MEXICO 2004
When the boys reached Mexico by plane, I was eager to be there by car but impossibilities loomed like mountains in front of me. God had HIS solutions ready.
CLICK ON THE FOLLOWING STORY OPTIONS FOR AN UPDATE ON THE ANSWERS TO PRAYER IN 2004 IN MEXICO
God's "Elephante"
Psalms 50 the cattle on a thousand hills
When I am afraid, I will put my trust in Him.
Fear not, they that be with us are more than they that be with them. 2 Kings 6:16
We began our drive to Mexico in an 83 AMC Eagle 4 wheel drive which was pulling a trailer loaded with clothing gifts for the poor, medical tools, projector and laptop, and sanctuary model items for meetings.
Everyone was packed in tight with no room to spare. Both Jenny and Kyle had bags on their laps and no room for their feet. All the equipment plus the sanctuary model items were crammed into every corner possible. Literature and extra clothing took up all the space. We were singing as we clicked off the miles.
Because of snow, the route chosen was down through Nevada. The hills were a challenge for the 83 Eagle. Even in the freezing weather, the engine began to overheat and move uphill slowly. Sometimes we had full speed ahead uphill at 35 mph. We were thankful roads were dry except for one 50 foot spot.
With a full tank of gas we headed out of Winnemucca expecting to stop in Fallon for the night. Suddenly as we crossed the cattle guard, the car was out of control. We heard the sickening sound of metal under the car grinding on the pavement at the speed of 70 mph. It was the hand of God that brought the trailer and car under control as we prayed. I cried out to God for help. It was my concern that the gas tank had been opened and asked the children to get far from the vehicle in case of explosion.
We
discovered the axle had broken and the right back tire had rolled away. We
recovered the tire and soon we
had help. A kind hearted lady drove by and went to bring her husband. He said we needed more than tire repairs. We needed serious axle, brake, and exhaust repairs.
The
tow truck took us to their shop "MAD Mobile" for repairs. As the jacks
were placed we could see the trouble. It was amazing to me that these dear
people provided food and shelter.
That night a snow storm struck the town and we
were so thankful for their kind hearts and cozy accommodations. The next morning
was Sabbath and they found our SDA church and took us so we could find fellow
believers to fellowship with.
As we ate together that afternoon and shared stories of our mission journeys, a
brother was listening. He urged me to take a pickup of his and continue my
mission plans. The truck had been in an accident on the side of the driver's
door. The door was replaced and now the painter was ready to make it white. I
was afraid the truck might get scratched but he insisted he would wait to paint
it when I was back.
I argued but he insisted. I prayed and was assured by God it would be just fine. Psalms 50 seemed so important to me. God has the cattle on a thousand hills. He owns the GMC Z71 off road trucks on a thousand freeways. He can provide any vehicle at any time that HE wants.
I had met a sweet widow lady in church who offered a place for us Sabbath night. She prayed with us and as we shared, it became her determination to make sure the papers were fixed up on the truck. She helped me get the title into my name and insured the truck. She even filled it with gasoline. She was such a blessing taking me everywhere I needed to go to get the needed documents ready for entrance into the foreign country.
Every time I was afraid, I prayed for Jesus to make sure He was in the truck and helping me drive. The pickup seemed so enormous. I was afraid there might be some bicycle or someone on the side of the road that might get hit. I prayed more than ever before with each breath I took in. I know I had help getting to my destination.
It
took more room to turn around with the trailer. I learned how to deal with each
challenge. The space it took to turn also surprised the Mexican helpers who were
used to little bicycles. They tried to help me turn around and discovered the
big white truck could get squeezed into corners in little dirt roads and not be
able to turn around. We began calling it God's elephante. Whenever the road was
free of speed bumps or "topes", they would sing out, "make the
elephante run".
Even
though the elephante took more food than the car, God provided. He would
never provide an elephante without providing enough food for it. We always had
what we needed. The battery went dry and lost charge. They replaced it with a
nice new one. The engine overheated and I had to add coolant several times on
the last day going down. After special prayer, it never had the problem again.
The wiper broke and God provided another on the day I left for home. Pulling a
little 6 by 6 utility trailer, the elephante took 1 gallon of fuel for every 13
miles. They also charged me double on the "autopistas" because of the
trailer (remolque). I kept wondering why I had drawn that trailer with the
wooden ark. I had never taken that wooden ark before. Later in the stories, you
will see that it was necessary for what God wanted to do.
Mexico has new toll roads along the Gulf coast where you can travel up to 65 mph. These little places where we could travel for 10-20-100 miles at higher speeds helped us make it to destination in 5 days after crossing the border. Our destination was 1000 miles south of the Brownsville, Texas border.