Tag Archives: living in Mexico

December 17, 2016 · 7:00 am

Modern Day Marias–Eva, a woman of faith

Were there times when Jose was unable to find work in the land of Egypt?  How did Maria manage the household expenses in times of need? Today I’d like to share the story of a woman whose faith in the face of adversity is truly inspiring.

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My name is Eva. I am from St. Louis, Missouri. My husband and I met when I was working at Walmart while in college. He was working on the cleaning crew there. My husband was deported in 2003 and we now live in Villahermosa, Tabasco with our four children.

Personally, I would say that I have changed for the better in many ways since moving to Mexico. I have learned to be happy with the bare minimum, to not be materialistic, to recycle and reuse. I have learned to repair everything until it just can not be repaired any longer. I have also mastered the skill of reinvention. I feel that I have grown as a person and that I continue to grow, every single day. There are still so many skills I have to master. I try to learn something new every day. I am a work in progress.

My relationship with my husband has not really changed since moving to Mexico. Every marriage has its challenges. That is just part of being married. It’s how you face those challenges that makes the difference.However, establishing a relationship with my in-laws in Mexico was hard, very hard. It got to the point that I just stopped trying and distanced myself and my children from them. My mother-in-law and father-in-law come to see them when they want to. We rarely go to their home.

My life has always been a challenge. I grew up without a family and lived in many different foster homes. I had 2 premature babies. We almost lost the first one 4 times in his first year of life. I have an autistic child. I moved to a completely different country. My sister-in-law poisoned one of my children. These days I don’t know if the rent will be paid or if food will be provided. Right now we are facing the loss of my husband’s job. He hasn’t been able to find one that can financially support our family of 6. We have been living on faith alone the last 8 months. God has the glory because he has never left or forsaken us. We have a roof over our heads and, at least, beans on our table. We are healthy and have each other so we can not complain. Life is always about ups and downs. I guess you could say my life is interesting. My faith in God and my love for my family keep me going. I am determined to persevere even in the most challenging of situations. I try not to look back. The past is the past for a reason. I believe the future has a better horizon.

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I spend my free time with my children, enjoying life, even if it is just a stroll in the park. Right now we are, unfortunately, at the hands of mercy due to my husband losing his job, but God is good and He always makes a way. Our current family goals include work for my husband in order to become financially stable so my children can get a good education and we can buy a home for them so they have somewhere to call home without being afraid someone is going to make them homeless.

I have four boys. Two were very small when we moved here and I was pregnant with my third at the time. Mexico is really all they have ever known. My children do have needs that have been difficult to meet right now due to my husband not working, especially for school. It has been difficult. At times, it feels impossible. I overcome my fear with the help of God and through prayer. I face it head on. Faith has always been a big part of my life. I have always believed in God. He is my rock. When times have gotten hard and I feel I can not go on any longer, God always pulls me through. My rock and my fortress. My children, my faith, and my family give meaning to my life. I would not change anything if I had it all to do over again. Everything happens for a reason.

I don’t have a GoFundMe page because we have tried to do that once and well, no one helped, so we have been going at it alone and letting God help us get through this.

“She looketh well to the ways of her household, and eateth not the bread of idleness. Her children arise up, and call her blessed; her husband also, and he praiseth her.  Many daughters have done virtuously, but thou excellest them all.  Favour is deceitful, and beauty is vain: but a woman that feareth the Lord, she shall be praised.”  (Proverbs 31:27-30)

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December 12, 2016 · 7:00 am

A room of her own–the boila

Back porch area with the old boila (water heater)

Back porch area with the old boila (water heater)

The boila (water heater) was another issue. I swear that the thing had exploded at some point in the past. I know I wasn’t going to use it as it was. The owner assured me that it would be replaced. True to her word, two weeks later, she showed up with a new boila. She said that the plumber/electrician she had contacted didn’t have time to install it, so the English teacher across the street recommended one that lived in the same neighborhood.

He came to check things out while I was in class, so I didn’t get to talk to him. Then the owner showed up, and I was still in class. Both spoke with my son.

The plumber said he’d return the following day. Unfortunately, he decided to return about 30 minutes before my first class. I asked if he could come back another day. He got all poopy about it. Said he had already bought the stuff. So I explained I would be working and asked that he keep the noise to a minimum. I should have saved my breath.

