In time for a surprise

Little did I know that Sunday, as I waited for the church bus to come, that this would be no ordinary bus, and no ordinary Sunday. As our big yellow bus pulled up to the curb, I was surprised to see the words, “South Carolina Public Schools” inscribed on the side. I was ready to die of laughter right there and then, at the street corner. Who would have thought that I would have been climbing in a SC school bus in the middle of Guadalajara?!?! The Lord has such a sense of humor. Sunday was an interesting day since I went to church here in Guadalajara with Tita. This was one of those times when I remembered Makenzie and her prayer for me this week, that I would be brave and not shy, making lots of new friends. It’s my automatic response to cling to the one person I know when I’m in a new place, but I have to force myself out of it. And here in Mexico, it’s my automatic response to cling to the Americans (if there are any) because it’s just so much easier. God is teaching me that what He requires from me will not be the “easy” thing. He will require me to do many difficult things. Anyway, I sat with my friend Tita, but the pastor asked me (in front of the whole church) my name and all that. Then he asked me if I came with Marta. I looked all around me and was like, “Who’s Marta?” Tita hung her head, then I realized, Marta was sitting right next to me. Her nickname is Tita, which I knew, but I thought her real name was Catalina since that was what Vick always calls her. Come to find out, her name is Marta Catalina. Tita is a shorter name for Martita. We both died of laughter later and we retold the story over and over. The church was really interesting as well. The church has started a children’s home, so all the children (about 45) came to church and sat among the congregation. I feel incredibly blessed to see so many incredible ministries happening in Mexico.