Well, we made it to Vegas on Saturday and had a nice visit with Jeff, Deanna, Ashley and Allie. Our group (Builders Without Borders of Utah) spent the night at a local Holiday Inn Express with the intent of leaving by 8 a.m. We were to meet the President of the La Gloria, Tijuana Stake at the border crossing into Mexico in hopes of making our entrance a little smoother. (Their government doesn't like us bringing in donations.) Unfortunately, we encountered a few glitches in our plan.
First, Angie and Chris walked out to their car in the morning and found this...
We spent nearly 2 hours trying to report a missing car, fill out a police report, and rearrange transportation. (We found a spot for all 7 passengers that were in their suburban.) The best part of this situation was the amazing way Angie handled it all. She was an example to all of us of maintaining a good sense of humor through it all. The funniest part was when she was on the phone behind the desk at the hotel. She was waiting to talk to her insurance company and a man stepped up to the desk. The receptionist was busy with someone else so Angie smiled at him and said sincerely, "So, how was your stay?" After his reply she informed him, "I don't work here, but I care." She has such a friendly and fun-loving personality and you can't help but love her.
Next, our trailers were so overloaded that one of them blew a tire and ended up having to totally replace it. But we finally made it to the border around 4 p.m. Checking in with trailers full of stuff is quite a process. We had to open things up and take a few things out. The kids were a little bored but they found a way to entertain themselves until the border patrol asked them to stop. (It was just after one of them climbed on the roof to retrieve the volleyball.
Another ward member met us at the border and after we got through we had to take him home. Unfortunately, we took a wrong turn and got a very long and scenic tour of Tijuana. The worst part was actually seeing in person some of the living conditions of these people. I've seen it in the media, but the reality of it sinks in when you are witnessing it first-hand. We are truly blessed! The best part of this "scenic route" was following behind the van and trailer full of bikes. You should have seen the heads turn! A police car bumped into the back of the car in front of it because they were so busy looking at all the bikes!
Anyway, Here we are settled into La Gloria and ready to work!
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