This journal entry was not written by me, but by my Father who was on the team as well. I had started journaling, but after the events of Tuesday, September 11, I could not write anymore.

Let me just say that those events caused experiences while on the trip that would not have occurred otherwise - some good and some bad.

Mexico
September 8 through 15, 2001
Mission trip to Gomez-Palacio and Torreon
By Harold Hall

 The team of 12 was made of the following: Ken, team leader; Steve, Assistant team leader and music coordinator; Diana, interpreter; Larry, construction coordinator, Sunny, children’s program; Lisa, medic/safety; Steve; Sherry, devotions coordinator; Steve, treasurer; Ron; Lillian and Harold.

 Others in Mexico included: Reverend Jorge Rodriquez Flores, Site Coordinator; Reverend Roberto Martinez, District Superintendent; Reverend Jose Jaime Arillano Castrvita, site minister

 Saturday, September 8, 2001

            We flew Continental airlines.  The plane left KCI on time and arrived in Houston, Texas on time. Left Houston on time and arrived in Torreon, Mexico on time. It was raining when we arrived. They say it rains about 5 times a year there. Three vans met us at the airport; two took people and the third took the luggage. They took us to the hotel we were to stay.  Had a good night got to bed at midnight. I rode in a new Ford Windstar van. I found out later that he sold Fords. I will tell you more about him later.

     Going through customs was rather interesting. We had to walk down some stairs that were rolled up to the plane and were met at the bottom of the steps by a man who handed us an umbrella that we used to walk to the building where the customs was located. First we presented our papers we had filled out on the plane stating where were staying and how long we would be in Mexico. We then picked up our luggage and walked up to a place where there were two lights; one green and the other red. We pressed a button and if the light turned green we could go on through. If it turned red they went through our luggage. Of the 12 of us only one had a red light. We then went into another room where we were met by the pastor, Jorge Rodriquez Flores, and the other two drivers met us and took us to the Hotel Del Paseo.  The bed stands were made of concrete and about 18” to 2’ tall and had a mattress on top of that. We had sheets a bed spread and one towel each. The bed was rather hard.

 Sunday, September 9, 2001

            I woke up at 4am and again at 5am but went back to sleep both times. I heard

Steve get up and saw it was 7am. Shaved and showered. The shower was not very warm. Most of the time throughout the week the hot water would start but before it really got warm it would stop running.

At 8 am we went to a church service that was ½ block away. The name on the outside of the church is, “Templo Metodista San Pablo”, i.e., St Paul Methodist Church. The church is over 100 years old and was built by Methodist missionaries. It is a very nice church. In the front there were six large vases of white flower arrangements and a multi colored flower arrangement on the altar. Above the alter was a round stained glass picture of Jesus and two other stained glass pieces lower on either side and slightly above the altar. There was an altar call where people went down to the altar both at the beginning of the service and at the end of the service. There was a piano prelude followed by a hymn, testimonies, scripture and sermon by one of the persons who picked us up at the airport. His name is Jose Enrique Villa V. and sells Ford cars and I found out later he taught math at the University.  Five years ago he was the Principal of a school that was run by the church. The church gave up the school five years ago. His face and gestures were very expressive. At the end he gave an altar call and about 20 people came down to the altar. He kept talking in Spanish and the minister than went to each person placing his hand or hands on the shoulders of the person or in one case the person’s head and prayed with each person for several minutes. The one who gave the sermon gradually talked in a lower tone of voice while the minister kept raising the level of his talking until at the last the minister was talking very loud and the one who gave the sermon, Jose, was in a whisper. Very impressive. The service was over at 9 am.  The third man, who met us at the airport and again took us back to the airport, worked for General Motors and had just been laid off. He was hoping it wouldn’t be for a very long time. We then went to breakfast at a near by restaurant, Ben’s.

            Sunday school was from 10 to 11.

            We then came back to a charismatic service starting at 11:30 that lasted for 2 and ¾ hours. The order of the service was much the same as the first except there was a lot more singing. At this service there was a band and a small choir or praise team. The band was made of 2 keyboards, piano, drums, bass guitar, guitar and 8 singers; four women and four men. After the prelude and the first altar call, everyone read the scripture together. When something would happen that our congregation might clap for they raised and shook their bulletin, which made a rustling noise. They did this, and at other times, when we were introduced. During the singing there was a lot of movement by everyone and even some dancing at times when the music was lively. The church was full and I noticed that some people came in an hour after the service started. At that time they started putting extra chairs in the isles. After the service was over we and a number from the church went to a nice restaurant where they had a buffet luncheon. Very good. Among other things I had a shrimp cocktail that a chef made on the spot that was delicious.

