Theresa and I arrived safely in Cd. Valles on Tuesday evening after a very pleasant and wonderfully uneventful crossing of the border and drive from Texas. We did, however, get the Dreaded Red Light at the border upon crossing and were pulled over for inspection.
As our poor little Mazda 3 was loaded to the gills as usual, any such inspections could potentially have meant a complete unloading of everything item by item, and taxes and tariffs placed on anything at the whim of the inspectors. Nonetheless, even though we were loaded with everything from six used sewing machines and bags of cloth for the sewing school, to groceries and personal items and suitcases, what was most obvious upon opening our trunk and looking into the back of the car was bags of groceries, toilet paper, frying pans, and miscellaneous pots and pans – basically the paraphernalia which verified our claims that we were on our way to spend a month in Mexico where we had rented a house in Cd. Valles. The customs inspection ended up being a very brief check of our paperwork and passports and we were on our way again with much relief and rejoicing.
The little Mazda, as ugly as it may be, has once again proved itself to be worth its weight in rusted metal and semi-threadbare rubber and has purred like a kitten all the way from Manitoba to Cd. Valles – all 4,000 kilometers of the way. To this day it still doesn’t burn a drop of oil!
We have been very blessed again this time to be able to rent the little house from Herlinda, a sister from Pastor Javier’s church, which we have rented now for the past three missionary trips to Mexico. By doing so we are able to be independent, and not become a burden to others while here. Further, it also allows us to host others in our home – both locally for meals and visits, but also other groups coming to Cd. Valles in order to be a part of the ministry while Theresa and I are here.
Thankfully things seem to be on track for the plans in the upcoming weeks. All ‘t’s seem to be thoroughly crossed, and all ‘i’s dotted – of course we will see as things actually shake down in real life. Remaining conscious of the old adage: “Twixt cup and lip tis many a slip”.
Yesterday we were privileged to attend the Children’s Feeding Ministry, Hidden Manna in Buenos Aires with Cristina and Javier and the women who assist them there. Later in the afternoon we also attended a brand new children’s outreach in the little village of San Marcos, several kilometers outside of Buenos Aires.
This morning we gathered with the believers at the little church in Solidaridad for their morning worship service. When it was over we joined the believers in Buenos Aires who meet at 7:00 am, and by the time we joined them they were completing the construction of a base for a “tinaco”, a large water storage tank for their outdoor bathroom on the side of their little half-completed church building. I will give further information concerning this little group of faithful believers in a later blog.
I will try to keep you up to date on events as they happen over the upcoming weeks.
We appreciate all of your prayers for both Theresa and I, as well as those for the local leadership and the ongoing work here in the Cd. Valles region of Mexico.
We are blessed to have you as friends and fellow laborers in the gospel of Jesus Christ.
We know the true value of your prayers and support for the work of Christ.
Thank you,
Steven and Theresa Frey
