Along with my normal responsibilities of home schooling six, mothering seven, supporting & loving my husband, and managing our household (to name a few), Mexico was a whole new experience. For example, trying to improve my very basic Spanish skills and helping our children learn a whole new language was a job all in itself. Then there were the unique cultural differences of a small town in Mexico. I could no longer give someone a quick call to ask a simple question because most of our friends did not have phones. It was necessary to go to their home and then, of course, graciously be invited in, sit down to visit, and finally get around to the simple question - all of this in my broken Spanish and with my comprehension impairment. To say the least my days quickly filled and my slower paced life was only a mirage.

Then came Rossy - our blessing from God. Rossy is the wonderful lady who takes a load (no pun intended) off of us and makes life more manageable in this foreign culture. Not only does she help us to cook, to clean our home, and to do laundry, but she loves our family. Rossy is in her early forties, a mother of one adult daughter, a grandmother to her 18 month old "nieta", speaks only Spanish, and a diligent worker. I couldn't have asked for anyone better.

With Rossy's patience and sense of humor (a must considering our large family and our limited Spanish), she quickly became a part of our family. Being widowed at age 25 and living alone now, she enjoys the noise, constant talking, playing and even arguing at our house when compared to her quiet home. She loves the attention from Olivia (four years old) who always wants Rossy to play when she is working and continually calls "Ven! Ven! Rossy!" (Come! Come!) We're trying to train Olivia to ask, not tell and encourage Rossy to say no more often. :)

Not only have we enjoyed Rossy's company, but we have also been the happy recipients of her delicious cooking-mmmm! Something always smells good when Rossy is in the kitchen. Our favorites are her homemade tamales, Spanish rice, pico de gallo, salsa and frijoles charros! She has also enjoyed learning to make some of our dishes including lasagna which seems to be many of the Mexicans' favorite of our "American" dishes.

Besides her wonderful culinary skills, Rossy’s patience when speaking Spanish with us is so appreciated. She gently corrects our Spanish and patiently waits for me to get my thoughts into words (and you thought it took me a long time to get my English thoughts out.) She also purposefully speaks very slowly and thinks of alternative and simple ways to express and describe ideas. Because of the large amount of time she spends with us, she has been known to slip into this strange way of speaking even with other Mexicans. Recently, Rossy was with her adult daughter at a store, and after Rossy asked a clerk something, her daughter looked very puzzled. "Why are you speaking like that?" she inquired when Rossy had spoken very slowly with very simple words as she does with us. When Rossy relayed the story to me, she had a really good laugh. She is definitely turning into one of us. :)

Although living in Mexico can definitely have its challenges, Rossy has made our transition into a new culture so much easier. Her friendship and great contribution in assisting us with our Spanish and in helping run our home is a blessing that I don't take for granted. And yes, our lives have become a little slower paced but even more so we thank God for the privilege of having Rossy in our lives.