Did you know there were Spaniards in Spain? Neither did I until I opened that Manila envelope telling me that I was too serve there for 2 years.
During the course of 2 years I met approximately 1000-2000 (not really an approximation when your range is 1000) Spaniards, and baptized 2 of them.
Like Nate I worked mostly with immigrants, but they were documented because one of the commandments is actually to abide by the laws of the country that you live in. All in all, I baptized 5 Ecuadorians, 2 Colombians, 1 Brazilian, 2 Argentinians and 0 Bolivians (this was by choice, I hate those people).
None of them were employed and all received church well fare, actually it was a pretty good finding technique. We would go to people in the street and tell them that we would help them financially if they got baptized.
Spain is an interesting country and for most South Americans it is a layover on their way to getting their green card here in the USA. You see, Spain has no limits on immigration and the process of getting a green card is much easier and as a result you cannot walk down a street in Madrid without hearing words like "Chirimoya" and "chevere".
Don't get me wrong, I have nothing against south and central Americans (except Bolivians), just against their culture and the type of people that they are. Mostly just 3 things:
1.General Laziness
2. Disrespect for pure Castillian Spanish
3. The barter system
The first two are self-descriptive but the third could use some explaining. Let me just tell you that I work in Medical billing and during the 20 minutes that it has taken me to write thus far, I have received 2 calls from Spanish speakers asking for a discount on bills. I wonder, Do these people go to the gas station, fill there car and then ask for a discount when they are billed the next day? It is what it is.
Oh right, Was this post about immigration? or a way to brag about how many "illegals" I baptized on my mission? Either way, I think we should deport people, not just for being a criminal, but also for asking for a discount.
