We're Home!

PTL!  We have arrived back home in Mexico!

I really didn't mean to leave y'all hanging here without hearing any news, but life got a little busy these past two weeks as we were preparing to leave.  Let's see:

•    April 2-4  -  Michael and the boys got to attend Missions Convention at Penn View while I stayed at home and packed.

 { Jacinda sleeping in the swing while I'm packing }

•    April 5  -  My sister ended up in the hospital with a blood infection.

•    April 6  -  Parker had a birthday!  He turned 3!

{ the boys }

{ Jacinda }

•    April 9  -  And finally...we left in the evening to drive to JFK for our red eye flight to Mexico!

{ Getting ready to leave.  We had 10 large checked-in suitcases, and 10 carry-ons, plus a dog crate and a stroller!  Special thanks to Gratz EWC for allowing us to use their church van and to Steve Miller for driving us!  }

•    April 10  -  We arrived in Tapachula!

After our last few flying escapades, we were hoping for a smooth, problem free trip.  And you know what?  God answered our prayers and we had no problems!  In fact, at every turn and with each official, we were shown extra kindness and given extra help!

When we arrived at the airport here in Tapachula, we were greeted with a good group of people from our church.  What a surprise!  They helped us to get our luggage loaded up and then brought us back to our house.

Now the fun began!  We had no electric and no water.  We decided to spend the night at a hotel until we could get the situation resolved.  Finally yesterday, the electric company came and turned on the power.  The only problem, the downstairs worked, but not the upstairs!  We called someone to come look at our electric box and it turned out to be an easy fix!  So, we were able to sleep in our house last night.

But, we're still having issues with our water pump.  So, we're hoping to work on that today so that we can have water!  =)    **Update:  we had to buy a new water pump - but our water is now up and running!!

What else can we say?  Even with all the issues that come with returning to your field of service after begin gone for an extended period of time...it's good to be HOME. SWEET. HOME!

Our Trip to PA - Part I

Hello - my dear blog friends!  I finally decided after more than 3 months, I'd better catch everyone up with all that's going on in our world!  It's been exciting...!

I may have to break up this story into three posts, because it's a LONG story!  And, I'll try to make it as short and sweet as possible!  =)

Let's start at the beginning with our originally planned, month long visit to PA...

{ THE TRIP }

April 16th dawned bright and early in southern Mexico.  We arrived at our little airport in Tapachula around 5:30 a.m.  The line checking in was a little long, but we gradually arrived at the ticket counter, received our tickets, and headed towards our gate.  On the way there, we had to stop by an immigration counter where the agent checked our tickets and passports.  Since we had never traveled abroad with our FM2 visas, we asked if there was anything else we needed to do.  His answer was 'no," so we continued on our way.

We were off the ground around 6:40 a.m. and enjoying our short flight to Mexico City.  Upon our arrival there, we found our next gate with no difficulty.  Since our layover was two hours, we settled in, ate some snacks, and relaxed.  During this time, there was an official walking around handing out tourist visa papers.  He asked Michael if we needed one, and since we had our FM2 visas, we assumed we didn't need one.

Around 11:00 a.m. we got in the line to board our flight to San Antonio.  When we handed our tickets and passports to the agent, we were told we each needed one of those papers (that we had not been given in Tapachula when we asked and that we assumed we did not need and so had never filled it out...) to be able to board.  Oops!  Now what?  The agent told Michael he would have to fill them out and then return back through the airport to get them stamped.  Ok.  I stayed at the gate with the boys while Michael did a mad dash back through the airport.  About two minutes before Michael came dashing back, they closed the gate.  We politely asked if the airplane door was still open and if we could board, but the agents simply looked at us, told us "no," and went about their business with no inclination to try and help us out!

From this point on, things started getting frustrating!  Because we had made an intelligently incorrect decision while booking our flights - by scheduling two different trips on the same day because it was cheaper - we now realized until we sorted through this mess and got our next flight rescheduled, we were going to miss our next trip in San Antonio and that there would probably be fees involved!

