Wonders

"Sisters, would you have some coffee?"
Sr. Jacinta Ngân and I looked at each other hesitantly.
We were on our way out to the 7:00am Mass at Annunciation Parish.

"Sir, we wish we could, but we have to keep our fast for Communion," I explained gently.
"Well, you must come back to enjoy it!" he offered insistently.

It was a hard offer to resist.
For the past two morning, Mr. Thưởng (or Ông Thưởng) had awoken early and made each of us a tall mug of roasted coffee, with a generous serving of condensed milk. Authentic Vietnamese cà phê sữa or an equivalent of three Starbucks tall cappuccinos. Each cup took a good 15 minutes to make if the coffee is to be drip-brewed properly.

"We'll try," I replied, hoping this was a polite rejection.
We were in Albuquerque to visit our new aspirant, Quỳnh Dao, and her family.
We were staying with Ông Bà Thưởng because their house had an extra room.

Our other activity was to promote vocations at the Vietnamese Catholic parish, Giáo Xứ Đức Mẹ La Vang. Besides this, we took the time to visit St. Joseph's staircase in Santa Fe and the Sanctuary of Chimayo.

"Sisters!"
Mass had just ended and we turned around to see Ông Thưởng grinning enthusiastically at us.
We looked at him, wide-eyed in disbelief.
How did he get changed and be at church in 15 minutes?
He was 85.
"Come home!"

We couldn't say no although this would leave us with only ten minutes to prepare for our vocations talk at Giáo Xứ La Vang.

The next day he had to leave for kidney dialysis at six in the morning.
The next day was also our last day in Albuquerque.
We were due to leave at 8am.

Back to instant coffee I told myself as I headed towards the kitchen.

I shouldn't have been surprised.
On the table were two mugs, one for me and one for Trúc.
The third mug was made differently because Sr. Jacinta Ngân did not drink her coffee so strong.

The smiles on our faces were probably as wide as the Sandia Mountains that border Albuquerque. We came to be amazed at the architectural feat of St. Joseph's staircase. We came to stand in awe of the el pocito (well) of dirt in which countless hundreds had experienced physical healings.

I am sure that we were astounded by Ông Thưởng's caring hospitality.
A cup of coffee will never taste the same again.

ps. Ông Thưởng is in the photo, as we stand in front of the Đức Mẹ La Vang at Chimayo.
ps2. http://www.lorettochapel.com/staircase.html
ps3. http://www.elsantuariodechimayo.us/indexAlt.html

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Life with Ashes

Image
It was time to move. Goodbye to Allen Parkway and hello to Florin Wood. Our family was moving from Houston to Sacramento. This was over 20 years ago and the day comes back with ashes. And a smell. My dad had piled all our old clothes, furniture, and knick knacks into a huge heap in front of our yard. He poured gasoline generously and lighted it with a smile. My mom looked on regretfully. All seven of us kids were delighted with the dancing flames. The neighbors didn't care. We lived in what they called the ghetto part of the world and since we were not shooting at anyone, we were okay. "We're starting a new life," my dad reassured mom as our van entered the highway. "No need to hang on the old stuff." "It was pretty dinky, wasn't it?" my mom replied hesitantly. Our years in Houston were our first years living in the United States, far away from the land of our origin, Vietnam. What dad burnt was the few possessions we accumulated fro
Read more

Teddy Bear

Image
"Dear God, I love you so much, I want to give you everything. You can have my Mom, my Dad, my sister, my teddy bear. No, I take it back. You can have everyone, but I want to keep my teddy bear." Love, Little Boy. Fr. Roch hardly lost a beat in his lecture of sin as he told his joke. Sin is putting ourselves above God. Not willing to let go. In actuality, God never wants everything. He just wants the teddy bear. What we think is necessary. Photo source: www.funkyfriendsfactory.com
Read more

Bingo!

Image
Sisters at Salerno's Artichoke Lucia.  Baked with Italian cheeses and breadcrumbs. Grilled fillet salmon on a bed of blanched spinach and mushrooms, topped with pine nuts. 8oz. marinated and charbroiled steak topped with sauteed mushrooms; served over linguine. Saturday night at Salerno's. It was time to "open community." Every year we choose a venue to celebrate the beginning of our time together as a religious community.  This year the venue chose us. "Bingo!" An almost audible gasp escaped from the surrounding tables. Sr. Leslie Thu at our table had won another bingo game. A Knight of Columbus member handed her a sealed envelope. Her eyebrows arched in delight. It was a $50 Walmart gift card. We cleared our cards and another round started. It was the Knights of Columbus Sisters Appreciation Luncheon. It was on a early Sunday afternoon. They had sent the invitation two months ago. Sr. Jacinta Ngân had "highly encouraged"
Read more