Our Arrival

Monday morning, we left Rancho Maranatha around 11:00am, and drove 30 minutes to Navojoa, where were sent a quick email update before we came to our house in the village of “Guadalupe Victoria.” We unloaded necessities from the truck, unhooked the trailer in front of the house, and then made a quick visit around the village to our rentess, Francisca (Kika), Carmen’s family and Alfonso’s family in 21 de Marzo, and Uriel’s family in Toltecas. Uriel invited us back that night for some food and fellowship to celebrate our return.

On the first night, we attempted to turn on the electricity, only to find that we had no connection. We stayed at Carmen’s house that first night, where she tacked up a sheet from the ceiling to portion off a small mattress. The village of 21 was loud that night, since it was New Year’s Eve, and we slept very little.

The next morning, Uriel and Pati met us early at our home to help us clean and unpack. Our home was worse than we expected. We knew that three cows had given birth in our house because of the bad rains, but we had forgotten how terrible cows stank. The owners of the house had semi cleaned, but there was still alfalfa on the floors, and a large dirt-floor room filled with junk that they didn’t want anymore. Pati and I swept rooms and walls, and several neighboring children came and helped us unload the trailer and mop. We found a couple tarantulas living in the walls, but thankfully, no scorpions have come out of hiding yet. Joshua and Uriel cut down brush in the yard and were making progress, until the water came to the village at around 2:30, and we realized that one of the pipes was broken and Joshua was standing ankle-deep in soppy mud. Uriel and Josh put that daunting task aside for the even bigger task of giving us electricity in the house. They and our neighbors joined forces and linked our electricity to our neighbor’s power supply until the electrical commission fixed our connection
That night, Joshua and I slept almost 12 hours in our own home. On Tuesday, we unpacked all the boxes, and semi-organized the house. By the end of the week, everything was put away in the bedroom and kitchen, but the office still lacks organization – but then, who in ministry ever has an “organized” office, right? J We also have finally fixed the leaky pipe, and I am starting to put a womanly touch to these bare windows and walls by making curtains.