Re-Linked

The last time I was in Russia was August 2004. It was my fourth trip. By then, the church in Nolinsk was nothing less than family. The language barrier itself was barely noticeable.

My birthday came while we were in Nolinsk that year. It was so much fun! Some crazy things happened on that trip, but for now I'll stick to one piece of that last week in Nolinsk.

This is my Russian sister, Luba. She's two years younger than me. We sing together. That's all we really could do. For four summers we spent as much time together as possible, and only once in 2004 did that involve a translator. Maybe we somehow knew it was the last...

Luba gave me a silver bracelet that last summer. For two years, I never took that bracelet off. I lost it briefly last summer when a link broke, but I was selling double shots of espresso every morning to the Vietnamese jewelers next door, and Loc repaired the bracelet for me.

That lasted about a month. I was still living at the condo when the bracelet disappeared again. I searched everywhere for it. Nothing.

This was heartbreaking. I am not a jewelry sort of person, but this wasn't just a bracelet. It was a constant reminder of Luba and the others. It was a link to my home on the other side of the world. A home I was watching slip away.

Last Thursday I lost what was left of my watch, so last night, I was digging around in my car looking for it. I was reaching behind and under the driver's seat when my hand ran across something it couldn't identify. I picked it up.

I almost cried when I saw what I was holding. It was the bracelet! It had been missing for almost a year. I thought it was gone forever, and there it was! It wasn't even broken. The clasp was merely stuck in the open position.

I know I may never get back to Nolinsk. I may not see Luba or any of the others again in this life. But I will never forget them, and as long as this bracelet stays on my wrist, it'll be easy to think of them often.




Luda (my homestay host), me (in my Really Short Hair phase) and Luba, June 2001