We
met the twins Guadalupe (“Lupita”) and Vicky through
their mother Maria. We have seen them only a few times over the
past five years but their story will give you a snapshot of a
fairly common life of a young Mexican girl.
Lupita
and Vicky are some of the youngest in a large family. When we
met, their youngest brother was a toddler, while their older siblings
were married with families of their own. Due to their father’s
many extramarital affairs the twins probably also have a number
of half brothers and sisters.
After
graduation from junior high school the girls went to work. I don’t
know if they took the entrance tests for the public high school
system, didn’t appear in the acceptance list, and knew their
parents could never send them to a private school, or if they
saw no reason to keep going to school. But for whatever reason,
they both got jobs a small factory near their home that makes
the soles for shoes.
After
about a year Lupita wanted to find a new job with more constant
work and better pay. She found work at a factory in the industrial
part of town. Since she would have to leave home in the dark for
her long bus ride to work, Maria insisted that Vicky take a job
in the same factor so they could travel together for safety.
A
new world 
opened
up to the twins. They made friends from outside of their neighborhood
and family. One Friday Lupita left work with a girlfriend and
didn’t call or come home for days. Neither Vicky nor Lupita’s
boyfriend knew where she had gone. Finally the friend’s parents
called to say that the girls had called. They were with two boys
and would come home the next Friday. Maria was frantic. She didn’t
know if Lupita was staying away from home of her own free will
or against it.
When
Lupita showed up, she was terrified of her father. He claimed
that she had disgraced the family and insisted that the two marry
immediately [assuming that they’d slept
together.] In tears, Lupita collected her clothing and
immediately moved in with the guy’s family. They married
soon afterward and within a few months were expecting a baby.
Maria is concerned because when they met, Lupita’s husband
had recently returned from working in the States and said he would
soon go back there to work. Fortunately, it seems like he and
his family treat her well and he hasn’t left yet.
Two
months after this stressful situation Vicky got pregnant. Maria
was astounded because she was never wild or even had a boyfriend.
All she would say about the father is that he drives a taxi, is
married, and has a family. We suspect she was raped as she traveled
alone to or from work, but a poor girl would not get justice even
if she accused him. Vicky’s father was so furious that he
stopped speaking to her and soon afterward, in a drunken rage,
fought with his adult sons, and moved out. So Vicky now stays
home and takes care of her baby and little brother so her mother
can work more.
These
girls had a better life than many Mexican girls because they know
their father, have a loving supportive mother, and a junior high
education. They will probably end up with lives very much like
that of their mother, and her mother before her. But our hearts
long for girls like Lupita and Vicky to find abundant life, both
in knowing the One who gives it and in being able to choose what
their life here on earth will look like.
Blessings,
Tim and Annette
