Juarez, Mexico: Part III

After a few hour's wait, the other groups from Oklahoma and California arrived and I picked through the pile of duffel bags to find the one I had marked with a bright pink ponytail holder. Lugging it through the automatic doors, we walked down the sidewalk to a caravan of SUVs and vans that would take us over the U.S.-Mexico border to our destination: Juarez.

My small group from Arizona was shuffled to different vans in the line of vehicles and I left to join the California group.

They couldn't help giving me a nice jab at the fact that my Arizona group flew to Texas rather than making the drive like they did. Then again, they were planning a luxurious stop at a Tucson spa on the way back. Rough life. (so California! haha)

When we finally pulled up to our temporary home, located on a Christian school campus, we were thirsty, hungry and tired from traveling. To our relief, we were shown our rooms, complete with plastered walls, bunk beds with plastic-covered mattresses, and little else. The swamp cooler worked in our bedroom, if the air was rerouted from the main dining/community room.

We didn't know that the first night.

Not only were we acclimating to the heat, but we were adjusting to no cool air. Most of us went to sleep that night sweaty and sticky, wondering how we were going to survive the rest of the week ahead of us. Fortunately, the trick was discovered the next morning and we had cool air the rest of the week.


The first days

It was surprising to me how difficult it was for the teens to adjust to life without iPods, without their cell phones, and without hard plans and schedules for the week. One boy struggled to sit still or find something to do now that he didn't have his MP3 player. Clearly out of his comfort zone, I tried to encourage him to read his Bible, get to know the other group members, and just relax a little.

It proved to be quite the challenge as he sat around bouncing his right leg and looking around the room.

I gave him his space and went about talking to other group members and enjoying a little peace and quiet.

It had been a very long time since I had been without what I had once considered "necessities." No cell phone to text message a friend. No iPod to listen to my favorite music. No hair dryer to quickly style my shoulder-length hair.


Pastor Ramon

Saturday night we were finally given our briefing and introduced to the family and pastor we would be working with for the duration of our trip.

In Spanish, Pastor Ramon told us his testimony.

He had been addicted to drugs and alcohol from a young age, and spent much of his early 20s getting mixed up in the gang scene.

One day he was laying in a city park when he remembers a teenager coming up to him and telling him "You know Jesus loves you," and simply walking away.

It changed his life.

He began asking questions and desiring to be out of his drug-addicted life. Eventually, he met his wife, they started a church, and had two beautiful daughters.

I was touched by this man's story, but more importantly the man himself. Joy seemed to radiate from his inner core as he smiled and joked with the group of English-speakers. To me, he was the epitome of what a Christian should look like. Jesus changed our lives and yet, often, we walk around just as down-cast as anyone else.

I didn't realize I was the most fluent Spanish speaker in the group until I noticed I was the only one laughing after the punchline of his jokes.

At that point, it was pretty clear to even the trip leader that they had someone who could be the liaison they needed to survive the work projects and church meetings.

That was the beginning of the most uncomfortable, stretching part of my experience in Juarez.