Kind Hands in the Darkness
"Do things for people, not because of who they are or what they do in return, but because of who you are" Harold S. Kushner
DARK CLOUDS
Have you ever felt that the whole world has fallen on you?
There are moments in life that you need a blessing hand. A moment that can change your life. In a dark night you can see a blessing home. A person that gave you hope to go through a new life.
It was 6 P.M. The clouds were dark. The MP took away the handcuffs from him. He was in the Middle of Honduras and Nicaragua. A soccer game was about to start on the TV. His expired passport and a deported document was in his hands. The MP ordered him to go to the Nicaraguan border. He obeyed knowingly that it will not work. He was ordered to go back to the Honduran border. A deported person could be jailed for two years if he tried to come back to Honduras. It started raining. He went back to the MP that had led him for 4 hours from Tegucigalpa, the capital, to the border. "You can´t come back" he said, while watching the Honduran soccer team participating in a World Cup. "Just go on your own way there" showing him a way to the jungle. Yes, and this guy was me, Leonardo.
DARK NIGHTS
There I was in a jungle, and a muddy path. As a native Kuna Indian from Panama, I knew well enough to go ahead and help myself a way. In a few minutes I was soaking wet. Raining season at its best. But, not closer to the rain drops from my island in Panama, or the Texan rain-drops. Hours had passed and I began to realized that I was hungry. I started to climb a steep hill. I could see nothing. No light, no Moon either, and as I was almost close enough to the top, my backpack fell down. It took me hours to find it, and start all over. By then, I washed my eyes, and it wasn´t just because of the rain.
No quitting, No time to waste.
Then came another hill and then the other, I was getting used to it. If I could see where I was going, I said to myself. Finally, there it was, the Moon. What a beautiful Moon it was. I prayed as I have never prayed before. Thanking Him for the Moon and asking Him for any muddy path to keep going. My tears mixed with the rain finally had another taste.
A Blessing Home
God had heard my prayers. A hut in the middle of a jungle? I could see from the top of my last hill a light coming from a hut. The wooden hut was a very beautiful one. Everything by now was beautiful. I knocked the door. He saw me, as if he had known me for ages. A man in his 30's asked me immediately where I was coming from. I pointed out the hill. I will never forget his eyes. He couldn´t believe what I had just told him. His face turned pale. I was petrified without knowing what was in his mind.
As I was explaining all my journey, he interrupted sudddenly, he said:"Do you know where you have been?" He kept going: "All that area where you have been walking is full of minelands". He let me in, took a shower to get ready to the main road, that He was about to explain how to reach it. I couldn´t be more thankful to him. We said byes, without knowing our names, but never forgetting his eyes. For short minutes it was a blessing home.
A Thanskgiving
Thirty Four years have passed since then. I was a kid back then in the middle of the eye´s storm. I was deported for not having my passport updated. No excuses. I should have known better. I am so thankful for another opportunity in life. This lockdown has served me to appreciate moments like I have just shared you. The moments when you are in the Lord´s hands and by someone that I might no even know his name. Those kind hands in the darkness.
I have recently read about two men that died because of the minelands in Bayuncú, Nueva Segovia, Nicaragua on May 12th, 2020. I could have been one of then in 1986.
My friends from WA, thank you very much to be part of this journey with you.
God Bless you.
Recent Comments
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Beautiful indeed. If Panama had Costa Rica climate it would have been out of this world. I mean it.
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Leonardo,
Wow, what a story. Thank you so much for sharing it. I would be honored to one day meet you in person. Perhaps this will happen someday.
You have certainly earned all the blessings that come to you.
Take care,
Kerry