Our Texas Everbowl Experience

Everbowl is a superfood bowl and smoothie shop. Everbowl is a fast-casual, healthy food eatery featuring a menu of build-your-own Açaí and other "craft superfood" bowls and smoothies. Founded by healthy lifestyle advocate and San Diego serial entrepreneur Jeff Fenster, Everbowl started as a singular operation in San Diego's Poway community  in 2016.

 
When asked why he came up with the idea, Fenster explained, "As a parent and fitness enthusiast, I wanted to be on the right side of history when it comes to encouraging healthy eating habits. I decided to open Everbowl locations in multiple, high traffic areas to ensure that everyone has the ability to access superfoods, fresh fruits and vegetables in the hopes that consumers will integrate these foods into their everyday lives."
 
Everbowl has a corporate philosophy they call “Unevolve lifestyle.” The Unevolve lifestyle doesn’t mean opting out of modern pleasures—it means pursuing them happily through movement and nourishment that actually feeds you, not just fills you. This is accomplished by using all natural ingredients. Stuff, in their words, “That has been around forever.”
 
While visiting Diane prior to our marriage in the middle of Covid, she had taken me to an Everbowl in Bonita, California, for my first Everbowl. Very fresh and loaded with Açaí ( I am reminded constantly....it's pronounced Ah-sigh-ee) and fruit. When I moved Diane to Texas, we tried a couple of local Açaí bowl places but none raised up to the level of her Everbowl experiences. Diane often bemoaned the lack of quality Açaí places and prayed that Everbowl would expand into Texas. And then it happened

She learned an Everbowl had opened in Flower Mound, Texas . Diane closely followed their expansion and when she found out they were opening a store in McKinney, Texas , a few miles from our home, she was as giddy as a school girl and scheduled us to attend the soft opening of their McKinney store.

 

So in the late afternoon, we made our way out to the corner of El Dorado Parkway and South Custer Road on the border of Frisco, Texas and McKinney. There we joined a cue of other Everbowl faithful to be among the first 500 patrons to get a free bowl of their sacred blend of Açaí and fruit. While in line we met with a couple of the franchise owners and spoke with Justin from Corporate.

He explained how franchisees are brought in to learn the Everbowl process and culture so the product stays consistent between stores no matter what region they come from. The same Açaí made in California will be made in Texas or wherever Everbowl expands to. To see the video, click HERE.

We all inched our way to the entrance while only five people at a time were allowed into the inner sanctum to get their bowls. Finally, Diane and I made our way by the gate-keepers to order our bowls. I ordered the Apple Up and Diane got the Chewy (minus the Coconut).

We closely followed the servers as they handmade each bowl to order. Laying the base Açaí halfway up the bowl and then handing it off to more servers who layered in all the toppings until it’s journey ended at the cashier and into our waiting hands.

Gaines World Waco, Texas

 

Diane and I were enjoying a visit by Jean, a long-time friend of Diane’s. Jean resides in Rhode Island and spent some time with us during the hottest Summer in North Texas (or anywhere for that matter). Jean, apparently, is a big Joanna and Chip Gaines fan and one of the things on her bucket list (and Diane’s) was to visit Gaines World (sorry, Magnolia Farms) in Waco, Texas

I was a viewer for many of the early years until…Shiplap happened. Suddenly all Joanna’s projects “had” to include that flagitious white planking on at least one wall or along with a headboard or two. Sorry…I had to draw the line there. I could sometimes sense the new owners on reveal day looking at their newly remodeled and flipped home wondering how that entered into the design. I understand the designers desire to “leave their mark” on a room or home but my first question on camera might have been, “Ah…..can we take that down after the show’s over?”

But you have to hand it to them, they took a formula house flipping show and built a brand that blossomed to include their own television network, books, magazines and a killer merchandizing program that is generating lots of revenue.

So, we decided to make the two hour drive down the I-35 to visit Nirvana. The ride was typical Central Texas (well…most of Texas) in that it’s flat as a board and most times on the Interstates, you can see where you’ll be in an hour or so.

