Final Chapter November 6th and 7th

Friday November 6
We started our day as always with devotions but today was special as we sang together and shared communion together. As Jan led I was once again reminded of the blessed communion of the saints of God. Here I was with people I had met less than a week ago bonded in the faith and through our service together sharing deeply around the Lord’s Table. Every mission’s trip impresses me with the fellowship of the saints as I worship in strange languages and in various cultural modes but this was all in English and with Americans yet the beauty of the fellowship in the body of Christ stood out in a heartening manner.
After breakfast we headed back to the school we visited the day before to finish up about 25 more screenings. The students were all assembled on the basketball court for morning exercises. They were being led by a young woman standing on a platform and bending and stretching to a Mexican sounding version of the joined in the gyrations with a group of students. The tables were quickly set up and we completed the work we needed to do and as everyone packed our equipment in the van I finished entering the data and saving it to various flash drives. We were then escorted back to the basketball court where a long table had been set up at one end. We were invited to sit behind it although with all of us and the Mexican volunteers we were soon spread out along the entire end or the court. The children performed a flag ceremony similar to one we witnessed the first day in Buenos Aires and then after some speeches and introduction of dignitaries who were on hand we were all presented with gifts and certificates of appreciation from the Mexican Board of Health. While this was being taken care of some students started serving us tamales and bottles of soda for lunch.
As soon as the ceremony was complete we headed for the van and the jeep tamales and gift bags in hand because we had a long trip back to Oaxaca ahead of us. The trip from sea level to 6000 feet is almost always longer than the trip down especially if you get behind a heavily loaded double tanker heading up the winding two lane highway. Back at the motel I took a minute to finish the good lunch before getting out and retrieving my suitcase. I had gotten my small suitcase and book bag stuffed into the large suitcase. The pottery in the gift bag required me to take out my book bag and pack it there along with some clothing items to cushion it.
The trip up was thankfully uneventful except for the stop at the Pemex gas station for a rest stop and a Magnum bar. Just as we were about to leave Bill spotted one of those double tractor trailers. It was right in front of the gas station doing about 3 mph over a very steep tope. JoEllen was looking for her sun glasses but at Bill’s admonition she shoved the van into reverse to back out of the parking spot. Throwing it into drive she lurched ahead closing fast on Bruce who was just negotiating the Jeep out of the parking area onto the highway. We all cheered as we sped in front of the tractor trailer which was still straining to get hindmost tires over the speed bump. We did not encounter any more delays and were in Oaxaca well before dark which was our goal.
Malcomb who was the team member unable to come at the last minute had requested we purchase a mortar and pestle for a friend who had done him a great favor so we decided before supper to go into the center of the city to look for one before we had supper. The street was all dug up in front of the only parking garage we knew would stay open long enough to shop and eat. The construction also made a parking lot of all the streets around it. We decided to split up and some shop and some take the van back to the bed and breakfast and come back by taxi. I elected to shop, not because I like to shop but because it was about a ten or twelve block walk and after the long car ride that day I needed it. We managed to find the desired object at a very reasonable price but it ended up being about twenty pounds of solid rock with three legs, an animal face carved in one side and a stone pestle. Immediate concerns were how we would carry it and how we would get it on the plane.
We arrived at the hotel terrace where we were to meet for dinner. I went inside the hotel for a minute and as I was walking back to the table I heard a voice behind me say, “Hi Art!” It was my friend Debbie who was the driving force to get me into serving with Wycliffe missionaries in Mexico last year. She had just arrived back in Mexico from the US the night before. I had emailed her about where we might be and she and our mutual friend Abby had managed to find me. I took a little teasing about always hugging young women who approach me on the Zocalo. The first day on the Zocalo I had run into Maya who is the German girl who had helped out in Mitla so this was just a chance to have some fun teasing Art. JoEllen and the rest of the team arrived just about that time. Everyone was introduced and about then Nate, Abby’s husband arrived. We pulled up another table to accommodate everyone and were soon enjoying a delicious and friendly meal together. Part of our dinner time was dedicated to recounting the highs and lows of our week together. My low point was Monday morning because I was so exhausted from the transition from Mitla to Oaxaca to Tehuantepec. My highlights were the Covenant Church service in Tehuantepec on Sunday night and the communion service Jan led on Friday morning.
We engaged two taxis to ferry us back to the Pasado de Chencho and after some last minute rearranging of luggage fell into bed for our last night in Mexico. Wake up was 5:30 for a 6 AM departure. JoEllen arrived about 5:50 and when Bruce arrived at 6:00 we had already packed the van. We gathered alongside the van for a prayer of gratitude for a safe and profitable trip and for blessings on those who were staying and then headed for the aeropuerta. Everything went fine until Rodney tried to get the twenty pound stone mortar carried on. I guess it qualified as some kind of weapon, a concept one could hardly argue with. He had to head back out to the desk in a rush. They bagged it but could not promise it would make the luggage compartment on this plane nor were they at all sure it would pass customs in the US. Rodney made it back in time for the departure. His stone package also made the flight and sailed through customs in Houston. After immigration and customs we held a short conversation and following more goodbyes I headed for Gate E as the Kansas City group headed the other way for Gate D.
After a hamburger and a milk shake I took time to blog and then boarded an on-time flight for PHL, It arrived there on time and my son Duncan was waiting to pick me up.