Family Missions - Travel Day…Fulfilling Our Destiny
This was the perfect day to begin our journey to Pueblo Pintado. The day was bright and sunny with a few clouds dotting the sky. Everything went fairly smoothly at the airport. It was just the normal travel hassles – loss of some cosmetics and some shuffling of items in luggage to prevent any extra charges. Having two hours at the airport to eat, read, work on crossword puzzles, and talk was an enjoyable break before boarding our Delta airplane for our three and a half hour flight from Atlanta to Albuquerque, New Mexico. On our flight, we were able to gaze at blue skies and large fluffy clouds making different formations outside of our windows. Patti was reading a book on the airplane that opened with the following quote from Albert Einstein: “There are two ways to live your life. One is as though nothing is a miracle. The other is as though everything is a miracle.” What a neat way to start a mission trip, being reminded to see everything as though it is a miracle.
When we arrived in Albuquerque, Tami, Madison, Andrew, Mark, Lauren, Ken, and Philip greeted us at the airport. They had five vans waiting for us. We loaded the vans with luggage and headed to the Golden Corral for lunch. The rolls and the desserts won out as everyone’s favorite foods. Then, we started on our drive to Pueblo Pintado, NM to serve the Navajo Indian community living there. Surrounded by flat-topped mountains and beds of lava, the drive was breathtaking. As we drove through the area where she grew up, Pam shared fond memories of family and growing up in the area. We made a brief stop at a Wal-Mart for construction and Vacation Bible School supplies before continuing our drive to Pueblo Pintado. When we pulled up to the cafeteria at the high school where we would be working during the week, God reminded us that He was the One Who was in control of this week. Rays of sunshine piercing through heavy rain clouds revealed to us His magnificent glory and left us standing for a moment in reverence and awe marveling at His greatness.
Pam and others had put together a meal of lasagna and salad, which we ate before going to see where we would be staying for a week. Our accommodations were five duplex homes with air conditioning, kitchens, closets, and mattresses on the floor. In one home, Robin, Dawn, Penny, Susan, and Debra were quick to pick up brooms and mops and start cleaning at 8:30 p.m. (10:30 p.m. to our bodies). The rest of us watched with that stunned deer-in-the headlights looks in our eyes unable to do anything but get ready for bed. We lay down to the sound of a symphony of frogs croaking outside and a large downpour of rain eager to see what God was going to do with and through our efforts of the upcoming week. My constant prayer on missions is that I not have an agenda or goal of my own and that I seek only to love and serve those in Pueblo Pintado and fellow mission trip members.
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