Well, I made it back from Mexico with no more than a few bruises and scrapes (due only to my clumsy self----well, that, and a wheelbarrow and big piece of metal.) :) For those interested, I'm going to try to journal the week we had on here--it may take me a bit, but I do type faster than I write...so enjoy :)

We had to be at the church at 4:00am on Wednesday (the 21st), and I ended up staying up all night (that's right...no nap, no rest, no nothin'!)...the Page's called me around 2:00 and said they were on the way to pick me up so we could get breakfast at Waffle House..I love Waffle House, but it doesn't love me at 3:00am. :) All made it to the church on time and we went on our way. No major traveling problems--none of the youth (except the pastor's kids) had ever flown, so that was an interesting sight when we took off and landed. All of them got a big kick out of the flight attendants having to show us how to buckle our safety belts.

We got to El Paso around 9:45, and waited for Brother Ridings....I called him and was informed that I was the first group in 18 years whose arrival time he had missed...Lucky for us he was in El Paso already and not still in Mexico (for future reference: it takes approximately 2 hours to get across the border from Bro. Ridings' house---the majority of that time is spent in the line waiting to actually cross the border). We all piled into two vans and took off; he instructed us that we were not to take pictures at the border or we would all be detained....hooray. I was expecting some big show of documentation, baggage, etc. at the border. Instead, Bro. Ridings told the guard that he had two groups of young people, asked if they wanted to inspect our luggage, and the guard replied, "no, go ahead."...that was it?!? All that worry for nothing! I guess that was God trying to teach me the first lesson of the trip.

We cooked out hamburgers and hotdogs for lunch and we all napped until church time (the church is about 45 minutes away from the place where we stayed). The service was great (well, it was for me..but then again, I speak Spanish.) At 5:15pm, the temperature in Juarez was 107 degrees. Farenheit. We sang "I have decided to follow Jesus" in Spanish and Preacher Brock preached (through an interrupter...I mean, an interpreter--Bro. Andy/Andrew/Andrés Wolfe). Supper was coldcut sandwiches and we all went to bed without complaint! Yippee! We all survived our first day in Mexico. Luckily we have an air conditioner upstairs....well, lucky for us until 4:15am when we all woke up freezing our tails off.....earlier that day every one of the girls had made the same comment..."there's no blankets, but in this weather, who'll need 'em?"....I guess the air conditioner really showed us. We're really all glad to be here at this point, and have been told that there's a lot of work to be done tomorrow....I'm thinking the girls will probably be helping the guys by bringing them water, maybe carrying off trash, or maybe even staying home and cooking...we'll see, I guess.

Just so you know....

It's officially 2:15am. I have been up for....17 hours straight now, which in itself is not a big deal. Add to that the fact that I won't get to sleep tonight until late late, and well....yeah.
I drank two cups of coffee at 11:45pm and they made me sick to my stomach...or maybe it's my nerves...

I realized at 9:55pm tonight that I had left the folder containing all of our flight information, including our e-ticket printouts, at Office Depot when making copies earlier tonight. I told the guy on the phone to call me on my cell, called Office Depot only to find out they really close at 9:00 (not 10 like I thought), and begged my former student to stick around long enough for me to come pick up the aforementioned folder. It was either that or break into the store at 3:30am before I have to be at the church by 4:00am. Thank the Lord for insomnia and Laurence. She told me she'd wait for me, so I rushed out of the house and met her at the store. The lovely blue folder was completely intact (including driver's licens, better than $200, and 12 e-tickets). God is good. No, let me take that back....God is awesome.

I have showered three times in the last 20 hours. I have also laid on the couch to try and nap 3 times in the last 5 hours. I don't think the two are related.

Currently I am waiting on the phone call that says, "we're on the way to pick you up...be ready for Waffle House (did I mention Waffle House is my hero?)." And waiting....and waiting.

Leavin' on a Jet Plane....

Yeah, so we have to be at the church to load the bus in exactly 35 hours and 4 minutes. (I'm thinking to myself, *I will remain calm. I will remain calm. All will go as planned on this trip. I will remain calm.*) I had approximately 20 things on my to-do list for today, and I have narrowed the list to about 8. On it...balance my checkbook and pay bills, do laundry (almost check), pack (I've gone into my bedroom and looked at my suitcase about 10 times in the last 6 hours, only to think, "what in the world am I going to pack?" and walk right back out.), make copies, etc. etc. So far so good. I think I finally got in there and folded clothes and put them in neat stacks on the bed, but they have yet to actually make it into the suitcase. It will be done before bed so I can sleep.

I have decided that I am the queen of procrastination simply due to the fact that I work well under pressure. When I have a long list of things to get done, I get much more accomplished than when I only have a few. It's kind of like deposits; many I know (including myself) hold onto checks until they have one big deposit to take to the bank (for some reason it seems as though you have more money that way, doesn't it?)....my perpetual to-do list is like that. It usually has either a ton of stuff on it or nothing at all....Perhaps I'm the only one to feel this way? Comments?

Well, this is the fifth of 6th time checking my email today (procrastination to the rescue), so I think I will mosey back into my room to look at the stack-o-clothing again...what exactly will accompany me to Mexico and what will sit on the shelf longing for a road trip? Fate shall soon decide (well, that and the weather forecast.)