these are true stories. i kid you not. the first is my dad's story.
about a month ago my husband and i took our children to eat at my parent's home in town. we had a big dinner and left for our own home around 7:00pm. after that my dad drove my mom over to the walmart near their house so she could get some ribbon for a church activity the next day. mom went in the store and dad stayed in his car, people watching. he saw a group of chinese men who were trying desperately to catch a taxi cab. they couldn't seem to get a cab and looked like they could use some help so my dad got out of his car and approached them to see if he could help.come to find out they were in town from mainland china on behalf of their company for the electronics convention and didn't speak much english. when my mom was done shopping she returned to the suburban to find dad in the car with 5 chinamen in that back seats of the car! she gave my dad a look as if to say "where did these guys come from?" and dad explained that he and she were going to drive these chinese visitors across town to chinatown where they were trying to get to dinner. so they set out for chinatown. once they got there the men instisted that my parents come in and dine with them on some "traditional" chinese food. even though they were full, true to my dad's nature he cannot pass up an offer of a meal. so they went in and had family style, special order chinese food. the chinese men and my parents carried on conversation and laughs over dishes that are not listed on the menu. my parents loved the food and made notes on what was ordered so they could return sometime later. they took photos with the international visitors and exchanged emails. then they took the men back to their hotel at the end of the evening. my mom called me at about 11:00 pm and said i would never guess where she had been that night. when she said she'd been to china and back i knew it had to be something to do with my father.
this story just is one of many that could be told about my father. he is an incredible people person and he always cheers for the underdog. he has a great ability to put people at ease and make friends with them even in there is a language barrier. i've seen my dad stand among a large group of very black african bushmen in native dress laughing and slapping arms with them. he is really remarkable at relating to people no matter where they live or what their circumstances are. since he has now lived in serbia and africa on lds church missions with my mom i think he is even more keen to offer help to tourists who look like they could use a hand. my dad just has a gentle heart. he is kind--to everyone. he does the right thing and makes this world a good place.
and now for my story. it differs somewhat from my dad's story but it shows so much of what i have become because of his example.
last week i had decided to stay home all day and get some housework done. the weather was windy and not great so i could not even be tempted to take the dog on a walk. after spending morning doing laundry and cleaning by afternoon i decided to give myself a break and run an errand--go to the bank or something insignificant, just something to get out of the house. so i jumped in my car and headed down the hill. my neighborhood is one of many on a large looped street. the street runs a good long distance around. it eventually meets back up with itself at a corner where the street signs say the same street name in both directions. it can be very confusing for people who are not familiar with our area. i mention this because at the bottom of the hill (that corner where the street signs both say the same street name in two different directions) i notice five adults (three women and two men) who looked to be in their 50's-60's. they were confused and looking at a paper they had and then back at the street signs. they were clearly lost. they had a look of distress on their faces and as i pulled closer to the corner i said to myself, "those poor people look terribly lost. i wonder where they could be going or where on earth they came from!" and just as i turned the corner one of the women caught my eye and motioned to me for help. i pulled over and rolled down my window and she asked how to get to vons at anthem village. they were so far from where they wanted to go and i knew i could just drive them over there with no trouble so i offered to take them in my car. we loaded them in my car and introduced ourselves. they all spoke dutch and were from australia, suriname (north of brazil), and holland. they told me that they had just flown in and were renting a house in the area for an extended family reunion. when i found out where the home was that they were renting i showed them how to get from there to the grocery store and explained how they had missed their turn and walked an hour out of their way. the turn they needed was just behind their home. so i drove them to vons (the grocery store) and told them to buy as much as they wanted because i would go do my thing and return to take them home. the weather was yucky and this way they could take many more provisions back to the house rather than carry them home. they were pleased and i was so happy to do it. we commented on how we just felt like we were supposed to meet. it was a unique feeling. i was happy to meet them and they were happy to meet me. i think in life we are just put in each other's paths at times for the benefit of all.
later that day i was driving to my mom and dad's home which is down near the hotels and i offered to drive part of their group to the hotels on my way. this allowed them to only need one taxi instead of two. i got my children from school and picked up our new friends and went in to downtown. later during that week i was able to take them downtown one more time. they had invited me to use the extra show ticket they had but i had a date with rod so i just drove them downtown so it would be easier for them. on sunday morning three of our new friends came to sunday breakfast at our home before we went to church. our home is just around the corner from where they are staying. we always do waffles on sunday mornings and i invited them to come. three of them were able to come and we had a wonderful meal together. it is such a joy to meet good people from other areas of the world. i was grateful that rod was able to meet them and that we could show them a good time. i know that there is one god and that he is the creator of us all. this makes these people our brothers and sisters and helping them was the right thing to do. i had a good feeling about it. i do not offer my help to just anyone on the street corner but there was something about this group of people that radiated goodness. they had pure hearts. i had the best feeling reaching out to help. if only the world were a little more like that where you could offer your help to just about anyone at all and it would be well received.
photos of my dad and mom and their chinese friends and then photos of the five i found on the corner and their larger group with my family.
Lesli, I love these two stories! It was neat to read them after hearing them from you. So glad we are friends!
Posted by: Julia | June 14, 2011 at 03:43 PM
you are defiantly your father's daughter!!!! love the stories!
Posted by: de | March 23, 2011 at 02:11 AM
I want to be like your dad and YOU! :)
Posted by: Michelle Sidles | March 22, 2011 at 01:46 PM