A couple of days ago I wrote about our trip up to the U.S. for a missions conference at Rio Grande Bible Institute. If you missed that, you can click HERE. This is a brief account of our way back.
When I posted a quick picture of this, a friend and former missionary to Puebla, Mexico, Keith Goodling, commented on Facebook: oh Mexico, how I miss aspects of you… I think I know what he means.
We crossed the border on the way back at Brownsville, and stopped at immigration in Matamoros, right after crossing the border. We returned from the conference with another passenger, Israel, who is Peruvian, and needed to stop (and pay) on the way into Mexico. While we were stopped, a helpful gentleman that we affectionately call “viene, vienes” commented that our back driver’s side tire was, well, pretty much flat.
I had a can of emergency flat-repair foam in the van, and the tire inflated somewhat. We headed to the nearest gas station, filled up the tire with air, and then headed to a tire repair store, which abound in Mexico. After asking a random person on the street we were directed to a shop a block off the beaten path.
Once again, God showed Himself gracious. We had a flat in precisely the place where we could most conveniently get it fixed. Not in the U.S. Not in the middle of northern Mexico, where you can drive for an hour and not see any civilization! A three inch screw had entered head-first into the tire. 20 minutes and $4 later we were on our way again!
