As we were being turned away for the second time, secondary and tertiary plans were running through my head. Can I send the rest of the team back while Melinda and I wait to see if Monday will bring a better response? What about leaving the trailers at the college in Eagle Pass until we hear back from Mexico City? What other options do I have to get the bags across? So many questions whirling around in my head wondering how God was going to show up this time as He had in the past.
We had left at 6:00 am on Thursday, November 21. Four people from the east side of town in Loganville, Jim Barber from MC3, Jonathan Juarez Carcaño actually from Doctor Arroyo Mexico but staying with me and Melinda, and of course the two of us. We met the other trailer in Union City. It was pulled by DJ Brooks and Uriel Mayorga. Uriel’s father in law, Juan, also joined us as he has for the past couple of years. Right about 8:00 am we were on I-85 and on our way. Pulling the trailers we would make about 2 hours before needing to stop for gas. We maximized every stop along the way for pit stops and sustenance.
We made great time and were in Baytown, Texas for a late dinner at our favorite stop, Buc-ee’s. Buc-ee’s is the largest gas station I have ever seen. Not only are there about 75 gas pumps, but there is a store at least the size of a Wal-Mart market place. It has everything from food like fresh barbecue, beef jerky, salads to clothing, snacks and more. We can blow a lot of time in Buc-ee’s and always have to stop at least once each way:-) This time we timed it perfectly and were able to stop twice each way, one on each side of Houston.
With the pretty uneventful drive, we arrived at Colegio Biblico in Eagle Pass just before 3:00 am. We snuggled up in our vehicles in the college parking lot and set the alarm for 7:00. Once we were up, we headed to Huddle House for a good breakfast. After our bellies were full, and teeth were brushed, we went by the Wal-Mart to drop off Jim to wait since he didn’t have a current passport to get back in the US and then we were off to the border crossing about 8:45.
We arrived with virtually no one else ahead of us in the “Declaration” line. That is the line we must go in to declare all of the gifts. They will want us to pay taxes on what we are taking in or show that we have processed paperwork with the federal government of Mexico in order to bring in the gifts tax-free. We have tried for years to process the paperwork through their website all to no avail. Sometimes we literally get nowhere on the website. Sometimes it has been “lost” in space, and most of the time, it is just not possible because what we are taking in doesn’t “fit” into their type of paperwork. They want to list the quantity of every item. So literally, how many pencils, how many notebooks, how many stuffed animals, and the list goes on and on. As you can imagine, with our bags, that isn’t really possible. There is no way for us to know that information and we have certainly tried to make our bests guesses over the years.
This year, with discussion with Cris Garcia and Abdiel Rocha, we decided to proceed as we have in the past few years with going to the border with some letters from officials near Bethshean in Mexico, The new AC paperwork from Bethshean, and the letters from SOAR. We also had the receipts from last year to show how much we paid for each trailer, 600 pesos.
It appeared that all was going well. We were met with one of the Mexican border officials, unlocked the trailers and he seemed rather nonchalant about it all. As hope was building inside, the one official was quickly joined by another man. He wasn’t as relaxed. Even though we talked about what we had, even showed him examples of the bags, he kept insisting that we hadn’t proceeded through the proper channels. We told him of our difficulties and showed him the paperwork we had and receipts from last year, but he wasn’t budging. Juan still kept talking tough. He kept playing on those heartstrings about the needy children that these bags would be helping. Still no go. After about 15 minutes, we realized it was futile. The border officials told us we should try to cross at Acuna which is up north about 1 hour. Maybe they would let us across. The “nice” official then lead us to make a U-turn and head back to the US side of the bridge.
Of course, when we reached our border officials, they wanted to know what all we had. We explained how we had hoped to take them into Mexico but were turned away. We knew that would mean a search of our vehicles and trailers. So we were led to the inspection point where we opened up the trucks and trailers and sat to the side while we waited for them to finish their inspection. We really didn’t mind their thorough examination, knowing it is to keep us safe. Besides, we really didn’t have anything else to do at the moment. While we were waiting and talking with the officials, we told them how we had been instructed to go to Acuna. They strongly urged us not to go due to the lack of safety on the road from Acuna to Piedras Negras inside Mexico. So, after more discussion among the team, we decided to heed their warning and just wait for the shift change at 7 pm.
