One-way Ticket to the Unknown

Over an early lunch, I said good-bye to a client of many years, one who has become a dear friend in the process.

Rosy and her husband, plus four children, will soon fly to Canada and will reside there permanently. 

There is always FB, of course, and the email to keep us in close touch, but the thought of not working with her ever again makes eyes well up.   

“Do you have relatives there?” I asked. Many of my friends who have chosen to live abroad have relatives waiting for them. 

“None,” she replied.

“None, as in --”
“As in, none.  The closest relative is in the US,” she said.

“So, uh, how will you . . .”

They are going there with one-way plane tickets—to initially stay in the house of the person (a friend of a friend of a friend) who facilitated their papers. No job prospects, no nothing.

Her children, who all go to private schools here, will continue their schooling in Canada. 

“But why are you leaving?” I asked.  She holds an enviable position in her place of work and her husband helps run a family business. 

She smiled, “There are better opportunities there, and education is free.”

I marvel at her optimism and courage to venture into the unknown, and I respect her decision to risk all the things she's got in a land not her own.

And I wish her and her family the full measure of grace that they will need in a new, strange place.  

In recent days, mass media exploded with news about epic theft, massive looting, and shameless plunder by arrogant government officials, with no regard for the citizens' welfare. 

We need to come together as a people to pray hard for that day when we can redeem and rediscover our lost confidence in our country, and have the same optimism and courage that Rosy has in going to Canada, so nobody has to buy a one-way ticket to elsewhere anymore.

I don't think I can take another tearful lunch to send off another friend anytime soon.