Making the trek down I-35 is not complete unless you make a stop in West, Texas. About halfway between Dallas and Waco, it is Kolache Center (a delicious Czech fruit filled pastry) for most Texans. West was originally settled by Czechoslovakian immigrants who grew cotton, wheat, grain sorghum, and raised cattle. You may have heard of the huge fertilizer explosion in 2013. A fire set off the entire supply of Ammonium Nitrate (think Oklahoma Bombing) at West Fertilizer and killed 15 (mostly first responders trying to put out the fire) and injured 200. West has been recognized as the “Czech Heritage Capital of Texas” and “home of the official Kolache of the Texas Legislature”. We made a stop at Slovacek’s at exit 353. There Jean and Diane made an initial reconnaissance (and restroom break) for future pastry and trinket purchases on the way home. We then proceeded into Waco.

Waco (named after the Native American tribe who lived there) is a medium size city of around 140,000 and is the County Seat of McLennan County. It is better known as the home of Baylor University (Go Bears), the Texas Ranger Museum, the Dr. Pepper Museum and the home of one of the best preserved Columbian Mammoth sites in the world. In 1978, bones were discovered emerging from the mud at the confluence of the Brazos and Bosque Rivers. Excavations revealed the remains of at least 24 Mammoths, one camel, and one large cat were found, making it one of the largest findings of its kind. And you can’t forget David Koresh and the Waco standoff outside of town and the home to the White House Press Center near George W. Bush’s Ranch in nearby Crawford, Texas. So, Waco was already a house-hold name when Jo and Chip showed up on the scene.

Now about Magnolia Market (or as I refer to it the “Holy Land”). Cotton was, and still is, a big deal in Texas. Early settlers of Texas in the mid-nineteenth century, grew, ginned, and shipped cotton not only throughout Texas, but also to Europe, South America, and India. Cottonseed was second only to lumber as the most important cash crop in Texas (prior to oil being discovered). Not only did they ship raw cotton to the milliners of the world, mills sprang up all over the state as Texas established itself as the leading processor of cottonseed in the nation, and one of the largest suppliers of cooking oil, shortening, margarine, and salad oil—byproducts of cottonseed oil. Waco reigned in the South as the “King of Cotton” until the onset of the Great Depression.

In Waco, in 1910, J. T. Davis established Brazos Valley Cotton Oil, Inc. The main operations of the company took place at a mill located on the block between Webster Avenue and Jackson Avenue in the heart of Waco’s business district where Magnolia Market now resides.

By purchasing thousands of tons of cottonseed annually from farmers, and employing up to 75 men, workers then extracted oil from the cottonseed to be used for both cooking and industrial purposes. After the mill processed the seed, the oil was shipped all over the world. Whatever was left over, in order to prevent unnecessary waste, the mill sold unused meal as cattle feed. The Great Depression marked the decline of Waco’s cotton industry, but business at the cotton oil mill continued for many years.

In 1950, workers completed construction on the two 120-foot-tall silos which today are Magnolia Market’s most notable landmarks. Between 1957 and the late 1980s, the plant changed hands several times but was no longer active and was finally vacant by the 1990s.

In 2014, local residents and now famous house-flippers Joanna and Chip Gaines purchased the property with the intention of building their brand and resurrecting the historic property.

They opened their anchor store, Magnolia Market, and have added additions such as a retail showroom (Magnolia Home), a monthly antique and craft market, a Whiffle Ball playing field, Magnolia Press Coffee (I’m sensing a theme here) and a food truck court. They are also working to retain the historic integrity of the site through efforts such as the preservation of the original silos. After years of disuse, the reimagined mill and now Market remains the centerpiece of the city’s economic redevelopment.

We got our bearings and made a beeline for the Magnolia Table, a restaurant inside the historic (flipped and remodeled) Elite Café opened in 1919. The menu was simple and had all your standard Breakfast and Brunch fare. The food was well-made and there was a lot of it. I had the Avocado Toast with scrambled egg.