We headed back to Wal-Mart to meet up with Jim and make plans. I got on the phone to Abdiel and Cris about their suggestions. I did a bit of walking and praying around the Wal-Mart parking lot asking the Lord to just give me some direction of what I needed to do. One thing that kept playing over and over in my head was something I had heard the week before at ICOM (International Conference on Missions). One of the speakers had said, “We all want to experience a miracle, but none of us wants to experience the situation that needs a miracle.” Was this such a situation? How was God going to show up this time? What was he protecting us from by not letting us in? Would we get in later in the evening? The team was supportive of whatever I suggested but at this point, the only suggestion we had was to try again after 7:00 pm. After a little more discussion with Abdiel, we decided to try to process the paperwork with the Mexican Government through their contact in Villa Gonzalez, the county seat in their area.
The men all decided to head to the movies and Melinda and I headed to Chick-fil-A. I would work on paperwork via the computer while having free internet and of course close the best food around! It took many messages to the municipal president in Villa but I eventually got to the correct website and worked on the paperwork. Never did I find the paperwork I have filled out in the years past. It was something new and different this time, but I decided to proceed with it anyway. It was way too simplified from the “usual” paperwork. I submitted it none the less but knew it would do us no good for this trip. It takes at least 15 days for them to process the request.
After a nice visit from our friend Daniel who works at the college in Mexico, he agreed we should proceed with the paperwork, but also try to the border crossing again. We all had another good meal from Chick-fil-A, paced the parking lot several more times, dropped Jim off at Walmart, and headed back to the border. It was about 8:30 pm by the time we got across to the Mexican side.
There was a lot more traffic this time. That could be to our benefit because they may want to move us along. So we had to wait a while to get moved to the point of talking to the officials. When we did get to the officials we quickly jumped out and unlocked the trailers. Juan started talking immediately. This time we had decided he would talk, I would say nothing unless asked. We also wouldn’t show any paperwork until asked and use the number of large bags instead of individual bags so it didn’t seem so overwhelming to them.
It started off OK but quickly turned to the fact that we hadn’t done the paperwork through the federal government. No matter what we said, it wasn’t changing their minds. One of them did seem a little more sympathetic but obviously wasn’t the one with the most experience because he was deferring to the other man often. Juan kept talking and talking. At one point he sent me to the truck so he could talk some more to him. I think he was trying to pull those heartstrings some more, Mexican to Mexican. Through the discussion, they had suggested we come back on Saturday to go to the office that was open until noon to see if they would check the paperwork I had submitted. Then they said to come back Monday to the office since it wasn’t open all day on Saturday. No matter what Juan said, we weren’t getting across on Friday. So, much to our dismay, we turned to walk back to the trucks and trailers.
Juan immediately turned and said we needed to plan to be back early the next morning to go to the office. I reminded him that they had also said we should come back on Monday. Which was correct? I told him I didn’t want to waste all those hours for the team to come back on Saturday if we couldn’t get in the office until Monday. So, after a little chat between us, we decided to return to the official for clarification.
The official was a good way off from us by now. We signaled to him and he came back across the drive to where we were. We talked to him that he had told us one time to come back on Saturday and another time to come back on Monday. We asked if he could call someone to verify if we could come Saturday or if we needed to wait until Monday. He obliged our request and called someone. A moment later he approached us and asked for the address of the college where we would be leaving the gifts. I went to get my phone so Juan could take it to him. When Juan returned he said he overheard him talking about what we had and how they were gifts for the children. We anxiously waited near the truck and each said our silent prayers as we waited. Before we knew it, the official came and began to talk to Juan. He quickly sent me to unlock the trailers and much to our surprise, the official wanted a picture of some of the contents of our bags, particularly with balls:-) We opened some bags and poured out the contents so he could get some good pictures. Then he told us we could pay taxes but this would be the last year. Juan did more of his talking and the 2000 peso per trailer tax became 1500 per trailer. Even though it was more than last year, I didn’t argue!
