By Diana Ramirez
I see the world from a new perspective since I moved to North America. Although I was working in Colombia, my native country, as a flight attendant, I had many opportunities to visit the USA. It was tremendously different when I decided to move here. The first six months were the best. I used to go out to eat most of the time, traveling, shopping, and that’s it. As more time passed by though, I realized my loneliness. I started to miss my family very much, my country, the Colombian people, the food, and the regular things that I used to do when I was there. Then I discovered the biggest problem I had was how to communicate in English with Americans. It was the worst thing. For this reason, I started to stay at home just watching Spanish television programs.
I didn’t go out. I just wanted to be involved with Latin people. I didn’t have any friends. I was in my comfort zone and wasted my time doing nothing.
One day, a friend of my mom’s found out my problem. I was alone most of the time and I thought it was normal. Every single day I used to complain about my situation, but I didn’t do anything to change it. Instead, I was scared and confused. My mother’s friend decided to invite me to her church and I will never forget that day. As I was walking into the church, I heard the choir singing.
Every step I took since I walked into that church has been unforgettable for me. My heart was beating very fast. When I got in, I started to cry and cry like a baby. The members of the church were very nice to me; they hugged and made me feel at home. Then I realized that God was hugging me through all of them. The pastor of the church invited the new people to take a step of faith and receive Jesus as their Savior and I did it. I remember a phrase that we repeated…”I will never be the same,” and it’s true I will never be the same in Jesus name.
Since that day I’m not the same person I used to be. I have been learning many things through the Word of God. One of them is that this is a blessed country, a beautiful country full of good opportunities for everybody--food everywhere, work, a church on every corner, and elementary education without charge.
I noticed that every single dollar and coin is dedicated to God. It says, “In God we trust.” I’m very thankful to God because He brought me to this country to know about Him to start a new and blessed life. Many things have been changed in my life. Even though I still don’t have many friends now, God has filled me with His love and I don’t feel empty any more. Now the purpose in my life is to share my testimony with foreign people even with Americans. Some Americans don’t even know that this is a blessed country. Now I’m studying English and I want to share with Americans the talents that God gave me for all the beautiful things that Americans share with me every single day. I like the way that God changed my life