We went out to the work site at 6:30 pm that evening. While we were there those who lived in the area pointed out a gray sky approaching us and told us it was a dust storm. Sure enough before we got out of there it started blowing the dust really flying. We had to get out of there. Visibility was about ¼ mile. We were going up on a mountain that evening where a statue of Christ is along with a chapel and other gardens. That was cancelled due to the dust storm. It then started to rain that was good because it settled the dust that had blown in.

 Monday, September 10, 2001

            Got up at 6:45. After I got dressed I went next door to Ken’s room who each morning made coffee. We went to the church at 8 am for breakfast of scrambled eggs with bits of ham, toast, coffee, orange juice and hot peppers to put on the eggs.

            There was no drainage system and the rain during the night left a lot of water on the streets and even up on the sidewalks. We had to cross the street to get to the church at take the long way around because the water.

We got to the work site a little after 9:30 am. Most of the time our transportation was a utility van with 2x6 boards running down the sides of the van and also down the middle of the van. At other times we would also have another car. The District Superintendent went out with us many times and at other times a girl name Lilly, who had gone to school in California for a year to learn English and was invaluable as an interpreter took a car.  Two trucks pulled up with cement blocks. We formed a human chain and passed the blocks to the inside of the foundation of the church, which had been done by another VIM team, which had proceeded us in the spring. In all, three groups had worked on the site before we got there. About 1/3 through I had to stop because my back was killing me and I had to quit.

            After that some worked up on the roof of the existing building fixing the guttering. They use PVC pipe for the gutters. The rest of us men put blocks around the sides so the workmen could put a cap on one side of the foundation. The blocks were used as forms. All of the concrete was mixed in the street in front of the work site: four wheelbarrows of sand and 4 of gravel and the cement was then put on top of that. They mixed that a little then started adding water and kept mixing with shovels until it was well mixed. They then loaded the concrete in the wheelbarrow and rolled it to the foundation. The women worked with the children in the neighborhood during the morning and afternoon. There would be a different group of children in the morning than the afternoon because in the schools, ½ of the children went to school in the morning and another group in the afternoon. There would be from 15 to 30 or more children in each group. Our interpreter and another girl, Lilly, would tell them stories. They also had many crafts for the children to make and take home. They took a picture of each child, which that night was mounted on a cardboard, which the children decorated the next day. They really liked having their pictures taken. We had hamburgers, French fries and coke for lunch. We worked until about 3:30 pm and felt like we had put in a big day. Due to the rain the night before the sky was cloudy and therefore it was not too hot during the day.

            We went to the hotel showered and rested. We went to the church at 6 pm and had a dinner of mashed potatoes with something like sour cream, meat loaf, cheese spaghetti and cake. We always had some kind of drink and coffee if we wanted it.

            Steve led the devotions following dinner. We talked about the experience of the day, sang a couple songs and Steve gave a little talk and ended with a prayer. Each time before we ate and at devotions we would join hands and form a prayer circle for the prayer.  We always formed a circle, holding hands, for prayer before we ate and at other times.

            After that we all went to a market that was 4 blocks away and looked around for about an hour. The markets are very interesting and have many different things in them. Food as well as other items.

            I took some ibuprofen and Steve rubbed flexall on my back.

We felt like we had had a great day and accomplished a lot. The children are wonderful to watch.

 Tuesday, September 11, 2001

            Up at 6:30 and coffee in Ken’s room at 7. Breakfast at 8 am in the church. Bananas, oat meal – wonderful taste. I don’t know what was in it but I have never made it that good, muffins and other baked things, orange juice, jelly and coffee. After breakfast some of the group went back to the hotel to get supplies for the children’s program for that day. When they walked in the lobby of the hotel they saw the twin towers in New York City with smoke coming from them and some Spanish TV announcer talking. At the time they did not know it was New York, but someone who recognized them as from the USA told them what had happened. They in turn told the rest of us on the way to the work site. Our first report was that the Terrorists flew planes into the world center trade towers and later at the site we heard into the Pentagon, Treasury Building and other buildings in Washington DC. There was a team meeting at the site when we got there to discuss the situation. Some of the team went back to the church where they were going to contact the minister of the Red Bridge Church and VIM in Columbia, Missouri. The people called at Red Bridge UMC would in turn call the people we had designated to be called in the case of an emergency and any others we had designated at the site. The rest of us started building the walls of the church and other work around the site. The women had a session with the children.

            The women who worked with the children said the children ask them if they knew what had happened in NYC and Washington and when they were told we did know they said they were sorry.  We were notified that all the airports in the USA are closed. Some of the team members said they had sons in the National Guard. Sonny one in the group said her husband was in Poland.

For lunch we had flat kind of pancake type of thing stuffed with refried beans or meat, and soft drinks.  We left the work site about 3:30 in the afternoon. On the way back we stopped at a market in Gomez-Palacio. Quite an interesting market with all kinds of raw meat out in the open on tables and flies all around.

            We went back to the hotel and could see pictures on TV with Spanish speaking TV announcers telling about what had happened.

