Tim, serving in Louisiana after Hurricane Katrina in 2005
Suitcase Saga Begins Here: In preparation for my trip to Mexico in 2007, the first trip and only trip in which a friend joined me, we visited several thrift stores to gather items we could take with us. One of them, Vision for Missions, gave us a suitcase as well as let us select several items that could be used at the camp in Mexico. In the evening, I filled the suitcase with these items and many more items to be left in Mexico.
First Time Flying in 17 Years, My, have things changed! Friday, March 16,Tim and I drove from Dayton to Atlanta to fly to Mexico. We parked at the Sandy Springs Marta station and took the train to the Airport. We had 4 bags to check between the 2 of us, including the ugly suitcase the thrift store had given us. We then went through security, and I was particularly slow as I didn't know all the new things that had to be done. I had to take my boots off, put my stuff in different bins, take my laptop computer out of the carry-on bag, then try to get everything back together after getting through. I apologized to the guy behind me and told him I hadn't flown in 17 years. He said a lot had changed since then. No kidding! And about another 10 years before that, as a first grader, we were allowed to board a plane, sit it its seats, and look in the cockpit even though we weren't passengers.
Turn that thing off! After takeoff, as soon as they told us we could use approved electronic devices, (GPS units were never mentioned) I turned on my GPS. At first it was a bit confusing to determine what city we were passing over, but I was able to determine that we flew just north of Dayton. I played around with the settings for a little while, and I think I had it figured out by the time we got to Louisville, KY. Just about then, the steward came by and noticed the GPS. He asked what it was and when I told him he said I needed to turn it off.
Quick trip to downtown Chicago: We had about 5 hours before our next flight, so we found the Chicago Subway blue line, and headed downtown. Tim had never ridden the loop, so when we had an opportunity to make a free transfer, we did. We then rode around about half the loop, then decided we needed to transfer back to the blue line to head back to the airport. The cards we purchased allowed us to make that transfer, and we bought some food at a store while out of the system. Saturday, March 17, we got back to the airport after midnight. We had to take the airport light rail system a couple stops to where we needed to be. We boarded the "train" going in the wrong direction, but it didn't matter, since it was the only train running at that hour. It went one station in the wrong direction before reversing direction and going back the other way, stopping again at the station we had just boarded at.
Suitcase Update: While waiting to board our plane to Mexico, I was able to see luggage being loaded into the plane, and I thought I might have seen some of our bags going in, so I watched closely. I saw 3 of our bags, but didn't see the suitcase we got from the Thrift Store. Perhaps it had already been loaded, but I didn't see it among the remaining baggage being loaded. I was a little concerned but figured it was probably already loaded.
kslkjf s mkslfiosn Bill Ensinger kl Tim Leary jlsknlf ksd: At one point, I heard an announcement in Spanish that included my name. I went up to the check in counter and noticed a stack of Mexican travel visa papers and import forms, which I recognized from previous trips. I took one and started filling them out while waiting to see what I had been called up for. The lady at the desk was dealing with other people. Then she switched modes without noticing me or me being able to get her attention and made another Spanish announcement. I heard my name again and I waved my hand and said, "Here I am!" By this time, Tim had come up to the desk. She needed both our passports, and I helped Tim fill out his papers.
