Overcoming herself, a young woman decides to host a guest
I was contacted by a friend who told me of his friend coming to Canada to study at Waterloo, a city two hours away from me. I immediately sent this person a message introducing myself and giving her my cell number, in case she needed help.
After a couple of months, she texted me that she was coming to Toronto. Before returning to her country, she wanted to tour the city. She told me when and asked for a place to stay. My first reaction was immediate panic — I was busy with school and work. I prayed to God to help me find a solution.
I sensed that she wanted someone to welcome her. She was in a foreign country with no family and had seen only her school the entire time she was in Canada. At first, I didn’t want to open my home, because I knew it meant having to clean up and hosting her — that didn’t sound appealing to me. Laziness runs in me. But I asked my mom, she agreed right away. So I told her, “You are welcome to come.”
Things I was initially worried about instead worked out perfectly. Every time I needed help, someone was there. For example, during that same time, we had other people coming to visit, so we just tagged along when they were sightseeing. Overall, we had a wonderful time together.
The following morning, she was going to leave and take a tour bus at 7am to visit other cities. I thought of dropping her off at the nearest station; she could find the rest of her way. But she looked really stressed out, studying the whole transportation system. When I told her that on weekends certain subways didn’t run, she became even more anxious. She would have to wake up three hours earlier.
I checked and saw that it was a one-hour drive. I offered to drop her off at her final destination so she could get more sleep. This required that I wake up at 5am in the morning! This was painful for me. But I decided to love Jesus present in her. I constantly tried to put myself in her situation.
While I was driving her, we shared a beautiful talk. I felt God’s blessing and grace throughout this whole journey. In the end, I felt that she was no longer a stranger, and I was so glad to have given her the one gift I could give: time.
Mary Bisada, Toronto, Canada
2020