            We went to the church at 6 pm to eat. They had set up a TV that was cable in the room where we ate and we could see that broadcast on CNN with the announcers speaking English.

            For dinner, chicken cordon blue, rice with a few vegetables in it (very good), brown bread, a plumb colored drink and for desert peaches in very rich cream. We then had devotions and watched TV until about 8 pm and then went back to our hotel rooms.

Quite a day.

 Wednesday, September 12, 2001

            Breakfast of scrambled eggs, refried beans, tortillas, coffee, orange juice and brown bread.

            At the work site, built wall on other side so both walls and back are about 5 to 6 feet tall. Some did tuck pointing on the other building where some cracks between the concrete blocks had occurred. Many children come for the activities; a different group in the morning than afternoon.  Children either go to school in the morning or afternoon. The children are very clean and have clean clothes even though their housing is terrible. All houses are built of cinder or cement blocks. Most have no doors or windows. Some just have a cloth hanging down where a door should be. All have flat concrete roofs. Many have reinforcing above the roof as if some day they will build another section above the first. 

            For lunch hot dogs, potato chips, and pop.

            Some of the men started moving a big pile of rock, dirt and other debris such as pieces of tile and marble and tossed it in a truck. Hard work. I mainly kept them supplied with water. This was the first truly hot day. The temperature had to be over 100 degrees.

            Got back to the hotel at about 3:30. Showered and shaved then Steve and I walked around the town some. Our hotel was within a few blocks of downtown Torreon.

            Later Steve used his Sprint phone card and talked to Mary Ellen.

            Supper of tacos, lettuce salad, rice water (very good), jello and a very sweet something like candy.

            That evening two cars took us up on a mountain where a figure of Christ, a very pretty chapel with stained glass, the Stations of the Cross, and gardens outside. We could see all three cities from there. It is a very large metropolitan area. The figure of Christ is very much like the one at Eureka Springs, Arkansas. A great view of the lights of the three cities. While up there a young man and two girls were standing close to us. The young man started talking to us in English and stated he had gone to school in the States. He talked about the Terrorists and said he was sorry.

 Thursday, September 13, 2001

            For breakfast we had tortoni  (sp) with eggs and renchidio (sp), fried beans, coffee and orange juice.

            On the way to the work site there were two busses just ahead of us who had stopped at stoplights. When the light changed the bus on the right made a left turn right in front of the bus on the left cutting it off. The bus on the left had to break really hard. The driving here is something else. Everyone seems to go fast. There are through streets; many one way and the cross streets have stop signs at each intersection. The car, truck or bus has to get about half in the cross street to see if anyone is coming. At the stop lights the green light blinks about 3 times before it turns yellow. Cars immediately stop if the green light starts to blink. You don’t see them trying to rush through the light before it turns yellow and red. We got to the work site at about 9 am.

            For lunch corn tostada, torridities, and soft drinks.

            At the work site we worked on the church building, moved dirt and rock taken from the area to pour the foundation, activities continued with the children. Many pictures were taken of the activities. The children found out that we were going to be leaving on Friday. Many of them cried and likewise some of those who had worked with them.

            We went back to the church in Torreon where we had ham and beef wrapped in steak, vegetable beef stew, yogurt, a punch drink, spaghetti salad and drinks.

            In the evening we went back to the work site for a church service and communion. Sherry, associate pastor of Red Bridge UMC, preached the sermon with the use of an interpreter. The little building was full with many children present.  As a part of the service our group sang a couple songs accompanied by Steve playing a mandolin.

            Going back and forth through the two cities you see many people with brooms sweeping the street in front of their places. They do a good job of keeping the cities clean of rubbish and trash in the streets.

            Our interpreter told me that the children had learned my age and had passed that information among the other children.

            We were told today that we would be able to fly home on Saturday as planned.

 Friday, September 14, 2001

            Breakfast of cereal, strawberries, sliced apples, yogurt, orange juice and coffee.

            At the work site you see a lot of dogs. Some look like they have some pit bull blood in them. Just behind the church that we were building and to the side about two houses there is a pit bull dog with a large chain around its neck. We were just going to work the morning and have the afternoon to do some shopping.

            At 11 am we were told that it would be 2 or 3 days before we can fly back to the USA.

            For lunch we had gringas and soft drink.

            We have now been told that we will probably be able to fly out on Tuesday. Jorge then said he is taking us in as new members this Sunday. We all laughed.

            Work today consisted of moving rock and pouring concrete pillars. The women did crafts with the children. Because Jorge had a meeting at the work site with 4 other men we didn’t leave the work site until about 2 pm. The women played games like drop the handkerchief and other such games with the children. They really had a good time.

