MEXICAN HOSPITALITY

The unique hospitality of Mexico was demonstrated one afternoon when we were stranded on the side of a steep mountain road in the middle of nowhere. The highway we chose to take was a long and winding passage through dense forests. Hairpin curves and switchbacks with dizzying drop offs and no shoulders kept our attention until we saw a small church and stopped to investigate. After discovering that it was an empty Catholic chapel, we started back up the hill only to have the engine stall and die. After trying to start it several times, Lloyd coasted the van back into the driveway of the church. There was a lot of heavy traffic on the road and we were on a sharp curve.

Thinking the engine had overheated, we decided to wait for it to cool and tried not to panic. Meanwhile we asked ourselves what reason could there be for this to happen. Was there someone nearby that God was leading us to? It seemed possible, so we walked across the road and down a steep embankment to a little home that was perched on the side of the steep mountainside. A man greeted us while two small children watched us with curiosity. The little boy who was very excited and happy to see us, was completely naked. We sat in the shade of tall trees and visited with the man who said he had lived there on the mountain all his life.

After an hour when the van still wouldn't start, we walked down the road and found a mechanic living nearby who was willing to help us. He picked up a small plastic bag of tools including a few screwdrivers and small wrenches and walked with us to the van. While Lloyd and the mechanic tried to find the problem, I went back across the road, down the steep bank and sat in the shade. By this time the man's wife Nellie had returned home with their third small child. Nellie invited me into the tin roofed shelter on the side of their home where she was preparing a meal. On the side of the mountain in the heat of the afternoon Nellie and I talked about the Lord until we finally heard the welcome sound of the van engine roaring to life. The heat had made the float in the carburetor stick causing what we call a vapor lock.

When everything was settled and we were ready to go, Nellie invited us to share a meal with them. We sat with the children, six year old Flor and three year old Jonathan while Nellie served up bowls of soup with spaghetti and black beans with tortillas. As the children ate and played, we talked about the importance of teaching the children about the things of God. I learned that Nellie is a Pentecostal Christian and there are two other Pentecostal families in that area, but there is no church nearby for them to attend. Her husband Gerardo is not a Christian, so it isn't easy for her. Nellie suggested that we might spend the night with them and drive down the mountain early the next morning but we declined saying that we needed to be on our way. As we prepared to leave, Nellie said with great emotion, "Remember that when you are in Mexico, this house is your house."

Altogether we spent three hours alongside the road at Nellie and Gerardo's house. We left Nellie with some Sunday School books that will help her teach her children and we urged her to continue her walk with God. Was this the reason we found ourselves forced to spend time near the top of that mountain? We may never know, but we do know that there are people living up there who want to live for God and need a church to attend. And once again we experienced the sincere and open hearted hospitality of Mexico.