So, God showed up when we were being turned away. Why did we decide to ask for clarification of when to come back? Was that the holy spirit directing us so God could do his thing? I would say yes! We didn’t want to be in a situation of being turned away. We had no other options amongst ourselves. The years we have gone to the office there at the border, it has never turned out as we had hoped. I didn’t have any hope in that meeting at that office, but I did have hope that God would work it out somehow.
The taxes were paid ($77 per trailer), we drove to the college and were pleasantly greeted with many able-bodied men ready to help unload! What a wonderful sight they were. We had the trailers unloaded in about 30 minutes. We unload at the guest house where they can wait to be picked up by the ministers from Bethshean. Being at the guest house also gave us an opportunity to get an overdue shower!
Although it was late, we headed back across the border to pick up Jim and begin our trek home. About an hour and a half up the road, we stopped at our usual stop at the Road Runner for gas and allowed Jim to get a shower since he wasn’t with us in Mexico where we all showered. He said it was well worth the money for that shower!!!
At 3:00 am we arrived at Buc-ee’s for gas and decided we were all too tired to continue. So after fueling up, we moved to the parking lot for a few hours of sleep. A bit after 7 we got up and continued to get breakfast and head up the road. We didn’t make quite as good of time due to some issues on the road, but we were back in Union City a bit after midnight to go our separate ways.
So all those prayers you prayed before and during our travels were heard! God decided to let this be a walk of faith this year instead of breezing through like we have the last few years. Through it all, I had great peace knowing that God was in control and that somehow he would make a way. I just marvel at the fact that we had turned away the second time to go back to the trailers and back across the bridge when God decided it was time for him to show his power! It reminds me of Ephesians 3:20-21 Now to him who is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine, according to his power that is at work within us, to him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations, forever and ever! Amen.
To see pictures of our journey, click here
We had left at 6:00 am on Thursday, November 21. Four people from the east side of town in Loganville, Jim Barber from MC3, Jonathan Juarez Carcaño actually from Doctor Arroyo Mexico but staying with me and Melinda, and of course the two of us. We met the other trailer in Union City. It was pulled by DJ Brooks and Uriel Mayorga. Uriel’s father in law, Juan, also joined us as he has for the past couple of years. Right about 8:00 am we were on I-85 and on our way. Pulling the trailers we would make about 2 hours before needing to stop for gas. We maximized every stop along the way for pit stops and sustenance.
We made great time and were in Baytown, Texas for a late dinner at our favorite stop, Buc-ee’s. Buc-ee’s is the largest gas station I have ever seen. Not only are there about 75 gas pumps, but there is a store at least the size of a Wal-Mart market place. It has everything from food like fresh barbecue, beef jerky, salads to clothing, snacks and more. We can blow a lot of time in Buc-ee’s and always have to stop at least once each way:-) This time we timed it perfectly and were able to stop twice each way, one on each side of Houston.
With the pretty uneventful drive, we arrived at Colegio Biblico in Eagle Pass just before 3:00 am. We snuggled up in our vehicles in the college parking lot and set the alarm for 7:00. Once we were up, we headed to Huddle House for a good breakfast. After our bellies were full, and teeth were brushed, we went by the Wal-Mart to drop off Jim to wait since he didn’t have a current passport to get back in the US and then we were off to the border crossing about 8:45.
