montezuma. She had to stay in camp.

Today is our first day of VBS. We arrived about 11:00 am. The lunch was forgotten so Amy and Mary Anne went back. The pastor had set out papaya and mangos. He offered limejuice and a chili spice blend to sprinkle on them. The fruit was partially frozen and refreshing. We ate our lunch, ham and cheese sandwiches and oranges.

The pastor showed us how they pray for people. He held the feet of a person and if the right foot is longer it means they had internal problems, the left is external. God gave Pastor Ernesto a prophecy for Mary Anne. He told us the story of how he got into the hospital and prayed for people. He went and asked if he could go in and they refused. Later he stepped on a nail and got an infection. He went to Emergency and he said, "They put me in a little short gown and left me." So he went from room to room and prayed for the sick people.

There was a woman who had a tumor in her chest the size of a small soccer ball. He prayed for her and it immediately left her. There was another woman that fainted. They took her to the hospital and, when they x-rayed her, they found one of her lungs looked like it was shredded. After he prayed for her, her blouse started to flutter, like a hand was rubbing her chest. When they again took her x-rays her lung was like new.

One of the nurse's back hurt so seriously that she could hardly walk. She had experienced pain for years. Before he prayed for her, she was so weak she could not lift a chair. After prayer, Pastor told her to lift a table with heavy equipment on it. She said, "I can't". He asked her to try. She did and she lifted it with ease.

He told us an illustration: "A man was married but they didn't get along. A man is like the motor in a car, the woman like the transmission, the car is God's will for their life. If the motor goes but the transmission doesn't, the car doesn't go anywhere."

Back at camp we ate dinner. The kids have been so great. They went up the hill and brought down food for Joe and me. They carried our backpacks, too. They have such wonderful servant's hearts. After we ate, the ocean breeze brought in the fog, and it turned cold. Joe and I went to bed at 8:00 pm just to get warm. The rest of the group went to Chapel. We could hear the singing and the program from our cozy sleeping bags.

Tuesday, June 22 - During the night we heard coyotes howling. We also heard people getting sick from 'Montezuma's Revenge.' We heard this morning that only three of the 15 of the Alaska group escaped it. Seems they ate at a taco stand on one of the corners in Ensenada. They had to return to the states. Amy went with me to the interpreter's meeting, which they have each morning at 7am. Rafael told how Jesus used the small boy's meal of bread and fishes to illustrate that, like that little boy, we need to be obedient. It is God who used what he had for his glory. On the way back to Chapel, Amy was holding my arm and I slipped and fell. She felt so bad that she couldn't prevent it. I decided it would be better not to try that meeting again. The terrain on the hillside was too uneven. I stayed in camp with Joe from then on.

Today Pastor Ernesto made us beans and chicharrones, which were fried pork rinds, with corn tortillas. I broke a tooth on the chicharrones, so did Joe. Old teeth just could not handle that hard food. Amy searched all over trying to find something that would relieved my pain. While she was gone, I put dental floss over it and pulled. It came out as I pushed on it. When it popped out, the pain was gone. Ely was gone when we arrived so we couldn't ask her for pain medicine. She went shopping for clothes for the graduation of her kids.

Joe and I went to bed early again. We did not hear the group come back from Chapel, even though our group had the reputation of being the loudest in the camp. I guess we were very tired, or they were very quiet.

Wednesday, June 23 - Today Pastor is going to prepare camarones (prawns). Joe went with him on Monday and bought 5 kilos of fish. He prepared them in three ways. These brothers have been so giving. The church is open to anyone 24 hours a day. The Pastor invited all of us to come and stay at his house anytime. By U.S. standards, these people have nothing, but really they have everything. They have giving and loving hearts. They share what they have in material things. Their love for us is boundless! We now know, first hand, what "Mi casa esta su casa" means. Ernesto and Ely have three children. I showed the women how to make crosses of plastic canvas and yarn. I taught them about the life of Jesus and the plan of Salvation. I prayed that the Holy Spirit would come and touch their hearts. We had different crafts each day for them. These mothers brought their children to VBS and then waited for them. We made bracelets and necklaces of beads that were donated by several women in our church.

Our group was assigned to serve at dinner. After, we had a candlelight service at the Chapel and our Pastor and his family came. We were given our 'unconditional' shirts yesterday and everyone signed them. We wore them all day. What a blessing these children have become through their growth in service to others. What an example they have set! How proud their parents must be of them. They have been our servants with cheerful hearts. They have made this trip easier and pleasant for Joe and me. Each meal they brought our plates to us. They carried our bags wherever we went. What servant hearts they have developed!

Fernando, who was the leader of the interpreters and member of the Barnabas Group that guided worship, told us about one of his first experiences as a missionary. He had been sent to India, but Pakistan would not let him pass through so he was sent to Cambodia. He was to minister at the hospital in one of the villages. The hospital had different wards. One ward was for tuberculosis patients and another for the adult AIDS patients. Another ward was for children with AIDS. He said he got through the TB ward with people coughing all around him. The adult AIDS ward got to him, where the people were emaciated and covered with blisters. But when he got to the children's ward, he froze. The children came to him and he thought, "What if the blisters break and I have a cut or something?"