Diane and Jean each had the Farm Breakfast. Jean got sausage and Diane got the bacon. They also included these little handmade tater tot potatoes. Food was good, service not so great. Our server didn’t recall Jean had asked for Decaf and he dropped the ball on waters and coffee refills.

We then made our way to Magnolia Market, a short distance away. There, all things Joanna and Chip reside. There are T-shirts, hoodies, hats, antiques and bric-a-brac galore for the discriminate home decorator in us all (well, some of us anyway). There is a cornucopia of other things Joanna and Chip on the surrounding property. Like Disneyland, there’s a treat (literally) around every corner. Food trucks litter the back lot as well as other vendors hawking their sweets and drinks. There’s a large park-like area with places to sit and imbibe in their branded food and coffee drinks, and an outside production studio kitchen area from which they conduct their cooking competitions. For a walk-thru of the back lot, click HERE.

Of course, the ladies came out with several purchases including a walk-through of Joanna’s Silos Baking Company. Like Disneyland, customers had to wait in a cue outside and a gatekeeper handed out price lists of the items inside then allowed you through the door, one at a time, so you didn’t waste valuable Magnolia Time pacing around the shop. It’s important to note that most of the people I saw on the grounds were women. Oh sure, there was the occasional husband/boyfriend but mostly it was individuals and packs of women taking group selfies and rummaging through the place. They certainly had found their demographic for sure.

And why, you ask, did they name their company “Magnolia?” Well, Chip explained to People.com,“You know what’s interesting about a Magnolia tree?” he asked his kids after they plant one together. "On one of our first dates, I climbed up a Magnolia tree and I pulled her off a Magnolia bloom and I gave it to her.” (Can you hear the collective “Awwwwwwww…from the romantics out there?) Folks, you can’t make this stuff up. Oh yeah, it’s probably important to mention both Joanna and Chip are both graduates of Baylor University, she has a degree in Communications and he in Business. These aren’t just two house flippers, folks. We’re talking bonafide entrepreneurs who took home remodeling to a new level and created an empire.

Silos Baking Company

The ladies had gotten their Jo Jo fix (I’m calling her that now that we’re friends and have a new-found respect for one another). They were all shopped out and ready to leave but not before a return stop at Slovacek’s to pick up stuff they didn’t get the first time then the long and winding road back through Fort Worth and Dallas traffic back to our homestead in Aubrey.

Back in the Saddle Again

After a three-year hiatus, we have returned to cruising. It was back in May of 2020, and Diane and I were set to depart San Diego for Mexico on Norwegian for her first serious cruise. Several years prior, she had gone on a three-day cruise to Mexico which didn’t enamor her to cruising. So, you can imagine our disappointment the night before (literally as I was preparing to fly to San Diego) receiving an email from Norwegian telling us, due to Covid, the cruise was cancelled. The good news was I still flew to San Diego (on a practically empty flight, I got all three seats to myself) and instead of my gallant and romantic marriage proposal on Formal Night on that cruise, I proposed over a dynamite lasagna at Dolci Café Italiano in Rancho San Diego. In retrospect, I kind of liked the lasagna proposal idea better.

So, now happily married for two plus years, we decided to try the cruise again. To make it easier, we chose a Galveston, Texas departure, a relatively nice five-hour drive from Aubrey south to the Gulf. Once ensconced in our hotel, we wandered out into historic Galveston (Emancipation Proclamation read June 19th, 1865 “Juneteenth”, 1st City in Texas to become electrified, Hurricane of 1900, etc.) and ended up at Salsas Mexican Restaurant on the Seawall for dinner.

We stayed the night and preparing for a full day of cruise-boarding nonsense, began our day at Millers Seawall Grille, a must do for Breakfast. We both had the Spinach Omelet with grits and one of their AMAZING biscuits they use for their Biscuits and Gravy and the basis for their Peach Cobbler. Very reasonable prices, lots of food and they keep the coffee cup full the whole time.

