El Paso, Day 2

Wow, what a beautiful day! I hear its cold at home, but at 8:30 in the morning, its a nice cool temperature in El Paso. I'm not sure what it was exactly, but I had a long sleeve t-shirt on and I was fine. We headed for the Cracker Barrel for breakfast and I was able to locate a menu choice that was tasty, filling, but yet I didn't leave half a plate of food. Portions in the US are huge, but like everything else in Texas, they are even bigger. A tradition was started a few years back that we have a church service in a park that overlooks the city. Here is a picture of the view. Other than it being right off of the road, so you get all of the traffic noise, it has a great view of the border area. Someone in our group pointed out, that from where we were, you couldn't see where the US ended and Mexico started. That is how God sees us, as one. There is no division. All of us, whether rich or poor, black, white or brown, are all His children and we need to love one another. The service is always so nice, sing a few songs, read a few verses. The group that put it together pick out a lot of verses to remind us why we are here.
As we pulled into the lot, we smelled antifreeze, so we lifted the hood. The radiator seemed to be a little low, so we topped it off, but the overflow wasn't hooked up, so it all just pored on the ground. Lets hope this doesn't become an issue later in the week. Especially when we try to come back into the US and we have to sit in line for 45 minutes to an hour. We drove to the border and walked into Mexico for an afternoon of sight seeing and shopping. If you know me, shopping isn't really my thing, but its a great time to bond more with the team. Some of the sales techniques at the market are unusual. I had a guy a few years back try to sell me a Cuban cigar, which I declined. Then he asked if I wanted a whip for my wife. I'm pretty sure he didn't mean as a gift, and he was laughing, so I got what he meant. The one thing I learned at the market is, don't touch anything that you aren't interested in buying. Once you touch it, the shop owners are on you so fast its scary. You didn't even see them. They're like ninjas, they jump out and start trying to bargain with you. I was so disoriented the first time, I think I may have counter offered on something that I didn't even know what it was. That was the reason I touched it in the first place. I have found 2 shops that I really enjoy going too. They both play Christian music, which drays me in, and then you can always work a good deal with them. I bought Marcy a ceramic frog that started at $22, went to $18, then down to $15, but I eventually paid $10. I was suckered into a Juarez baseball hat that I didn't need, but I love hats and I thought $8 was pretty cheap. The market is right by a bull fighting arena, Plaza de Toros. There are never any bull fights going on when we are there, maybe because it is Sunday, but I always thought that would be an experience. We hung out at the cathedral for awhile. There were these dancers out front that were fun to watch. I took a few pictures of them.
If you live in Iowa or have ever been to the Iowa State Fair, you have probably seen the Isseretts(sp?), these guys reminded me of them. I love the Isserets, so this was a treat for me. While standing there, I started to feel the heat, so I know I'm a little red. Seems I can't do much in the sun without a little burn. I took this picture of a guy juggling in the street, if you look close you can see his balls (THAT HE IS JUGGLING YOU PERVERTS). We walked back to the states and experienced customs with a passport required for the first time. It was actually the fastest we ever crossed back, so the passports seem to be a good thing when you walk over. We'll see how it affects the drive back. I found out there is a place that sells 25 different kinds of hot dogs, just down the street from our hotel. Looks like I found my Friday afternoon meal. Tonight we head back to Leo's for dinner, then have devotions and discuss the Monday crossing. It'll be an early morning, but we'll get to see where we are building and get started. I found out that we are building the entire house, not splitting it with week 2 as in the past. I can't wait to be present when we hand the keys over to the family. I got to do that 3 years ago and I think I was more emotional than they were. It was so great to see the project complete and the smiling faces of the kids. God has blessed me in so many ways, its good to give a little back.