Now on the agenda was to try and get our flight out of Mexico City rescheduled.  That was almost a joke.  Every place we stopped to get help, we were sent to a different place within the airport!  We finally found an AeroMexico counter that would help us.  After much talking, they got us on another flight.  And unbelievingly, we were able to retrieve our luggage which had not been sent on.  Thank the Lord!

We were also thankful that I have a Verizon phone with a plan for both Mexico and the U.S.  It became very useful to us now that we had to contact travelocity and make new plans for our trip out of San Antonio to Harrisburg.

When we first called them, we were given information that we could change our trip flights for $180 a person.  Michael said he would talk to his wife and get back with them.  I then called my sister to see if she could check online and find any flights that would be cheaper than the change flight price.  She wasn't coming up with anything better, so we called travelocity back, only to have them tell us that we must have misunderstood and it would be over $500 a person to change our flights!  WHAT?  Well, we didn't want to do that, and our flight was getting ready to board, so we decided not to do anything until we arrived in San Antonio.

Upon our arrival in San Antonio, we gathered our luggage and went through customs and received a nice "Welcome back to the good 'ole USA, kids!!!!"  We were so glad to be there that we went out into the terminal, sank down in some chairs and breathed a sigh of relief!  Now to figure out the next plan.

We quickly decided it was getting too late in the day and we were too worn out to be trying and getting a flight to PA yet that same night.  So we got online, found a decent hotel with shuttle service and headed there first.

We checked into our room, got online again, and found tickets for the following day for about the price of the original "change flight" price we were quoted.

Next was to try and find some food!  With free shuttle service in a 5 mile radius of the hotel, we decided on Cici's Pizza.  Yum!  And all the kids got to eat free too!  =)

Once again, bright and early Tuesday morning, we were in the San Antonio airport and finally on our way towards Philadelphia with a layover in Charlotte.

And without any more complications (except a MAJORLY bumpy airplane ride!) we made it to PA and were greeted by my family!

Now we only had a few days to tie up loose ends in preparation for my sister's wedding!  Stayed tuned for Part II and some pictures!

A Mountain Top Service

Today we took a "short" trip just across the border to Guatemala.  Michael had been invited to speak in a special service at Esperanza, a small town where our fellow H.I.M. pastors are opening a new work.

We started out our trip by leaving very early in the morning!  I had made sausage muffins and hashbrowns to take along for breakfast - our own version of McDonald's!  We were planning a smooth 2 and 1/2 hr. trip to Motozintla where we would meet pastor Javier.  Unfortunately, the very curvy roads and our greasy breakfast did not agree with Taylor!  Thank the Lord for wet wipes and a pastor's wife who washed the dirty clothes and provided pants for Taylor to wear!

After getting everything and everyone loaded in Motozintla, we drove for another 45 minutes on mostly bumpy, dirt roads that headed further up into the mountains.  It was a fun drive with beautiful scenery.

Once we arrived at the event location, I kind of felt like singing a song I remember from a film we used to watch in Science class.  "We're on top of the world..."

There were lots of people from our local H.I.M. churches represented at the service, plus some new people from the community.

After the service, we were served a meal.

Here's the people waiting in line for their plate of food.

Our plate of food.  The chicken was really yummy!

On our way home, we stopped to take a picture of the roads that we traveled that wind their way around, and then eventually up (or down) the mountain.

It was a long day for us, but a good day!  We trust the work of the Lord will prosper there in Esperanza, Guatemala.


*Stay tuned.  Next weekend we have a wedding planned, as well as a marriage seminar with Butch Heath.  We're planning to have a busy and exciting time!

H.I.M. Hispanic Pastor's Retreat 2011

Thank the Lord for his traveling protection on us on our recent trip to Guatemala City for the annual pastor's retreat. We feel that the Lord really helped in the sessions and it was a good time for all of us to be together, to learn and grow, and be encouraged!