So, lucky for us, Carnival had relaxed their Covid protocol and we no longer had to get negative tests prior to boarding. They didn’t even take temperatures. I had preregistered and got an early check-in and timed our arrival just right. We unexpectedly (contrary to some of my earlier experiences) glided through security and check-in. Assisting in this endeavor, Carnival uses “VeriFLY” so we could upload our Covid vaccination records which made the check-in more efficient. Except we had to upload personal information to ANOTHER third party (I know they’re probably NOT going to sell our info; I hate that) not a bad idea. Unable to get into the room right away, we settled into a table in the Lido dining room and drank some water and juice as we gazed out onto downtown Galveston.

Once our deck was opened, we were surprised to find all our bags waiting for us in the hall. We quickly unpacked and I showed Diane the ship. We decided to do formal dining and were seated at a large table with three other couples. Everyone was a cruise veteran but the conversation shifted to where we were from. Two couples were native Texans and two (including us) were transplants. It was first night, so it was a quiet meal. We excused ourselves after dessert and wandered toward the shops.

Most cruisers, at one time or another, will venture into the shops to browse their wares (usually expensive wares). Diane was like a kid in a candy shop (which she also bought). I am convinced there is a buying gene in all women (hey, I’m not judging and its not just a woman thing, although it seems to be a dominant force in them). Everything glitters under high-intensity lighting and it is hard not to shop. Of course, there is always that item she forgot to pack (Hmmm….) which she has to pick up to complete her cruise experience.

First Sea Day was mostly getting around the ship and exploring all the nooks and crannies, most importantly locating the Coffee Shop and trying out the Lattes for quality control. Got our first real Main Dining room experience in a table for eight. Not our cup of tea but we’ll fix that the next day and got a small table with just the two of us on Formal Night.

Second Sea Day opened with rain, a small outer-band cell from Hurricane Earl which dissipated quickly. Hit the shops again briefly and made it to Brunch with a neat couple from Houston at a table with a window view off the stern.

Occasional rain kept most everybody inside so we stayed mostly in the cabin reading and watching movies. In my experience, Formal Night is usually later in the week but we suited up and after the obligatory photo shoot, got a table for two and had a wonderful Prime Rib dinner. We eschewed the show and returned to the cabin to prepare for our first stop in Key West, Florida .

Key West is one of my favorites and I was glad to take Diane there. We had signed up for a Parasailing excursion and we were all set to go. Let me digress just a little. As some of you may know….I used to park helicopters for a living and am a big fan of aviation. I am NOT a big fan of hovering out in space attached by a single cable, which appeared to be frayed in some spots, dragged along by a high-powered boat with two 20 somethings making life or death decisions on my behalf. That said, it was an amazing experience we got to share together.

Having cheated death, we were able to spend some time wandering downtown Key West. We needed sustenance and hopped into Two Friends Patio Restaurant for a disappointing black bean hamburger for Diane and the “Special” Grilled Cheese Hamburger for me. Diane’s did not look appealing and mine was under-cooked and the greasiest piece of ground beef I’ve ever tasted.

Diane’s bucket list included a chocolate dipped Key Lime pie from Kermit’s. So, we Google Map walked there and she got her pie and I got my traditional Key Lime slice. Excellent flavor you can’t capture anywhere except Key West, home of the beautiful yellow juice of the Key Lime. Just as we finished, it began to drizzle, then it started to rain, then it was lightning-thunder and it was pouring buckets (think Gene Kelly in “Singing in the Rain”). We now had about a mile back to the Ship so I utilized my technology and ordered up an Uber. Our lovely Jamaican driver rolled right up and after dropping us under the overhang of the Opal Key Resort, we made our way through the parking structure and only had about 100 yards through the deluge back to the pier. We were soaked but happy.

Next stop was Grand Bahama Island with a motor tour of the island with stops at Taino Beach, where Diane got a swim in the Atlantic a mere 55 miles from West Palm Beach, Florida. The beach was beautiful and though it rained on and off, we were struck by the beauty of it all. It was quite evident that they have yet to fully recover from (wait for it Tonia….) Hurricane Dorian in August of 2019. It rolled through the Bahamas as a Cat 5 storm and left a long trail of destruction all the way up the eastern coast of the US. We drove by several homes and businesses which had been severely damaged but not been rebuilt. 

