Language Barrier?

Do you ever have moments when you just know you're doing what you're supposed to be doing with your life? Well, I had one this afternoon. Our ESL teacher extraordinaire, Carrie Arana, asked me to talk with a little first grade girl who was having a sad time due to a family situation outside of her control. Of course I was happy to do this, but the problem was that this little child speaks very little English, and I speak no Spanish. Fortunately, Carrie had a wonderful bilingual friend who was able to come in and translate. Beginning with non-emotional topics such as the little girl's feelings about school and teachers and friends, we established a bit of rapport before moving on to the topic that was near and dear to her heart. As we got to the gist of the problem, the child's beautiful brown eyes flooded with tears and she covered her chin to hide its wobbling. Looking from me to her kind translator, she explained her feelings in Spanish and then checked my face to see whether I understood. At this point in the conversation, both the translator and I joined our girl in wiping tears away from our own eyes. When the translator had to leave to help teach a class, I stayed with the little dark-haired beauty and watched her make a card for the one she loves the most. No matter what language we speak, all of us share loves and losses and deep emotions, and we all need someone to listen and care when our hearts are breaking. A language barrier isn't a hindrance to a smile, a hug, or a genuine effort to understand. What a lovely way to end the week!