May dreams come true – Pray for peace

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We went to Tokyo Disney Resort, my daughter’s biggest ambition, while visiting Japan this summer. Dreams, hope and love were waiting for us. There was no time for me to complain. “It is too much to accept them that approach us directly.” Love and big smiles were all over. Simply believing in dreams, hope and love requires a lot of courage. In the words of W. Disney, “If you can dream it, you can do it.”

My husband who had taken time off from his job in the Democratic Republic of Congo was with us at Disney resort. Disney must have seemed like a very different world to him in comparison to the Congo where no one can escape the harsh realities of life. l He felt slightly dizzy standing in the middle of all the love and happiness at Disney. The very opposite of the Congo where political difficulties continue to make refugees of its own people and causes many
personal hardships.

It is difficult for my husband but even in that situation he told that there are people with love, hope and love. For example, my husband’s driver, Monsieur Bienvenue whose name means “You are welcome” or “It is my pleasure” spends an hour taking a few buses to arrive at work for 6am sharp so that he can finish shining up the car before my husband arrives every morning. He is 30 years old and lives with a wife and a child. Whenever he starts a conversation, he asks for permission – “May I?” And he always replies “Thank you!”

My husband says that Monsieur Bienvenu is one of the most respectable people in the Congo. I heard My husband says that M. Bienvenue has a dream of becoming a driver for the embassy so that he can get a good and stable salary to support his family and relatives. In order to make his dream come true, he has already acquired a motor vehicle mechanic certification.

Although almost everyday he feels all hope is gone in the Congo, he keeps his dream. “Does he smile?” I asked to my husband. He replied, “Sometimes, he smiles shyly”. Bienvenue-san’s story taught me that there is a shy smile with dreams, hope and love which can equal any clear big smile.

Dream, hope and love exist for everyone no matter what the circumstances. – There are many ways to reach our goals and many words to describe the courage it takes and the energy it takes to reach them. I can’t stop praying for all our dreams to come true as we keep on trying our best with courage. I feel like it is also the mother earth’s pray, who has simply accepted everything – war and peace, sometimes she cries and sometimes she smiles.

W. Disney also said “Our biggest resource is children’s heart.” I would like to start praying for peace rubbing my cheek against the earth-fostering children’s heart, with my heart.

(English: JCM, Proofreader: Rita)