Spanish

In 2007 our landlord hired 6 men from Mexico to come and work on the farm where we live and they were to live in the basement of our house. We don't live down there the only thing that I do is the laundry down there, which is also their kitchen. When the landlord told us that this was happening, I freaked out to say the least, we were not happy about it, I was thinking with 2 kids and Dale being gone as much as he is and then having 6 stranger men coming to live with us, this was NOT good, we were very uncomfortable with the idea and so were members of our families. Have them come here ended up being the best thing for us, we loved having them here, they were so friendly & helpful, they loved our girls and reminded them of their own families back in Mexico. They became part of our family and we became their Canadian family, they call me their Canadian Momma. lol

Then in 2008 they came back again, some of the same guys and a few new ones, they even brought us gifts, so nice! In 2009 they came back again and there were even more this time, 9! I feel so bad for them, they are so grateful to come here and work for a little better than minimum wage doing hard field work and they send almost all of it back to their families in Mexico. We have really grown to have a heart for these people, we feel that there could be some sort of ministry there for us but we don't know what yet. The first year one of the guys told us that he had to sell his truck to come here to work, he had 3 or 4 pairs of pants and 4 or 5 shirts and that's it, I said why don't you get yourself something new that's not ripped? He said, it's better for my family to have the money than for me to have some new clothes. So sweet! They would take the girls and I out for dinner to McDonald's after we had taken them shopping, and that was a BIG deal for them, they look at going to McDonald's or any other restaurant as a really special treat, I felt so bad because I thought, I don't really think twice about taking the kids to McDonald's, it's not that big of a deal and here they are paying for us!!!

One of the guys calls us regularly and he is always so happy to talk to us as we are to talk to him. We have such a heart for them and want to do what ever we can to help them. I am currently taking a Spanish class and I am loving it! We both have learned a lot of Spanish just from living with them and now taking the course I am understanding it more and getting all of the "fill in words" which is so fun! When I went on a trip to Alberta last summer the guys told Dale several times that I had to come home that they missed us and when we came home they cooked up a big BBQ meal as a celebration that we were home, they usually only do BBQ 'ing if its a party or special occasion.

So here is what I want to say to you: look for ways to be stretched, ask the Lord what it is that he wants you to do, it could be the best thing that has ever happened to you, you could end up with more blessings that you know what to do with.

Hasta Pronto amigos!