I mentioned in the last post that we were catching up on a lot of personal things – and that has meant a lot of travelling around. And that is not always simple, as you might imagine…
(Edit: If you get our email update, you know some of what has happened over the past few days. It’s probably appropriate to note that this was recorded earlier.)
So without going into all the details, let me tell you a little bit about our trip. First, things were a bit rushed at the airport in Mexico, because we arrived a bit later than we planned. It wasn’t bad, but we were wondering if things would go faster or slower than in pre-2020 days. Well, things did go a little slower.
So we didn’t have time to eat at the airport, and no meal on the plane. They did give us a little packet with things like a face mask, water, anti-bacterial gel, and gloves (when were we supposed to use gloves??).
Actually, if you’ve ever been in the hospital having surgery, you’ll have some idea what the ambience was like on the plane. Stewards and stewardesses roamed the isle as little as possible wearing face masks and long white robes, reminding you to do things for your own good. We were given another unusual form, based on new quarantine laws. (We had already filled out a form online, and one at the Mexico City airport, so I guess that makes three.)
So we arrived in Toronto, and of course the reminders of COVID-19 continued. Going through one line, we stood in front of a white background while an official with what seemed to be a camera asked us to remove hats/glasses and look up. It wasn’t until later that we realized that he wasn’t taking a picture at all, but taking our temperature. I’m not sure if smiling makes your temperature higher or lower…
There were some things open at the airports, though not as much as normal. For the most part, it didn’t look like the stores were temporarily closed, but permanently out of business. However there were still some of the usual places to buy a magazine or souvenir, or a bite to eat.
Anti-bacterial gel was everywhere, although it generally wasn’t “forced” on us (as it tends to be in Mexico).
Anyway, due to a bunch of problems (including our first flight arriving late), we missed our flight out of Toronto. So it wasn’t until late that night that we finally got something to eat, at the hotel, thanks to the fresh deli items that they had on hand. A hard boiled egg never tasted so good.
So, a very short sleep, before dawn, we were off to try again. We did finally arrive in Calgary, a day late.
And we have been very thankful for friends who changed their schedules to pick us up, and now to provide us with a place to stay for our quarantine!
But, yes it was a long couple of days, so we need a little recovery time. But we’re getting organized and doing a little work today, before getting more into regular work tomorrow.
Well, ok, Nathanael was a little bit isolated at camp last week, since it was all online. But it sounds like it was a good time!
And as for the three of us, we will be isolated soon. Although, I’m a little confused. I thought that, if I were sick, I would be quarantined. If not, I would be isolated. However, one government website in Canada explained that it was the other way around – when we go to Canada, healthy as can be, we will be quarantining. But if we get sick, we’ll be isolating.
Which was all good until we filled out the special form to explain where we were going to — to be by ourselves, away from the healthy crowds. And we received this seal of approval. Which clearly says – we’re isolating. Even though we’re healthy as can be.
Oh well – what ever. Serves me right trying to get the terminology right.
But we’re not isolated yet. We enjoyed our service this morning. Little by little people are trickling back to the services, which is fun. We’re continuing our journey through the book of Romans.
And soon we’ll be headed to Canada. Still a lot of details to work out! But little by little we’re getting organized.
You could certainly pray for our health, if you think of it, along with smooth travels. (Without the health, there will be no travels at all! At least, not for a while.) And I’ll try to let you know how it all goes.
Going through some old receipts earlier this year, I was wondering if I could figure out what our first purchase was after moving to Mexico. Other than legal stuff at the border, of course. Must be food, right? What could it be? Tacos? Churros? Burritos?
Well, we think we figured it out. 13 years ago today, on our way driving down, we stopped at Church’s Chicken. Shame on us.
I don’t know if there is any irony stopping at an American restaurant chain, which was originally started across the street from the Alamo. I do know, however, that we were shortly sicker than we had ever been in our lives with some stomach bug. I doubt it was Church’s Chicken – the theory at the time was that it was peanut butter that we ate later (another very non-Mexican food!), but we may never know.
Anyway, there’s the receipt to prove it. A couple of combos with fries, an apple pop and a Coke. Well, those sound like us, anyway. 🙂
I’m not sure I’ve eaten at Church’s Chicken since. But thanks for the memories!
We’re always thankful for smooth border crossings and travel in general, and for luggage that actually arrives. And that’s what happened this time around.
In fact, God even sent us a large taxi that could take all of us and our luggage at the same time back home!
Upon our arrival home, things didn’t go quite as smoothly. No functioning gas meant no stove, and no hot water. Which wasn’t so much of a problem, because – well, there was this major leak in the bathroom. Not really any way to put a bucket under it (and even if you could, who wants to empty a bucket every few minutes?), so we had to shut off the water. So, not much food in the house, no van yet (I had to pick it up in a different city) so no way to get gas and food, and no water – and we went for tacos, but our favourite taco place wasn’t open.
So these things put a bit of a damper on our arrival.
But isn’t it interesting how God has His ways of making you thankful? The next day, the plumber came and fixed the pipe. We got gas. And I sorta had a shower (ok, so water pressure still isn’t a “thing” around here). Then I picked up the van (and something cracked our windshield on the way home — aaack! Enough!) But then we went out for some pozole. So we were very thankful for the simple things, once we got them back!
A few laundry loads and showers (sorta) later, we might even make it to the grocery store today for some actual food to cook. Which we can now cook, because we have gas. But actually, I need some gas in the van. Well, civilization is complicated, isn’t it?
Seriously, though, it’s turning out to be a little more of a challenge than we expected to learn how to live in Mexico again, after 15 weeks away. Even before diving into “official ministry”, we’re finding a plethora of things that we need to deal with, expected and unexpected, while we try to remember how everyday life goes. So the first few days are turning out to be a little tough.
However, it’s still hogar dulce hogar – and we’re so thankful for what God has provided, and we know He’s still here – and in Canada too, with Hannah. And we have been reminded that a shower, even with very little pressure, is still a wonder.
While we were travelling this spring/summer, I tried to take a picture of our travels every day. I didn’t quite make it, but I took quite a few. I’ve put them all together on the video below.
A little explanation – these are simply pictures taken from (mostly) our van during our travels. They’re more or less “random” – I wasn’t looking for spectacular views, instead I aimed to take a picture late morning, or whenever we were driving, or whenever I remembered.
We enjoyed watching the change of seasons, and because we were basically travelling north until the end of May we had a long start of spring. 🙂
So if you want to see Mexico, the USA and Canada from the road without leaving home, now’s your chance! Go full screen if you want a better view.
By the way, the 13th of May is my personal favourite.