Why Am I Here?

I can't believe how fast time flies. This Friday it's going to be 2 months since we arrived to Cardenas Tabasco. It's been a wonderful and challenging experience. It's absolutely true that we have had the most amazing time with friends, as our pictures in Facebook and this blog clearly explain it. It's also true that it's been challenging as well, which is perfectly normal as we live in an imperfect world full of opposition and challenges, which help us grow and become stronger and stronger each day. What have those challenges been? I could give you a numberless list of them; but it would be kind of unfair as I personally think we have had more blessings than challenges. I know what Charlotte would say: "I miss my dryer!!!!!!" and we do... The heat was a trial here. I thought I knew what humidity was as I was raised in Argentina; but I had no idea what I was talking about until our feet stepped out of the plane into the heat of Tabasco...Wow!!! The positive aspect is that our bodies are getting used to it; though I heard that the hottest months are May and June...so we are not looking forward to it. The rain here is unbelievable!!! We are now going through the rainy season and it pours constantly and faithfully every day at about 4:00 pm. Our main challenge is how much we miss our family and friends; but thanks to technology, we are able to contact them frequently.

The challenges are many, but as I see the many blessings we are receiving, it becomes easier every day. It's so wonderful to see the progress of our children's Spanish. How amazing it was to receive Emma's 100% in speed reading and comprehension knowing that it was in Spanish...It's beautiful to see Lucas interact in Spanish with his classmates and with me...When he gets upset or excited...he switches to Spanish and nobody can stop him. Ashlie attends Seminary each day. If she had stayed in the US, she wouldn't have been able to...She and Gina are taking French and doing so amazingly well...They are meeting new friends and doing things they wouldn't have been able to do otherwise and gaining appreciation for the things they so easily took for granted before...

In Church, Charlotte is serving as the Primary President and I was just released from being the Sunday School President for 2 weeks and called to be the Young Men President. We love going to Church and helping our ward here. I know that this is exactly where God wants us to be without any doubt in my mind...

I could also mention the delicious Mexican cuisine and the most beautiful places we have been to and will be, but those are trivial things. It is the amazing people of Mexico who makes our experience delightful. We have met great, hardworking, and humble people who sacrifice so much each day to live and provide for their families... I have students who get up at 4:00 am in order to arrive to their 7:00 am class because they have to take a 1-hour bus ride. Most of them work after school is out at 3:00 pm. I truly admire their devotion and desires to progress and become educated. Yesterday I was talking to the cleaning girl in the building where I teach. She is studying Psychology at a college in Villahermosa (45 minutes from here) in the afternoon. In the morning she cleans the building at our college, then she travels to her college and back to our town at night. "My parents are humble but they want their children to have the education they couldn't have," she said. What an example they are!!!

I am so grateful for both the challenges and the blessings I am gaining as a person here. I enjoy teaching my students...They are the reason for which I'm here...They have already become part of my life and I pray that I will have the strength to bid them farewell when they graduate in December or when we depart in June...Their examples make me a better person each day and I hope that I can become like them one day...I also know that I couldn't be here without my true strength: my family. I'm grateful for their support and for being here with me during this, our Mexican Experience.