I’ll call her Sue – not her real name.

At a little over five feet and middle-aged, this little lady is undoubtedly a great threat threat to our national security. Like many Hispanic residents of North Carolina, she works hard for her employers, relies on the public transportation system and lives simply and unpretentiously.

For the several months she has been my most diligent student, never missing my ESL-Pronunciation class. Often arriving early (which she sometimes pronounces “ear-ly”) she and I have become special friends. Her heavily accented English and my (God only knows how much) Anglicized Spanish have not limited the high regard in which we hold one another.

She helps me with my Spanish, recently explaining to me that what I thought was the clearly enunciated Spanish word for all was sounding to her like bull. She loves learning her second language, and her smile and enthusiasm are a wonderful encouragement to all in the class.

Sue – not her real name – is a seamstress, a dress-maker who loves to teach her trade to other women. She is a dedicated Christian who entered the United States after losing a relative to criminal activity. She came to North Carolina for a fresh start, believing that she could make a case for political asylum. However, because of papers filed improperly, she became subject to deportation.

This wonderful lady was also special to my wife Carolyn. Weekly they would visit and Sue-not-her-real-name would enjoy using her increasing ability to speak English.

It broke our hearts when we realized that she might be leaving North Carolina for another country. And although I had nothing to do with this great disappointment, I somehow felt responsible for a nation and state whose governments insist on making a difficult situation worse.

Sue-not her real name had planned to move to a new land where her request for political asylum would likely be granted. She would be able to use her newly-learned English.

Her gracious smile and positive attitude speak of a deep and enduring faith, reminiscent of the those displaced folks mentioned in Hebrews, chapter eleven. Of such people, we are told, the world is not worthy.

FollowUp: At the last minute, Sue-not-her-real-name decided to extend her stay. Her leaving would have been a loss to Carolyn and myself, to the Latin-American community, and to our state and country.

Yet her decision to stay places her in daily peril. So I just continue to pray that somehow the time will come that someone could write an article about her, and use her real name.