Long distance connections

My friend R.A. sent me some beautiful fabric and an American quilt magazine in order to thank me for helping her. A couple of months ago I met R.A. through blogging and the Internet and was intrigued by her request for help.

R.A. looks a little like me. Well, what I mean is that she is also half Japanese and half American and we are not that far apart in age. However, R.A. never knew her Japanese mother who passed away not long after R.A. was born. R.A. never knew much about her Japanese heritage but she began looking for pieces of her background when she was in her twenties. Finally through many coincidences (God's connections) 10 years ago she made contact with her mother's sister and they were even able to meet in Hawaii! Can you imagine how joyful that meeting that was! However, R.A. didn't know Japanese and her aunt didn't know English and though they stayed in contact for awhile gradually because of the language barrier they lost contact again.

This is where I come in. R.A. found me through the blogging world and asked me if I might be able to contact her aunt for her and also if I could translate some Japanese newspaper articles that had been sent to her not long after her meeting with her aunt in Hawaii. She had had the articles for nearly 10 years but of course had never been able to read them. I surprised myself to find that I could actually read the Japanese and I translated them and sent them back. Hers is an amazing story and I was honored to be able to pass on this bit of happiness to R.A.

Next to try contacting R.A.'s aunt. This was a bit more difficult because 10 years had passed, the aunt had been in her 70's when they met in Hawaii and R.A. had never tried using the telephone number she had been given. Not to mention some stranger (namely me) just calling out of the blue and saying "Hey, I have a message from your long lost niece in America!" Tetsu offered to be the go-between for me and he called the aunt's number. (He was afraid I'd fumble around making myself so unclear that whoever answered would hang up before I got a chance to explain why I was calling.)

"So sorry to bother you but would it be possible to speak to Mrs. N?"

It was R.A's aunt who had answered the phone!!!

"I'm calling for my wife who is calling for your relative in America. R.A. is anxious to inquire about her honorable aunt's health and to get back in touch with her. My wife will give you the details."

I was able to speak with R.A.'s aunt for 15 minutes or so and to relay news of R.A.'s family and to find out a little about the aunt. The aunt was so spunky and cheerful and it was a delight to talk with her!

As soon as I got off the phone I e-mailed R.A.

"R.A.! I talked with your aunt!!! Are you there?"

R.A. answered back immediately,

"I'm here!!!"

And then I spent the next half hour filling her in on the details of the conversation.

There is still a language barrier but I hope I will have the opportunity to be a bridge between R.A. and her aunt again! In the meantime, R.A. and I are making plans to share some patchwork blocks and maybe work on similar quilts to unite our long distance friendship even further.

The blogging world is wonderful.