St. Basil's Cathedral May 2003
There is a sister that recently moved into our ward in Montreal from Russia. A couple of months ago we met and briefly spoke to each other. She doesn't know English and I do not speak Russian, so our communication was limited. She had an English/Russian dictionary and we were able to communicate through that.
I told her I had two girls who were adopted from Russia. She looked inquisitively at me so I knew that she didn't understand. I looked up the word adoption and children and pointed to me. Her face lit up and immediately tears welled-up in her eyes. I thought how sweet of her to feel so moved by the girl's and introduced her to them as soon as church was over. We had an instant friendship.
I love talking to the girl's about their adoption and they seem to love anything or anyone who is from Russia. I was able to introduce the girl's to her that same Sunday and they immediately took to her. This last Sunday, I went up to her and put my hand on her shoulder, I said hello and said a few words to her. She said she was good and then she stopped talking almost mid-sentence. I asked her if she was OK but my non-existent Russian was not able to understand what she was trying to communicate to me. She reached into her bag to pull out her dictionary and then said to me "just a minute".
She walked quickly down the hallway leaving me behind, concerned I followed her into the bathroom. When she ran into the stall and locked the door, I knew she had become emotionally unable to communicate with me. I thought to myself, what should I do? Immediately I remembered that a Ukrainian couple had moved into the ward last week. They were both fluent in English and had been members for years. I ran to get her from Sunday School and I explained what happened. I asked her to find out how we could help.
They talked together and she translated the woman's emotions for me. I must say it was an experience I won't soon forget. I know that this woman was sent help because she was doing all she could to make her life the best it could be here in Montreal. Without the woman from Ukraine, we would have never of been able to help. Isn't it always that way, just when you think you can't do it anymore, the answers come, things change, and life gets a little better and a lot clearer.
7 comments:
What a touching story! I'm glad that you were able to help this sister with the help of another. That's really what it is all about. Helping eachother.
I am so glad that there was someone in your ward that could translate. I hope this little sister is doing ok. So nice of you to reach out to her.
Your girls do have a special adoption story. It's nice that the Russian sister in your ward has you and the Ukranian couple to connect with. It would be so lonely to move across the world and have a language barrier.
Brilliant way of sharing fruits and gifts. What a lovely, intimate image of the two of you poring over a little dictionary! I hope you can both pick up bits of each other's language along the way. But I suppose hugs and things are the same in any language. Hope she's feeling better too :-)
How cool that because of your girls you have a special connection to this woman and were able to help her.
What a wonderful story, That was so sweet of you to to reach out to her.
hi michelle: awesome, thanks for sharing that. reading of your experience brought tears to my eyes. i love how president spencer w. kimball said " ... it is usually through another person that God takes care of us." that is a "tender mercy" (elder bednar, apr2005 conference, may2005 ensign) whenever the people who need each other for some reason are brought together at just the right moment.
we are always in His hands, i am sure of this. we are graven upon the palm of His hands, we are not forgotten. He will figure out a way for the help to come to us, somehow someway.
i am grateful for these blessings we have. thanks for sharing your beautiful experience.
happy Sabbath to you and your precious little girls this day :)
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