Greetings from balmy Monterrey! Thirteen volunteers for this medical mission departed Tulsa at dawn Wednesday morning; after a quick layover in DFW, we arrived at our Mexican destination. Two others had landed earlier today, joining another pair who came yesterday to prepare for our arrival.
Fortunately, we had an uneventful trip: on-time departures and arrivals, our bags were waiting for us, no one got lost. We encountered a glitch once here, though: the customs officials were reluctant to release our medical bags, carrying all of our supplies that would allow us to provide medical services at the clinic starting tomorrow...boxes of eyeglasses, crates of dental equipment, cases of medications, all somewhere in the airport. Our team leader and a fluent physician spent literally hours at the airport negotiating with officials for our supplies. Even the local bishop, who was at the airport to pick up another Methodist guest (coincidence? I don't think so), was unable to facilitate the disposition of our goodies before we left today. We are optimistic that we will be able to retrieve them tomorrow on the way out of town; however, any prayers that would pave the way for an easy pick-up tomorrow morning would be welcome!
So, learning a little bit about patience and flexibility. We ate lunch in the airport, and I hate to say: we came all the way to Mexico to eat at Carl's Jr. Only here, a six-dollar burger is a nineteen peso hambuergesa.
We drove through big-city traffic to the church offices, and settled into the dormitory. It is modest, but clean and pleasantly cool. We walked to the nearby John Wesley Seminary, where the Director and a first-year student gave us a tour. The building is over a hundred years old, and they were rightfully very proud of their facilities. They were also very specific in showing us how previous construction crews from Asbury and elsewhere had helped improve their building; their gratitude was evident, and they were quick to acknowledge God's hand in their lovely church home.
We're getting ready to eat dinner here, have some devotional time and then--hopefully--to an early bed. Our group is all getting along well: we really do all have different, but complementary gifts, and it has made a long day enjoyable and interesting. Please remember us all in your prayers tomorrow as we collect our supplies and travel outside the city to serve.
Leslie Roark
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