Street vendor encounter is a life-changing experience

Intermountain Catholic

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Mrs. Sanchez sells tamales to earn a living and provide for her sick husband. IC photo/Laura Vallejo

SPANISH FORK – One day Gloria Rico, a Saint Francis of Assisi parishioner, saw a link on her Facebook page that will mark her life forever: She read the story of a 75-year-old lady who was selling tamales on a street corner in Provo to earn a living for herself and her sick husband.

The story touched Rico’s heart, and she decided to go and look for the lady on the street corner.

"It was a Wednesday at around 9 a.m. It was snowing really bad and on my way I was thinking, ‘I won’t be able to find her. Who is going to be selling tamales in the street with this cold weather?’" said Rico.

However, when she arrived she saw Mrs. Sanchez trying to settle all her stuff down in the street.

"She was just wearing a light sweater," Rico said. "When she saw me coming toward her, with a lot of joy, she said ‘Hello, my dear! Would you like to buy a tamale?’ I asked her if she needed some help, that I could help her, and she responded, ‘Don’t worry, my dear. I don’t want you to get wet and cold. Tell me, how many tamales do you want?’"

Rico asked the lady to put on her coat and hat because she was already feeling the cold in her bones.

Mrs. Sanchez put on a coat and, as she was giving Rico the tamales, she realized that she had forgotten to get some salt to melt some of the ice around her.

"She said, ‘My dear, I forgot the bags and the salt to spread here so it’s not slippery for the people who will come for tamales. This storm made me forget,’ and her eyes teared up," said Rico, who was filled with painful sympathy as Mrs. Sanchez wiped her tears, smiled, and apologized for complaining about the weather.

"I hugged her and said, ‘Please don’t be sad. You are an example, and I will pray for you,’" said Rico.

Mrs. Sanchez replied, "Thank you, my dear. I hope God will listen."

Seeing a 75-year-old woman working to earn a living for herself and send money to her sick husband in Mexico, with love in her eyes and never giving up despite the weather, changed Rico’s life, she said.

After buying the tamales, Rico went to get some salt to give to Mrs. Sanchez. That moment changed her forever, she said.

"I saw in her love and trust, and that with God we can always keep on going," Rico said. "I learned that I need to trust completely in God, and I have to thank him for all the opportunities that he has given me."

Rico sees in Mrs. Sanchez a living example of the Gospel admonition to not worry about food and clothing (Matthew 6:25-34).

"She lets God work in her. She is a great example for me, a warrior woman from Christ who never gives up and does everything for love," Rico said.

Since Rico met Mrs. Sanchez she said that every day she remembers that she needs to be grateful and work with love, "never complaining and always trying harder. God is big and God is love," said Rico.

Mrs. Sanchez came alone to the United States from Mexico because her husband of more than 30 years is sick and they couldn’t afford his bills. She has no family here. To pay her living expenses and provide for her husband, she sells tamales. Every week she takes the bus to Walmart to buy ingredients for her tamales and hopes to find a ride home. Preparing the tamales takes two days; she sells them only on Wednesday and Thursday because she has no transportation to do it any other day. She gets up at 6 a.m. to get ready to sell her tamales and doesn’t go home until she has sold all of them.