And besides the fact that we got a little lost in the city trying to find our way to the retreat center, and we got stopped by the police, it was a good trip (although the roads were VERY bumpy!)...and we got to eat at a McDonald's once we arrived in the city! Then after that, we were able to employ the help of a kind taxi driver to help us find our destination.

The retreat center had a little chapel - this is where we held the sessions each day. Bro. Steven Hight was the special speaker.

Michael was asked to speak in one of the sessions on, "Music in the Life and Ministry of the Apostle Paul." It is a much needed topic for our churches, and he did a fabulous job presenting his material (complete with animated motions and singing excerpts!!!!!!!!!!!!)

The retreat center had a nice little dining room. The food was pretty good too! Especially the one night we had Little Ceaser's Pizza!!!! =)

Below is a picture of our Hispanic Pastors who were able to attend the retreat. We also took pics of the whole group of us, but I'll have to get a copy from someone else. My copy is obviously missing me, and only half the crowd was looking at me! Oh well!

Above (from left to right):

Pastor Abel from Salamanca, MX

Missionary/Pastor Eric Kuhns from Tegucigalpa, Hondurus

Pastor Javier from Motozintla, MX

Pastor Cruz from Tacaná, Guatemala

Pastor René from Tajumulco, Guatemala

Missionary/Pastor Michael Mason from Tapachula, MX

And, it was a wonderful privilege to be able to spend time last week with Eric and Hannah Kuhns and family! We had some great conversations and great laughs! =) I'm also hoping they will post other pictures of the retreat on their blog, since for whatever reason, I really didn't take too many pics!

On Thursday afternoon, there were no sessions scheduled, so the whole crew of us loaded up into Eric's 4Runner and our Sequoia and we made our way to the zoo. I think we took a few wrong turns along the way, since we drove down a road or two the wrong way...but we made it! It was actually a very nice zoo - and they even had a dairy cow to remind us of home in PA! lol

These youngsters really enjoyed hanging out together last week! There was lots of running, hollering, playing games, and even begging the cooks for extra food... =)

Kyle is 6, Joseph K. is 5, and Taylor is 4!

And on our way home, we were able to stop at a Taco Bell! Not that it would be our favorite resteraunt or anything, but it's something we haven't had for a year, and so it was kind of something special...it was good, too! (please excuse the blurry cell phone pic!)

All in all, a very good retreat, although we're glad to be back home! Why? Because it was COLD! Okay, so really, it was only upper 50's at night and low 70's during the day, but us "tapachultecans," we pretty much froze!!! We're not quite used to anything other than HOT - all the time! None of us had any jackets with us either, so we were very glad for the blankets that were provided! I think we're all thawed out now, so we're good to go!! =)

Thanks for your prayers for us and your interest in our trip!

All in a Day's Work

We periodically get stopped by police at various checkpoints. The lack of a license plate on the front of our vehicle seems to always be a red flag and it's always the first question out of their mouths!

Here's a conversation Michael had yesterday after being stopped at a federal police checkpoint.

Federal Police: Good evening! Where are you coming from?

Michael: Good evening. From Santo Domingo.

Federal Police : Why don’t you have a license plate up front?

Michael: Well, I am from Pennsylvania and in Pennsylvania we don’t have license plates on the front.

Federal Police: Ok. Go ahead and pull forward to the left for a check.

Michael: (I pull forward to the left)

Federal Police: I want to see the identification (permit) for your truck. And also your passport.

Michael: Ok. (I hand him the truck permit and also my passport)

Federal Police: (Looks at the permit) Do you realize that this is a tourist permit and that it is expired?

Michael: Yes. But I have an FM-2 visa which extends this permit for as long as my visa is good. (I hand him my present FM-2 visa)

Federal Police: Where do you live?

Michael: I live in Tapachula.

Federal Police: And what do you do?

Michael: I am a missionary. I am planting churches. We are planting a church in Tapachula and another church in Santo Domingo.

Federal Police: Oh. You are driving on an expired TOURIST permit for your truck.

Michael: But according to the Customs officials, this permit extends with my present Immigrant Visa. The agent told me it was Article VI that says it.

Federal Police: What law?

Michael: I don’t know what law. I just know that the customs agent told me it was in Article VI. Here let me show you on the back of the permit. (I read to him what it says on the back of the permit) “A vehicle of a foreign national can stay in Mexico for the same time as he has a Visa as non-immigrant or immigrant rentista. (This last one is my status.)

Federal Police: Well, you're not the owner of the truck.

Michael: No, my wife actually owns the truck. (She was the one that was there to sign the title. I happened to be in Florida at the time.) But here is her visa. (I hand him my wife’s visa.)

Federal Police: Well, your not allowed driving the truck without her being there. She has to be in the truck with you, for you to be able to drive.

Michael: Oh, really? I was the one that imported the truck at the Mexican border and she WASN’T there.

Federal Police: Really? How did you do that?

Michael: With my marriage license and a letter of power, signed and stamped by a notary. And the customs officials didn’t have any problem with it. Look, on the permit it says that Crystal Mason, my wife is the owner, but that Michael Mason, I, imported it. If I can’t drive it without her, how did I import the truck at the northern border?

Federal Police: Well, what about the plate up front? Where is it at?

Michael: As I told you before, I am from Pennsylvania. Some states such as Texas have plates up front. Others, such as Alabama and Pennsylvania do not use a license plate up front.

Federal Police: Oh, ok. Well, go on.

Our Recent Trip to Guatemala

Well, we arrived safely home late Sunday night! Monday we spent the day recuperating from our trip! Tuesday morning, I had every intention of finishing the edits on these pictures to share with you, but our normally steady electric, decided to go off for 5 hours. So after it came back on, I was trying to finish the pictures and to get them uploaded, when a bad storm came through, and the lightening zapped our modem...hence, no internet until this morning when we went into town to get a replacement modem.

Whew! So anyway...here we are, and I've finally got all the pictures uploaded. I hope you enjoy this little pictorial journal of our recent trip to Guatemala! Consider this post, yesterday's [Just a Glimpse].

* Click the arrow below to see a slideshow of these pics, or click anywhere else in the box to be taken directly to Picasa where you can view the pics a little larger.

[ Just a Glimpse ]

Today's "Just a Glimpse" is actually the story from Michael's recent weekend trip to Guatemala. And trust me, you'll want to read the whole thing! Oh, and one other thing...you know I mentioned in my last post about reminding a certain someone to take pictures? Well, he didn't...but thankfully, the pastor took a couple and sent them our way! =)

*********************

Dear Friends, Family, and Prayer Warriors,

I want to say a great big thank you to those of you who were praying for me this past weekend. We could definitely feel the prayers of God's people. As I go on trips like this, I often think of Psalms 91. Truly, "He is my refuge and my fortress: my God; in Him will I trust."

As I left on Friday, it seemed that everything was going wrong. After leaving the house, I had to return twice for things that I had forgotten. In the midst of returning, I got stopped by Border Police and I began to wonder how this trip was going to go.

After picking up several brothers in Santo Domingo who were going with me, we proceeded to the border. Two and a half hours later after filling out a bunch of paperwork and having to see a Guatemalan lawyer, we finally had everything in order and were ready to continue on our way.

The five hour trip went by rather quickly and without incident, and before we knew it, we were in the city of Tacaná. Not long after driving into the city, I went to stop and quickly realized that I had NO BRAKES!!! Thankfully, we were on a flat stretch, so I quickly put it into a lower gear to slow us down. After this, we proceeded down several VERY steep streets with trucks, motorcycles, and people all around us with pretty much no brakes at all. As we arrived at the last street, which was also going downhill, I used the emergency brake to stop us. Somehow God helped us to make it safely to the house of our pastor Cruz Perez.

