Thanksgiving 2021 Trip Review
What an amazing Thanksgiving trip the Lord enabled! Truly, everything went very smoothly and everyone on the trip (Cory's family, Sandra, Stella, and Scott) was immensely blessed. Thanks to everyone who enabled the work via your prayers, your financial support and your donations. We are blessed to share with you all the ministry that happened, and all the needs that were highlighted during our time in Reynosa.
Thanksgiving Trip 2021
Collecting all the donations and Crossing them at the Border
Preparing for a trip is an undertaking. We collected coats, blankets, and gifts for the kids. The response (your response) was tremendous. We filled the three vehicles going on the trip (two minivans and an SUV) to the brim!
Collecting items is one thing, but getting them across the border is another. The customs officials on the Mexican side have rules and regulations they must follow in regards to the items permitted to cross the border and the quantities of those items. The law states that each person is allowed $75 of purchases to cross without paying a 19% tax (that is right, 19%). Clothing items, beyond personal use, are prohibited in order to prevent used clothing flooding the retail market in Mexico. Thus, crossing coats is always a challenge.
But God was so faithful. The customs officials were generous and only charged us $100 tax on the $1100 worth of new toys we crossed, saving us $120. In all, we made 6 trips across the border and brought nearly all the items donated across. Thank you for your prayers as this is a massive part of any trip and always is a huge challenge.
Saturday on the Canal
Scott and Cory headed down on Saturday, November 20th, and spent the afternoon on the canal. We met with the President of the Nopelera community and discussed replacing the some of the classrooms there, as they are in a state of utter disrepair. Currently, classes are meeting 3 days a week for 2-3 hours a day. But the hope is that classes will resume as normal after the holiday break. At this point in the process, we are pricing the cost of a 2 classroom building, that will be a replica of the building in La Union for the high school. There is concern that the cost of materials has escalated substantially. Once we get a handle on the costs, we will make a project proposal and hope to get started in early Spring.
After the meeting in Nopelera, Scott, Cory and David went to La Union and tried to make some repairs there, as the electricity in one of the buildings wasn't working and there is a clog in the water line. However, because the power was completely out, not as many repairs as we hoped were able to be accomplished.
Finally, we went to 23rd of March, where we are planning to connect their two water tanks to the Rohi well in Nopelera. Previously, the community had a truck bring water to fill their tanks, but this past summer most homes went without getting regular refills for 5 months. We are hoping by connecting the tanks to the well, we can ensure the community always has access to water.
