Learning note: We have included some acronyms to help you remember each one.

1. Don’t take a big bite out of a sandwich without asking if it has jalapeños in it…because it probably does. (DTABBOASWAIIHJIIBIPD) You might just find yourself in the bathroom of the restaurant splashing water on your face to relieve the spicy burn that has consumed your entire mouth and your friend (and parents) may continue to give you concerned and confused looks the rest of the afternoon. (Wes)

2. Don’t answer all the questions in English class or else everyone will think you’re trying to be a show-off. (DAATQIECOEEWTYTTBASO) It’s a thing, I promise. Harmony is still working on this one. (Levi and Harmony)

3. Don’t secretly hope for your neighbor’s cat/dog/goose/duck to go missing in the middle of the night. (DSHFYNCDGDTGMITMOTN) This may be just for Mexico, but loud pets are common. Personal human-to-animal vendettas are discouraged but highly likely. I think that’s enough said. (Selah)

4. Don’t use “dang”, “shoot”, or “darnnit” because non-English speakers will start thinking you are actually cursing. (DUDSDBNESWSTYAAC) This may lead to them feeling comfortable using actual English swear words around you because they assume they are hearing you talk this way on a regular basis. (Levi)

5. Don’t forget to bring toilet paper on long car trips…or anywhere. (DFTOBTPOLCTOA) You may end up stranded in a stall desperately waiting for a family member to rescue you after frantically searching every bag, purse, and vehicle for a used Kleenex. (Selah, Wes, and Harmony)

6. Don’t forget to put your socks on before your Mexican guests arrive. (DFTPYSOBYMGA) This will avoid full conversations about walking around barefoot will cause you to get a cold. (family)

7. Don’t frantically search for the missing seatbelt or seatbelt buckle when you get into your friend’s car. (DFSFTMSOSBWYGIYFC) It’s likely it has been removed, moved aside for convenience’s sake, and hasn’t been used for years. (Harmony)

8. Don’t attempt to talk to your parents (or each other) during the first six months of them learning to drive if you are transitioning to a large city in Latin America. (DATTTYPOEODTFSMOTLTDIYATTALCILA) They may, in so many words, tell you to stop talking so they can focus on not dying. (Fab Four) 

What do you eat in America? How much do your parents make? Can I touch your hair? Why aren’t your eyes blue? Do you prefer living in Mexico or America? Why did you move to Mexico? When are you moving back to live in America? Why are you so skinny? Do you know Spanish? Do you have a boyfriend/girlfriend?

Life as a Third Culture Kid has its oddities. We spent the first chunk of our lives living in various states, but primarily western North Carolina. Now, we are making our new normal here in southwest Mexico. Old normals are still normal. But so are new normals. It’s a life in limbo. We never wish we were eating tocos while eating a hamburger. But we never wish we were eating a hamburger while eating tacos.

Our house is filled with CONSTANT Spanglish. We talk about language and schedule changes more than anything else. “Flexico” isn’t just an expression…it’s a way of life to which we are still adapting. Missing what we’ve said goodbye to and loving what we have go hand in hand.

Watching your really smart Dad learn a second language at 48 years old, is tough to experience at times. Mama going to work full-time while Daddy takes care of things at home has been a significant shift. Perpetually (thanks, thesaurus) trying to translate in your head – even when you don’t have to – can be humbling as we constantly re-realize how much we still have to learn. At the same time, mental fist-pumping is a daily occurrence when you realize you understood a conversation and replied with no errors.

What defines a TCK? A colorful culture clash. In this case, our first culture was life in rural western North Carolina, U.S.A. Our second culture is Morelia, Michoacán, Mexico. These two beautiful lifestyles clash daily to create a new third culture that is its own beautiful creation.

Praises:

- The kids officially survived their first academic school year and are WELL on their way to being bilingual!

- Reggie had a safe and beautiful trip to Minnesota and Iowa

- Karlee finished her first year of teaching English at NOE and is looking forward to next year

- Brian and Mireya Overcast (as of June 30th) have officially retired as directors at NOE and have named Juan Peralta the new director with a smooth transition

- Another year of NOE English program graduates and Dream Team members selected for 2023

- Kids are gaining friends and feel more at home at school

Prayer Requests:

- Safe travel for Dream Team

- Positive personal and spiritual experience while they are in Portland

- COVID, the flu, and colds are spreading through our circles. Pray we can return to a normal soon with sicknesses normalizing and removal of masks at school

- We can reach 100%+ financial funding

- Language learning for Reggie and kids

- Karlee’s preparation for Teacher Training and general organization this summer as the middle school/high school English program coordinator

“Culture shock is often felt sharply at the borders between countries, but sometimes it doesn’t hit fully until you’ve been in a place for a long time.” Henri Cartier-Bresson

Another massively obnoxious shoutout to CIT (Center for Intercultural Training) for incredible training about culture shock! As I frantically re-sift through ALL definitions, advice, and charts about culture shock from our training, I am astonished at its accuracy. Almost 10 months after arriving on September 13th, and I can confidently say I have experienced them all fully with no foreseeable end to this culture grind.

