A New Sister

The first time we met her, several years ago, we really couldn’t understand a thing she said. She’s full of life and an eager learner but her English was atrocious. Last year she arrived as a student with a little better communication skills. This summer she is an administrative assistant for us instead of a student and most of the time we understand each other.

Before we started the program, our dean told us he had an assistant for us. He described her as “the girl whose hands wave all the time” and we knew immediately it was T. Daily she works with us making sure everything is smooth. Air conditioners working, copies made, lunch delivered, taxis and guides for field trips, and more. She can’t escape any of us.

This is her third year. The first year her teacher covered her with love. The second year, she had a husband/wife teaching team who are always adored by their students. They are “older” but that never seems to matter to their students.

Today is Sunday, and T went to services with a group of the teachers and students. She’s been asking questions constantly, talking to different ones of the team, obviously seeking truth. She listened intently to the message and as a group of us met for lunch, she sat across from R, a former student who followed the Lord four years ago. T peppered R with questions. They found they are graduates of the same college in the university and exchanged phone numbers and email addresses to keep in touch.

Leaving lunch, she journeyed back to the university with another of the teachers and somewhere on the way, she stepped over the line into eternal life. Her teacher called us when they got to the hotel and she came up to the team room. There were several of us sitting around on computers, including her new lunch friend, R, our former student.

In a somewhat halting way, she explained what she had done today, and we all rejoiced with her. R and my husband walked her slowly through some verses. One by one team members arrived and she told them. Her last year teachers arrived last and showed her the pictures they have of her class from 2010. The man said, “Each day, T, I take this paper out and pray for each of you, one by one.”

For each one, it is a journey of a thousand steps, with many, many different guides along the way. And when they finally step over the line, it is still just the beginning of the journey.