United States and Mexico at Night Viewed from the Air (and other flight details): We boarded the plane, and this time Tim took the window seat. We were toward the back of the plane this time, on the right side, so again, I was looking west as we flew south. Tim fell asleep before we took off and didn't wake up until after we were in the air. I hardly slept at all, as I was too excited about flying. I turned on the GPS only a little at a time to figure out where we were. I was able to tell when we passed near St. Louis, flew near Little Rock, and passed west of Houston. We then crossed into Mexico, and I noticed a distinct change in how cities were laid out. In the USA, the lights of the city were concentrated near downtown, but the further away from downtown things were, the more spread out the lights were. There was little lights beyond a certain distance, but there were still speckles here and there. Major roads were also lit up in certain areas, occasionally enough to make long lines against the dark background. In general, the cities looked like archery targets, with lots of holes in the bullseye, but fewer and fewer holes in outer circles. In Mexico, things were distinctly different. Cities appeared as distinct blocks, often with jagged but well defined edges, and very little, often nothing, beyond them. I realized that this was the first time I had flown at night for an extended distance over land. I had flown at night to Berlin, but most of the night portion of the flight was over water. I dozed a bit, but started tracking our distance from Guadalajara, and realized we were getting close when we were about 200 miles out. At about 150 miles out, I noticed a change in speed and a slight drop. Our descent began not long after, and I wasn't able to figure out anything on the ground after that. It was still dark when we landed. With the larger plane we had, the runway end passed underneath, and we seemed to hang in the air for a while before the wheels touched down. It's always unnerving to see the runway pass so rapidly beneath knowing there's only a limited supply of it. Then it's like, how long does it take this thing to stop? But we did stop, and safely. The plane was unloaded from the rear, and everyone had to get into a bus like thing that was elevated to the level of the plane. It then decended to ground level and was driven like a bus to the customs area. We had to get our passports and visa cards stamped before going to the luggage area.
Baggage Claim, Lost Luggage (What Else is New?) Three of our 4 bags came through fairly quickly, but the ugly suitcase never showed up. I eventually went to a Lost and Found area and talked to them about it. They were pretty good speaking English, so I was able to tell them what I needed, and they were able to tell me what I needed to do. They seemed quite helpful. We then went through the Customs inspection area, and both Tim and I had green lights when we pushed the button, which meant we could pass through uninspected.
Taxis in Mexico, Glad we didn't rent a car!: We found the taxi ticket stand right at the exit to the customs area, and we were able to purchase our taxi ticket to the bus station. The taxi driver made Tim very glad we hadn't rented a car. The Taxi driver was blocked in by other cars and taxis, so he started driving through them by blowing the horn. Amazingly, the other cars started to move out of the way. Still, it was almost like playing bumper cars to get the taxi through the crowded airport loading and unloading area. The usual Mexican style of driving was evident the rest of the way to the bus station, with cars cutting and changing lanes regularly with little or no warning. Tim had wanted to rent a car for this trip but I had strongly urged him not to. Now he was glad we hadn't!
The Front of the Bus: At the bus station, Tim purchased bus tickets from the most expensive bus line, but the price was still reasonable. I suggested getting seats at the front so we could see out the front. The first departing bus was full, so we had to wait an hour for the next one. The bus trip was uneventful, except instead of being able to see out the front of the bus, we had a solid bulkhead immediately in front of us, making it hard to see anything!
Settling in: David met us at the bus station in Morelia. We went to the Wal-Mart and got food for the week. I paid for it. We then went to the camp, and I ran the GPS, taking notes about our trip so David could have a map made up. At the land, there was lots of settling in to do, and of course lots to show Tim. It was fun to see that progress had been made on the only dome they had last year, and the next dome was complete enough that we used it as a kitchen. This second dome was larger than the first, so we also had stuff stored there. There was also some new areas dug out with the backhoe, including a go cart track up in the flat area at the top of the land. Gravel had been put down on the roads. And a water system had been set up. The water system pumped water from the stream, so it was only good for watering plants and making concrete. David and Micah departed in the evening, and Tim and I had the place to ourselves until Monday morning. Sunday, March 18, Tim and I had a relaxing day. We read scripture, walked around the property, and talked about plans for the week.
Projects Missionaries Do:
Monday, March 19, David returned in the morning, and we began to work on projects under his direction. He had purchased a small cement mixer on Saturday. Tim and I put the mixer together on Monday. Our projects during the week included mixing mortar and constructing a brick wall, and putting in a shower wall in the smaller dome, known as the Toy House. Tim did most of the cooking and cleaning, cleaned concrete off the windows in the two domes, wrote poetry about what we were doing, and did whatever else David asked him to do. One of my projects was using my GPS to mark locations of landmarks on the camp land as well as some of the local roads and landmarks.
