Faith in Humanity....RESTORED

Are you guys ready to pull out the tissues? Are you ready to acknowledge that there IS a GOD?! Listen here, this EXPERIENCE is one I'll never forget and it's a story I have only told ONE person...partially! It's been almost four years since it happened and I want to share it with you.

So January 9th, 2014 I arrived in Canada with my nearly 1 year old, Sapphyre in tow. Now listen, I moved to Canada with literally $1400.00 (USD) in my pocket. This money was already budgeted and it included the following two things:

1 month's groceries

1 month's rent and security deposit (we don't usually pay first and last month's rent here, in Canada)

Now I know it seems that $1400.00 to start a new life in a foreign country is not enough but I had a job lined up (will discuss that in a future blog) and everything else seemed to fit perfectly into place...until I actually got here...

The day I was to move into my new apartment, Sapphyre and I left the hotel we were staying at and headed over to the office of my landlord in a taxi, so that I could sign my lease, and get my keys to my apartment. But first I had the cab driver make a stop at my apartment building so I could drop off my bags and Sapphyre's car seat, just inside the front door (since I didn't have the keys as yet), and then head over to the office.

I get to the office, we finalize everything, I was handed my keys and I was set to go! Life was really about to start! I explained to the landlord that I wanted to go and get groceries and some other things, and asked if the building manager could place my bags in my apartment unit that I left at the apartment building, until I return and she agreed.

So I left the office with Sapphyre in her stroller and we waited to take the bus to Walmart. Now, when I think about it, being new to the area I should have asked the landlord of grocery stores that were ALOT closer...but anyways...hindsight right?!

As we approached Walmart, I realized the mall was right across the street and it was a mall I was familiar with (I went to school in the same province but never lived in the city, which I was now). So, I decided to go and get myself a new SIM card for my cell phone that Sapphyre's dad "bought" for me. I pull up to the cellular phone booth and asked for a SIM card, in which they asked to see the phone. I handed the phone over and then the lady came back to me and said that I wouldn't be getting my phone back as the phone was registered as "stolen"! Now this was a HUGE setback for me. How would I contact my relatives? How would anyone know I was okay? This could not happen at the worst time! I wasn't quite upset with Sapphyre's dad because when he gave me the phone he also gave me the receipt, so I know it wasn't stolen and I suspected something fishy going on; however, I took the "L" and headed over to Walmart....flooded in tears.

Okay, so I get to Walmart, get all of my groceries and by the end of the day I was left without a cell phone and $15.00 in my pocket. I had all of the groceries piled on top of Sapphyre's stroller as I carried her in my arms. I stopped by the pay phone to call a taxi and I asked how much it would cost to get a ride back to my apartment, "That would be roughly $21.00", the voice at the other end of the line said. I tell you guys no lie, at this point, I felt so alone and so hopeless that I began crying....again. Then, my mother instincts kicked in and I realized I had an exhausted baby in my arms, who was also really hungry and needed a diaper change, so I pulled myself together and I struggled across the parking lot of Walmart and over to the bus terminal.

I was so amazed to see people watch a woman with a baby, struggle to get the big stroller on the bus and NO-ONE offered a helping hand, and I thought to myself, "Aren't Canadians nicer than this?". It wasn't until the bus got to my stop, that a nice gentleman helped to lift the very heavy stroller off of the bus for me and wished me a good night. At that moment, I felt a sense of calm come over me as I was one step closer to home and I could finally lay down and relax for a bit. That night, it was freezing! Nova Scotia weather in January is NOT something to play with, and I must admit, I was not properly dressed but I made it work with what I had.

Okay, so now it was about 10 pm at night (yes, I spent nearly half a day in Walmart, who doesn't?) and we finally reach the apartment building. I lift the VERY heavy stroller down the flight of stairs and walked towards my apartment door, put the key in, and turn and....NOTHING. THE LANDLORD GAVE ME THE WRONG KEY!

This was the very LAST straw, I couldn't take it anymore! I had no phone to call for help, I was not familiar with the area and so, I wasn't sure if it would be wise to walk the streets at night looking for help. I could not believe my luck in this ONE day! As I sit here and type and reflect on that day, my chest tightens and I feel the tears swelling up.

As Sapphyre and I both sat on the floor, in front of my apartment door that I had no way of getting into, crying our eyes out, my motherly instincts kicked in again. The hallway was way too cold for us to sleep there for the night and so I began knocking on doors trying to see if anyone could contact the landlord on their emergency number so that I could get into my apartment. I must've knocked on five doors before someone answered, and I get it, it was late, people were asleep, and I now know that the area I lived in was a bit sketchy, so no-one would be expecting company that late at night. It was all just so overwhelming and although I talk a big game, I was terrified.

The first person to answer their door, tried to call the emergency number and of course, there was no answer. I thanked the lady for her time and went back downstairs to my unit. I sat back down on the floor and I cried. I looked up, and I said "Lord, please help us, please help me, please help Sapphyre". With that, I decided to knock on one more door, I wanted to ask the person who answered if they could call the number again, only this time I wanted to leave a voicemail. Well, lo and behold, God came through and the angel he had in place for me opened the door.

Let's just call him "Mike". Mike was a tall, black Canadian man, who looked like he was about 45 years old. He came to the door shirtless, looking all disoriented. It took him a minute to process what I had been saying. He invited Sapphyre and I in, and then he went downstairs to get the stroller with the groceries. We tried until 3 am, leaving voice message after voice message for the landlord. Mike even started to threaten them on my behalf, calling the landlord careless with a few other choice words. Mike looked at me, apologized for the day I was having and offered Sapphyre and I some food and a bed to sleep in. Now, I'm not the type of woman that just sleeps in the bed of strangers, but I was exhausted, Sapphyre was already asleep and I just needed to lay down. Mike took the couch, I locked the bedroom door, said a prayer to the Lord to protect us and went to sleep. The next morning when I woke up Mike told me he had reached the landlord and that someone would be over in five minutes with my keys.

To this day, I remain forever indebted to this man. He doesn't know it, but he saved me and my daughter's life that night because who knows what would've happened, had I decided we sleep in the hallway.

He restored my faith in humanity.

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