-Jan. 28th (Saturday)
Today I cross into Mexico and travel south towards Guatemala.

I woke up around 8am and headed back into Pharr, the town at the Mexican border just past McAllen, I changed out my US currency for Mexican Pesos. I changed $260, witch equaled $2710 pesos; the exchange rate was something like
10.7/10.2 too 1.

After changing my money I headed south to Reynosa, the first Mexican town across the border. At the border crossing, I just drove into Mexico and was never stopped, or checked. I just drove right in. Once realizing that something must be wrong, I turned around and headed back to the border crossing. I asked a guy there where I needed to go in order to register my vehicle and check my passport. Immigration! Duh, I had never stopped, and no one really cared that I was a US citizen driving a big truck full of gear across the border. I went to Immigration and gave them my passport and told them I was a missionary heading to Guatemala to do work. Big mistake, in Mexico they don’t like Guatemala very much and really don’t want to help out anyone who is heading that direction. The man at immigration said I had to go to the American Consulate first in order to travel to Guatemala. He said it was also closed and that I would have to travel east another forty miles up to the next border crossing and try there.

I called Aaron, the guy on the trip who had already driven to Belize and had returned. Aaron said it was B.S., and that not to say anything about Guatemala, say something about going to Belize or Mexico City.

I went up to the next border crossing and tried again. This time it worked smoothly and there was no hang up. Well I did have to unload my truck and declare the value of my tools. That cost me a $150 US to cross into Mexico. I finished up all my paperwork and hit the road.

I then went east along the border heading towards the Mexican town of Matamoras. In Matamoras I got turned around trying to find Mex. Hwy. 180. I made a complete circle through one section of town trying to find/get back on the right road. After twenty minutes of driving in circles I found the right road and headed south along the gulf. I wasn’t really along the gulf were I could see the ocean, but with in a few miles.

I drove for about six hours until I came to the town of Tampico. I saw a Best Western hotel and decided to stop. The room was only $60 US and they would take my credit card. This was good because my cash supply was now down to a $150 US. They had internet and I was able to contact the US and update some things. At this point my phone was not working yet, and I had not heard from any English-speaking people in a day. The room was nice and I was able to get a nice hot shower. I took a lot of pills, two Excedrin, four Advil, two Centrum multi vitamins, and two Vitamin C’s. All these pills were to knock me out and allow my back and muscles to relax and prepare for the long bumpy road the next day. It worked. I still could hear the passing vehicles out on the Hwy., but I was able to get sufficient sleep.

-Jan. 29th (Sunday)
I woke up at 6:25am and got ready to hit the road south along the coast. I gathered all my things and repacked my truck for the day's travels. I got on the road around 7:45. The goal was to make it passed Vera Cruz and all the way to Hwy. 185. Hwy. 185 would drop me down to the west coast of Mexico near Juchitan. The traveling was easy for the most part. Don’t go faster than 65mph and stay in your lane. Watch out for Tope’s (speed bumps or "sleeping policemen") and on coming traffic. Stay alert when entering towns and don’t make any wrong turns.

I traveled maybe 80 kilometers and came to a town that got me all twisted up and almost lost. I came into the town on a good size two-lane road. The road quickly turned into small back alleys and side roads with traffic going one way. I turned around and made the loop again. Passed the same police officer and tried to figure it out. I turned left and then right around this building, headed down an alley, and popped out on the right road. Wow, I had no clue the road was going to disappear and then pop out on the other side.

When you enter these towns you really have to be paying attention. The roads are not marked and do not say where they are going. You have to guess and use a compass to find out their heading. It is incredibly stressful trying to navigate through these towns.

After the confusing town I continued south to the city of Tuxpan. This city was large, and had a big river running along one side, similar to Chattanooga. I had to go under the bridge and then find away to get on the bridge and head south across the river. I figured it out and was on my way.

Vera Cruz, the next big city on the map that I was trying to get to. It was around 12pm and I wanted to make Vera Cruz in a couple of hours. I drove for about an hour and a half and finally saw the gulf coast. Yes! The surf. The surf was breaking on the beach and the wakes were nice. I follow the Hwy. along the coast for about 80km. and made my way into Vera Cruz. I reached Vera Cruz around 3pm. I still had another 250km or more to travel before I would reach Hwy.185.

I entered Vera Cruz and took the wrong road. Well not the wrong one, just not the fast one. I drove along the far side of the city hitting a traffic light every couple of blocks. It took me an hour to get through the city. It was now 4pm and I headed south into what is know as the rainforest area. The road ran back and forth along the mountainside; the mountains where short but steep, with the trees and vines hanging over the road. It was a nice drive, yet very slow. I traveled about 35mph the whole way. I took me another hour to make it though.

My phone works! Aaron called me. I was driving through a town just after the rainforest and my phone starts going off. I was so excited to hear another English speaking voice. I talked to Aaron for a few minutes, then talked to my mom. I told her that I was down to $50 dollars and had about a 3//4 a tank of gas and a half tank up on my roof rack. I needed more money to make the border. She said that it was getting late and I needed to find a hotel for the night. I didn’t have the money for a hotel, but maybe I could find one that would take my credit card. I drove for another 45mins. And found this nice looking resort hotel right on a river's bay. I stopped and asked them how much; $70 US. Wow, cheap for a resort, but way too much for my budget. I passed it and began heading off into the sunset.

