Michael Gonzalez tells the story of a 16-year-old boy in Guanajuato, Mexico, who refused to let tough economic circumstances destroy his vision for a better future.
A costly visa to the U.S. was out of the question, but he felt hopeful when he connected with a coyote—a smuggler paid to guide undocumented immigrants over the border. The boy crossed near Tijuana. After a treacherous week lost in the surrounding hills and canyons with little more than the clothes on his back and a container of water at his side, doubt overtook him. When the opportunity arose, he hitched a ride back to the border and returned to Guanajuato.
Later, he tried a second time and succeeded. Connections led him to Chicago, where he secured work at a supermarket. Each night he prepared for the next day by washing the one shirt he owned and hanging it to dry over the tub. His first paycheck went toward a T-shirt, underwear, pants and a haircut.
All grown up today, that adventurer will add another chapter to this story next May when his son, Michael Gonzalez, first in his family to attend college, graduates from Greenville University with a major in Spanish education.
Michael’s dad gained legal residence under the Immigration Reform and Control Act of 1986. Michael’s mother—a native of Guadalajara, Jalisco, Mexico—secured a visa when she was 24. To Michael, they modeled determination and bravery in their youth and dedication and self-sacrifice as parents.
“What was the hardest part about leaving Mexico?” Michael once asked his mother.
“Having to adapt to the language,” she said.
Pushing Through the Language Barrier
Michael has made it his business to help others push through language barriers. This year, he began teaching a class in GU’s University Pathways program, an intensive English language course that prepares students for university-level skills.
“All of my students are from China,” says Michael, who counts it a privilege to build relationships as he teaches. At Level 1, students’ limited skills often mask bold dreams and plans they cannot fully express. At Level 5, however, confidence to detail their desires takes hold.
Conversation: The building blocks of relationships
Michael knows that words and sentences are the building blocks of conversations, and conversations are the basis for relationships. It’s hard for him to imagine Jesus’ teaching in Matthew 25 to welcome the stranger without conversation being part of the process.
“This is something we all need to do because it is what we are called to do,” says Michael. “We need to experience new things and learn from others because at the end of the day, it prepares us for what is to come.”
And, what is to come?
Language Like We’ve Never Known It
Michael quotes from Revelation: “A great multitude that no one could number, from every nation, from all tribes and peoples and languages, standing before the throne and before the Lamb, clothed in white robes, with palm branches in their hands.”
His ready response dignifies the daily drill of tenses, pronouns and pronunciation. It gives a glimpse of language at its glorious fullest. 
A version of this story originally appeared in The RECORD for alumni and friends of Greenville University.
Morris Sampler 