• Bullying,  Courage,  Judging,  Stress

    October Bullying: White Boys in Baja, Brown Girls in Cali

    He acted like it wasn’t a big deal, but we knew otherwise. “I got kicked in the stomach today.” I felt objectivity fly out la ventana while my blood pressure rose.  “Why, buddy?” “I don’t know. I couldn’t understand them.” When we sent our tall, pale, strawberry blonde boy to school in a black-hair-rules culture, we knew it might be rough. Not speaking the language basically made him feel deaf and mute.  Whether the other kids talked, whispered or yelled didn’t make a difference; our child had no friends and no idea how to make them. So he climbed trees, ate, walked, colored and played alone.  The learning curve of…

  • Bullying,  Mexico,  Missions,  South of the Border,  Spanish

    No Language, No Voice: Going to School in Another Country All Alone

    “Be strong and courageous. Do not be afraid or terrified because of them, for the Lord your God goes with you; he will never leave you nor forsake you.” ~ Deuteronomy 31:6 I led my firstborn to the concrete classroom with the green metal door and faked a bit of confidence. Micah did not want to go in just as much as I did not want to leave, so we stood there squeezing hands and scanning the crowd. Dozens of brown eyes stared like they’d never seen white people. It was March—not the best time to enter a new school. Especially in another country. We had only lived in town…