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First, he had to remove the old, exploded water heater. That involved a lot of banging and more banging. Then there was the roof climbing to turn off the tinaco (water storage container)–more thuds and bangs. Then he liked to whistle while he worked. And of course, his phone rang several times and he had to answer it, talking like he was in a wind tunnel instead of a back porch.

To top it all off, a sound car was cruising the streets announcing Buen Fin (Mexican Black Friday) deals.
Unbelievable!

There was yet more banging and the whoosh of a blow torch before it was all said and done. He left and the owner showed up for an inspection. Mind you, I am still in class and in desperate need of quiet. Apparently, she was satisfied with the work. She left $650 pesos with my son for me to pay the plumber who showed up as soon as he saw my moto outside the following day.

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The new boila (water heater) looks nice. However, it is outside in an open area which means it will rust before too long. Plus, I haven’t bought a gas tank to hook up to it yet. But it is nice to know that if I want to bath in the 2-foot area that presumes to be a shower with hot water, I’d theoretically be able to.  As soon as I get a shower curtain that is.

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December 5, 2016 · 7:00 am

A room of her own–painting, internet and water

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Although the electricity was on, the water had been cut due to non-payment. The owner collected my deposit and assured me that she would go on Monday and get that all straightened out. I also needed to go and find out about the internet hook-up that week.

So I headed to Telmex (the only internet company available) and climbed to the fourth floor (I wondered how disabled people would get up those stairs) to talk with someone. I didn’t want a phone line, so I applied for Infinium Puro which was just the internet package. I was a little taken back that I could only get the 8 Mbps option because of the area the house was located in. Downtown had all the fiber optic options and the like, but in Los Girasoles (Sunflowers) where I had rented, only the basic service was available.

My brother assured me it would be enough to teach my classes, so I signed up for a 6-month contract. I gave the woman my Mexican driver’s license, but she wanted my IFE (voter’s registration card) which of course I don’t have. I gave her my permanent residency card and explained what it was. It seemed to be enough ID for her to work with. I filled out some paperwork, and she said everything was good to go. I could pay the internet online or come to the office and pay, but not until the end of the month. It would be about $349 pesos monthly.

I asked about installation and told me she couldn’t be sure which day, but the installers would call me before arrival. Ok, well, I would just have to hope that it would be a time when I was available. The clerk was all in a tither about my online teaching job. She had heard about the company on the TV, but she was amazed that I lived here as everyone wants to move to the US. I’ve heard it all before, but I tried to smile and nod. I really needed that internet set up.

The next step was to start cleaning and painting the little house. There was about a half a bucket of cream paint left from some remolding projects we did in La Yacata, so I hauled that over the little house in The Sunflowers. La Yacata and Los Girasoles are about 1 mile apart, the major difference being Los Girasoles is on the other side of the highway and thus all connected up to Moroleon’s water, sewer, electric and internet services.

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Painting proved more of a challenge that I first anticipated. It seemed the walls were made with yeso (plaster), and the paint just wouldn’t stick. I ended up using the half-bucket but didn’t even get the front room done. That was disappointing.  It ended up taking a full 2 weeks to get this itty bitty house painted since the paint would just slide right off.  I spent way more than I wanted to on paint.  I ended up buying a bucket of yellow and a second bucket of cream.  Very frustrating. That promised painting help from my husband never materialized.  My son (as a teenager) moaned and complained every single second we painted.  So I ended up doing most of it myself.

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Then there still wasn’t any water. How was I supposed to clean without water? The English teacher across the street again saved the day. She brought me buckets and buckets of water from her house and even stayed to help me clean and paint. And boy did it ever need cleaning! We did what we could that day and left to teach our various afternoon classes.

Saturday morning I got a call from the Telmex installers. I told them I wasn’t at the house but could be there in 10 minutes. It actually took me 5, but who’s counting? They had the internet installed in the back room in less than 30 minutes. I hopped about and did the happy dance. Then the English teacher across the street called the owner to ask about the water. She said she’d call somebody to fix it. Apparently, her brother-in-law works for the water commission. He showed up not 15 minutes later and turned the water on, on his day off no less. I did another little happy dance.

My husband came later that afternoon and changed the front door lock for me. Another unanticipated miracle!  Since I had no idea who last rented the house and how many house keys they had made, it seemed like a sound investment.  I felt like things were progressing nicely if a bit slowly.

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