Reina

Want to introduce you all to one of my favorite new people, Reina.

I met her last November when I was in the throes of total intimidation at even coming to our church’s Hispanic group.  Many weeks, she was the only other woman there, so we bonded pretty quickly.  At that time, though, she spoke no English, and I spoke very little Spanish, so it was a sort of “I really want to like you!” kind of bond more than anything.

That’s changed over time.  As we learn each other’s languages (and spend many opportunities flipping through photo albums – less speaking required!) we’re slowly getting to know each other’s stories.  A hard-won friendship, but turning out to be a good one.  Not just between her and me but also between her and the twins.

And THAT is what makes her most remarkable to me.  Reina has her own son.  He’s back at home in Belize and is two years older than my guys.  It will be some time before she’s established enough here that she could sponsor his coming.  So she talks to him on the phone a few times a week, but she misses seeing him and holding him.  A lot.  Of course.

And then here I come, more than “established enough.”  Comparatively, Fred and I are totally rich.  And I have not one but two sons.  Hispanic sons.  (Playing right into the cultural tension about white families adopting “their” children from Latin America.)

About a month after we met, she told me that my boys reminded her of her son, and she teared up.  So I know she feels it every time she sees us.  But that is it.  There has been no resentment, no distance.  Instead, she embraced me, loves all over our boys, and makes sure to be friendly to Fred and any other friends I bring along to special events.

What a lot of grace and sweetness. 

Make no mistake, she’s tough.  Her life here is hard.  I feel challenged every Sunday night when I go to a place where everyone else “belongs” and speaks another language.  But every working day, every time she goes shopping, every time she goes anywhere outside her home it is like that for her.

Yet very purposefully, she’s growing in her English.  Which of course spurs me on to keep doing the same with Spanish.

I can’t wait for the day when she and I can just sit down and chat.  Or really talk about how we’re doing.  We’re not there yet, but it’s coming.

So cool – the surprise friendships life brings.

And a total answer to my prayers for my kids to grow up knowing and loving other folks who share their heritage.