We then headed to Half Moon Cay which is part of Little San Salvador Island. It’s a cruise ship haven funded by the Cruise Lines as a private setting for the passengers to shop, swim and do some water sports. Rain had dogged us all along our trip but finally moved on as we parked off the coast outside the harbor. Diane can now check off “Tendering” off the ship to get to the shore. All of us wedged together as we braved the choppy seas until we got inside the breakwater and docked.

Diane got some ocean swim time and we got some shopping done for family and friends.We topped it off with a Bahama Mama and an Island Fruit Drink, both laced with Rum. Now onto our final destination, Nassau.

We are sort of programed to think of Nassau as the main island in the Bahamas. Though it is the capitol and most populous island in the chain (you’ve seen it in several 007 movies) we actually visit the island of New Providence. The Bahamas is a chain of 700 islands (30 of which are inhabited) and 2,400 Cays in total with a total land area of 3,860 sq mi.

The Bahama Islands were originally inhabited by the Lucayans, a branch of the Arawakan-speaking Taíno, for many centuries. Christopher Columbus was the first European to see the islands, making his first landfall in the "New World" in 1492 when he landed on the island of San Salvador. Later, the Spanish shipped the native Lucayans to and enslaved them on Hispaniola, after which the Bahama Islands were mostly deserted from 1513 until 1648 due to nearly all native Bahamians being forcefully removed through enslavement causing their extinction (thanks Chris). In 1649, since the place was vacant, English colonists from Bermuda, known as the Eleutheran Adventurers, settled on the island of Eleuthera. 

The Bahamas became a British crown colony in 1718, when the British clamped down on piracy (why Pirates of the Caribbean was partially filmed here…. oh yeah, Johnny Depp has his own island here too). After the American Revolutionary War, the Crown resettled thousands of American Loyalists to the Bahamas; they took enslaved people with them (thanks for that, too) and established plantations on land grants. Enslaved African people and their descendants constituted the majority of the population from this period on.

Thankfully, the slave trade was abolished by the British in 1807; slavery in the Bahamas was abolished in 1834 (thanks Queen Victoria). Subsequently, the Bahamas became a haven for freed African slaves. Africans liberated from illegal slave ships were resettled on the islands by the Royal Navy, while some North American slaves and Seminoles escaped to the Bahamas from Florida. Bahamians were even known to recognize the freedom of enslaved people carried by the ships of other nations which reached the Bahamas.

We made it ashore and joined others on a short voyage to Pearl Island for swimming, snorkeling and a catered lunch. We learned that, until recently, Eddie Murphy had owned the island and was now in the hands of another. When we got there around 9 a.m., it was relatively cool but quickly got hotter as the sun rose in the sky. There were occasional clouds passing overhead which kept the sun off us initially but once the clouds departed, it became really hot with very little shade available (see photo). Lunch was pretty good serving BBQ chicken, rice and beans, a fried fish fillet and Cole Slaw. We got our “complementary” Daiquiri and tried in vain to keep cool.

Thankfully, our ride returned to take us back to the pier but, due to poor maintenance (an electrical problem one of our fellow guests, a marine mechanic, tried to help fix but was still unable to get her going) the boat was unable to take us back so the tour guides called in a second boat which successfully got us back to dry land.

It was two days back to Galveston so we spent time in the cabin reading and sleeping (don’t judge….it WAS a vacation after all). We did take in a show or two and we had one more Formal Night to dress up for. All in all, a pretty good first time for Diane (well…except for the intermittent Internet service).

We made it back to land and once off the ship, shuttled to our car and made a beeline for a local Starbucks for a Latte for Diane. We began our drive home up the I-45. By noon, I was ready for a break and we stopped in beautiful Madisonville, Texas.

We could have stopped at Buc-ees but I like local and we stopped at The Lake Side Restaurant (yes…there is a small man-made reservoir close by). I had a nice BLT and fries and Diane had the Grilled Cheese with seasoned fries. Having stretched our legs, we then made the long drive back home to Aubrey.

