No. Not all the time. In fact, I'd say only .07% of the time (with a small margin of error).
But for 1 night a week, I love the fact that I can't communicate verbally with ease.
Every Friday night I work with 2 wonderful women. One of them knows about as much English as I do their language, and the other knows about 3 phrases total (not far behind my comprehension). I'd love for you to meet both of them; but for now, meet Phoebe.
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| This beautiful girl only likes her picture taken if she's making a silly face! |
Phoebe is a sweet woman from a town about an hour north of our city. This girl has been through Hades and back in her short 20 years on earth. Her family doesn't see the incredible value in her as a person and treated her like the help as a child; they lost everything when a massive earthquake rocked her hometown 2 years ago (minus her living in the city, her entire family is sleeping in make-shift tents along with the rest of the villagers); she's been supporting her family and herself working a full-time job; and recently a beloved uncle (who was the only one in the family that treated her with any kindness) was tragically killed in a car accident. All of these life-events, and so much more have made Phoebe into a strong, independent, and at most times a very serious woman who has had more responsibility and hardship in her short life than many have experienced in a lifetime.
What I love the most about Phoebe though, is how much she loves Jesus.
Last week we were working our usual Friday night shift together and watching her favorite pop stars' new music video in-between customers. To my surprise, she suddenly asked me (in broken words and hand gestures) if I would give her an English name. Now, most East Asians I've met have picked their own names based off of things they like, or random words that they think sound good together (I know a Beckham, Winky, Como Joe, and Icing). So I was a little shocked when she had asked for me to pick one out. Of course the first names that came to mind were obscure ones like Beatrice and Mary-Kate (love those Olsen twins) so I told her I'd think about it for a couple of days and would get back to her. I was given a really neat opportunity to speak truth into her life through something as simple as a name. I made a list of qualities that I saw in her that are sweet traits from the Lord, and looked up names that corresponded with them. Now if you've never done this, let me tell you, there are some obscure names out there. After sifting through the ones I knew she'd have a difficult time pronouncing and ones that were about as weird as Icing or Como Joe, I ended up with 5 names whose roots are saturated with meaning and asked her which one she liked the best. As soon as she heard the meaning of the name Phoebe, she instantly lit up and beamed as she pointed to herself and in broken English proclaimed, "My name is Phoebe."
Phoebe (FEE-bee): Greek, "radiant, shining". English/Latin, "shining one".
Now, really meet Phoebe.
Just a couple months shy of 21, Phoebe is already the head baker at our store and has been with us for over a year. Beyond desserts, she is an INCREDIBLE cook (boiled chicken foot and peanut soup is her specialty, and let me tell you, it's actually delicious!) and loves to share. She rocks her own style with brightly colored high tops, purses with lots of buttons, and a Despicable Me minion phone cover. She thinks the show "2 Broke Girls" is the most hilarious thing she's ever seen. She's obsessed with a Korean-American hip hop singer, and doesn't really like sweets (unless it's peach pie) She loves Jesus and is heavily involved in her fellowship. She wants Emmanuel in Hebrew tattooed on her wrist for everyone to see. Her favorite passage of the Bible is 1 Corinthians 13, and she herself displays this love well in the way she serves others. She never draws attention to herself, but is a beautiful, SHINING ONE that God has created for big things. She's a witness to her unbelieving, unsupportive family and continues to care and pray for them even though she'll most likely never get a word of thanks in return. When she is congratulated on a job well-done, complimented personally, or is talking about the Lord, this girl SHINES!
Most of the beautiful attributes that I know about Phoebe have been through simply being near her, watching her work ethic, broken language from me to her, and lots of hand gestures. I don't think I would've appreciated getting to know her as much if we spoke the same language. God knew what He was doing when He put us working together on Friday nights, and I'm thankful for that sweet time with her standing in the kitchen as we wait for cheesecakes to finish baking, huddling over her Bible and mine comparing translations, and laughing over failed pronunciations and language barriers.