We arrived with virtually no one else ahead of us in the “Declaration” line. That is the line we must go in to declare all of the gifts. They will want us to pay taxes on what we are taking in or show that we have processed paperwork with the federal government of Mexico in order to bring in the gifts tax-free. We have tried for years to process the paperwork through their website all to no avail. Sometimes we literally get nowhere on the website. Sometimes it has been “lost” in space, and most of the time, it is just not possible because what we are taking in doesn’t “fit” into their type of paperwork. They want to list the quantity of every item. So literally, how many pencils, how many notebooks, how many stuffed animals, and the list goes on and on. As you can imagine, with our bags, that isn’t really possible. There is no way for us to know that information and we have certainly tried to make our bests guesses over the years.
This year, with discussion with Cris Garcia and Abdiel Rocha, we decided to proceed as we have in the past few years with going to the border with some letters from officials near Bethshean in Mexico, The new AC paperwork from Bethshean, and the letters from SOAR. We also had the receipts from last year to show how much we paid for each trailer, 600 pesos.
It appeared that all was going well. We were met with one of the Mexican border officials, unlocked the trailers and he seemed rather nonchalant about it all. As hope was building inside, the one official was quickly joined by another man. He wasn’t as relaxed. Even though we talked about what we had, even showed him examples of the bags, he kept insisting that we hadn’t proceeded through the proper channels. We told him of our difficulties and showed him the paperwork we had and receipts from last year, but he wasn’t budging. Juan still kept talking tough. He kept playing on those heartstrings about the needy children that these bags would be helping. Still no go. After about 15 minutes, we realized it was futile. The border officials told us we should try to cross at Acuna which is up north about 1 hour. Maybe they would let us across. The “nice” official then lead us to make a U-turn and head back to the US side of the bridge.
Of course, when we reached our border officials, they wanted to know what all we had. We explained how we had hoped to take them into Mexico but were turned away. We knew that would mean a search of our vehicles and trailers. So we were led to the inspection point where we opened up the trucks and trailers and sat to the side while we waited for them to finish their inspection. We really didn’t mind their thorough examination, knowing it is to keep us safe. Besides, we really didn’t have anything else to do at the moment. While we were waiting and talking with the officials, we told them how we had been instructed to go to Acuna. They strongly urged us not to go due to the lack of safety on the road from Acuna to Piedras Negras inside Mexico. So, after more discussion among the team, we decided to heed their warning and just wait for the shift change at 7 pm.
We headed back to Wal-Mart to meet up with Jim and make plans. I got on the phone to Abdiel and Cris about their suggestions. I did a bit of walking and praying around the Wal-Mart parking lot asking the Lord to just give me some direction of what I needed to do. One thing that kept playing over and over in my head was something I had heard the week before at ICOM (International Conference on Missions). One of the speakers had said, “We all want to experience a miracle, but none of us wants to experience the situation that needs a miracle.” Was this such a situation? How was God going to show up this time? What was he protecting us from by not letting us in? Would we get in later in the evening? The team was supportive of whatever I suggested but at this point, the only suggestion we had was to try again after 7:00 pm. After a little more discussion with Abdiel, we decided to try to process the paperwork with the Mexican Government through their contact in Villa Gonzalez, the county seat in their area.
The men all decided to head to the movies and Melinda and I headed to Chick-fil-A. I would work on paperwork via the computer while having free internet and of course close the best food around! It took many messages to the municipal president in Villa but I eventually got to the correct website and worked on the paperwork. Never did I find the paperwork I have filled out in the years past. It was something new and different this time, but I decided to proceed with it anyway. It was way too simplified from the “usual” paperwork. I submitted it none the less but knew it would do us no good for this trip. It takes at least 15 days for them to process the request.
After a nice visit from our friend Daniel who works at the college in Mexico, he agreed we should proceed with the paperwork, but also try to the border crossing again. We all had another good meal from Chick-fil-A, paced the parking lot several more times, dropped Jim off at Walmart, and headed back to the border. It was about 8:30 pm by the time we got across to the Mexican side.
There was a lot more traffic this time. That could be to our benefit because they may want to move us along. So we had to wait a while to get moved to the point of talking to the officials. When we did get to the officials we quickly jumped out and unlocked the trailers. Juan started talking immediately. This time we had decided he would talk, I would say nothing unless asked. We also wouldn’t show any paperwork until asked and use the number of large bags instead of individual bags so it didn’t seem so overwhelming to them.