Wednesday, March 21 was the spring Equinox, a great day for marking the shadow of the tetherball court pole. I was surprised to see that the shadow made a straight line across the court. I figured it was probably following a direct east-west line of latitude, considering that on that day, the sun was passing directly east-west along the equator. David and I set up the water pump to bring water to the camp. This involved taking a heavy pump down to the edge of the stream and hooking it up to hoses. We had to prime the pump and set up a bucket in the water so it wouldn't suck up the muddy stream bottom. The pump ran all afternoon filling up a large tank in the lower corner of the property. David watered plants and filled up another smaller tank while the large one was being filled. David told me that in Mexico, the law said you couldn't pump water from a lake or pond, but only from a flowing stream. I suppose this was because if the stream wasn't flowing, you could end up pumping the pond dry.
Friday, March 23, we had hoped to head to Acuitzio that evening, but David wasn't able to confirm that the hotel would be available. So instead, we continued constructing the wall. We also spent some time putting things away so they wouldn't be left out while nobody was on the land for a day or so. All week we had good food and great fellowship. Tim read us his poems, David shared his vision, and I talked about some of the things going on in my life. We discussed ways we could help David once we got back to the states as well.
Saturday, March 24, we were up early, and David took us to Acuitzio. We spent a little time at his apartment. Karen fixed us some breakfast, we took showers, and then we departed for Morelia to begin our journey back to the United States.
Where is the Suitcase?: David and his family had been tracking the lost suitcase all week, and we were told it was at the bus station. Tim needed to be present to claim the suitcase, so we figured it wouldn't be a problem. At the bus station, we found out that the suitcase wasn't actually at the bus station, but was at another place about 20 minutes drive away. We didn't have time to go there and get back in time for our bus, so David went there himself with a copy of Tim's licence and identification. Tim and I boarded the bus, and they began showing movies. About half way to Guadalajara, I began to pray that David would be able to pick up the suitcase. By that time, David had probably already gotten to where the suitcase was, but sometimes God answers prayers retroactively. The bus arrived in Guadalajara on schedule, and we got a taxi to the hotel that Tim had made reservations for. The bell hop was friendly and helped us with our bags up to our room. Tim was excited to find that he could get the Bush series Nascar race on the TV, but unhappy that we couldn't seem to get the air conditioning working.
No Habla Expanol on the Subway!: After the race, we went out to explore Guadalajara, starting by riding the subway all the way to the northern end of the line. Then we came back and rode the east-west line to the east end of the line. We found the train to be quite crowded, but clean, efficient, frequent, and rapid. Not many people used many of the intermediate stations, instead, the majority of people boarded at the endpoints of the line, especially the north-south line. We needed coins to purchase our tokens, as the machine wouldn't take the Mexican paper money. I only had enough for one token, so I asked for change from a lady, and she didn't have enough. Instead, she handed me a 10 peso coin, and pointed to the machine. She walked away, but I handed her one of the tokens and a one peso coin the machine spat out. She was just about through the turnstiles by this time! We also found it interesting that nobody came through the train asking for money. The central station where the two lines intersected was quite busy with lots of people switching between the two lines. Also, the first few stations to the east of the central station were fairly busy as well. I asked several times for a map of the system, but none seemed to be available. At the last station on the east end of the east-west line, we stayed on the train until the doors closed. The platforms were constructed such that you had to leave the station and pay to re-enter the system at the other platform. The train pulled east and crossed several tracks in what looked like there might be a double tracked loop beyond the end of this station. We came to a stop in a tunnel next to a narrow platform made of a metal grid. It was definitely not a regular passenger station! The doors opened, and a minute or two later, the operators of the train showed up. They said some words to us in Spanish, and I said, "No Espanol." The operators shrugged, then went to the engineer's cab. Then the train pulled back into the station at the other platform and loaded up with peopl. I was thankful that this train wasn't taken out of service and taken to the yard!
