The Carlsons are in Mexico!

Hi everybody - this is Gail's friend Lissa. I just talked to Gail and they have crossed the border into Mexico! They did get a red light when crossing the border, but they had already paid their taxes ahead of time so the woman just looked at the paperwork and flagged them through! Praise God for His blessings!

The Carlsons are now heading towards the Esperanza Viva youth home in Matamoros and will be there through Sunday and then will be heading down to Cholula to their new home on Monday.

Heading to Mexico

The waiting seems to be over. Our financial papers we needed to sign are being signed now. We will then mail them back and we will be one our way to cross the border into Mexico. At this time, we do not know how long it will take us to make it across the border or if we will have Internet in the hotel where we will be. We will try to get information to you as quickly as possible. Please keep us in your prayers as we finish the last leg of this trip. We hope to be in Puebla by Tuesday, May 12. We are arriving almost a week later than we anticipated but from what they tell us in Mexico, that's just standard Mexico time. So, I guess we are getting a taste of culture before we even get there. Thank you for all your prayers, we have felt them.

South Padre Island

Today we visited South Padre Island and Erin was able to go swimming again in the Gulf of Mexico. When driving there, it is funny because there are signs that say, "Watch for Sand on the Road," and another one says, "Watch for Pelicans." I missed taking a picture of the sand being blown across the street on the way there. It was worse then the pictures here. You literally couldn't see the cars.



Erin had a great time in the water. It was really warm. I even stuck my feet in and almost wished I had brought my bathing suit. I just don't like all the sand.




Jim enjoyed feeding the seagulls some crackers. I couldn't get a picture of it but he even got one of the seagulls to take it from his hand.


We also saw a huge barge being brought in by a tugboat. Later when we were driving home, we saw the same barge and tugboat up the canal.

A Trip to the Brownsville Zoo

Last night we received free tickets for the kids to the zoo. So, today we decided we would go and we had a great time.

The first thing we came to was the gorillas. There was a baby gorilla there. He was pretty cute.



There were so many flamingos. Some with their heads in the water, others with their heads hidden in their backs and some standing on one leg. They were pretty neat.





The kids got a private showing of an iguana. They got to pet it and they also got to pet a boa constrictor.




It was fun watching a couple of tigers fighting/playing with each other.


Doesn't this look like it would be a great climbing tree?

Once you see it close up, you would change your mind.


There was an aligator statue that the kids liked having their picture taken with.



One thing is for sure...I don't do humid heat very well. I looked like a drowned rat by the time we left the zoo. The picture doesn't show it as well but I could actually wring water from my hair. Yuck! You can tell my shirt is soaked in the front. It was nice to go back to the hotel and get in the swimming pool.


The zoo was a great way to pass another day in Brownsville. We thank the Lord for providing us a way to go. Hopefully tomorrow we will be able to cross into Mexico. Please keep us in prayer that the papers we are waiting for will come early so we can continue our trip.

Boca Chica Beach

Today we took a ride out to the Gulf of Mexico to Boca Chica Beach. We figured we couldn't come this close and not go to the beach. It was very windy! We were told that it is always windy here.

On the way there, there was a calf in the middle of the road. We were expecting that kind of stuff in Mexico, but we're still in the United States. Pretty funny.


We also saw the border patrol there. Not something you see everywhere.


Erin was the only one that wanted to get into the water. It was warm which is a far cry from the beaches in Oregon which are ice cold.


The kids enjoyed throwing some bread to the seagulls. It is interesting that the seagulls look different here so they must be another type of seagull.