The Personal Touch

Leon has been encouraging me to take my turn sharing a post, so now I will tell you about the honor I had to welcome several individual ladies.  My first lady was Luda (not her real name) from Russian Federation. She speaks very good English and sparkles with joy and interest in others.  I escorted her to her room with Leon pulling her bags, then I oriented her to the features in the room and how to operate the AC remote, find hot water on the left, not the right as in Europe, etc. and then asked if I could pray with her.  It was a bonding moment and both of us were wiping tears as I finished.  The next day when she saw me in the hall, she came close and pulled a bracelet gift out of her fanny pack and said, “I want you to have this, and thanks for all you do for us!”  (It was blue to match a necklace she noticed that I was wearing when she first met me.)

I welcomed 5 more ladies like this during their arrivals Saturday and Sunday and each time our prayer time brought us close.  A lady from Indonesia  asked if she needed to clean the room and I said, no, we do that for you and she said she was embarrassed to have me do that for her, but I reassured her that we are volunteers who chose to come and count it a privilege to serve so they can learn without these tasks to take their learnings back to their environment.

Monday afternoon, I offered to help with the introductory games and got many good laughs to see these professional leaders from many different countries relax, laugh and play together.  You see their personalities in the group dynamics and who takes leadership.

To see the ladies God has called to be here at this place and this time, gives purpose to my hot, sweaty, menial tasks.

Receiving my bracelet

Fun name guessing game

Carrying water blindfolded relay