Written by: Lanie Wagner
We made it! And yes, we are alive! And…what a long, but fun day it has been! It's hard to believe we started off in Nashville at 7am this morning and are just now settling down at 11pm in Ensenada. The day started off in true LUV fashion, with the luggage-filled trunk of our bus swinging wide open as we made our first turn onto Hillsboro Pike heading to the airport. We did make it safely to the airport without a scratch on ourselves or our belongings. First, we flew to San Diego, where we met up with Addi, Stogs, and Berkley. After having lunch at In-N-Out we started our trek to the border.
After what seemed like a 15 minute drive, we arrived at the border, and filed off of the bus, carrying our suitcases & duffel bags with us as our passports and visas were checked by the Mexican border patrol & service dog. We then drove about 2 hours south to Ensenada, which is where we are staying the night. We met up with Pilar & Panfilo, our host partners (who double as translators) that will be with us the whole trip. Quickly we learned how much they like to joke with newbies, as we believe literally anything we hear. Next up was our Costco trip. By the looks of our 6 carts piled high, you'd think we were planning to move here for good!
After Costco, we all ate dinner at a place called Victor's, which was pretty similar to a Mexican restaurant that you would find in America. The guacamole was everyone's favorite, and our dishes ranged from shrimp tacos (we are right on the water), to enchiladas, to tostadas and fajitas! The servers were all very pleasant as I (Lanie) took my first go at communicating our need for 20 people to eat dinner together in a small little restaurant. Thank goodness for my brushing up on my Spanish skills on the plane & Megan S. for being a good sport and quizzing me! After dinner, we discussed our plan for tomorrow (which includes our final trek to San Quintín, a 4.5hr drive), and had a devotional with just us girls. It was a great start to deepening conversation and setting the tone for the rest of our time here. We are all prayerful for an insightful experience and look forward to learning what it means to be the hands and feet of Jesus! Please continue to pray for us and those that we encounter here in Mexico. Hasta la vista!
