THIS IS WHAT I WROTE ON 12/30/16 as a FOURTH blog (check my page if you want to read them all) about a man who was in the States from  Honduras.  William Vincent walked into NOAH after being robbed so I helped him to get a bus ticket and Joe and I took him to the station.  A week or so later, he called and left me a message and my response was as follows:


I have been touched by countless folk in my personal/professional life but Vincent (in that one short hour or two) seemed to touch something deep within me. I saw a vulnerability that was representative of too many persons on this planet.  I did not know how to respond to it.  I did not know how he became so vulnerable.  I did not know if/what was his to do and if/what was mine to do.

 I just knew we BOTH needed to do SOMETHING!

 I will always wonder if what I did in the first place was a help or a hindrance practically.

But, this call tells me that what we DID do together was to HEAR each other's hearts.

I shall hope to rest in that as I

repeat what I put in that first blog.

"With his half English and my half Spanish, we met in the middle and found each other and what we found was a fast friendship that I shall never forget.

I am pretty sure God was our interpreter.

TODAY, I ADD A 5th BLOG!

I got a call that had no name so I didn't answer.

After a bit, there was a voicemail notation.

I listened.

It was Vincent.

From HONDURAS!

It is hard to understand with the distance, background noise, broken English so after the first time through, I put my phone in a bowl to amplify it and listened with Joe.

I THINK the gist of it was to let me know he was back home.

I am not sure if he is returning.  I don't wanna' be anxious about that but I am.

Not sure if/what I have to offer and not sure what/if I should offer anything.

His final words were, "I love you, Cheryl, thank you very much."

Interesting how this chance encounter has kept returning to me....

...and interesting the mix of emotions I feel each time it does.

Maybe he wants something more if/when he returns.  Maybe he really is just grateful.  Maybe he has no one else who cares. Maybe he has a huge circle and has shared with them as I am sharing with you.

What isn't a 'maybe', however,  is how ONE moment with two ol' folk from across the world has clearly stayed with BOTH of us.

Joe probably said it best today when I asked him what he thought.

He simply said, "Wow".

Interesting, isn't it, how I immediately want to share with you....

...at the same time that it seems important to just let it go and let the Spirit that connects us do the work...let the Truth rise....trust God in the midst.

Maybe try those words from Scripture that worked for Jesus' mom and that I ought to try more often.

"Mary treasured up all these things and pondered them in her heart".

At the bus station, Vincent handed me this from the chain around his neck...said it was a Honduran symbol of faith...made me think of the quote I have shared here before that hangs in my living room:

"I am not the same having seen the moon shine on the other side of the world."

That moon (and sun) shine on Vincent and me and YOU!  Why does that not unite us?

Apparently, Vincent believes it does.

I do, too.

Ponder that with me.

Please?