Señora Ines

If only I had had the opportunity that these kids have…[silence] What I wouldn’t have done to have this.–Señora Ines

On Wednesday, Ines and I volunteered to clean up the backside of the school. We gathered palm branches, scrap wood, tumbleweeds, and lots of general garbage. Then Ines struck a match, quickly igniting the pile. Realizing I would have probably been thrown into jail had I been caught just 20 miles north, I continued to fuel the flames of our daytime bonfire.

Ines is a mother of four in her early thirties. Her oldest girl is sponsored in the program. Three of the four attend our elementary school. All of her kids are well groomed, well behaved, and on their way to becoming well educated.

Not knowing much about her, besides the regular hola and adios, I asked her where she was born. The conversation that followed was fascinating.

At age twelve she graduated with excellent marks from an elementary school in the southern state of Oaxaca. Her dream was to become a secretary in a beautiful office. But her very poor, single mother was not interested in paying for any more schooling. Her mother’s excuse remained firm—her money was for taking care of the animals, not for something trivial like paying for middle school.

In the midst of this struggle, little Ines met a wealthy architect from Tijuana. He offered her the opportunity to work as a live-in servant, taking care of his grandchildren. She immediately accepted and departed for the long trip north, even before her teens.

Ines gave the architect nine loyal years before she married and began motherhood. “So, that’s my story,” she said. “I have no education and never became the professional that I wanted to be.” “But you’ve got drive,” I confirmed, as I watched her outwork me. “¡Sí, tengo muchas ganas!” she reconfirmed. “But for my kids. They are going to succeed!” she said with a confident grin. I concurred.

This entry was posted on Saturday, October 21st, 2006 at 8:26 pm and is filed under Missionary Life. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed.