At First I Thought You Were White Invaders

On Monday we started the day with our first visit to region 235. The easiest way to explain it is that the different regions are basically smaller cities near the big cities. Region 235 is the place where the new church will be. This area is such a sharp contrast to the hotel district: unpaved roads, houses made out of cardboard boxes, five or more people in a one room house, no air conditioning. It's like a whole different world. It's not as if I had never seen anything like it before or that I didn't expect it, but seeing it always has the same effect on me. It's just sad that so many people could vacation in Cancun and never have any idea what it's like outside of the resorts.

We spent most of the morning walking through the area praying and meeting people who go to Pastor Marcial's church. The people from region 235 walk 8-10 miles to go to church. They were so kind to invite us into their tiny houses and spend some time with us. The majority of our time there was spent praying together. A lot of people would probably look at that and say that we could have just as easily done that at home, but I disagree completely. I know that my prayers never fall on deaf ears and I will definitely continue to pray for Cancun and region 235, but there's something really special to be experienced by praying on the land with the people who live there. Sometimes I understood what they were saying and other times I had no idea, and I know none of them understood when we prayed, but it didn't even matter. I am so thankful that we serve a God who transcends any and all language barriers!

When we were done with our prayer walk, Henry had a sweet surprise: he was taking Manuel (Pastor Marcial's son), Elaina (Manuel's fiance), and Pastor Marcial to get Elaina a wedding dress. Linds and I got to see the dresses she tried on. She looked absolutely beautiful and was just beaming with happiness. Before we left, Manuel thanked Henry, told him how much they had been praying that his would work out, and invited him to come back for the wedding in December. It was such a sweet moment. I am so thankful that it worked out the way it did and that we were able to be a part of it.

Every day we had lunch around 1:00 (have I mentioned that Mama Tori makes amazing food? because she does) and then things are kinda dead. It's so insanely hot that no one really does anything until about 5:00. A little siesta, if you will. After being in that hot sun all morning, we were always exhausted. Perfect time for a nap or some time on the roof at the pool. I became a huge fan of this time of the day and am really going to miss it. 4:30 am and I are going to hate each other even more as of Tuesday. We had a prayer meeting back at the church site that night. Another time where I wasn't really sure what was going on sometimes, but still really good. I just really love being with these people. Plus there were chickens. Running all over the place. At our prayer meeting. I don't care who you are, that's funny.