Day One

Tuesday was (in a word) awe-inspring.  But first things first.


DISCLAIMER: In the off chance anyone in the world is actually reading this, I will be putting forth more effort to post in English and Spanish.

My sister and I woke up at the unnatural hour of 4:00 AM to finish packing and get ready for our plane ride.  Our shuttle left to take us to JFK at 5:30.  When we arrived, we seemed to be the only people at our airlines, save for a few chapparitos on a nearby bench.  Around 6, a few others arrived and began to queue up, so we joined them i line.  We were not in line 20 minutes before a sister behind us (Laurie) spotted us in line be our Costamar travel agency lanyard badges.  We quickly made freinds in line, and gradually more and more friends came, and we all chatted excitedly.  Even the man who took our tickets noticed and said he remembered a similar group of Jehovah's Witnesses that had come through the previous week.

When we reached our gate, we continued to get to know one another and, to my surprise, they began the gift exhange, the first of many creative, thoughtful and practical gifts from the friends.  One sister even sent a gift with us for our mom, who she said she knew she loved without meeting her because of the way she raised us. We sang Kingdom Melodies off of her cell-phone as well, and just had a really nice kick-off to the trip.

The plane ride to Mexico City was long but peaceful.  For breakfast, I had an omelet with juice, coffee, tater tots and a pastry. I wrote my blog, slept, read the in-flight magazines...just tried to pass the time.  When we got to Mexico City, we were thrilled that the agent at the security checkpoint was a Witness.  We hugged and she walked us through the checkpoint.  Finally, she opened the double doors that lead out to the airport lobby...

There were probably 30 of Jehovah's people standing out there, clapping, telling us welcome, hugging, kissing, and just showering us with love.  I was gobsmacked! It was the first time I broke down (wouldn't be the last time).  They were eager to tell us that we were welcome to Mexico and that they were happy to have their brothers with them.  They took pictures of us and gave us little gifts that had their contact information on it.  I can't explain the joy of the moment.  And this was a layover.  We still had the last leg to Monterrey.

On the plane ride to Monterrey, we had to fill out customs and immigration forms.  All or naught, because my sister and I had crossed out some much stuff that the woman made us refill out the forms when we got to the desk.  The airport was only moderately full, which was good.  By the time we arrived, it was late, at least after 9. We went to the domestic baggage claim, because our "carry-on" luggage was checked at the airport because there were too many ppl on the plane.  However, when we got there, we found no luggage.  A man who worked at the airport looked at us and said, "Are you with the Congress?" We said yes.  He answered.  "You need to go to international baggage claim.  Your brothers are over there waiting for you."  We were so excited to hear this, especially from someone who isn't even a Jehovah's Witness.  Sure enough, after going through customs, there were no less than 40 Witnesses standing there, waiting for us with hugs, gifts, directions, letters and just a ton of love.  On teenage sister, Betel, immediately took me under her wing.  She showed me where I could sign up to let the  brother in charge of the "Welcoming Committee" know that I had arrived, adn she introduced me to several of the friends.  She recommended some sight-seeing places and just made me feel very welcomed.  The brother told us that the branch had assigned their circuit (one that would not be actually attending the international convention, I later learned)O  Apparently the name Kimberly sounds very pretty on Mexican ears, because I dare say 60% of the times I told someone my name, they would say it was pretty, with varying enthusiasm.

The friends carried our luggage to a waiting bus and waved as we rode off into the direction of downtown Monterrey.  Our tour guide (a local man who told us he had done tours for over 40 years) told us a little about Mexico.  The bus was the one we would be riding our entire trip--Bus #2.  We quickly met other friends from all over the country, and I just felt the electric excitement as I saw that I was about to begin a wonderful week.  When we reached the hotel.

Guys, this is a five star hotel.  We received the royal treatment.  They loaded the luggage off the bus and take it up to your room.  We milled around the lobby, as the Welcoming Committee set up a table IN THE HOTEL where we could get help from local friends all day long.  The first couple night there were there virtually around the clock, welcoming friends as they came in the hotel from the airport at all times of the day night.  they assured us that no matter what we needed, they would bend over backwards for us to get it for us.  And, to boot, the friends manning the desk are the friends from the local English congregation.  They all spoke English to varying degrees, some barely and some near native, but they were all friendly and hospitable to an amazing degree.  We were there for no more than 20 minutes before the friends whisked us off in seperate cars to a party they had planned for us.  I will tell you about this amazing event in the next blog.