Good news, we arrived safe and sound in Monterrey on Friday night. The trip went smoothly despite barely making our connecting flight in Houston. And we made it through customs without too much hassle (From our entire team of suspicious looking guys, only Meredith, our trainer, and Gambrell, our assistant coach, were stopped and searched).
Andrés Garza met us at the airport and took us by bus to our hotel in downtown Monterrey. El Gran Paso Inn is on one of the main streets of Monterrey. I could spend hours describing the beautiful mountains which surround the city and reach with jagged peaks into the belly of the sky. The summits of a few are rarely visible because they are hidden in the clouds! Meanwhile, the bright colors which decorate many of the buildings and the countless advertisements pasted on every square inch of the buildings themselves are mesmerizing. And at night the entire horizon is dotted with lights which also reach partway up the mountainsides.
I was personally intrigued by the monumental sculptures that are prominently placed along the main roadways and at every major intersection. The styles range from bronze figurative works done in a baroque manner to some rather abstract contemporary pieces made with various industrial materials like steel and concrete.
As our first day in Monterrey came to an end, I relaxed in our hotel room watching a local television station on which a mariachi band was playing. It took me a while to fall asleep because I was so excited about playing our first game and getting to know some of the people we'll be spending time with....
....Coming up in the next 'Noticias de Monterrey' Saturday edition, I'll tell you about our game with the Tigres, my interesting encounter with a die-hard Tigres fan, and a few more highlights of the day. Please continue to keep us in your prayers as we seek to worship the Lord in everything; while playing soccer, hanging out with the teams, or having a meal with the local church. It is my prayer that the Lord would overcome the language barrier and that the Gospel would be spread as much by our actions as by our words. Praise the Lord for our safe travel thus far, and may His name be glorified in Mexico!
