From Sea to Sea. Nelda B. Gaydou

The Hub City, as it was known, also had the advantage of being only 100 miles from Clovis and Portales, New Mexico, where Grandmothers Bedford and Watson lived. After spending Christmas with them and getting a 1969 Buick Skylark from their friend the car dealer in Clovis, La Nell looked for a house to rent while Ben nursed a nasty flu.

      The challenge was to find the nicest house possible within their budget. In the field, housing and vehicle were provided by the Mission, but on furlough missionaries had to stretch their meager dollars to cover these costs. However, they got a helping hand from the congregation of the First Baptist Church, which rounded up some furniture, and even lent them a washer and dryer.

      The house was at 2824 65th Street, only a couple of blocks away from the elementary school where Nancy entered the middle of first grade. No one there had the least idea where or what Argentina was, and she was frequently asked things like, “Do you eat monkeys there?” and they considered her pierced ears barbaric.

      The teacher soon put Nancy in charge of the advanced reading group so she could devote her own time to those pupils who were struggling. One day the class read a story about a Hispanic girl.

      “Muh-ree-ah,” ventured the teacher. “Is that right, Nancy?”

      “No, it’s Ma-rí-a,” said Nancy distinctly, tapping her tongue on the ridge behind her front teeth, just about where the hard English “d” is pronounced.

      “Muh-ree-ah.”

      “No, no. Ma-rí-a.”

      After several failed attempts, Nancy sighed, “You just have too much ‘r’.”

      At home, she got to ride her new bicycle around the block and made friends with the six children next door, who were being raised by their grandparents and had a bus, converted into a travel trailer. During a visit from his mother, Ben found Nancy and her friends gathered around Mrs. Bedford’s chair, breathlessly hanging on to every word, for she was a renowned story teller. Nancy was amazed at the sheer number of things that people had in their houses, as well as the abundance of Formica and carpet. Along with her mother and sister, she was an assiduous patron of the public library.