Once I arrived in Mexico, I had to wait, and wait, and wait for my shipped boxes to arrive at my new residence.  One by one they trickled in, each box being charged about US $85 by the Mexican Government.  The last box to arrive was my all-in-one printer plus a few odds and ins of things that would fit into the extra space of the printer box.  However, it did not arrive without difficulty.  When the carrier arrived he had two bills, one for the US $85 and an additional one for US $100.  In confusion as I was looking at the bills, it appeared as though I was being doubled charged!  It was very frustrating because I could not communicate this discrepancy due to my inability of speaking the language.  After paying the bills and carrying my belonging inside, I felt emotionally drained and used and abused by the Mexican Government.  I was on the verge for tears when I saw a note that a friend had scribbled down, “God is good all the time!”  It was a timely reminder that even in a foreign country, with a foreign government, that our God IS good all the time!  Praise the Lord I received my belongings!

By the time you are reading this letter, I will have already had my first Spanish class.  It is my desire that over the course of this next year that I will make leaps and bounds in my knowledge and communication of this new language.  Please pray for my ability to retain and apply what I study, as well as my ability to hear and understand what is spoken.

Karen Kolb-ST, Mexico