He dropped to the floor and sat with his knees up with his arms around them and his head down. A small girl about two years old, covered with blisters came to him. She took one of his arms and put it around her and slid her legs over his so that he was holding her in his lap. He said after that experience, he didn't care what happened to him. He just began to love the people! Your love, Lord, transcends our human fears!

We tried to go to La Bufadora, a blowhole further south from Ensenada. They had many shops for tourists. We traveled for an hour and decided it was too far, so we turned around and planned to go on Friday. We got to the church and ate the shrimp.

The women made the plastic canvas crosses and I told them I would bring small beads to put on them the next day.

The pastor's whole family came to the candlelight service and Marcello sat in our camp with Joe and me. His small daughter was asleep in his arms. Marcello is married. They have two small daughters. Joe and I sat and listened to Marcello. He told us of his life and his dreams. He wanted to come to the U.S. and play Christian music. He has been a Christian for only about four years.

The candlelight message was that each one lights another light by telling them about Jesus. When they first lit the candles, people were lighting their friend's candles, which were near them. The speaker said, "Hold on here a minute, let's start over. The ones who really need this light are the ones who are way out on the edges, so go to them." We started the lighting over again. It was quite spectacular the way the light spreads. Next, the speaker said, "Put two candles together and see that there is more light together than two individual candles would make by themselves."

Thursday, June 24 - When we got up in the morning, first we went to the banos for our baths. We hoped to get a jump on the great amount of tourists who use them. When we got to the Pastor's house, he was preparing flautas with beef. We helped him roll shredded beef in corn tortillas. He prepared 500 flautas. They were fried and served with lettuce, cheese, sour cream, guacamole and chili. Two other carloads of people came from the camp and ate with us. They had been assigned to another church, but someone got killed in the Colonia. They were told it would be better not to be there. They kind of wandered from place to place but we welcomed them.

The women did not want to put the little beads on the crosses, so we made barrettes from some flowers that I had brought. All the crafts that were left over were put out on the table. I told the ladies to take some crafts. When I left there was nothing on the table. I also took a box of knit fabric and gave it to them. A friend had given me several boxes. I would have taken more if there had been more luggage space.

After prayer, and with many tears, we took our leave. As we were departing a woman was standing outside the church. She had sent her children to VBS, but was too embarrassed to come herself. Marcella led her in the sinner's prayer and she invited Jesus into her heart. At night we packed everything we could, and we planned dismantle the tents one by one in the morning. We had hoped to be at the border by 3pm and at Azusa by 7 pm.

Friday, June 25 - Joe and I awoke at 5 am, but we stayed in bed in the tent until 6am and then dressed and finished packing. By the time we were done, the rest of the team was up. We packed, ate cereal, which the camp provided, and left by 8:20am. On our way out of the area we stopped at La Bufadora. We shopped and spent all our cash. Some of us borrowed from those who still had money. The girls and Trish had their hair braided. Everyone was very tired.

We ate at a McDonalds in Ensenada. Later we crossed the border in less than 20 minutes at 5:30 pm. On our way to Azusa, we somehow missed our freeway turnoff and at 8 pm ended up at San Juan Capistrano. We stopped to eat but wanted to sit down and eat, not just grab food at a fast food place. We went to a restaurant called La Adobe. As we waited we saw people coming and going. Then we realized that with our grubby clothes, we were slightly underdressed. So we went to Denny's. Everyone was exhausted and a little on edge.

As we sat down to dinner, we noticed Amy was on the phone outside. She came in and announced that the Capistrano Inn, which was right beside the restaurant, had just four rooms left. She talked to Mary Anne and we had enough money to stay the night. Amy and Daniel stayed in our room, which was on the first floor. The rest of the rooms were upstairs. Amy and I discussed the circumstances and felt it had been God's wonderful plan for us all along. First we missed our turn which should have been Highway 805. We continued on I-5 instead. Denny's + Capistrano Inn + four rooms = God's provision. We slept in a real bed for the first time in a week! We had hot water we could adjust to the temperature we desired! The motel provided us with boxes of food to take with us.

Saturday June 26 - We woke up in the morning to two bits of unhappy news. Manny, Denise's husband was in the hospital and Travis had broken out in chicken pox! We stopped at Rite Aid for Aveeno for itch relief. We went to Starbucks for morning coffee. This was our last stop except for potty breaks and a drive-thru lunch. It was a beautiful, sunny day! We left San Juan Capistrano at 8:41 am. We stopped at San Fernando for gas and other necessities and were on our way again at 10:32 am.

Amy went off the freeway to get Benadryl for Travis and we were behind. It took us 40 minutes to catch up. We finally caught them as they stopped at Galt. We were just 30 minutes away from the Family Center. We were supposed to get one of the vans back by 5 pm. Mary Anne called and they let George take it back later and just drop the keys.

It was almost 6 pm when we finally arrived. There was a welcoming committee waiting for us. Sherri, who was our at-home coordinator, had called all of our families and they were there to pick us up at the Family Center.

We thank God for a safe and wonderful trip.