Reflections on Mexico from Our Kids: Part 1

After we left TCM,  each one of us wrote a “reflection paper” about four topics: the best part of our time at TCM, the hardest part of our time there, ways that we saw God work, and things we learned.  Later, we shared and discussed these as a family. It was so affirming, as we saw the many ways God worked in our own hearts as well as those around us.  Here are a few excerpts from the kids. 

The best part(s) of living in Mexico

“I love giving girls birthday gifts from their sponsors. I love seeing their face light up when they see what is inside because they don’t have much stuff in Mexico.”

“The best part of being in Mexico is that I learned Spanish really fast and that I can make friends easily because I know so much Spanish.”

“I like this place because the kids are nice and they play with us whenever they have time and whenever we have time.”

“My favorite part was the Christmas party because the kids at Rosarito came to Soler and the kids sang and danced. Everyone got a present from their sponsor.”

“My favorite part of our trip was when we climbed the mountain with our friends who were visiting, because it was fun and dangerous and because the view was so pretty from the top.”

The hardest parts about living in Mexico…

“One thing I do not like about being in Mexico is that I can’t see my grandparents very much.”

“The hardest thing was when some of our favorite kids left, like a kid named Jose. Jose was a kid that was abandoned by his mom and has lived on the street since he was five years old and now he is 14. He was really nice and he always wanted Mom to help him translate music that he wrote into English. When my Mom heard his story, she barely did not cry. And when he did not smile for his sponsorship picture, Mom told him she would buy him chocolate. He smiled.”

“I don’t like when kids run away, because usually they’re my friends and because they won’t be safe out on the streets alone.”

“The worst time that we ever had here was when Dad was gone for two weeks in Ohio. Mom was very grumpy and that made all of us grumpy too.” 

Things I learned while living in Mexico…

“Spanish!”

“One thing I learned is that be thankful for the things you have because the kids here barely have anything. They have maybe two toys… I thought when we lived in Ohio I needed more toys. Now, compared to them I think I have a ton.”

“I learned a lot of things in our time here but among the most useful is how to build and maintain drip-irrigation gardens, lots of Spanish, how to climb a mountain and what to pack, and perhaps most importantly, that bad things do happen, that kids are abused, and that evil does exist. I think before I came I knew it existed, but I had never really seen it firsthand like now. But I have also seen God working in the lives of all of the kids here and know that hope also exists.”

“Now I know enough Spanish that I can survive, I think, if I was stranded in the middle of a place where only Mexicans that didn’t speak English live! Ha ha!”

“By being in Mexico, I have learned a lot of things. I have always heard about places where people can’t drink water from faucets or where they run out of water or they don’t get enough fruit or protein, but to live that is totally different than just hearing about it. You can live the way a lot of the world lives. Not just see it, but live it. These people don’t have things like cars and cellphones usually, but they get along good.”

Part 2 coming…