On Wednesday, six of us made our way to Reynosa, Mexico, to visit the Christian children's home. It was a wonderful day! So much happened and so much was learned! I will do my best to convey it all to you.
One of my first thoughts on reflection was that my boys and their wives would have enjoyed it as much as I did.
Betsy was our tour guide. She runs the Thrift Shop in Pharr, Texas, that goes a long way toward supporting the home. She is also on the administrative team running the home. Betsy gives about 3 tours during the season, and we were lucky to be part of the first one this season. She did say she would be glad to do more if the interest was there. Six of us Trophy people met in the main hall and waited for Betsy to take us across the border in the Children's Home van.
The trip across the border is a trip in itself. It is very different from going to Progreso
Betsy gave a whole different slant on it. She makes frequent crossings and has all the paperwork to speed it up. Reynoso is a city of over a million and continuing to grow.
All of the houses have a reservoir on the roof. The reason for that is that citizens only have access to water 3 days a week, so they have to store it in order to have it on the other days of the week. When new houses are built, they do not include all of the plumbing and water connections that we take for granted. And yet they continue to build! This trip is filled with facts.
The Children's Home is very secure, and without Betsy, we would not have been able to enter. It used to be a rural place, but Reynosa has grown so much that they are now on the edge of the city.
Bill D. is 6ft. 5 in. and the children looked him over thoroughly wherever we went. This photo was taken in the Art Classroom.
This is a small part of the family I enjoyed lunch with.
This is the whole group that lives together, plus the 3 of us visitors
The Dad of the group asked me if I wanted to play Bingo, and I said "yes". An aside to the question is that I always say 'yes' unless I have a very good reason for saying 'no'. So I read the numbers in English, and the Dad repeated them in Spanish. We played till all the numbers were covered.
There are local children who also go to school here, and the parents or guardians must pick them up after school. This is our group watching that happen.
On the ride home, we learned so much more! The traffic out of Mexico and back to the USA is an obstacle in itself. We waited over an hour to get back, and that is not a bad time. The company was good, and the conversation was lively, which helped pass the time.
I will most likely remember things a bit at a time and will relate them as I remember them. Oh, yes! A boy about 10 years of age came up to me and patted my hair. I was sitting down. He then said "beautiful". I said "Thank you!"
I did not have the Google Translate App on my phone. I do now, and when I do the trip again, I will make good use of it. I highly recommend getting it.
This might help guide you to the one that was recommended to me.
Translate between 108 languages by typing. Tap to Translate: Copy text in any app and tap the Google Translate icon to translate (all languages).
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