It started off OK but quickly turned to the fact that we hadn’t done the paperwork through the federal government. No matter what we said, it wasn’t changing their minds. One of them did seem a little more sympathetic but obviously wasn’t the one with the most experience because he was deferring to the other man often. Juan kept talking and talking. At one point he sent me to the truck so he could talk some more to him. I think he was trying to pull those heartstrings some more, Mexican to Mexican. Through the discussion, they had suggested we come back on Saturday to go to the office that was open until noon to see if they would check the paperwork I had submitted. Then they said to come back Monday to the office since it wasn’t open all day on Saturday. No matter what Juan said, we weren’t getting across on Friday. So, much to our dismay, we turned to walk back to the trucks and trailers.
Juan immediately turned and said we needed to plan to be back early the next morning to go to the office. I reminded him that they had also said we should come back on Monday. Which was correct? I told him I didn’t want to waste all those hours for the team to come back on Saturday if we couldn’t get in the office until Monday. So, after a little chat between us, we decided to return to the official for clarification.
The official was a good way off from us by now. We signaled to him and he came back across the drive to where we were. We talked to him that he had told us one time to come back on Saturday and another time to come back on Monday. We asked if he could call someone to verify if we could come Saturday or if we needed to wait until Monday. He obliged our request and called someone. A moment later he approached us and asked for the address of the college where we would be leaving the gifts. I went to get my phone so Juan could take it to him. When Juan returned he said he overheard him talking about what we had and how they were gifts for the children. We anxiously waited near the truck and each said our silent prayers as we waited. Before we knew it, the official came and began to talk to Juan. He quickly sent me to unlock the trailers and much to our surprise, the official wanted a picture of some of the contents of our bags, particularly with balls:-) We opened some bags and poured out the contents so he could get some good pictures. Then he told us we could pay taxes but this would be the last year. Juan did more of his talking and the 2000 peso per trailer tax became 1500 per trailer. Even though it was more than last year, I didn’t argue!
So, God showed up when we were being turned away. Why did we decide to ask for clarification of when to come back? Was that the holy spirit directing us so God could do his thing? I would say yes! We didn’t want to be in a situation of being turned away. We had no other options amongst ourselves. The years we have gone to the office there at the border, it has never turned out as we had hoped. I didn’t have any hope in that meeting at that office, but I did have hope that God would work it out somehow.
The taxes were paid ($77 per trailer), we drove to the college and were pleasantly greeted with many able-bodied men ready to help unload! What a wonderful sight they were. We had the trailers unloaded in about 30 minutes. We unload at the guest house where they can wait to be picked up by the ministers from Bethshean. Being at the guest house also gave us an opportunity to get an overdue shower!
Although it was late, we headed back across the border to pick up Jim and begin our trek home. About an hour and a half up the road, we stopped at our usual stop at the Road Runner for gas and allowed Jim to get a shower since he wasn’t with us in Mexico where we all showered. He said it was well worth the money for that shower!!!
At 3:00 am we arrived at Buc-ee’s for gas and decided we were all too tired to continue. So after fueling up, we moved to the parking lot for a few hours of sleep. A bit after 7 we got up and continued to get breakfast and head up the road. We didn’t make quite as good of time due to some issues on the road, but we were back in Union City a bit after midnight to go our separate ways.
So all those prayers you prayed before and during our travels were heard! God decided to let this be a walk of faith this year instead of breezing through like we have the last few years. Through it all, I had great peace knowing that God was in control and that somehow he would make a way. I just marvel at the fact that we had turned away the second time to go back to the trailers and back across the bridge when God decided it was time for him to show his power! It reminds me of Ephesians 3:20-21 Now to him who is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine, according to his power that is at work within us, to him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations, forever and ever! Amen.
To see pictures of our journey, click here
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