Baja Trip - Part 2

The second part of my Baja trip turned out nothing like I had planned but was still great. My main reason for going was to visit Angel and Martin - the two little boys that I worked with for the 8 months I lived there. When asked to describe it, I use words like bitter-sweet, great, boring, fun, healing, exciting, nice. You get the idea---lots of conflicting emotions.

This half of my trip started when I was dropped off at the bus station in Ensenada. The staff member from Genesis Diez wanted to wait with me for the bus to come but I assured her that I had taken the bus dozens of times and that I would be fine. I got there about 11:45, having just missed the 11:30 bus. I bought a ticket for the 1:00 bus. About 12:30, I went outside to wait for the bus. At 1, it still hadn't shown up. I asked and was told that it hadn't arrived yet. I asked again at 1:15, 1:30 and 1:45 and got the same response--not here yet. About 2:15, the 2:30 bus showed up. I asked the guy in a very American accent if he was going to Vicente Guerrero. He said that he was but tried to explain to me that this was not the bus that I had purchased a ticket for. The number on the bus and the number on my ticket didn't match up. I knew this, of course, but I pretended not to understand his Spanish at all. I finally smiled at him and just got on the bus. He was so flustered with me at that point, he let it slide. There was no way I was going to continue to wait for a bus that was apparently never going to come.

The walk from the bus station in VG to the mission is a mile down a dirt road. While I have taken the bus countless times, I have never made that entire walk. Someone always picks me up and this time was no exception. I was certainly glad to see Sean and Cristin at the corner--especially since Sean was the one that had arranged a trailer for me to stay in.

Saturday night I hung out with Kevin and Dan and got some yummy Quesatacos---something that you can't find in Chicago or Oaxaca.

Sunday I went to English church. After the service, Dirk and Mary took the visitors over to the new day home to see the amazing new building.

Sometimes, it seems like just yesterday that we were making a wish-list of things on the frig that we wanted in the new building someday. I loved seeing the new building but was saddened to learn that Dirk and Mary were leaving for a much-needed vacation that afternoon and that the program would be closed for the week.

I hung around after the rest of the group and had a really good conversation with Dirk and Mary. It was a very healing time for me and just, once again, confirmed to me that I am right where God wants me to be. My time in Mexico was for a purpose but it was also for a finite time. It's taken me a while to really get that truth. (Sometimes, I'm a little dense.)

After visiting with Dirk and Mary, I got the chance to catch up with my dear friend Sharon who happened to be visiting at the same time. I was thrilled when I learned she was going to be there.

Monday I got the chance to work in the clinic with a group of Eye Doctors that was there. I spent most of the day translating in the reading glasses room (while carrying around Kate--Cheryl's beautiful baby). It was a pretty simple job but I enjoyed it. I loved that almost everyone we talked to wanted (better) reading glasses so they could read their Bibles!

I floated to a few other areas when things got slow in the afternoon. I watched a bit of an eye surgery and did some consultations with one of the eye doctors. It was exciting to tell some of the people that their eyes were going to be fixed with surgery but very discouraging that a lot of people were beyond help. The dirt in Baja is very rough on the eyes. I was glad that there were better translators than I that had to deliver the really hard news to people.

After 9 hours in the clinic, I went out with Dan to visit some kids. On the way back from seeing "his" kids, we stopped to see Lupita. I can't believe how big she has gotten. I think I'll always get a little bit chocked up when I see her walking without her walker. I actually heard her coming but assumed it wasn't here since the person was running. How far she has come in 5 years! While I didn't get to see most of the kids I wanted to, her huge hug made the long bus ride all worth it!

A piece of my heart will always belong in Baja but I'm excited to see where I'll leave my next piece.

Next Trip: Amtrak through the night tonight to Buffalo, NY. Oh, boy!