The first pioneers tell the story!

September 14th, 1961 - By Sharry Silvi

The landing was not easy. After circling and circling, the plane finally touched the ground. I tried hard to look through the window, to have a glimpse of the city but it was difficult and the only way not to get sick was to sit still.

Once at the New York airport we had to wait for a long time in line. For the first time I heard the sentence “Are you an immigrant?” The man had a blue shirt and a big book. He checked for my name in the book but it wasn’t there so he let me go. “Three months,” he said. “you can stay three months for now.”

We drove through the city and I saw the skyscrapers for real for the first time. They were gigantic and so was everything else. The man who picked us up was Frank. He had heard about the Focolare a year before and was now taking Giovanna and me home to his mother.

To be continued…