Saturday - a travel day

It's hard to believe we have to pack up and leave this little piece of Heaven already.  We have built stronger connections and leave pieces of our hearts at Mount of Olives - Casa Hogar (orphanage), and look forward to leading future missions trips here!!  Thank you Darrell and Maureen for being such gracious hosts and may God continue to bless the work you do in Uruapan and beyond.

This morning I got up a little early and watched the sunrise while listening to bethel Music. So good. Peaceful, contemplating life and death and our purpose of being here. All with a good cuppa joe in hand. Today's word of the day was 'resting in peace'.

After another wonderful breakfast we played a short game of soccer on the field they levelled off since we were there last, and then said our goodbyes to Brian, Alice and Susan, and also to Darryl and Maureen. We were all off to the states again- each through a different border. The three amigos through Mexicali to get to Yuma, D&M through Tecate to San Diego, and us through Tijuana.  The road back was uninterrupted.  The weather was excellent, the Starbucks delicioso, and the Pacific Ocean beautiful and rugged as we travelled.

As we closed in on the border, traffic certainly got busier, and as we reached the last 1.5km to the actual crossing booths, the vendors who sell day after day after day became more numerous very quickly. Afters months and years of practice, they certainly refined their haggling and negotiating skills down to a fine art. Following, line of questioning, what they carried with them, knowing intuitively what it was you actually wanted, what colours sell best and what don't. It was fun to watch and experience, although this time we were happy about the line moving faster than last time (when we almost ran out of gas in line), we weren't able to truly enjoy the 'people haggling' and 'people watching' time in line.

When we crossed into the USA we had the honour of driving through the X-ray machine and another line of questioning in a 'random' check. That was pretty boring, apart from watching the motorcycle guy next to us have to empty his pockets, helmet and shoes, submit to a dog sniff and open a few compartments on his bike... Quite the process.

Once up in San Diego we checked in at the hotel, and within about 1/2 an hour met up with the Jellema tribe who had just landed and picked up their van. It was a warm day and the kids were happy to jump in the pool and enjoy a little screen time in the A/C rooms. Wandering about a little, dinner at Chipotle, and talking about our journey and theirs took care of a good deal of the night. Tomorrow will be a relax day...