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RUFFIN — When members of a team from the Western North Carolina United Methodist Church go to Mexico on their annual church-building mission, they stay in the homes of area families.

Each time they have traveled to Aguascliantes, Cynthia Beltran has given up her bed in her home for Leola and Frank Meador.

This past week, the Meadors returned that gesture by offering Beltran a bed in their home.

The Meadors have been staying with the Beltrans for about 10 years, Frank Meador said. Beltran sometimes helped her mother cook dinner for the 10 to 12 members of the church-building group.

Since November, Beltran, 23, has been living and working as a nanny in Elizabeth Town, Ky. She came to Rockingham County on Sept. 30 to visit the Meadors and other team members.

“I am so excited to see all the members of the team again,” Beltran said.

She was kept busy, going to various events and sightseeing.

While attending the annual Harvest Festival on Oct. 1 at Bethlehem United Methodist Church, Beltran saw Reidsville team members Bill Larson, Johnny Hoover and Randall Brady and other members from across the state.

That night, the team members and other friends joined Beltran and her hosts for dinner at a local Mexican restaurant. Beltran had mentioned she was tired of American food.

“The base and flavor of the local Mexican food is quite different,” Beltran said, adding she is accustomed to much spicier food.

A wine festival where she tasted barbecue culminated Saturday’s activities.

She and her host family attended Bethlehem Church last Sunday morning, leaving early so they could attend the 175th anniversary celebration at Wentworth United Methodist Church. Leola and other members of the Bethlehem Church Choir sang during the special service.

After that, they met Craig and Joyce Kivett of High Point — members of the church-building group — in Reidsville.

During the afternoon, Beltran explored the Meador farm, seeing ducks, chickens and goats.

“Our wide-open spaces and their farms are quite different,” Leola said. “Most food and other crops (there) are grown on a large-scale basis in areas easily irrigated.”

This past week was spent exploring Rockingham County and Danville, Va., where she went to a print shop downtown.

Although many of her friends think about tourist places such as New York and Los Angeles on vacation, Beltran said, she thinks she “chooses the best place to go to vacation.

“I choose North Carolina because the people there are so sweet and friendly with me,” she said.

“I’m having a really good experience here,” she said. “My days are busy with the Meadors, and I’m learning a lot of new things.”

Beltran will spend 10 months in the States, working for the same family, and return home in September and look for a job.

Before leaving, she completed business administration studies at University of Polytech of Aguascalientes.

She came to the States as part of Cultural Care Au Pair. She takes care of four children ages 2 to 8.

Beltran and others from the group in the Kentucky area often get together. Because they all are from different countries, Beltran said, a special treat is a potluck dinner held regularly. Each girl brings a native dish for all the others to try. To date, her favorite dish has been noodles with seafood from China. Her least favorite: a Taiwanese dish containing octopus.

A highlight of her time in Kentucky was the Kentucky Derby. “I think the people (at the derby) and how they wear clothes is exciting,” Beltran said. “Some women I saw (were) nice and fancy and elegant. Others were, like, ridiculous ’cause they looked like a costume.”

She also enjoyed seeing all the hats on parade. “There were pretty hats and some not that pretty,” she said.

She has accompanied the family she works for on trips to Walt Disney World and Gatlinburg, Tenn.

This is the first time she has been away from her family for a long period. Beltran admits to being a little homesick and missing her two younger brothers. But she visits with her family using Skype on her laptop.

Beltran enjoyed her sojourn in Rockingham County.

“The best part was seeing all my missionary friends,” she said. “I’m so glad and thankful with God because he put them on my way,” she said.

“They are amazing people with enormous hearts — so helpful and always with a smile in their face,” Beltran said. “They make me feel happy and fill my battery with all their energy.”

Reidsville native Ann Fish has lived in Eden since 1979. Contact her at annsomersfish@yahoo.com