Speaking His Language

One story can bring a flood of memories. Memories of a time when we saw ordinary people doing ordinary things -- making an extraordinary difference in someone's life...

And that is how we get today's story... from a memory inspired by one story. Here is the original

I was just over at If You Give a Mom a Moment and this post reminded me of one of my summers in Connecticut. It was my first summer actually. Through a few small miracles I found a job at a small sandwich shop called The Crow's Nest. It was in a marina and our deck looked right out over the Connecticut River -a gorgeous view. The owner had a habit of hiring foreign help for the summers. He hired me a few weeks before his summer help had gotten there, so when this bunch of girls showed up, I was the one in charge of training them.

Kristina was from Russia. Her English wasn't that great, but it was still better than the others who had arrived with her. They were from Slovakia, Bulgaria, Lithuania, and Columbia. That first day was a rough one for her, I could tell. Imagine if you were 18, in a new and far away country where you hardly knew the language, your family literally half the world away, and you had to learn a new job. She was on the verge of tears all morning. She seemed sad, lonely, and I'm pretty sure she was thinking something along the lines of What the heck have I done in coming here?

Then, just before the lunch rush hit, a man came in. While he ordered he thought to ask where we were from. When she said "Russia" he instantly switched from English into Russian. Everything about her brightened as she smiled and talked with this man. Even in the moment I was feeling that Heavenly Father was totally watching out for his daughter -who didn't believe in Him at all. What were the odds that there was A. Someone in the area that was completely fluent in Russian, and B. That he would come to The Crows Nest on the same day that she had arrived, and C. That he would think to ask, Where are you from? It seemed to be exactly what she needed that day, because after that she was cheerful and the tears behind her eyes were gone.

Truly, He loves us.

What is your story?