Moving amidst the World Cup taking place in our city seemed quite daunting. Thankfully it was not complicated. We moved to Guadalajara on June 10th, which meant an early morning. I woke up before 4:00am to finalize last minute packing. I cleaned the last few dishes we had used the day before. I made sure all the trash was taken out. We woke up the kids, packed up our bags, and said goodbye to our home of the past 370 days (June 5, 2025 – June 10, 2026). We drove to the airport in Puebla, which is really more of a bus station, but that is beside the point. Leaving our house in Georgia to move to Puebla was hard, and I thought moving from Puebla to Guadalajara would not be as difficult, but in many ways it was.
When we first moved to Puebla, Ezra and Natalia were still in diapers. Now when I write this, they are thankfully both potty trained (mostly). We drove to the airport in Atlanta, with a total of 22 bags, a stroller, a car seat, and so many snacks and tears. We drove to the airport in Puebla with less bags, but so many more memories—memories of a place that felt like a check box, a place to learn language and move on as quickly as possible. But what started off as a place with so few expectations, turned into one of the biggest blessings for our family. We made such good friends, that took too long to meet.
But the Lord blessed us with one friend from the beginning. We had to hire a nanny within two days of being in Mexico because Mikayla and I had to take language classes. We were not given many options, actually just one. The Lord knew. He used that nanny to love on our kids. God used that nanny to help Ezra, Natalia, and David transition to a foreign place, a place far from family. God worked through her to bless our marriage. Five days into being in Mexico, Mikayla and I celebrated our 8th anniversary. We picked a spot based on google reviews and that was close. It was a big blessing, and now it’s such a silly memory.
We made it to the Puebla airport, the one that is more of a bus station. We checked in, made it through security, and finally sat down to enjoy our breakfast by the gate (there is only one terminal). I looked down and saw that I had a text from my dad: “Happy anniversary, guys!”
We completely forgot that June 10th was our anniversary! Slipped our sleepy minds, lapsed over our groggy eyes. The day we moved was our 9th anniversary. We laughed and reflected on the year that had passed.
We attended two churches, one that went through a lot of struggles ministerially, which was difficult. Going from a church where we knew everyone, to a place where we knew nobody and could hardly communicate was hard. We had to leave that church after 6 months due to unhealthy leadership. The Lord strengthened us through that time. He used even a hard church to help us focus on Him and not seek our main spiritual nourishment only from the Sunday gathering. Congregating with the saints weekly is a big blessing and a desire, requirement for every christian, but it was such a large part of our lives in America that it became a blindspot.
The second church we attended loved us well. They cared for us and let us be a part of ministry and their lives each week. We saw our kids begin to make friends and we began to make friends. However, with only such a short time in a place, by the time our friendships felt to blossom, we were making plans to move to Guadalajara.
We made great friends with a brother and sister who own a coffee shop. They became some of our closest friends. We knew that when we showed up there would always be smiles, great coffee, and even better conversation. We wrestled through language barriers, but we were edified by their walk with the Lord and their commitment to His bride in their local body. (Their church was planted and helped by the pastor of the church we currently attend here in Guadalajara.) But even this friendship too felt cut short by our move date.
Mikayla and I wrestled with learning Spanish. I cannot count the number of times uber drivers were surprised that we (Alex and Mikayla) were BOTH here to learn Spanish. They could understand the fact that she needed to learn, but that I, Emmanuel Alejandro Valverde, needed to learn as well was befuddling to them. God blessed us with reaching our year one language goal (Advanced low on the ACTFL scale, you can look it up if you want), and we succeeded in reaching the next step (Advanced Mid, we still have one more step officially before we “finish” language learning). In Puebla, God turned a language tutor into a great friend. He and his wife are some of my closest friends. We bonded over shared dorky interests (video games, board games, and talking about random bits of church history). God turned an instructor into a brother.
We have been shaped by the time in Puebla, but more so by the people we met. I am skipping over so many people, our fellow coworkers, language partners, language learners, bosses, mentors and so many other people we are thankful God placed in our path.
We trust Him in the next steps, for the next person that God transforms from a stranger to a friend.
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