A Trip into Paradise?

We are half way through our trip in Mexico.

Last week we drove through Puerto Vallarta on our way to visit the family of Gaby Martinez.  They live on the coast just south of Puerto Vallarta… or so the map says.  The road out of Puerto Vallarta was very difficult to find and so full of pot holes that it took us almost an hour to go the first 10 miles.  Getting to Puerto Vallarta was almost as difficult as we were on a small windy road going up and down steep hills.  The country side was nice but we were stuck with everyone else behind large trucks that could only crawl up the hills and wouldn’t go much faster down them.  It took us over 3 hours to go what we thought would be the last hour into town. 

We originally thought that we would make our destination an hour or two before dark but that became impossible.  We were driving since 9am and it was getting dark when we found a hotel to spend the night in.  An hour earlier I had said to Jerilyn that probably God wanted to use us in a great way in Campo Acosta (our destination) because, due to all the problems and stresses I was facing, my attitude was going south faster than our car was.  We needed to stop at that hotel to wash up, to rest up, and to pray up before we arrived to minister to others.  The rest and our prayer time was just what we needed.

The next day the road was much better and we arrived by 9am and found the family easily.  We had a great visit.  Gaby’s brothers took us to the beach and Gaby’s mother treated us to some yummy meals.  That night we had a great time of singing praise and worship songs together.  One of Gaby’s brothers, Antonio, appears to be a believer.  He started reading the Bible while in an Oregon prison.  His wife and three children live in Salem and he will be returning there next spring.  He told me that his wife is “very Catholic” and does not want to read the Bible.  I got their address and will make contact when we get back.  I am hoping to have an evangelistic home Bible study with them in the spring when he returns.  We had a great time and the whole family wants us to return for a longer visit.