The night fell quickly and by the time it was 5:30pm there was no more sun. I continued on until 10:20pm, and grabbed a hotel for the night. Driving at night is not a good thing in Mexico. The roads are small and everyone keeps their hi-beams on. The roads are also unmarked, no yellow or white lines. It is very nerve racking.

When I finally got the hotel I had traveled about 60km. down Hwy 185. I had made some good progress for the day and was ready for a goodnights sleep.

-Jan. 30th (Monday)
I woke the next morning refreshed and ready for the day. It was around 8am, I didn’t take my phone in nor did I set any kind of alarm. I wanted the sun to wake me when it was time to hit the road.

Once I got back on the road I headed southwest along Hwy. 185 towards Juchitan, a large town on the pacific coast of Mexico. Juchitab is about five hours from the Guatemala border. I arrived in Juchitan around 11:30am and needed to find an ATM. I was down to my last six dollars. I still had half a tank of gas and another half tank up on my roof rack, but with all this gas, I still didn’t have what it would take to make it to Guatemala City. I needed money.

I found an ATM towards the middle of town. I was driving down a crowded one-way street and happened to see one through a shop's window. I parked my truck a few blocks down and walked back to the shop. The shop turned out to be a bank and I was able to withdraw the needed funds to make it to the border. My mom called while I was at the bank and told me that my brother Eric was at my bank in Chattanooga making a deposit and the funds would be available soon. I walked back to my truck and got out my video camera and took so shots of the town and scenery. I then called my brother, who said the money was in my account. I went back to the ATM and got out the rest of the money and went back to the truck and found my way back to the Hwy.

Once back on the Hwy. I filled my truck up and headed south to the border. I then merged onto Hwy. 200 and traveled the last few hundred Kilometers to the border. I came up to the Guatemalan border and was Hi-Jacked. Yes, my truck was swarmed by people telling me to go here and go there. Everyone was flashing a badge and yelling at me. People were jumping up on my truck and riding on the roof, holding onto the sides and banging on my windows. I was overwhelmed by the “KAOS”. I parked where the told me to and went to try and get my paper work done. Two guys pulled me aside and one spoke poor English but said he would help me. He had a badge and said that he was part of the border officials. Looking back now I realize that he was just a fast talker who was a fraud. He took me to one place then another telling that I needed this document and that one. He would take my money and my passport and the return with some new piece of paper for me to carry.

We finally ended up at the Immigration office and talked to the tellers. The teller said I could not enter the country. What! Guatemala is closed? They guy tried another teller…. No, I could not enter to country. They tried again and again and then he disappeared and left me with his non English-speaking friend. I was getting worried. I had no more money, just a couple of “Q’s”, less than $10 US. I couldn’t return to Mexico, couldn’t go to Guatemala, and had no one to show me the way.
Jared was going to meet me at the border, but I hadn’t talked to him in three days. I had no clue what to do.

I turned to the guy that was with me; I asked him where the other guy went. He didn’t know. We both walked outside and looked for the other guy. We found him about a block away sitting with some friends. He jumped up and started trying to help me again. I was almost to tears at this point. I was mad, frustrated, and angry. All my money was gone and I could not move. I was trapped in a foreign place with no way out and no help. We went back to the immigration office and tried again, I told the guy behind the window that these guys had taken all my money and that I was a missionary heading to Guatemala City to do work at the Adventist church. The guy looked at me and then went to talk to his supervisor. He returned and said he could help me. He took me inside the supervisor’s personal office and sat me down with the supervisor. The supervisor spoke very good English and told me that I didn’t have to pay any more money, and that they would let me into the country. I was somewhat relieved to hear this news. I could move forward. I finished up my paper work and got on the road. All in all, it was a living HELL!!! I had no hope, I prayed to God and asked him to help me; He did. Praise God for his faithfulness!!!! I got on the road and headed toward Guatemala City.

I didn’t have a clue where in the city I was going, I just knew that I needed to get to the city and maybe someone could help me find the group. By this time it was dark and raining. I was crying in my truck and feeling down about life. Thoughts of doubt passed through my mind. I wanted out. I wanted to be home and was willing to do that no matter the cost. I was sick of the greedy people who had robbed me and attacked me at the border. I was lost and spent. My heart and soul torn by the experience, I drove aimlessly into the dark.

I traveled about a 160km, and then got a text message on my phone. It said, “Welcome Sprint roaming of Guatemala, enter these numbers to dial out to the USA.” Yes, I was so happy. I called my Mom and almost cried on the phone. I was so torn. My mom said she had talked to Jared, and that he was at the border waiting for me. What? I had driven for almost two hours. The border was way behind me. I told me mom to call Jared and find out where he was, and what was going on. She called Jared, and then Jared called me.

