The Church That Showed Us the Way

After crossing the border, we have been driving for about 1 hour or so, and it was getting pretty late. Because we were unable to cross on the first location, we had been detoured about 20 + miles away from our original route. As we were driving and asking for directions to random strangers, it would seem like we were going in circles. Maybe because we were not asking the right questions, of basically, we were lost. Until we have hit a point of frustration, we saw a church cross about 4 blocks up. The cross stood out prominently as if it was calling us to go inside. For some reason everyone had the same idea to go inside the church and ask for proper directions, and be in a safe environment. Kisha the driver, just floored the gas, by passing traffic and on-coming traffic, just so we can just get there already. Afterwards, we went inside to try and ask for assistance. We met a guy who was working there, at first, he did not have a clue where this location was. We tried telling him the name of the barrio, but still nothing. Then we tried calling the organizer of the place, and with luck he picked up the phone. While in the process of getting direction, a family had walked in. Diana, Marco Antonio, and Karla had over-heard our frustration and our challenging navigational moments. She had really made an effort to try and help us, so we decided to ask her to come with us and help us find our destination. So we loaded up the van, and off we went again. At first, it looked like she was very sure of the location, and we hit traffic along the way. We noticed that we were going in the outskirts of the city, which could be good or bad, knowing the situation on the city. Diana tried her best to get us to our destination, and as it turned out, the location given to us previously was different from the actual place. Diana tried very hard to talk and ask people in the street. After 2 hours later, we managed to find the place, which co-incidentally, we had just driven in circles. She said her house was just over the hill, and we could have gotten here in less time if the right directions were given.

Getting to know Diana and her kids, while in the van was a blessing, we all grew a friendship, even if we just met hours before. Afterwards, she had trusted us enough to even invite us to her home. She offered to make us dinner and spend the night. Off course, we were all embarrassed but we did take her offer for drinks of ice tea. The generosity of this family is something to be recognized, even in times of hardship, people with kindest of hearts will find away to help. Marco Antonio, her son, is also someone we have grown to respect, at 15 he was a leader in training. He was determined to make sure to help guide us and find our ways in the city. He was very helpful in so many ways. In return the team had offered several bags of shoes to donate to their church. Apparently, they too also coordinate events for poor kids on Saturdays at the church. They had mentioned that food is scares, and if there is a way to assist in this, we would try our best to bring it in the country. Overall, with this part of the story, we were really grateful to meet new friends who helped us find our way, and offered their home to us.