Narrator: Ruth Delgado

Date: 06/29/2020

Location: Hialeah, FL (narrator); Hialeah Gardens, FL (interviewer)

Content Warning: alcoholism and abusive relationship [00:29:48]

Summary: Born in Guatemala before moving to Chicago, Illinois and later Hialeah, Florida, Ruth describes her relationship to Guatemalan culture, how she received an education and helped her family, her Christian faith, as well as how she uses her faith to impact the lives of young people.

Topics: Spirituality, Faith, Education, Cultural Adjustment

Outline

Section 1: (00:04:35)

• Immigration - Ruth Delgado was born in Guatemala City, Guatemala in 1980 and immigrated with her family to Chicago, Illinois by plane in November of 1982 in hope of a better future. By the time Ruth was three, they had moved to a one room apartment in Hialeah. The transition was tough.

• Language (00:02:48) - Despite only briefly living in Guatemala before immigrating, Ruth and her older siblings are fluent in Spanish because they spoke it at home with their parents.

• Culture (00:03:33) - Ruth’s family has made an effort to keep in touch with their Guatemalan culture through cooking Guatemalan food from scratch and playing Marimba music.

Section 2: (00:07:35)

• Education - Graduating from Devry University, Ruth became the first person in her family to graduate from high school and college. She started college at age 24, working a full time job simultaneously. Though she was not pushed academically by her family due to their different educational backgrounds, her family members supported her decision to attend college.

Section 3: (00:13:40)

• Employment - After studying Business at Dervy University, Ruth got her current position which involves revenue management in the hospitality industry. She explains how both of her parents help multiple jobs in order to make ends meet after first moving to the US. Her father eventually made a career out of landscaping.

• Family (00:09:59)  - Ruth recognizes that her parents made lots of sacrifices for her and her siblings and notes that, in 2015, she actually bought her dad’s first home (from 1990).

Section 4: (00:55:54)

• Spirituality, Faith - Ruth explains how her family received Jesus just before she was born, and she is named after Ruth from the Bible.

• Comfort (00:14:45) - Ruth expresses how their knowledge of God’s faithful nature and belief that he’s opened doors for them has helped her and her family overcome adversity along the way.

• Personal Faith Journey (00:33:05) - Ruth’s parents instilled a love for Jesus, her neighbors, and serving others in her life. However, she feared God and hadn’t come to know her true identity as a teenager. During her 15 year period of not feeling as close to God, Ruth looked to activities like shopping and drinking for happiness, but she recalls feeling empty inside. She reflects on making poor decisions but is grateful that she turned to God, aware that she doesn’t have all the answers, at age 29. She credits her parents with helping surround her with people who were positive influences and helped strengthen her faith. Being able to ask questions and attend Bible Study at a Calvary Chapel in Fort Lauderdale provided Ruth with a sense of discipleship.

• Relationships (00:43:01) - Reflecting back on her first marriage at age 21, which ended in divorce at age 24, Ruth notes that her and her spouse’s primary focus in this marriage was making eachother happy. Whereas, in this marriage, Ruth and her husband are both looking to glorify, honor, and remain committed to God.

• Ministry (00:55:54) - Ruth now works with the Impact Ministry for Girls, meeting with middle and high school girls each Wednesday. She enjoys being able to impart truth on the next generation, as they navigate a difficult time in their lives. Ruth finds it especially rewarding when she witnesses girls develop a love for Jesus and a joy for life.

Section 5: (00:55:54) same section as above, different topic

• Pandemic - Ruth shares Psalm 46 from the Bible about God being our strength and refuge. Her belief that the Lord always has her back has allowed Ruth to cope with job and life uncertainty brought on by the pandemic.

Section 6: (01:01:09)

• Suffering - Ruth explains how people of all ages have their own battles. One of hers was when her mother suffered from cancer. Ruth’s faith has helped her deal with suffering, and she shares Romans 5 about suffering ultimately leading to hope

Section 7: (01:06:07)

• Culture, Tradition - Ruth brought a blue handmade Guatemalan scarf to show Rosmeilyn during the zoom interview. She has family members in the town of Salcaja Guatemala and got the chance to witness how people are involved in the whole scarf making process there. She notes that the unique colors symbolize the different towns people are from because different varieties of herbs, spices, and vegetables are used to produce dye to color the cotton. Ruth treasures her particular blue scarf because of all the love and hardwork that went into making it.