I'm thinking of starting a new series called "Walking Saints". In this series, I'm will write about people I meet in life who have positively influenced me. I hope to inspire you by sharing about these people who make me feel like the world is a beautiful place with kindness, compassion, and love.
The first person in my series is someone who frankly, I had avoided spending time with when we first met. Last summer, I went on a medical mission in Vietnam. At the end of a gruesome 2 weeks serving in areas with 105 deg. F heat, humidity, lack of running water and electricity, I was ready for my vacation. I was planning to go with my friend and his family. I ended being stuck as his grandma's roommate because his sister refused to room with their grandma. Great, I had to babysit his grandma with dementia who could barely walk.
A few days into the trip, we were in the streets of Ha Noi grabbing dinner at various street vendors. Grandma got tired pretty early on and as one who doesn't enjoy shopping, I volunteered to walk back to the hotel with her. On the way back, she glanced at several sugarcane stalls and resisted until I asked for a third time if she'd like a sugarcane drink. I spent our last 50 U.S. cents and got her the treat. She kept it wrapped up to save to drink with the dried squid back at our hotel. About a block away from our hotel, we came across an elderly woman in her 80s. She had a severely rounded back as a result of carrying heavy fruits and vegetables on a crossbar on her back for many years. As soon I registered the presence of the old woman, Grandma already had her drink extended to the woman. "Would you like to drink this?" The old woman asked, "What is it?" to which Grandma replied, "Sugarcane juice. It's very sweet and refreshing." The old woman licked her lips and raised her frail hand to accept the drink. She continued to walk and we went on our way. About 20 steps away, I felt the urge to turn around. I found the old woman sitting on some steps, with her crossbar rested on the ground next to her. She was drinking the sugarcane juice.
To this day, I find myself randomly thinking about that event and smiling. It was such a small gesture, but we only had 50 cents in our pockets left that day, and Grandma had already been craving that treat for many days. It was the way Grandma so readily and selflessly gave that stuck with me the most. There was no contemplation or calculation. She saw someone suffering and just gave.
To this day, I spend days hanging out with Grandma, just the two of us. We sneak the money she receives from her kids as gifts and send it to poor orphans and villages in Vietnam. Every day I spend with Grandma, I know we're going to make someone's day.
