In 1969, amidst the turbulence of the Vietnam war, a young Thai woman and a 20 year-old air force sergeant fell in love, lived together and gave birth to a baby boy. They named their son, Nueng.

At the end of the war, John Garcia, the father, and Pratorn Varanoot, the mother, faced an uncertain future. Transferring back to the States together seemed remote since the Air Force discouraged John from marrying a native, and Pratorn’s family discouraged her from moving away. John had to move back to America, leaving behind his baby boy and the boy’s Mother. He tried to maintain contact with them, hoping to be reunited some day but as time wore on, it became increasingly difficult to do so. Pratorn had married again and John’s letters went unanswered. John wrote the Thai government in an attempt to locate them and maintain some contact with his son. He never received a reply. The ties that bound this father and son seemed, painfully severed, forever .

In 1996, a man drives down a highway in Pueblo, Colorado, in his restored 1970 Nova. He happens to peer at the gas gauge that indicates the tank is half full. No problem, he thought, “I still have a half tank of gas,” but, for some inexplicable reason, he decides to stop at a total service station in a place he does not usually patronize. When it comes time to pay, once again he does something he ordinarily would not do. Despite having 30 dollars cash in his wallet, he pays by check.

The young man behind the service counter looks down and notes the name on the check. With raised eyebrows he looks up at the man standing in front of him and asks, “Are you John Garcia?”

“Yes,” comes the reply.

“Have you ever been in the air force?” inquires the young man.

“Yes,” replies John, not thinking too much of the question.

“Have you ever lived in Thailand?” he continues.

“Yes,” John says, as he steps back, this time wondering what this is all about.

“Do you have a son there?”

With great puzzlement and apprehension, once again a resounding “Yes.”
Now with halting breath and a racing heart, the cashier poses one more question to John Garcia, “What was his name?”

“Nueng,” comes the reply.

Amidst a sea of anonymous commuters coasting along Highway 50, the young man then looks into the eyes of the man standing before him and simply states, “I am your son.”

Comment:
No matter what happens to us, God will make a way as this Father and son discovered during this miraculous encounter. Were all these unusual circumstances the result of mere coincidences: the out-of -the-way gas station, the unusual payment by check instead of the customary cash, the cashier at the counter on that particular day? Or was it God’s providence that brought Father and son together so mysteriously?

Scripture says: “God will make a way in the wilderness” (Isaiah 43 : 19 ). He sure made a way for John and Nueng. This story is a reminder never to lose hope because, with God, all things are possible.

Fr. Hugh Duffy