It's incredible how in the midst of doing something you absolutely love with people you love and students you love in a ministry you love, a strange uncomfortable feeling will sneak into your throat, work its way to your chest, then to your stomach, and before you know it, your hands are shaking, and you feel like crying…with NO. IDEA. WHY.

This, my dear friends, is culture shock. Holly Carden states that, “Culture Shock is the time of adjustment, when my daily emotional discomfort takes over reasonable feelings, thoughts, or actions.” It is anxiety, confusion, fear, unfamiliarity, or even disgust when presented with a new situation that you have no reference for or when your map of understanding just got detoured with no guarantee that you will, in fact, reach the same final destination you thought you were heading toward.

Sometimes it hits at the grocery store. Other times while driving or shopping. Sometimes it’s in a staff meeting or in a conversation with a close Mexican friend. Sometimes in a memory or idea. Sometimes in a planning session or in the sounds of the street or music on the radio. I’ll go days or weeks with all very neutral feelings or even feelings that I am actually “getting it”. Then, for seemingly no reason at all, I will experience strain to adapt to certain moments for long periods of time. Nothing seems to make sense and the longing for “normal” feels overwhelming.

At training we were challenged to discover these feelings and ask where they are coming from. We learned that it is often multi-level deep. It isn’t just behaviors, but values, beliefs, or even worldviews that are being challenged when presented with something new. Awareness and a profound desire to understand in order to share Christ most effectively with others will allow us to persist.

Please be praying for us as we face these feelings of frustration, elation, irritation, joy, inadequacy, and love…sometimes all in 10 minutes!

 March and April brought some more opportunities to spend time with students and friends. In March, we hosted our first youth Bunco party with about 18 students of all ages. Youth groups average between ages 13 and 26+ here, never distinguishing between middle school, high school, and college-age ministries. We LOVE it!

In April, NOE Loma Libre (where I teach) hosted our first ever Corn Hole tournament. Reggie and my student Ximena walked away champions, and my two other students came in 2nd place.

Selah hosted our first sleep-over with friends, which was another success, as sleepovers aren’t common here. Levi celebrated his 14th birthday bowling with friends – it was their first time bowling, so we loved making memories with them

“Never give up on a dream just because of the time it will take to accomplish it.” - Unknown

As non-spiritual as this quote may seem, the challenges that we faced in January and February were prime examples of the truth this statement holds.

On January 23, we took off for Brownsville, Texas to arrange our temporary residency paperwork. The process is easy, right? Find the information that applies to you on the website, complete said paperwork, schedule an appointment, go to said appointment, receive permission, and “Voila!” Done.

Unfortunately, Mexican paperwork and government systems are not always consistent nor quick. What we thought would take 3-5 days ended up taking 17. You read that correctly. 17. We had the opportunity, though, to stay with the Dávilas, a wonderful family who is originally from Matamoros, Tamaulipas, Mexico, and planted a church in a very rough area in urban Matamoros. God knew this stay with them was going to be very important for our family, as they encouraged us in our ministry and overall transition during our stay there. Ultimately, we ended up going to a different Mexican consulate five hours away to obtain our visas, BUT WE GOT THEM!!

We then returned to Morelia where we had to register our visas and exchange them for a temporary residency identification card. To make a long story short, it required a “quick” 36-hour trip back to the border for a piece of paperwork we were not informed we needed upon entering back to the U.S. BUT WE GOT THEM!

Just like starting a new business adventure, career that requires education and training, or building a new home, establishing the foundation for longevity takes time. As much as we wish it could be so, we can’t simply show up and expect all things to happen without some elbow grease (as my dad, Glen Schulz, would say).

Clearly, we would have preferred being neck deep in ministry from the moment we stepped foot in Morelia with no distractions, no obstacles, and no surprises, but first we must build our foundation.

We have also seen so many positive changes in our children throughout these unpredictable times that require the flexibility of Stretch Armstrong. A major victory is when we returned to Morelia after being gone for 17 days. For the first time, they had a reason to be welcomed back by their friends at school. They were excited to go back to school to see their teachers and friends, eat the awesome food, and see everyone at NOE, who made such a fuss about their absence and celebrated their homecoming.

So we fill out the paperwork. We file the paperwork. We make appointments. We attend appointments. We wait for the paperwork to be returned. We file more paperwork. And so it goes. With each step, we are closer and closer to long-term establishment, which comes with constant celebration, victory pictures, victory tacos, victory hugs, and evenings with friends who remind us of why we are working so hard to make it all happen.

God knew we needed this experience to be different than we had planned. May He be glorified as we keep our calling and purpose in mind through all the changes and challenges we face throughout this journey!

“For my thoughts are not your thoughts, nor are your ways My ways,” says the Lord. “For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are My ways higher than your ways, and My thought than your thoughts.” - Isaiah 55:8-9