Skip to main content

How to buy a car in Mexico with cash

I am a US citizen living in Mexico as a temporary resident, and after going through quite an ordeal trying to buy a vehicle here, I thought I would share what I learned in case someone else in a similar situation is about to go through the same process.

First of all, I use TransferWise to move money from my US bank account to my Mexican bank account, and when I found a vehicle I wanted to buy, I thought I had all my ducks in a row. I live in a fairly small town, so when I went to the big city to buy a car, I just located the nearest branch of my bank and told the seller to meet me there.

Read More

Want to learn a language? Join a community.

Some people have wishlists of things they hope to get for Christmas, or places they would like to go to on vacation. As a language nut, I understandably have a long list of languages that I would like to learn. There are so many interesting languages in the world, and so little time to learn them!

Looking at the languages I have tackled, however, the thing I’ve realized is that I only become proficient in a language when I have a community of people to speak it with. Take Spanish, for instance鈥攆or the past 9 years, I have spoken Spanish on a weekly basis with Spanish-speaking Christians, and thus I have gotten pretty good at speaking it. However, I still cannot speak Greek, even though I have been studying it even longer than Spanish. And why is that? Perhaps it’s because I don’t know anyone who speaks Greek, and it is a language I only use for reading and writing.

Recently I watched some interview videos on Chickasaw.tv about Joshua Hinson, the current director of the Chickasaw Language Department. He grew up in west Texas, and dabbled in some of the Chickasaw language early on, but he didn’t become proficient in the language until he reconnected with the Chickasaw community in Oklahoma聽and began actively seeking out native speakers to talk with. Read More

How to Learn to Speak a Language

Did you know that you can learn to speak a language in only three simple steps? As a language nut myself, I’ve learned a few things about learning languages, and I want to share those with you, the aspiring language learner. I won’t call these “secrets,” because they’re hardly hidden, but I would guess that a lot of people have overlooked them.

I know you’re dying to know what the three steps are, so before describing them in more detail, here they are:

  1. Study.
  2. Practice.
  3. Repeat.

Well OK, I guess it’s more than just three steps when you start iterating on #3, but you get the point. Learning a language can be boiled down into these three parts, and if you leave out any one of them, you’re bound to be disappointed. Now then, let’s look at each one in detail! Read More

It’s All About Love

When I was younger, I was embarrassed by love. Don’t get me wrong, I loved my parents and they loved me more than I knew, but whenever it came to romance, love songs, and even the word “love,” I would have nothing to do with it. I can’t say entirely why–my parents made sure I knew that at my age I had no business getting into romantic relationships, and the time when I could was so far ahead I couldn’t even imagine it. But looking back, it seems rather silly, because now I realize that love is the main purpose of my life. I may not be married or have a girlfriend, but the more I think about it, love is behind most of what I do, or at least it should be.

Why do I go to Truth For The World every day and work? Because I love the people in the world who are lost and need the gospel. Why do put in hours of study to prepare sermons and Bible classes? Because I love my Christian family and want to give them something they can learn from. Why do I take time to pick out songs and lead them in the worship assembly? Because I love the Lord and His people, and want to help us all worship Him in one mind as one body.
Read More

Living the Dream

Samaras

It’s hard to believe, but it’s been almost two years since I graduated from college, packed my earthly belongings in the back of my pickup (at least the essential ones), and was transplanted in the faraway state of Georgia. This new life has had its ups and downs, and I certainly haven’t accomplished everything I would like do have done by this point, but overall it’s been pretty great.

One thing most people don’t know is that living in Gwinnett County, Georgia was a dream of mine. I’m one who often daydreams, and before I even sent in my r茅sum茅 for a job that didn’t even exist yet, I was dreaming about how cool it would be to live in this area. I was looking up potential places to live, and the nearest places to hike. I was enchanted by the thought of living somewhere where Korean is a major language, where there are numerous pine trees even in the city, and where there was a loving congregation of the Lord’s people. I thought about all the things I would do if I had a place of my own, and the new friends I would make. I loved the thought of having a job that would align with my degree, but yet be entirely dedicated to the Lord’s work. And although I certainly haven’t taken much advantage of it, one of the major selling points was knowing that the mountains were less than two hours away!

Whenever I dream of possibilities, I get excited, so it was no surprise that I thought nothing of jumping in the car and making a weekend trip down to Georgia just for an interview. And great was my joy when I was offered the job, and had two job offers to choose from! After much deliberation (I am the one who had full intentions of returning to Texas after college) I turned down the other job offer, accepted this one, and spent a full week (!) at home after graduation before pursuing my dream.

The reason I’m recounting this now is because I need a reminder. Even the most thrilling life becomes humdrum after a while, and I’ve felt down and without motivation more times than I’d like to admit. So maybe I need to renew my outlook on life, reminding myself how special my current situation truly is! There is no need to long for things that are not mine, or feel burdened by responsibilities.

God has put me in a place full of opportunities, and I’m living the dream! It’s time to take advantage of it and fully enjoy where I am in life, and I encourage you to do the same. There’s no harm in dreaming of future possibilities, but don’t do it so much that you lose sight of where you are right here, right now.