We were very grateful for God's blessings to us throughout the day. We had just traveled on tremendously high mountain roads with huge curves all day long! Truly God was with us.

On Saturday we began the youth convention, and God helped as I preached three different times. The presence of the Holy Spirit was with us in every service in a special way and we had several seekers at the altar throughout the day on Saturday.

Also on Saturday, Pastor Cruz called a friend/relative of his that is studying to be a mechanic to come and look at my truck. He told me that the brakes evidently just heated up and now they were smooth. He took all of the brakes off and roughed them up so that they would work again. I really don't know anything about mechanics, so I took his word for it.

On Sunday morning I preached and once again the Holy Spirit came in a tremendous way in this service. During the message a drunk man came and stood in the door and listened and several form the outside also showed interest. At the close of the service I gave an altar call and two brand new people accepted Christ! It was an exciting day!

Sunday afternoon after eating a delicious lunch, we tested the brakes and they felt like they were working fine so we decided to make our way back to Tapachula.

It was about two hours into the trip when I began to hear a tat-tat-tat-tat-tat sound near the front wheels and wondered what it was. It seemed to me like it was worse on the curves. And we were going around LOTS of them! Finally, I stopped to check it out. When I checked the front drivers tire, I was able to move every single lug nut with just my fingers! Evidently our mechanic friend forgot to tighten them up. We had just ridden close to two hours on mountainous, curvy roads with a tire about ready to fall off! There is no doubt that God had sent His angel to hold that tire on for us!

We proceeded without further incident (other than getting lost in Malacatán, Guatemala which can be dangerous at night) and arrived in Tapachula thanking and praising God for His protection on us, but most of all for victories won.

Once again, thank you for your faithfulness in remembering us in prayer. May God richly bless you!

Yours for the Kingdom,

Rev. Michael Mason

Journal of our Move to Tapachula, MX

CAUTION: Read at your own leisure...this is a very lengthy post!

Thank the Lord for safety and traveling protection on our recent move to Mexico!

We left the Rio Grande Valley, TX on Jan. 14th. Our truck was loaded inside and on top and we were pulling an overloaded trailer! We stopped at the TX/MX border to pay duty on a few items, and then we were on our way. We had no problems with our papers and visas at any of the checkpoints.

We decided to make a quick stop for gas about 1-1/2 hrs. down the road. We got our gas, then pulled around to another spot and parked the truck so we could do potty breaks and let the dog out to exercise her legs. When we were finally ready to leave, the truck would not start! Oops! We had forgotten that this same thing had happened the week before and we forgot to have it looked at. Seeing as my husband nor I are experienced mechanics, these problems could make for an interesting trip! But, the Lord already had people lined up to help us. We no sooner got the hood open, then an American and two Mexicans drove up beside us and offered to help. Whew! It was decided that a clamp on our battery was loose and so they drove a screw down in to help hold everything together until we got to Tapachula. On our way again, we had no more troubles. We spent the night at a very nice hotel near Tampico.

We left the next morning prepared for a not too stressful day. All the roads we traveled seemed to be two-lanes and we were always following semi's or rv's who were just creeping along. The roads were also a little curvy and hilly, and therefore not good for passing! Needless to say, this part of the trip was taking forever and we were not sure if we would make it to our planned stopping place.

