It was March 2006, when I and my daughter (Franshelsa) migrated to America. My husband (Wilfrank) migrated two years ahead of us. At that time, we were so excited. No words can ever describe the happiness that we felt inside not only because we would be together again as a family but another important point was that, we were going to a land flowing with milk and honey (referring to America). That’s the concept most Filipinos have of America.
In the Philippines, the fact that you pass the immigration interview and you get an immigrant visa makes you smart and intelligent. It’s not easy to get an immigrant visa because of the expenses and several exams you need to take in order to get one. Only professionals or those who have money can apply. My family, especially my father were so proud of me. Everytime he talked to his friends, he always mentioned to them: “Oh, I have a daughter who is so smart. She has two degrees and now she is going to USA." The sad part was, he died before I came here.
By the time I got here, I had developed mixed feelings. We were in the airport. I was so excited to talk to the people. They looked so different, some had blonde hair and others red hair. Their skin was also different from mine. And most of them were big, fat people.
I tried to rehearse my English before I asked one of the guards, “Where is your comfort room?”. He looked at me and say, “I’m sorry?”. His face was really clueless. I tried to explain further what I meant by acting and using gestures. Then he said, “you mean a restroom?”, with a wrinkled forehead.
Another point of language confusion happened when a man seated next to me in the plane asked, “What do you do?” I din’t know what to say, I was confused because it was obvious that I was sitting next to him holding my bag. Later, I realized that he was asking about my work.
This was the first time I felt like an idiot. It is so frustrating when nobody can understand you and you cannot understand them. I tried so hard to straighten my pronounciation, remembering the short vowel, long vowel, present, past and future tenses. I had an A+ grade and even received an award as “Best in Public Speaking” in my college. But it was definitely not working for me.
The first two years were really tough. There were so many adjustments: food, lifestyle, traffic rules, communications, the use of credit cards, discrimination and differences at workplace. I was so stressed I developed a hormonal imbalance. I suffered from 30-day bleeding and asthma attacks. My daughter had a hard time adjusting to the weather. She was sick every month, even had pneumonia for two successive winters. This was the hardest time of our lives and I felt like I was about to give up. I didn't have a job but there were so many bills to pay: house mortgage, car, hospital bills, prescriptions, etc. My husband was working everyday just to keep up with the bills. I could see in his face that he was tired of working overtime. He would always say that he had to work hard because he had two million- dollar babies because of our expensive monthly prescriptions.
Everyone says that that is America - work and work and work. . . . Then the recession came and so many people lost their jobs. Children got hungry, depression rose. Now, we are facing the epidemic of swine flu. Everywhere there is flooding, earthquakes and other calamities.
But inspite of all these sufferings, I’m still thankful to God for giving me these experiences because these make me realize that God is telling me something. He is telling me that America is not the place where I am bound for. I am bound for heaven. We are all bound for heaven. We just live here temporarily. And this makes me more excited. I can’t wait to see my mansion that was prepared for me by my Father in heaven.
I know that we have milk and honey here but it’s not flowing and we still have to go to Walmart, Ukrops or any grocery store to buy it. In heaven, there will be no more pain, no more tears, no more traffic rules, no more mortgages to pay, no more sickness; only joy and happiness.
My daily petition is to see you all in heaven, with our loved ones, walking with God on the golden streets. Then the host of angels will say, “Welcome to Paradise." 2 Thessalonians 5:18 says: ”Be thankful in all circumstances, for this is God’s will for you who belong to Christ Jesus.”
By Elsa Paypa
Elsa is pictured with her daughter Frankie, and her husband Wilfrank
One of the things I enjoyed the most about dating Trevan was being invited over to grandma Osborn's house for meals. I relished those invitations to Friday dinners or Sabbath lunches because Grandma was awesome at making good, old-fashioned casseroles. Growing up in Costa Rica, we NEVER did casseroles, and it was quite an experience for me the first couple times I ate at grandma's.