My Mexican Adventure

After a long absence, I started attending church again and was drawn to the idea of going on a Missions Trip. I can’t say definitively that it was a calling but I later learned it was all preplanned, which will become clearer later.

We attend Compass Church whose motto is, “Navigating People to God” which in my case, is an understatement. The opportunity first arose last year but as I prepared, I tested positive for Covid and was unable to attend. This year, all vaccinated and boosted, I got my checklist and began my journey.

The Mission was for a “Legacy Partner” of the church, Ninos de Mexico. In 1966, a young couple from Missouri made a trip to Mexico to assess how they could best work to meet needs and evangelize the people. They were met in Mexico City by veteran missionary Dean Cary. They decided to begin a program that would later be called “Niños de Mexico.”  In January of 1967 they moved to Mexico to begin the work.

In 1978, an office was opened in Union, Missouri to provide communications with U.S. churches and to take care of the business end of the expanding ministry.

Since then, many faithful house parents, staff, and volunteers have cared for and shared the love of Christ with the kids they foster. Today, there are nine homes in three Mexican states, Mexico City, Puebla and Veracruz.

The Mission was medical and we would provide simple medical care to those in need and, as it turns out, the need is great. We would concentrate on wound care, pain management, some nutrition, comfort and prayer over difficult medical diagnosis. We had a mix of medical professionals supervising lay people to provide that care and to minister to those we were there to serve.

I was one of those who crossed over from the lay people. During my law enforcement career, I had been a certified Emergency Medical Technician when I flew helicopters about a hundred years ago with the San Diego County Sheriffs Department. So, imagine my apprehension in working on folks in a foreign land who knew about as much English as I knew Spanish. Not to mention we would be living and working in what I can only describe as deepest, darkest rural Mexico.

DFW Art (What's the message here?)

Now, I’ve traveled extensively in other foreign countries. Ok, full disclosure, I’ve been on some cruises to vacation spots where we traveled in air-conditioned buses and hung out at some cool beach resorts. This, it turned out, was NOT your Cruise Director's Mexico.

After landing in Mexico City, we were taken to the Niños main compound where the staff and some foster kids reside. We spent an evening with the Esperanza home parents and kids. We introduced ourselves and the young boys told us about themselves and their career aspirations as we dined with them. They were happy and well cared for. Though Christianity is always present in the homes, religion is not pushed on them and they choose whether to worship God or not. The focus is keeping them in school and becoming productive citizens. 

I too had been a foster parent to my son as well as hanging around other foster homes during my career as a cop and could see these kids were thriving. Kudos to the house parents who were mentoring those kids. They have a lot to be proud of.

The next day, we packed up and headed to attend church in the City of Puebla. It was a small church with both American ex-pats and Mexican worshipers.

My wife and I attend a pretty, what I like to refer to as a “high octane” Big Box church in Colleyville, Texas. A large auditorium worship center with theater seating and a full rock band musical cast with sound, lighting and big screen video displays that could compete with most major concert venues.

This little church had a nice auditorium with folding chairs and windows providing the lighting and a small pulpit at the head of the room. The “I.T. Department” consisted of two parishioners mounting an iPhone on a tripod to video and upload the sermon to their website.

The Worship Pastor had a simple six-string guitar and his associate had an electronic “beat box” to accompany him as they led the congregation in worship. One of the pastors was in charge of the laptop displaying the lyrics on a big-screen TV, but was so into the music that he would forget to forward the lyric text so the lead Pastor had to run up and hit the “enter” button to move the lyrics forward. The church also runs a seminary and we were treated to two of their students. This is where I could tell I was supposed to be on this Mission as I mentioned at the start.

The message was from the Book of Psalms 27:1-14 where God is speaking through David to all of us (especially me) about the uncertainties of life. David was being pursued by King Saul who was trying to eliminate David as a threat to his reign as well as a bunch of the surrounding countries who were threatening to topple and enslave the Israelites. Basically, Gods telling David not to worry or be scared in that God is watching over him (and us, well…me) and to trust in Him rather than take on the problems of the world by yourself. God will equip us with whatever the situation requires and we’ll get through it.

