Well, there you have it, the journal of my mission trip to Mexico from 25 years ago. While it was good to be back "Home," it was sad to leave the friends we had made in Mexico. I never expected I could be so impacted in such a few short days. To live in America is an amazing blessing that most of us take for granted, and those of us that have glimpsed beyond soon forget. To be surrounded by such a generous group of loving people in a poverty stricken village of Mexico was an incredible experience that I have carried in my heart. We went on the trip to help them, but I'm not sure who helped whom the most. When I think about the love and gifts they shared with us, proportional to their resources, in return for the small amount of work and financial resources we provided, I feel incredibly blessed. I don't consciously think about it like I did after we first returned, but periodically fond memories return. For the past few years a group of men from our local Church have gone to Mexico on a similar mission to assist in small villages that do not have sufficient financial resources to complete their new church building. Each year when they return, I enjoy hearing their stories as, memories of my trip return like a torrent.

I mentioned in the introduction to these "Mexico" trip journal entries that it was the generosity of my friend Chris that enabled me to go on this trip. Chris and I remained friends and a few years later Chris was the best man at my wedding and about 9 months later I sang at his. With jobs, families and all the rest, we've only seen him and his family a few times during the passing years. In the midst of posting the Mexico journal, we received an invitation to join them in celebrating a special "0" ending birthday for Chris' wife Diane. We attended the celebration last night in Waterloo, and had a chance to spend a little, long overdue, time with them and other friends from 25 years past. Jean, Chris' secretary who, upon my return from Mexico, had typed my hen-scratched journal was there, and we were able to share a few memories. It was great to see them all again even though the visit was brief.

I hope you enjoyed reading this series as much as I enjoyed sharing it.

Vaya con Dios