No LaTango, or 'We Don't Have It": When we got back to the downtown area, we left the train system and walked around amid the shops. It was fun window shopping and talking with some of the store workers, trying to understand their Spanish. We did that for about 2 hours but didn't buy anything. At one point Tim asked for a particular CD, and the store worker said; "No LaTango," Tim looked confused but for once I understood: "They don't have it!" I told him. Then we got back on the train, changed at the central station and went to the south end of the north-south line. The north-south line also had platforms arranged such that people would have to pay to get back into the station, but at each end of the line, the train crossed over to the other track before stopping, allowing arriving and departing passengers to intermingle. We then returned to the hotel. We discovered there was a Wal-Mart just across the street from the hotel in a direction we hadn't been yet, so we went there and got some food. I did stuff on the internet, though it only worked intermittently and I had to keep disconnecting so I could reconnect and have it actually work.
Flying Home: That pilot can "drive" his plane!: Sunday, March 25, I rearranged my bags so we could have just 2 checked bags, but that didn't quite work. We watched some preaching on TV, and read some scripture. We then departed for the airport, taking a taxi. At the airport, Tim had to give up his 2 glass coke bottles in the checked baggage due to security. After eating some food, we went through security and headed for our plane. We had to go through another security check when we actually boarded. But somehow, Tim managed to get his bottle of hand sanitizer through both security checks. We taxied out to the runway but had to wait for 2 planes to land before we could take off. The day was hazy, but we were able to see the ground for a while. I took the window seat, but we were seated over the wing, which made it difficult to see the ground. Then it got cloudy and I couldn't see the ground at all. Tim and I worked on the Sudoku puzzle in the in-flight magazine, which was fun, which I think was my first time doing Sudoku. We could see the ground again approaching Dallas, but I couldn't identify where we were. The flight arrived on time, and we claimed our bags. They all made it through this time. We then had to go through customs with our bags, then re-check our bags. There was a special area to recheck the bags just for people going through customs. There was a long line at the next customs check, as if another flight or maybe two had also come in just when we had come in. But by the time we got through the line, we were the last couple people in line. We then had to take the airport rail system, Skylink, to get from where we were to the terminal for the next flight. The system was within the secure part of the airport, making it inaccessible to those on the outside. When we got to our flight gate, it was already boarding, and we were soon seated. Tim had the window seat this time, and we were again over the wing. Taking off, I was better able to identify where downtown Dallas was, but not a whole lot else. It was overcast most of the way, so there wasn't much to see. We continued to work on the Sudoku puzzle. I eventually decided to work on the most difficult puzzle as I had an idea as to how to solve it. Once we were on the ground, we realized we were still a long way from the terminal. The pilot crossed a runway, then another, then another. At some point, I realized that these were active runways, as planes were either taking off or landing on them just fractions of a minute after we had crossed them. When crossing one runway, we looked down the length of the runway to see all the landing lights of the runway all neatly lined up, and the bright headlights of a plane hanging in the air ready to land. Hurry up! Just beyond there, we could see about 5 headlights of planes all lined up getting ready to land. When getting off the plane, Tim said to the pilot, "Not only can you fly, you can drive too!" Once in the airport, we picked up our luggage, but I was surprised when we went from the baggage claim area into the concourse without anyone checking to see if we had the right bags. I had never seen that done before. I also noticed aother baggage carousel in the insecure area of the airport. Apparently nobody was checking bags!
Money please?: We got on the Marta subway, and before the train even left the station, a beggar asked for money. Shortly after, a blind man got on the train and he asked for money too, so he could buy a hamburger or maybe just good catfood. As the train started rolling, someone else came along and said, "You jerks can play those silly games but you can't give a poor beggar anything!" What a welcome home. I'd ride the Guadalajara subway any day, but here in my home country, this is ridiculous. We had to change trains to get to the north line, and got to our car at about 10:40.
And finally a significant delay: On the highway, I saw a sign that said all lanes were blocked due to an accident at Wade Green Road. We didn't know where Wade Green Road was, so we took some back roads. Then back on Highway 75, we found out where Wade Green Road was. Traffic was still backed up, so we took the exit. That cost us probably half an hour or more, and we didn't get home until 1:45am.
The Suitcase The day after we got home, I saw I had an email from David about the suitcase. He reported he was able to retrieve the suitcase without any trouble, and that there was nothing missing from it! So God did answer my prayer retroactively after all.
Visit Camps International web site to learn more about doing Christian camps in different countries.