Wednesday, January 18, 2012 and Thursday January 19, 2012

Isaiah 43:19

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 each other, uncertain about the 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 moved back to America, leaving behind his ex-lover and his baby boy. He tried to maintain contact with them, but as time wore on, it became increasingly difficult to do so. Pratorn had married another soldier who repeatedly returned John’s letters, unanswered. John wrote the Thai government in an attempt to locate them and retain some contact with his son. He never received a reply. The ties that bound this father and son were ultimately severed.

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. For some unexplainable reason, he decides to stop at a Total service station, a place he does not usually patronize. When it comes time to pay, once again he does something that he ordinarily wouldn’t 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, wondering what this is all about.
“Do you have a son there?”
With great puzzlement, once again a resounding “Yes.”
Now with halting breath and a racing heart, the cashier poses one more question, “What was his
name?” “Nueng,” comes the reply.
Amidst the sea of anonymous commuters on highway 50, the young man then looks into the eyes
of the stranger 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. Was it a coincidence how they met? Or was it God’s providence that brought them together so mysteriously?

Fr. Hugh Duffy

(s)