Realize this sermon was conducted in Spanish but Steve Ross, the Executive Director of the Niños program who was supervising the Mission, was handwriting the message in English and passing the notes to us to understand the sermon. It was a change of pace to see how this little church was celebrating their members and supporting them openly with prayers for individual families and recognition of new members who were going through struggles in their lives.

Afterwards, all of us moved to a fun restaurant which produced Lebanese inspired Mexican food (yep...that’s what I thought too). Antigua Taqueria La Oriental (yeah…name is weird too), is part of a small chain of restaurants who whip up really tasty beef on a spit which is served in bowls along with cheese and onions in what they refer to as “Arabese style.” Their tortillas are handmade and are thicker (more like pita bread) than the traditional thin corn tortillas we’re accustomed to. They also had their own hot sauces which were fabulous.

We then drove to our home base at the Hotel Villa Del Rey in Zaragosa, Puebla, Mexico. It is an economy three  story hotel with an attached restaurant called the Cielo Azul where we took our breakfast and evening buffet style meals. They were simple but filling and delicious meals which we would eat while discussing the day's agenda and the evenings where we would reflect on the day’s activities. Lunches were provided at the site of our clinics by the locals who we were serving. It’s important to note that these lunches were locally farmed chicken, corn, beans, fruit, rice and vegetables. All the food, as well as the handmade corn tortillas and salsas, were all freshly made and were extraordinary. Mind you, the people we served in each of the clinics we ran, live in abject poverty and the food they gave us could have been sold for profit, bartered for other food or services or eaten by them but which they sacrificed as a thank you for our service to them. A very humbling experience for all of us.

Our team consisted of our nominal leader Chad, his wife and nurse Sara, their daughter Lorna, an aspiring nurse like her Mom, Pamela, our second nurse, Missionaries Carolyn and Sherrie, layman Ernie, Steve Ross of Niños de Mexico who brought along four foster boys Carlos, Jesus, Oscar, Gabriel and myself. We piled ourselves into two vans loaded with supplies and headed out.

The first clinic was a small church in the mountains above Puebla called Chilapa in the state of Veracruz, Mexico. In their modest assembly hall, we cobbled together a medical clinic and pharmacy with tarps and a lot of duct tape to treat patients, some of whom had to travel great distances to attend. Many had not seen competent medical help in several years.

Our Spanish speakers, Chad, Steve, Ernie, Pamela and the Niños kids, did triage and probing questions as to their chief complaints while Lorna and I took vital signs and Sara diagnosed and treated more serious patients. Pamela ran an IV station which mixed medications or vitamins into hypodermics or IV bags for injection into patients. Many just needed vitamins and pain medications like Tylenol which Sherrie and Carolyn dispensed in sealed sandwich bags. Realize these people had full time jobs or worked farms in rural Mexico with little access to a drug store or the means to purchase common medications we take for granted over-the-counter or by prescription. Many had very demanding physical jobs without the OSHA safeguards or modern machinery we’re familiar with; so many came to us with serious occupational injuries, some new, some old. Our only remedies might be a short supply of Tylenol or Ibuprofen to ease their pain. Sometimes it was that and Prayer Warriors Carolyn and Sherrie praying with them for comfort and healing.

After six hours with a lunch break, we would tear down the clinic, repack and head back down the hill to home base to recover and regroup for the next day.

Our next clinic was in an assembly hall in the town of Contla also in the state of Puebla. We arrived to a waiting line of townspeople as we quickly set up the clinic and began taking in patients. We were now getting into a rhythm where the team, after recreating the various stations, just took up where we had left off the day before. It was always touching to watch these proud people stoically wait in line, sometimes in the rain, waiting to be seen and upon leaving, making a point to shake our hands and thank us for helping them, then watching them begin their sometimes very long walks home.

After tearing down that clinic, as we drove off, a woman and her two children we had seen at the clinic insisted we stop at their home so they could give us some fruit from their farm. As we approached their home, they came running out in the pouring rain to hand us the bags of fruit. Again, these were fruits they could have sold or eaten themselves but were willing to give to us as thanks for serving them. They were literally sharing the fruits of their labor with us.

