OUR MEXICAN FAMILY (#28): Yesterday, while I was finishing what would have been today’s story, Cathy came to my studio with tears in her eyes to tell me that another Mexican friend of hers had died. Even during quarantine Cathy makes new friends, and several are very special to her. This gentleman delivered our groceries from La Comer a number of times.
Cathy places and checks the orders, so I don’t think I ever met him. He told Cathy he also worked at Ventanas, so I may have met him there. He and Cathy talked quite a bit, and he always appreciated the generous tip. One of the last times he was here he told Cathy he had a gift for her. He asked if he could bring it by and introduce his family when his wife was taking him to work at the golf course not far from our house. In a few days he stopped by to introduce his wife and children and give Cathy a gift of this cactus. Everyone wore masks and kept their distance, but they talked for a while and Cathy gave the children juice boxes and candy.
January 17th his wife came to the house to tell Cathy that her husband was in the hospital in Leon. Cathy asked if she needed any help and gave her a large dispensa and some pesos. The wife was reluctant to accept, but Cathy said the phrase I have often heard, “We want to help, you are part of our family now.”
Looking back, I think it was the dispensas that made Cathy so interesting to this gentleman. 24 packages of beans, rice, oatmeal, soup, pasta, and pasta sauce; plus cooking oil, sugar, juice boxes and baby formula as needed with each week’s delivery. He inquired about them and when Cathy said they were for the people who came to our door needing help, he told her she was very kind to help so many people in these hard times.
Several days ago his wife called to say her husband had been intubated, but before they put the tube down his throat he asked her to call Cathy and say, “Thank you.” Cathy again said, “We want to help you while your husband is in the hospital. You are part of our family.” Then yesterday the wife called to say her husband had died. Today she sent this photo.
Twice last night, Cathy began to cry uncontrollably. All I could do was hold her and say that we would help take care of his wife and four children.
We now have nine families in our Mexican family and Cathy helps them in many ways. Not just with a hand out, but with a helping hand. She found a job for one women and found a way to help another young woman earn money without having to ask for help. Both of these women have a small child and a husband who can’t find work during the Pandemic. She has taught a young deaf man how to support himself as an artist. We buy bread from Santos and flowers from Miguel and have helped them get through hard times. We have helped with school tuition, rent, and medicine.
I know that Matthew 6 says that “when you give to the needy, do not announce it…”. I don’t share this for praise, but with the hope we might encourage and recognize the generosity of others. When I see an older woman sitting with her back against a wall and her hand outstretched, I always give a bill and purposely try to time it so that someone else sees what I am doing. I hope this will encourage that person to do the same. And if I see someone helping, I always thank them for being so generous.
Cathy also made friends with three women who were regularly near Centro asking for help. She asked their names and stopped to talk. In addition to pesos, if it was hot she would buy them ice cream or a cold fruit juice. When it was cold she would get them a torta. Cathy is certainly her Mother’s child. Mom would have done exactly the same.
Cathy saw one of her friends walking home one day and offered her a ride. When they got to the woman’s small house, Cathy realized that this woman was walking an hour each way to sell her dried pumpkin seeds because she couldn’t afford the bus fair of 8 pesos (40 cents) a day. Cathy said, “If I give you the bus fare for the month, do you promise you will take the bus?” After that, the first time we saw her each month, we gave her 250 pesos and had her promise to use it for bus fare. Then we always gave her 50 pesos whenever we saw her again that month, but we always only took one bag of her pumpkin seeds. The pumpkin seed lady died six months later. Sad, but I like to think that Cathy made her last months a little more comfortable.
There was also a woman with a crippled hand, and then there wasn’t. We don’t know what happened to her.
Fortunately, Serena is still with us. Last winter Cathy gave her a red shawl. Serena said it was so beautiful that if she wore it no one would give her money and she wouldn’t be able to afford her medicine for her eye. This winter Serena is wearing the red shawl. Cathy doesn’t go out now, but when I see Serena I make sure we give her at least 100 pesos a week. Serena has now lost the sight in her left eye, and we don’t know how much longer she’ll be with us. If you see an old woman with a milky left eye, huddled in a red shawl with an outstretched hand, that is Serena. Please help her. Say hello and tell her you are a friend of Cathy’s.
Forgive me for preaching to the choir. I know all of our friends are kind, generous people who are doing all they can to help others. Thank you so much for your generosity.
Let me end with a thank you we got from a thank you we sent to a Mexican gentleman who helped make Three Kings Day at Ojala Niños very special:
“Cathy,Thanks a lot! And thank Scott also. Great job you are doing with the videos, and specially with the kids.
I have been living in different parts of Mexico, and I love the “little melting pot” that San Miguel became with the arrival of Americans and Canadians and Europeans. Compared to the rest of Mexico, I love the spirit of the foreigners that choose San Miguel, because here they are trying to help, to do something good, and they do actually help a lot.Thanks, because of all the places in the world you both could have chosen, you chose San Miguel.”
This from a man who made a huge donation himself to help the children of Ojala Niños. You meet the nicest people in San Miguel. And our Mexican family keeps growing!