March Newsletter - A Legal Aliens Perspective

A Legal Alien's Perspective "The Interview"

Tim: Mom, would you please explain why you came to visit us? Joy: Well, I didn’t come as your basic tourist/visitor. I came for two weeks to help Tim and Annette get ready to move to their new home. Annette

Annette: And after living with a Mexican family for six months and house-sitting for a year and half, finding and fixing up a rental house has really been an adventure. Joy: Yeah. (Laughs) After two days I remember thinking that now I can relate to how people can have culture shock in a new country. Annette: Can you think of something specific that made you feel that way? Joy: Two phrases come to mind: "Don’t count on it" and "I don’t think so." One day we went to a metal shop to have some chairs made. Jesús the metalworker said, "I’ll call you with the price this afternoon." Two days later he still hadn’t called. So Tim called, only to hear, "No, Jesus isn’t here. He...hasn’t come in yet...just stepped out...is at lunch...." After 6 calls and three visits the secretary finally said, "If you really want this work done maybe you should go somewhere else." That wasted three days of progress on the chairs. Then there was the plumber/electrician who would come very late or wouldn’t come at all after we sat around waiting for him. Or the stores that, after we had crossed town through crazy traffic to pick up paint or something, were randomly closed at 11 AM. There were just so many frustrating or wasted hours! Tim

Tim: OK, mom, so there definitely is a higher level of frustration here, but I’ve heard you mention things that really get you excited about what you’ve seen here. Joy: Oh, absolutely! The joy for me was seeing you with the youth and watching how well they accepted you, which opens doors for important spiritual steps.One day we were working on the new home when one of their friends fromthe youth group came over and broke down crying. Annette responded with spiritual and practical encouragement. Now that is part of what this call is all about. Annette: So how would you sum up your time here? Joy: I’ve seen that your life here in Mexico brings not only frustrations and houses with no heat :^), but warm and caring people, beautiful scenery, and a challenge big enough for a lifetime!