On the long drive back, I witnessed something I had never seen. I watch a lot of documentaries and have seen videos of people plowing fields or hand raising livestock, but that day I saw my first upfront view of a donkey pulling a man and an old-time plow cutting furrows in the soil, back and forth, on this little plot of land in the rain. I can add that during the week we drove around, I never saw one mechanized tractor or support vehicle. These folks did everything driving animals by hand or jury-rigged old pick-up trucks to carry people or products around the area.

The last clinic was in the town of Libertad, Puebla, Mexico, another modest assembly room used as a community center and church for Sunday services. It was situated on a dirt road with working corn fields around it. As we drove up, there were already about 40 men, women and children waiting patiently on plastic chairs under a flapping blue tarp on the entry patio.

We quickly unloaded and moved everything inside. A pharmacy was established along with a “doctors office” for Sara and a cordoned off area for intravenous therapy for Pamela. While creating the IV area, I noted some orange paracord wrapped around one of the interior pillars. One of our leaders, Chad’s, calling cards is the orange paracord he brings each year used to hang plastic tarps to wall off the treatment areas. There are bits and pieces of cord everywhere we go. I pointed this out to Chad remarking that he left his mark the last time they conducted a clinic there. We all laughed but when he reflected on that moment at the end of the days debrief, he got a little emotional when describing his feelings at seeing the cord, reminding him and us of how we don’t always see the impact our little clinics have on the people we see, but the evidence is there that we showed up and did our best to make a difference even for those few hours we were serving those people.

Taking Vitals

After the tear down and drive back to our hotel, we were asked to sum up our experience over the last five days after dinner. Many had moving stories of cases they had handled or interactions with some of the patients. Everybody remarked how good they felt helping those people in need and how thankful their patients were with just receiving some vitamins for their kids or some Tylenol for their Arthritis.

Everyone was also moved by the food brought for us at each clinic by the organizers. They were simple but filling meals from volunteers from their own pantries and kitchens. One Pastor at Libertad put it succinctly, he said they wanted to make the meal as memorable as possible as incentive for us to want to return next time. A brilliant marketing strategy if you ask me.

Our last full day was a touristy day at the Pre-Columbian pyramid city of Teotihuacán located in a valley below a volcano (location, location, location). The vast settlement with its stepped pyramids, temples and platforms lining a central 'avenue of the dead’ so impressed the Aztecs they named it the place where gods were created. We are all still intrigued, and archaeologists continue to debate who built this ancient city. Luckily the museum was bi-lingual and I got to roam around looking at the ancient artwork.

The walk through the site was awesome. All these temples on either side of the main street rising above us, were all part of a vast network of cityscape that’s still being excavated today. All were built with millions of volcanic rocks held together by early mortar as strong as the first day it was applied.

On site is an interesting restaurant. La Gruta (The Grotto) is in a below ground cave. In 1906, a restauranteur decided putting a restaurant underground would attract visitors from Teotihuacán and he was right. Lots of famous people have dined there including painters Frida Kahlo and Diego Rivera, writer Jorge Luis Borges and Queen Elizabeth II.

After a really full day of playing tourist, we headed back to Mexico City along Mexico’s government highways. I can dedicate a whole other Blog entry on the various exhibits of crazy driving I witnessed that would draw the ire of all of the State and Highway Patrols I’ve been associated with. Not to mention their “speed bumps” (yes...on the highway) which are significant and the use of strategic “dips”, literally reverse speed bumps which, if unprepared, can send your head into the overhead.

The next morning, we restocked the meds for the next group coming. Then we packed and headed to the Mexico City Airport. Another experience best taken in person. When you’re used to the relative organized chaos of American airports, it can only be described as organized craziness.

Mexico City Airport Art (Seriously...who picks this stuff?)

Although I was reluctant to go, I am forever grateful to those who prodded me to go and especially to the people I had a chance to meet and serve. I do appreciate the opportunity to go on Mission and look forward to the next.