NBYG Mexico 2011: Day 1 - Smooth Sailing

How the mighty have fallen...

As we end Day 1 of our Mexico Mission, we have so much to be thankful for. We're thankful for all of the parents and family members of our teens who have supported this trip with their hard-earned resources and heart-felt prayers. We're thankful to the many North Boulevard members who sacrificially raised their cholesterol count by chowing down on hot dogs to help us raise the money needed for the trip. We thank the leadership of North Boulevard for their support and commitment to being a Church that reaches out rather than sits back. We're thankful to the many, many others whose names we don't even know who've contributed funds anonymously, prayed without being asked and supported us without being acknowledged.

We're also thankful to our travel agent who booked us all on the same non-stop flight minimizing the chance of lost luggage or any members of our team being delayed in transit. We're thankful to the little smiles the Lord gave us on our very first day. Not only was Al Gore our co-pilot but Jesus was our bus driver. Fun, too, was our introduction to Over-React-O World (We're not going to explain that one. It'll give you something to ask a teen when we return). We also learned the story of Renee Sproles, a first-timer to the City of Children, who 22 years ago as a teen at North Boulevard thought that our teens should be doing some kind of mission. A thought and a desire that lead to the Mexico Mission trip so many have enjoyed since and now Renee is finally experiencing for herself.

Finally, we're thankful that Elder David Garman successfully played the Baja version of casting lots. Believe it or not, the way Mexican border police decide whether to have you pull all of the bags off your bus to be searched is to have you push a button wired to a light. If it lights up red, all the bags come off and you're delayed for a good long time. If it lights up green, you go on your way. Our designated elder in charge of games of chance, David G., pushed the border button and lit it up green.

Let us put into perspective just how wonderful a blessing this was.

Our bus from the airport to the City of Children was a little smaller than our buses have been in the past, necessitating us to fill not only the luggage compartments under the bus but also the overhead racks, underneath the seats, in the aisles and on nearly everyone's lap. As Skid commented, the inside of the bus looked more like a bunch of bags went on a mission trip and took a few kids with them. Thank heavens we flew Southwest where a bag can take up to two teens instead of just one. Or as Jeff McClain suggested -- NBYG now stands for Numerous Bag sYouth Group. It took us a good long time to lug, shove, heap and haul all those bags and wedge them into every available space. Had we hauled them all off and then been forced to fit them all back inside like a Samsonite Janga or Jigsaw exercise, we would have lost a good deal of time and, perhaps, pushed us back so that we wouldn't have the chance to spend time at the end of the day catching up with the Mexican teens.

Not to worry. Garman lit up the lamp green. Or, as God's instrument, lit it up. Yes, a little thing. But you should have heard the roar on the bus when Brother G. beat the border button.

And so we whisked over the border and down the Baja peninsula to Ensenada and the City of Children. We quickly unloaded, gathered to go through our duties for the coming days, ate and then spent time playing and praying with our Mexican brothers and sisters. It was good to see how quickly our teens and the City's mixed and mingled. We sat as one and not as us and them. A good sign of servant hearts and good sign of things to come.

There's a big group of first-timers on this trip. But they've certainly jumped up and stepped up. In acknowledgement of that, the first recipient of the NBYG Festival of Sharing Hat was Kelly Rozell, a rookie who jumped right in. For those unfamiliar with the Festival of Sharing Hat, it's a cap found at a flea market and purchased for a dollar. It's awarded each night of the trip by our NBYG interns to the mission team member who best exemplifies a servant heart. We celebrate their caring with the presentation of the Festival of Sharing Hat. Ah, well, I guess it looses something in translation.

And so does this blog. It all falls short. What speaks loudest and best and clearest is the smiles on faces and the hugs shared as we arrived. Fun how smiles melt away the miles.

It was a good day. And there's so much more to come -- some things we've planned and so much more the Lord has planned for us. Keep on this blog -- or should I say ship's blog -- as we launch out and look for the treasure buried here. We'll try to have at least one post here at the end of each day to let you know what your children and prayers and hard-earned contributions are up to. Feel free to link to this blog on your Facebook and share this story with our friends and family.