A New Friend and a Worn-Out Shoe

We have been in Thailand for six months, and we have been quarantining for two months. This one particular day, I was bored. “Mom, can we please just this once go on a bike ride?” I asked.

“Okay,” Mom said.

“Adela, let’s go outside!” I called to my little sister.

When we went outside, we saw an older lady. We smiled at her, and she smiled back. “Sa-wad-dee-ka!” we said to her in Thai.

She started talking very fast in Thai, and my mom just smiled and said, “I speak only a little bit of Thai.” The woman chuckled and kept talking. She began pointing at her right leg, her right arm, and the right side of her face. Mom said, “I think she is saying that she had a stroke, just like you, Adela.” Adela showed the older woman her hand, which is still recovering from her stroke.

We started using Google Translate and the Thai words we know. We learned where she lived, and that she lives alone. Noticing that her right shoe was worn completely through where she had been dragging her foot, and her toes were sticking out, my mom asked her if she had any extra shoes and offered to buy her some.

“Come to my house, and I will show you,” the lady said. We all followed her to her house. She showed us that she had other shoes in perfectly good condition. Maybe she was just saving them from getting ruined.

Back at our house, we wondered how we could help the lady. We think maybe we could take her to the doctor or find out if she can get a leg brace. After helping Adela recover from her stroke, we know it’s important to have therapy. We are hoping to grow a deeper friendship with this lady and be a blessing to her. Will you please pray for her?

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