            Before we left Jorge told us of a woman who had been very instrumental in getting a church established where we were working. She went from house to house talking to people who lived there. She was now bed ridden with cancer. He asked if we would like to go by her home and see her. Of course, we all wanted to do that. Before we went in we took up an offering for her church. It was a nice experience. She was very grateful. We got to the hotel at about 4 pm.

            In the evening we went to an authentic Mexican restaurant for a farewell dinner. It was very nice. The waiters and waitresses were all dressed in Mexican costume. I had Chicken Tamales.

            We were now told that the USA would not allow flights in or out of any country that does not have the same security that is required in the USA now. We really didn’t know when we could fly out of Mexico.  We were also told you could not take knives; even plastic or other things of that nature across the boarder. We heard too, that Continental Air Lines was canceling flights and laying off employees.  As we boarded the van from the restaurant to go back to the hotel, Jorge asked to see our passport and to hand in any knives we had. That was funny.

 Through telephone conversations with Red Bridge UMC, we now believe we will go by bus from Torreon to Laredo, Texas.  We will them be met by cars from Kansas City to bring us the rest of the way. It turned out that we rode the same bus all the way to Dallas, Texas where we were met by a 15-passenger van and an SUV. That was 1,000 miles on that bus with just brief stops to change drivers.

 Saturday September 15, 2001

            On Saturday morning we stayed in bed a little longer. The church was no longer fixing meals for us because we were supposed to have flown out early that morning. Steve and I showered and dressed and went to a restaurant, Ben’s, where we had eaten the previous Sunday morning. There were several of the other team members their having Breakfast and more joined us before we had finished.

            Most of us then went shopping at places in or near the market. I was trying to find some pure vanilla but was never able to. At about noon we went back to the hotel and during the afternoon, rested and later packed our bags for the trip back to the USA.

            That Saturday, September 15^th was Independence Day in Mexico. At 7 pm, the church was going to have a celebration in the school grounds between the church and the hotel. We found out that when the Mexicans said they were going to have something at a certain time it doesn’t mean it will actually start at that time. It means that some people will start to arrive at that time but more than likely it will start about an hour later. There wasn’t much activity when we first got there but a few people were setting up tables and chairs, the church band started bring in their equipment and later there were different places where fires were started.  I actually saw fires at three different places, all different kinds of fire. One was being started using small pieces of wood about two inches in diameter. On this one they cooked meat, peppers and onions on what used to be a large blade for a disk. They had another near by that they could put over the top of the first to use as a lid. Another was a barbeque grill that used charcoal; not the type of briquettes we use but in shape of the wood they were made of. The third was oil heated by gas from a gas cylinder.

            Eventually others came with different kinds of food. Three main tables were set up by each of the heating devices and you could pay 20 pesos and get a plate full of food. There were three choices to choose from. I could eat only one type but some got a second that I noticed was not all eaten. They had another table where for 5 pesos you could get a piece of cake. Also for 5 pesos each you could get a soft drink or they had three other kinds of drink; one, I was told, was made from flower petals that was good to keep older people regular. I didn’t try that. They had another table that for 3 pesos each you could get different kinds of candy.

            The chef who had fixed those delicious meals was there with his wife and three daughters. We had met his wife before one evening when she helped serve us when we were having our evening meal. She came up to me and in her broken English told me that they all loved us. We truly love them also and I told her that.

            I ask the chef to write down the food that was at the tables and this is what he wrote. Tacos (carne, papa, frijol), pozole, parrillada, (agua frescas, limon, famaica), pastel (cake), and dulces.

            As the night progressed, the band started playing and four singers, three boys and a girl, joined them. The band was made up of a keyboard, 2 guitars, a bass and drums.

            Later dancers in costume danced. There were 7 couples; 7 girls and 7 boys. The girls had flaring skirts. They were a very colorful sight. They did several dances.

            At about 10 pm I went back to the hotel and at about 11 came out with my luggage as we were going to be taken to the bus station at that time. There was a park about three blocks from our hotel and at 11 they started shooting of fire works. We were taken to the bus station in the three vehicles that met us at the airport. At 1 am we boarded the bus for a long, long trip to Dallas.

At the Mexican-American border we had to all take out our luggage where the border guards went through everything. They also opened up everything on the bus and that was also gone over. We didn’t object in the least.

Joe, a member of the Red Bridge UMC who drove the 15-passenger van, met us at the bus station in Dallas; I later found he used to live around Quitman, Missouri. Mr. and Mrs. H also, drove down a SUV that belonged to Larry. Larry is the H’s son-in-law. They took us to the motel where we stayed overnight; got up the next morning and left for Kansas City at 8 am. I arrived home at my house at 7 pm that evening. Total miles on the return trip were 1,300.

I was very tired the next day; Tuesday September 18 and took naps during most of the day. I also took several naps on Wednesday. I had a wonderful trip. I now have such respect and admiration for the Mexican people. They are hard working and although their standard of living is far below ours they seem happy.