In the world of small talk, there exists no grander or more abused (or annoying some might say) question than the ever popular, “How was blank?” Blank could be summer vacation, a Greek test, Saturday night dinner in the cafeteria or, as it was in my case, Mexico. Yeah, so I made it back from my year in Mexico and was comfortably sitting in the second floor Concord computer lab when Tim Nass, the Knight’s Page editor asked me, “How was Mexico?” Well, I probably said my standard “good” and got back to pretending still to know Hebrew. Then Tim asked me to expand on that answer by writing an article for the Knight’s Page that I’ve decided to entitle, “How Mexico Was in So Far as the People I Met Are Concerned.” You see, I’ll tell you, I had a great time in Mexico this past year, but it wasn’t because of the margaritas that I sipped on the beach while señoritas brought me tacos and basket after basket of nacho chips. It was because of the people—people just like you and me!

Pepe is a lawyer. He stands about five foot three, maybe a little taller when he wears his cowboy boots. Pepe is the nicest guy you’ll ever meet. We met Pepe at church on the first Sunday that we were in Mexico. We found out later that it was one of Pepe’s fi rst Sundays too, but we never would have guessed by how friendly he was to us. Pepe’s story is awesome. He lives near the church and never thought about going in until he was standing outside it last November with crutches because he had broken his leg. The stairs up the church stood before him, and he told himself, “Once I’m off these crutches, I’m going in.” And he did. Now Pepe is confirmed and is proud to call himself a Lutheran and even more proud to share his faith with others.

Alejandro is the shy type. We lived with Alejandro for the entire year as he attended the new seminary in Torreón where we were teaching ESL classes. Alejandro is from southern Mexico, and he felt a little homesick in the dry, dusty north. We had a great time getting to know Alejandro throughout the year by playing basketball in the park or just by talking as we all ate our Ramen soups. It was fun. Alejandro kept busy most of the time studying his Greek vocabulary or church history, but I never really heard him complain. God willing, he’ll be a Lutheran pastor in three years. Keep Alejandro in your prayers.

Then there’s the Garcia family: Pablo, Magdalena, Marissa, Karina, Viviana and their mom. They are the church in Gomez Palacio, Mexico, and services are actually held in a converted garage at their house. I am a part of their family too. I have never experienced generosity like they showed us. We ate like kings every Tuesday and Thursday for breakfast, lunch, and dinner, and then, they would take us home, a roundtrip that took an hour for them. Pablo is nine and likes to play soccer whether it’s in the street or on his Playstation. The twins, Marissa and Karina, are college students studying to be English teachers, and they were some of our best friends. The family’s little tienda or store kept the neighborhood stocked with milk and Coke, and it became one of our favorite places to hang out.

Maybe someday a few of you will have the pleasure to meet Carlos Antonio. He goes by both names so don’t worry about saying both. Carlos is 26 and just entered the seminary this January to start studying to become a Lutheran pastor. We met Carlos through our classes and during the year he was baptized, confi rmed and then, to top it all off, decided in December to study for the pastoral ministry. He had been involved in many other Christian churches but never felt their teachings were completely sound. I cannot express what a blessing it was to meet and see Carlos grow in his faith and understanding of the Scriptures. Carlos is one of those people that you can just sit down and listen to for hours if you can understand his Spanish—he talks quickly.

Finally, there’s Mary and Manuel. Manuel has a new van (a 1995 Chrysler), and he’s proud of it. He used to come and talk to me while his wife would take English classes. Later, I gave Manuel a leather-bound Bible and he’s proud of that too. We met both him and his wife through the English class program. They were at the mission’s opening service in March, got confi rmed in July, and now Manuel is the treasurer of the Lutheran Church, Jesús Pan de Vida, in Torreón, Mexico. If you ever want to try some delicious Mexican food, stop by some time, you’d always be welcome. Mary will practice her English with you and then let you try some of her food in return. They’re wonderful people.

So those are just some of the people that I wish you all could meet in person. I could have gone on about how funny Mario and Jerry are, or about how much Juan Paulo loves the movie “Rocky” and coffee, but I think I would just be entertaining myself by remembering some good friends. If you see me in the halls and can’t think of anything better to say, please don’t ask, “How was Mexico?” Instead, ask, “How’s Pepe doing?” I’ll be more than happy to fill you in.

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