The Journey, Mexico Part 1

Though looking back on that decision doesn't bumb me out too much, it did run through my mind for some time. Figuring out one's purpose in life can be painful and very frustrating, but it can also be an adventure. After my year in Tennessee, I returned to boring old Ohio to finish school. That would take four and a half years to do, which brings me to my next journey. During those years at WSU, I had many new experiences that I will treasure for the rest of my life.
The most interesting stretch of time occurred between summer of 2002 and fall 2003. In 2002, after returning from Tennessee, some revitalizing was necessary. I started attending Apex church and getting involved with some of the functions. In the spring of '02 I took part in a missions trip to Mexico. The trip began with a flight to San Diego where we loaded onto an old travel bus that was now primarily used for Mexican farmers to travel back and forth. We drove most of the day until we reached northern Baja, Mexico. During the drive I saw some of the most fantastic scenery that I will probably ever see. Huge boulder mountains located all over the southwestern corner of Arizona appear to have been stacked by giants ('by the very gods'). Winding along the highway, between these massive mountains one could certainly feel the hostility of the terrain. I definately wouldn't want to be stranded out there, especially at night.
The next part of the trip, we came out of those Titan-built mountains and the desert spread out in every direction. South of Yuma, the area of Mexican border where we crossed, was a mixture of enormous sand dunes and flat desert brushland. I remember the gate where we walked over by foot; people filing back and forth from Mexico and US. The US had really just started beefing up enforcement along the Mexican border about this time. We crossed into the little border town peppered with dentist offices and street venders. Apparently there's no malpractice or some other requirement for dentists in Mexico, and most of the items selling on the street were without a doubt black market. We crossed through a handful of streets and came to a small school bus where we loaded up and spent another hour on the dirt roads headed to Morelos.
Already I was excited to experience Mexico and learning more about the people in Morelos. I wanted to know what God was teaching me this week, and what experiences I would take back to Ohio with me.