One door closes, another opens up.

As you know, I've been going to Juarez, Mexico for the last four years on a mission trip. This year, because of the violence there, we won't be crossing the border into Mexico. I'm sad about this, but I'm also aware that the safety of the missionaries has to be top priority. I'm pretty sure it would be really difficult to get people to go on the next trip, if we lost several members of the team on this one. It's a hard sell. If we tell people we have a few extra spots open next year, due to the untimely deaths of a few the previous year, people might think twice about plunking down the money it costs to go.



So what will we do? Well, that isn't set in stone, and I'll tell you from past experiences, it's best to plan what you can, and then listen to what God says. Our leaders are always well prepared, but sometimes things happen that are out of our control, and you have to go with the flow. God has a plan, and we just have to listen, then follow. Right now, it looks like we will do some work for a mission that currently takes people on what they call Border Immersions. What they do is, take people across the border and show them how the people live in Juarez. They visit some of the same missions that we work with when we are there. I really can't explain all that they do, but you can go to their site and check it out. http://www.rmselca.org/cristo_rey.htm

I'm excited to see what happens, what we do, and how we can impact the people of Juarez, without ever crossing the border. I'm certainly glad we are going down to do something and not just cancelling the trip. We know that these Border Immersions work, because our leaders were introduced to Juarez through this program. By us helping them, they can expose more people to the need in Juarez, and in my mind, we are doing every bit as good in that mission as we would have done if we crossed. I will miss the experience we have in Juarez. I've said it before and I'll say it again, it takes you out of your comfort zone and I think that adds to the experience. I'll miss the people we see every year and especially the kids. I won't have anyone to call me "Americano," so I guess I'll have to assign that job to someone, so I feel more at home. It will be weird to be State side for this year, but I think we are going to do our best to keep it a mission trip, no movie runs, no trips to the mall and certainly no TV.