It's Complicated

Life's path can be filled with unanticipated twists and turns. Accidents. Poor or rash decisions. Legal loop holes.

I've been dwelling on two situations in particular. One I encountered while teaching, the other while translating.

When I think about my student, "Carrie," the words "train wreck" come to mind. She came to class for the first time two weeks after the semester had started. Late most days with excuses that included "my tires were slashed" and "my car broke down."

When she gave her oral presentation she talked about her dogs. All 17 of them.

One day she stayed late to chat with me about the legal system. Her brother was in jail and she felt that the courts had treated him inhumanely and unfairly.

Speaking of the court, I have translated for two months in a row now for a prisoner named "Efrain." He is an undocumented agricultural worker who drove while intoxicated and then fled when he was pulled over. The trooper issued him a pile of tickets: reckless endangerment, failure to obey traffic signals, fleeing arrest, etc. Some of the charges are felony charges.

The mother of Efrain's baby was in court last night, sitting behind us: the prison guard that Efrain was chained to, Miss Pope the Public Defender, and me, the interpreter. We went around and over Efrain's choices: accept a plea bargain to lesser charges that might land him in jail for just a year. Wait to find out how his plea bargain would be impacted by immigration law, Pay the bond and run back to Mexico.

In any case, it looks as if his child may never know his father because a year in jail means he will be denied citizenship. If he flees to Mexico he can never return to the U.S. Miss Pope turned to the baby's mother and kindly said, "it looks like you might be moving south of the border."

I think about these folks and I pray over my roster every semester. As we get set to begin the Fall 2010 semester I anticipate the opportunity to meet new students, many of whom inspire me as they push forward to achieve despite difficult family situations or poverty.

I've "discovered" the music of Buddy and Julie Miller. This song speaks to joy that comes out of sorrow through Jesus.