Keota woman assists orphans in Mexico

Mexico has become a home away from home for one young Keota woman. Tiffany Chmelar, 22, is south of the border at the moment and plans to live there through at least March of next year. She works with orphans in Baja California, a state in Mexico that is just south of the American state of California. She is the daughter of Larry and Micki Chmelar.

In April 2010, Tiffany?s sister Nicole approached her about going on a one-week mission trip to Ensenada, Mexico, a coastal city in the northwest part of the country. Her sister had already served for 4 years at an orphan camp in China through an organization called ?Bring Me Hope.? The organization?s founder, David Bolt, wanted people to know that there were needy orphans not just in China but around the world, so he asked Nicole to go to Mexico. Nicole asked Tiffany to go with her to keep her company, and Tiffany agreed.

Each volunteer from the U.S. was paired with one orphan from Ensenada. The two played together, ate together and did most everything together. Tiffany?s orphan was named Luis, and she was amazed at his generosity and the generosity of his peers.

?I went there to love on that kid, and I felt so much love myself,? she said. ?They had so little, and yet they wanted to give what they had to you. You might say, ?I like your shoes,? and they would literally give you their shoes.??

Tiffany said that experience was so fulfilling that she wanted to return to Mexico soon after arriving in Iowa.

?I came home and went back to my job as a CNA at a nursing home in Kalona,? she said. ?But I could not forget those kids. Sometimes, I would be sitting there and start crying because I was remembering how much I loved them. I felt a call to go back. I felt that was where God wanted me.?

Tiffany wrote a letter to her friends and family asking for financial assistance so she could go back to Mexico that summer. The funds came in and Tiffany was able to return. She was a staff member at the orphanage camp for 2 ½ months that summer. As a staff member, Tiffany prepared the activities the orphans do during summer camp, which included religious education, games and field trips. Since the orphans are not in school over the summer, there is nothing for them to do. Tiffany and her co-workers found plenty of things to keep them entertained.

?The kids stay at their orphanage and don?t get to go out very much,? said Tiffany. ?It?s so cool to see them at the beach picking up seashells. The kids love it when you chase them around the playground. And then I come back to the U.S. and see kids are bored with their videogames. I?m like, ?Seriously???

Tiffany had a special bond with one of the little tykes.

?Every morning, this kid would run to me and I would smother his face in kisses, but he would never love me back,? said Tiffany. ?But the last day, he ran up to me and gave me a big hug, and pulled my face down to his and kissed me on the cheek. I thought ?That is why I?m here!??

The kids asked Tiffany if she would ever come back.

?I said yes, but I didn?t know if I really was going to come back,? she said.

The calling Tiffany felt to work in Mexico would not go away. One evening, she told her parents she wanted to travel to Mexico for a third time, this time for a whole year. Her parents were fine with the decision. Now she had to find a way to pay for the trip. She planned to sell her car, but that deal fell through. She went to the nursing home in Kalona to play her violin, and a few of the residents gave her $100 that day.

?I?ve relied on people to support me, and I know it?s going to happen because that is where Jesus wants me,? said Tiffany.

She started her year-long stay in Ensenada in March. She came home in late May for her sister Nicole?s wedding, but returned to Mexico on June 7, where she will live until next March.

Tiffany said her Spanish is getting better with each trip. She said she knows enough now to give simple commands to the kids.

She describes her living conditions as ?rustic.? She has her own room in a house in Ensenada. There is running water and electricity to the house. But during the summer, when she is at camp with the orphans, she lives in a tent. There are no flush-toilets on the premises, only outhouses.

?We have to truck in water for hand-washing, but we can?t drink it,? she said. ?If you drank it, you would get sick.?

Was living that way a shock to Tiffany? The first time she went, it was.

?We were only allowed to shower every other day to conserve water, because water is like gold in Mexico,? she said. ?It was hard, but at the end of the week, it was worth it. I was ready to do it again.?