It was nearing dusk when we started on the bypasses around Veracruz. We made a turn, and heard a thud, thud, thud.......our back, right, truck tire was flat! Oh no! We got out and was assessing the situation, when once again, God already had a helper in place! We were pulled off the road in front of a propane gas station, and one of the men there came out and volunteered his services in changing the tire. He tried to jack up the truck, but it kept sliding off. We tried his co-workers jack, same problem. We had WAY too much weight in the truck. It was decided that Michael would ride with the co-worker 5 minutes down the road to fetch a tire mechanic while I stayed in the truck with the kids. They returned with the tire mechanic and some better tools, and the tire was changed in no time at all. The next problem, we had to take the tire mechanic back to his shop, but there was no room for all of us in the truck. So, what's the best solution? We're still not sure, but this is what we decided to do. Michael takes the truck and kids to return the tire mechanic, while I stay along the side of the road with the trailer and the dog. Oh, did I mention it was dark already? Yeah, it was a "wonderful" moment in my life! Some of my fears were that someone would stop and I would have to try to talk in my limited Spanish or that Michael (who's not good at directions) would get lost trying to find where he left me! Thank the Lord nothing happened, but I was starting to get concerned after waiting almost an hour and Michael still wasn't back! He finally returned, and we decided to call it a night at a hotel down the road that had been recommended to us by the mechanics. The hotel was not the greatest thing one ever stayed at, and we were feeling a little unsure as to how secure our truck and trailer were going to be out by the road...but we didn't know of another quick solution, so we just had to trust God.

After a not so restful night, we were up real early in the morning hoping to make up some time. After a slight delay trying to find an ATM machine to get money out for the rest of the trip, we kept on trucking. Halfway through the day, our truck started making noises...then the check engine light came on...then our truck's braking system lights came on. Superficially, we couldn't see anything wrong, so we just kept on driving, and praying that our dear, overloaded, truck and trailer would make it the whole way! It did...and we pulled into our new home early in the evening! Our new "Home Sweet Home" never looked so good!

We know many of you were praying for us along the journey although you may not have known all the details at the time...Thank You! Your prayers helped us to make it safely to Tapachula to begin our new ministry. We are forever grateful to you!

Highlights from Michael's Trip to Tapachula, MX

Early Wednesday morning, Dec. 9th, found Michael along with Jonathan Springer, John Dykes, and Rogelio (an RGBI Hispanic student) traveling south 30 hours to Tapachula, Chiapas, Mexico. Their mission: 1) to pick up our furniture that was being stored in Salamanca, 2) to find and begin renting a house for us to live in, and 3) meet with the believers and contacts in both Santo Domingo and Tapachula.

The mode of transportation was Jonathan Springer's truck with our trailer attached. The picture below has the beautiful volcanic mountain of Orizaba in the background.

"Welcome to Tapachula"

Remember the small town of "Santo Domingo" that we have mentioned? Our plans have been slightly changed in that we will not be living in this town, but will still be working at planting and developing a church there. During this trip, Michael was able to visit our contacts in Santo Domingo and at the same time, Hery Santiago and many of the H.I.M. pastors from Guatemala and one pastor from Mexico were able to commence for a meeting and services in Santo Domingo. Michael was presented a Bible in the service from Bro. Hery and the pastors on behalf of H.I.M. for his completion of language school. Michael also had the privilege to speak.

Tapachula: The city where we'll be living and starting another brand new church. We have three main contacts and their families who will be helping us in this endeavor. The three men have all attended and been members at the H.I.M. church in West Palm Beach, FL when they worked in the States. They are solid Christians and will be a great asset to us.

Below: The first church service of the "Iglesia Evangelica de Santidad de Tapachula". We will be holding services in this semi-enclosed "building". The lady in blue (below) runs a restaurant here during the week, and we will be holding church services here on Sundays.

Michael preaching.

A group photo. Kyle is really excited about meeting and getting to know some new friends. He'll be speaking Spanish better than his mother in no time!! And his mother will need extra prayer as she will mostly likely be teaching a Sunday School in Spanish...yikes! Thank goodness children are very forgiving...!

