Papers

Tuesday we came straight from Brownsville to Matamoros without stopping at the Mexican border office to apply for the papers we need to travel further into Mexico. Yesterday we returned to the border to take care of this necessary business. The Mexican customs and Immigration Officer did not speak English but we were kindly assisted by a translator, Sandra, the wife of Vincent, who picked us up at the airport. Sandra is seen with Carol at the border area in the photo below.

The customs agent appeared puzzled and even a little negative about our itinerary which involves coming into Mexico by car, traveling to various cities, then returning home by air. Apparently this was an unconventional form of tourism in his eyes and he wanted to know more about our purpose. I do understand a good percentage of Spanish and recognized when Sandra began explaining we were all Jehovah's Witnesses and Carol and I were exploring possibilities to be able to help people with Bible knowledge. The officer immediately approved of this, his smile returning, and he promptly stamped our passports and other documents.

Dan and Heather were also with us and we next drove into the USA to shop for a few necessities. The photo below shows us approaching the long bridge over the comparatively narrow Rio Grande.

 Brownsville is a very pleasant and modern looking city. Close to the border there is the equivalent of a Chinatown or a Little Italy, except it's a Little Mexico. While waiting for the ladies in one big store Dan and I struck up a conversation with a young store security guard. After a while the conversation turned to the Bible which interested the young man. Using the Bible on my iPhone I showed him how Jesus taught us to pray to the Father for his name to be sanctified. Then asked him if he'd ever seen the Father's name in the Bible. He hadn't so I showed it to him and encouraged him to use it when praying. Before we parted I wrote down the scriptures I showed him, wrote down "JW.org", and gave him this as a memo of our conversation.

Our day ended by attending the mid-week meeting at the Matamoros Kingdom Hall - a fine quality meeting despite the modest size of the English group here.