(written in 2006)
I recently arrived back from New York. I have a story that I would like to share with you before it faints from my memory.
Four Pauline sisters hold the Book Exhibits for Korean Catholics living in the United States for two and half months during October and December 2005. We visited 27 parishes in 10 States starting from Chicago in Midwest up to Atlanta on East Coast. Going through Chicago, Boston, Cleveland, New York, New Jersey, Philadelphia, Baltimore, Richmond, Washington, Virginia, and Atlanta, we introduced various media for helping the spiritual life.
Finishing our mission, I stayed behind in New York for 10 days to visit several publishers and bookshops downtown. One morning I took JetBlue Airways to New York from Boston, but the flight had to go back to Boston again just before reaching New York because of foggy weather. The pilot couldn't see the ground because of the thick fog covering New York. All of a sudden, all of us in the airplane went back to Boston and waited for about three hours at the airport.
In the meantime, I made a phone call to the next connecting plane company and was able to postpone it until the next day. I also sent an email to my congregation in Korea to explain the situation. While waiting, airplane stewardesses provided us with snacks and drinks for nothing. I enjoyed various snacks instead of lunch. The situation improved in the afternoon, and I arrived at JFK airport by 4 o'clock.
I was unsure what to do from the afternoon until the morning the next day. In fact, I was stranded. And I chose an adventure. I trusted in God's providence and took the airport bus downtown to attend Evening Mass at 5:30 at St. Patrick Cathedral on 51st Street. Looking for a place to stay overnight, I asked a priest if there was a guest room or a couch in the church, but he suggested I go to the sisters' house of the Sacred Heart on 9th avenue. I walked there, but when I got there nobody was there in spite of the light on the first floor by 7 o'clock.
Then, I went to the Emergency center of St. Vincent Midtown Hospital on West 51st Street near the convent. I thought the hospital running 24 hours was safer to stay in than other places. God helped me to stay there in a single patient room. A kind and generous-hearted night administrator and nurse, Mr. Joseph Victory Stewart allowed me to stay in after listening to my plight. He first asked me to take a look at my passport and thought I was eligible to stay.
He first asked permission from his superior by phone and introduced me to a Korean nurse, Raphaella who has worked there for about 30 years, and gave me some food. I also met a Korean doctor born in America. We laughed, and Ms. Raphaella kept saying 'you are so brave!' We shared greetings, and she said she was there in her parish when we had the book exhibit. Mr. Victory gently prepared the bed for me and put a notice saying, "Don't disturb Sr. Mary Theresa" on the door.
Early the next morning, he brought an apple, four sandwiches, and some juice for me to take to the airport for breakfast. Furthermore, he gave me $20 for transportation fare and took a taxi with me to get to the airport bus stop nearby. He is married to a Filipino, and his hair is braided at the back.
On the way, I quite contemplated the story of Mary and Joseph looking for a place to stay for the birth of Jesus Christ. I really appreciate the American people's kind and generous hospitality. They surely have a spirit of sharing, donation, and volunteering. I am now at home safe and sound; I'm filled with gratitude for people's goodness and every gift God has bestowed on me. May God bless them all!
The Korea Times/ Thoughts of the Times/ Jan. 11, 2006
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