...And the men were successful in finding a decent house for us to live in. It is located in a very nice and safe neighborhood. We will have a backyard that is totally enclosed so the boys will be able to run and play to their hearts content. As with most rental houses in Mexico, there are always some minor details we will have to work through upon our arrival (making sure the gas lines are hooked up properly for the stove and water heater, checking how the water system works with the pumps and cisterns, painting, having the phone/internet get hooked up, installing light fixtures, fixing anything that needs fixing, and finding a place to put all of our food and kitchen items in the limited cabinet space...etc...).

And these lovely creatures will be our "neighborhood sentinels!!!" (Unfortunately, I can see my youngest son trying to make friends with one...) =)

And so, these are the highlights from Michael's trip. Right now, we are in Texas finishing our packing and seeing to last minute details. Lord willing, Thursday is the day we will head south as a family. After almost 2 years of language studies, we are excited to finally begin our ministry in Southern Mexico and to plant churches and disciple new believers!

We will appreciate your prayers for us for traveling protection (it will take us 3 days to get there) and as we acclimate ourselves to a new culture and begin our ministry work.

Trip Pictures - Part 5

Thursday p.m./Friday ~ We visited and stayed in Santo Domingo (the place we've been assigned to go after language school). Kyle got sick during the night, but seemed a little better the next day. Unfortunately, it was I who got sick on Friday! Not fun! I spent a lot of time in the bathroom...which was interesting in and of itself. Let's just say, no toilet seat, and then you had to use buckets of water to flush... I spent the day with Benjamin's dear family (well, mostly in bed) while everybody else went sight-seeing. That also explains some of the pictures...Michael had the camera!!

Mountain scenery.

This is the Casa Grande. A German man moved and started the town of Santo Domingo in the early 1900's, I believe. He built this house and also started their coffee industry. I'm sure there's more history to be told, but you would have to ask someone else. I wasn't along on the grand tour!

This is a very strange styled house for Mexico. Also, a lot of the houses in Santo Domingo and areas surrounding it, use wooden planks instead of the typical cement block/brick for their houses. This resulted from the German influence in their beginnings.

Benjamin, his wife, and one of his daughters with her child. Benjamin is a convert of Hery Santiago working in Marydel, MD. This is our main contact in Santo Domingo.

Friday evening ~ Just a snap shot as we were crossing into Guatemala. We spent a lot of time at the border trying to get our papers and permits...it was nuts! At one point, some fellow we were using to walk us through, left, with our truck title and a few other very important papers. Needless to say, we were a little concerned! Fortunatey, he gave them to some other guy who contacted us, and helped us to finish everything!

We spent the night right across the border with Grace's family and acquaintances. Saturday, we spent driving 8 hours or so to Jalapa where the conference/retreat was held.

Click here to see Philip & Collette's first post about our trip! (They have some coffee plant/bean pictures that Michael didn't think to take.)

One more trip post to follow!

Trip Pictures - Part 4

Thursday ~ We left Motozintla and made our way to Santo Domingo to stay the night and then to check the town out. We did a lot of stopping along the way for some beautiful scenery pictures.

Looking down on the town of Motozintla.

We saw this beautiful mountain creek and I really wanted to stop and take some pictures. So, we just pulled right in!!!This is what you call a drive-through car wash!!!!

Taylor loves playing in water!

Beautiful mountain creek with a small waterfall in the center of the picture.

Trip Pictures - Part 3

Tuesday p.m./Wednesday/Thursday a.m. ~ We arrived weary and worn into the small town of Motozintla. We stayed with the national pastor and his family.

Motozintla ~ Church

Outside and entrance.

Small congregation.

Philip preached.

After service, Philip was playing the people songs from our CD off his phone, and then they decided we needed to sing a special in person, so...

Motozintla ~ Misc. Pictures

This is the pastor's daughter - she is three years old and loves to talk!

The women preparing a lunch...

...of some kind of chicken salad tostada. It was very good!

This is where and how they wash dishes in Southern Mexico. A large cistern and cement slabs.

The pastor and various relatives who helped prepare meals, etc., for us.

Michael and the pastor, Javier.