Jared was about 15 miles from the border. He had taken a bus to the border and had passed me. He yelled at the bus driver to stop and let him off, but the driver kept driving. The drive took Jared all the way to the border and dropped him off there. There were no more busses traveling back to the city, so Jared hitchhiked back the 15 miles to the town he was at. When I heard this I told him that I would turn around and come pick him up. I headed back. The roads seemed different though, I was having a hard time remembering the way I had driven. I wasn’t paying close attention to were I was going, or what land marks I was passing while traveling to the city. I was to torn apart to really care about what was going on. I eventually found Jared. It was 1am when we met up. It was so good to finally see him. Wow! Another American, one who cared about my travels and me. We turned around and headed back towards the city. We arrived at the Christian Academy Guatemala compound at 4am that morning. I went to bed. The END.

-Jan. 31st (Tuesday)
The CAG. The CAG stands for Christian Academy Guatemala. The compound is very nice, and all the students speak good English. The faculty speaks English, and come from all over the world to teach.

CAG

Jared and I taught two automotive classes. We had about four kids in each class. We showed the kids how to take apart the brake system of a ’94 Nissan Sentra. It was fun. I just stood back and gave directions and supervised the kids. The kids did all the work. I just made sure that they didn’t destroy anything or get hurt. I really enjoyed teaching them. I had a hard time watching though. I wanted to help them, show them how to do it; but I just watched and gave them directions. After class Jared and I re-assembled his Manual locking hubs on his front axle. It was tricky, but we figured it out.
We then went to this abandoned lot and tested them out to make sure that we had done everything right. Everything worked great. Jared’s truck really can climb.

auto mech class

Don’t let me forget, I did eat. I ate really well. For lunch the headmaster of the school took us out to a very fancy restaurant, very similar to the Cheesecake Factory, but not. The food was excellent! That evening we went to another faculty members house. We had spaghetti and salad, with fresh apple pie and ice cream for desert. It was so good!

After dinner we went to soccer game that some of the faculty and students were playing in. Wow! Are they GOOD! I have never seen on TV nor in person a single person who could play as well as these guys could play. They were incredible. They killed the other team, they were fast and accurate, always passing the ball and making the other team run and chase them. They owned the field. After the game we went back to the CAG, and I took a shower and went to bed. All was good, I was happy, no more worries.

soccer field

-Feb. 1st (Wednesday)
I got up around 9am. I got up and helped Ryan K. wire in some exit lights in the gym. Ryan had already pulled all the wires needed for the lights. All we had to do was mount them to the boxes and wire them in. It wasn’t that simple. The boxes were not placed in the wall level, nor were they centered over the doors. It was difficult making all of them line up and look professional. We made it happen though. Also, only three out of the four worked. One of the units was defective. We replaced it and finished the project around 1pm.

After the exit lights, Ryan K., Jessica, Joy, and I went to the airport to pick up Adam Black. When we arrived at the airport we tried to find a parking spot, we circled the airport three or four times before we found a spot. We dropped the girls off and then met then in the airport. Adam’s flight arrived at 2:07pm. He quickly gathered his gear and we were off.
I can’t remember anything more about this day

Feb 2 (Thursday)
I helped teach the Auto tech. class again. We installed and new master cylinder on Jared's truck as well as replaced all his brake lines. we made a run into the city for parts, on the way we picked up on of the faculties vehicles from a local mechanics shop and stopped by a truck for sale. When we came back we helped in the wood shop with ripping some plywood and helped Ryan with some electrical work. I also fixed a problem on my truck, the leaf sprigs needed to have an additional wrap placed around them to protect them from shifting side to side.

---Today (Friday) I got up at 5am with Jared and drove to El Salvidor to re-register his truck. He was given a 40 day pass and today was day number 37. On the way to the border we picked up three Guatemalan Military Uniformed Officers.
They rode with us for about an hour and half out to the border. With them chill'n in the back of the truck we were able to blow through all the check points without any hassle.

Afterwards on the way back we stopped by the Central American SDA Headquarters in Guatemala City. Beside the headquarters is a really awesome bakery. We bought about 3 dozen pasteries and cookies, it cost us about five dollars or less. When we got back to the CAG, we went with a gentle man here up to his clinic and feeding shelter. The clinic and shelter is up in the mountains with the indigenous indians. The clinic was very modern and well equipt for work. The feeding shelter is for malnourished children and pregnant mothers. It is under construction. I will be doing alot of welding at the shelter. I will be welding a protection cage for the food storage room and multiple window gaurds and door covers to protect against gangs and thieves. I will also be installing an aluminun wall over and around the kitchen and hanging concrete board.

--- tomorrow (Saturday) we are going out to a place called Antigua. It is a colonial town up in the mountains. We are going to spend the day there.

--- we plan on moving on to Hondoras within the next two weeks. We will be there for about three weeks or so.

feeding shelter

Susan and Bill

Foreman Pedro

inside shelter

kitchen

These pictures are of the feeding shelter up in the mountains were the indiginous people live. They still were the traditional dress.

I will be welding some items and helping with some wall structure there. When I get the new pic'c of the projects and the work I'll send them.

The picture of the whole, is a hole that is about forty feet deep. WOW! You can barely see the guy in the bottom digging. Then hole is for a vertical sewage field line. odd? I'll send more pics soon.

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