San Antonio

I do not know how I can possibly summarize all that has happened since I last wrote a meaningful post. It was simply breathtaking, perhaps literally. (I find that I'm breathing easier now, and Enoch's persistent cough has ceased.) We didn't get a chance to help the Mitchells with anything ministry related as there were no camps on at the time or anything. We were privileged to be toured around by them and just cherished each moment we had together. What a wonderful family! You'll see from the captions on the photos what all we saw in and around Mexico City. It was eye-opening to not only see where Marcel & Ingrid are working, but also to learn about the history and culture of the people they are trying to befriend. It is a very different culture, different standards, different architecture, different landscape, different idea of modesty (no legs but breasts are featured prominently, even on the female newscasters.) We were happy to meet a family at the youth group who seemed very, very nice. The husband, Fernando, likes to play flight simulator with Marcel, and Curtis helped them get it working. Ingrid and I visited with the wife, Maru (short for Maria Eugenia) and had a fun time exchanging words in Spanish and English. Marcel and Ingrid are amazing at Spanish. They are real, caring, people-people, in my mind very well-suited to what God has called them to do. It is difficult for them in their mission right now. I am glad we better know how to pray for them and their people.

Today we arrived in San Antonio and were excited to eat at Subway again. We hadn't been eating many fresh vegetables in Mexico, being careful of things washed in the water so these sandwiches tasted really fresh and good. Then we went to VISION FORUM! We were so happy to be there! What an amazing store. All 3 kids bought swords! I'll let them tell you about them, but they bought them in the returned/damaged section of the warehouse for super deals. We also bought a bunch of history lecture dvds, "The Great Debate: Does God Exist" cd set, the newest Jonathan Park cds about 100 different animals at the zoo, The League of Grateful Sons dvd the boys have been wanting to watch, the book Thousands Not Millions as well as a dvd about William Tyndale and a dvd set of the best of the 2006 Christian Film Festival held by Vision Forum. They have such an amazing ministry! We spent 2 hours there! We learned that their donated building is in danger now. They have always been a debt-free ministry as the building they occupy was donated by someone very generous but now the state has declared "imminent domain" for some other purpose. They have called people to prayer over this.

After our shopping spree we went straight to the Alamo and were happy it was open until 7pm as it was 5:30 when we arrived. It was really something to see. The Daughters of Texas have done a great job in keeping the history alive and accessible to people. The gardens are also beautiful. I was quite moved in the "women and children's" room, imagining all those mothers, other ladies and children cowering for safety, listening to their husbands, brothers and sons dying in the battle outside their door. Mercifully, the Mexicans put their guns and swords away when they entered the room, finding the women and children. They gave them horses and provisions to freely escape, with the message that Santa Ana was in control.

The River Walk was not what we had expected but we sure enjoyed it. We had expected a natural river with a path running beside with lovely overhanging trees. What we found was an amazingly designed promenade along a canal-type river with all kinds of restaurants, shops and hotels along side. It is a very different style of downtown district and so appealing! We are glad to have taken the time to explore it.

By this time it was 8:00 and we decided to stay the night on the outskirts of San Antonio rather than try to drive part way to Midland. We were heading to a La Quinta hotel we had called but on the way saw a Hampton Inn & Suites that Curtis decided to check out. I suggested he not bother because it looked really expensive but boy are we glad he did!!! This place is amazing! We have never stayed in such a fancy place, except for on our honeymoon and on Curtis' business trips. The kids didn't know what fancy looked like! This place is $10 cheaper than the place we were heading and it includes a HOT breakfast, like waffles, and has this nice, fast, plugged-in internet in this posh room. We enjoyed the pool for 1/2 an hour; we have never seen a pool like this with fountains, tiled pictures on the bottom, tiki lamps, and really nice pool furniture. All this for $109 on a Friday night! It's brand new and still smells a little bit like paint. I think we may be the first people to stay in this room (417). It even has a flat screen tv. I think we're not going to set the alarm tonight and just enjoy this sleep. Well, we'd better set it so we won't miss the breakfast! And I do want to get going to Midland. I can't wait to see everyone!!! It should be a 6 hour drive. Enjoy the pictures!