During a recent flight from Miami to Guatemala City, a lady came down the aisle toward where I was seated. As she’d approached what seemed to be her seat, beside mine, she kindly asked  a young man to place her carry-on on in the bin. She then asked me to let her into the window seat. As more people boarded the plane it became evident that my fellow passenger had actually sat in the wrong seat, but the other passenger did not make a fuss, and took a seat instead at the back of the plane.
We took off and the woman asked me what was taking me to Guatemala. I proceeded to tell her my story – I was a temporary missionary headed to Villa Hortencia II. I shared with her about our partnership with Food for the Hungry. She thanked me. When I asked how her trip to the United States was, her eyes became glassy. She said, “it was good, I finally got to see my children and met my grandchildren.”
My heart sank. I immediately thought of my dad – who has yet to meet my youngest child. She turned three this last spring.
I asked if it was a good visit, she smiled and nodded. Her journey to the USA was an adventure that I knew happened, but I’d never heard it from a real “traveller.” This dear woman recounted her twenty hour bus ride from Guatemala to the border between Mexico and the USA…how she ran in the dark and climbed an eight foot tall wall to get “in.”
All this cost a small fortune. Her family pulled together and paid the “coyotes” for this illegal passage into the USA.

I sat in disbelief. I kept thinking how I’d almost passed out after a half hour work-out, and would likely faint after climbing such a wall. Not her. This petite lady, barely five feet tall, who cannot see very well has a propelling force in her that makes her able to climb walls, ride buses for hours and navigate a country where she’s considered an alien.

My new friend told me about the joys of seeing her daughter and son after a decade. She smiled wide telling me the names and ages of her grandchildren, and how fun it was to live with them for six months. She did not mention any fancy vacation or trips, just the simplicity of doing life with them, preparing food and caring for them.
When I asked why she was returning home she said that her health wasn’t great. Her heart and blood pressure needed treatment, and in the USA she couldn’t get any health assistance. The Guatemalan Embassy had arranged a check-up with a doctor who insisted she go home and seek proper treatment.
She bravely showed up at the immigration court and asked for a pardon for her illegal entrance into the USA. After a few appearances, the judge granted her request, and in the future she can request a tourist visa if she wishes to come back.
After my new friend shared her story, there was silence for about twenty minutes. When trying to complete the customs forms, she asked for my help. I realized she was illiterate, so she couldn’t fill out the form. Also explaining why she wasn’t able to find the “right” seat at the beginning of the flight. She said she was excited to see her husband, kids and grandkids.
She would soon start a fourteen hour journey into the north east of Guatemala. She was excited to tell her family in Guatemala about her time in the USA, and that the family is doing well there. There were no signs of sadness or nostalgia for what she has just left behind.

My birks challenged by the fierce flip flops

As we formed in line to pass through the immigration checkpoint, and enter Guatemala I asked if I could take a picture of our shoes- sandals in this case. She smiled wide, blushed and said, “Si, seño!” (Yes! Madam!) She giggled as we took a couple of photos, that turned out kind of blurry. I wished her well, and thanked her for her company during the flight. She thanked me again for helping her complete the forms, and for helping her people. I felt so undeserving of such gratitude.

After three months since this encounter, I try hard to remember the bits of wisdom this fierce lady shared:
• Love doesn’t make sense, it simply fuels you to do what you need to,
• Fear can never win over love, in fact love drives out fear,
• Always be happy for what you get to experience- LIVE!
• Nostalgia can steal this joy fast if you sit there too long,
• Your body can do much more than you think…. indeed it is your MIND that you have to convince,
• It’s in the simplicity of day-to-day living where most joy is found,
• Be open and LISTEN to those who you might otherwise judge, as those are the people that will likely teach you the most profound truths. They will teach you by how they live. Don’t miss the opportunity to learn from a new friend.

There is only one style of shoes that can allow such living. I believe they may be called “fierce love”, and I suspect they are not comfortable.

Do Love and Shoes!!!

“When pride comes, then comes disgrace, but with humility comes wisdom.” Proverbs 11:2 NIV