Day 1: Arrival!!!

UPDATE: Today's photos are all available online here.

We've made it. Hannah and I could hardly sleep last night, so after only two hours of sleep and a long day of travel, we've made it to Querétaro. Mexico City is a massive tangle of urbanization, and it took us quite a long time to navigate through customs, but Hannah and I made it with our baggage intact (with the exception of a broken wheel on one of our bags). Some others in our group lost some of the things they were bringing like a special mp3 player with sermons from the Spanish version of Charles Stanley. I hope the customs officials needed them.

The missionaries in Mexico hooked us up with some drivers, so I got to enjoy chatting with Miguel the whole way to Querétaro, with the exception of a short power nap. When we got to the hotel, we discovered that it is more like a grand complex spanning a lot of area. There is a restaurant, pool, tennis courts, patios, greenery... ah, it is perfect for a retreat. We met some of the missionaries, and Hannah and I look forward to learning more about their ministries and maybe find out a little more about what to expect as we get closer to the dream we believe God has laid on our hearts, full time service overseas.

MKs left to right: R----- and sisters R-----, S-----, & L-----

Supper was great, and though I'm tempted to say the best part was the tres leches cake, I have to say we very much enjoyed chatting with some MKs (missionary kids). We spent most of the time talking with R-----, S-----, L-----, and M-----. Learning about missions from the perspective of people who've grown up and are growing up in that environment has been phenomenal, and we feel like we've made some friends too. They're not that much younger than us.

Thank you all for praying for us, for safety, patience, and love. I think a few of us got on each others' nerves once or twice, but everyone has been patient and gracious. May God be praised. Tomorrow more of the missionaries will be arriving, so pray for their safety in travel and pray for the people they left behind who still have a mission to carry out without their American counterparts. We also want to see God glorified in our attitudes and kindness. And catching up on some missed sleep isn't too bad, either.