A typical day on the AIM Mexico City Trip...

I stayed in Room 612 in El Hotel Diplomatico, along with Caleb Stroud, Tyler Ellis, and Peter Archibald.  We had several alarm clocks between the four of us, so we would set them all to make sure we got up.  One morning all of them failed to go off or failed to wake us up except for Peter's massive alarm clock, which saved the day by its train-roar of a bell.  Those who didn't shower the night before would shower at this time, and then Caleb, Tyler and I met in the lobby with Paul Miller (Paul and Kristie Miller were the Samoa team's leaders along with Billy Moore).  The four of us walked and talked together from the Hotel to the Pink House, even noticing that each morning we passed the same guy on his way to work, the same woman walking her two dogs, and the same shoe shiner pushing his portable booth out to the sidewalk. 

Once at the Pink House, we had a light breakfast, consisting of fruit, various interesting kinds of bread, and juice.  Before long, everyone congregated in the main downstairs open area as the morning devotional began.  Each morning, a different group team or combination of smaller teams was in charge of the devotional, and the guys from the team(s) would lead the singing and bring a short message.  Samoa was the first team to have this responsibility, and all of the other teams lead great devotionals.  Once this was concluded, the various groups would gather and eventually hit the road for their first destinations.  This usually involved heading a couple of blocks down from the Pink House to the bus stop (Image 1), where we caught a bus and were off to the Metro station.  The bus rides were a normal part of the day for us (Image 2), but thanks to the competent and efficient metro (subway) system, we never had to ride too far on the bus. 

Once the Metro had taken us to the vicinity of our destination, we used the most common form of transportation available - walking (Image 3).  This was a huge part of the Mexico City trip, especially in Billy Moore's group, and though we all ached, I personally loved the walking because it afforded more time to absorb the sights and sounds of the city. 

Eventually we would go for lunch, at a different restaurant each day.  However, Billy would sometimes take us to little street chefs and let us buy foods that he felt we should try (Image 4).  The lunch break was always a relaxing part of the day, and though everybody wanted a good siesta afterwards, we threw the backpacks back on and hit the streets once again (Image 5).

After doing our afternoon activity, we would wind back through the metro and bus system until we were finally back in the confines of the Pink House.  Most were totally exhausted by this time, and people could be seen sprawled around on couches and makeshift beds.  One afternoon Billy took a few of us in the Samoa group down to the Baskin-Robbins located several blocks down from the Pink House.  It was such a peaceful walk, and a nice, quiet area, that I tried to go back there every afternoon instead of staying at the Pink House.  I really enjoyed the serene roundabout in front of the store, and with my favorite flavor of ice cream on hand, I spent one afternoon sketching the scene in my journal.  These were some of the best moments of the trip, as I always went down with a couple of teammates.  It was just wonderful to spend such great, peaceful time with some of the people that I love most. 

Eventually, after returning to the Pink House, all the groups would arrive and we would begin our evening devotional, or wind-down session.  At these sessions we discussed things we had seen, felt and experienced during the day and each share our successes, defeats, and funny moments.  These were some of the most spiritually uplifting, mutually edifying, and uniting times on the trip.  In reflecting and sharing about the day, we drew closer as teams and as a class, and all were strengthened in their relationship with God.

Since dinner is at a later hour in Mexican culture (8-10 PM), we would go back out in our groups after the devotional to get dinner.  These always turned into fun times as our re-energized emotions played through our exhausted bodies to create some interesting conversations and times together.

Finally, in our last effort for the day, we trekked back to the hotel for the night (Image 6).  Tyler, Caleb and I usually stayed up quite a bit longer just talking or writing in our journals.