Missy: Friendship That Transcends Language

By Missy

Twenty-five young adults, half English-speaking, half Russian-speaking (with a few that didn’t speak either as their first language!) and five translators made for an interesting 8-day young adult conference. How would it be possible to communicate when you and the other person don’t speak the same language and you’re left to your own devices?

I was asked multiple times before I left to come on mission in Russia how I would communicate with those that I met, or if I had learned any Russian. Nyet! (Nope!) I picked up a few essential words, like hello, goodbye, yes, no, please and thank you, and maybe a smattering of other small things. But for anything more, hand gestures or a translator would have to do. And just as I suspected, I discovered that friendship transcends language.

We began our time together with Mass and prayer, half-English, half-Russian. Our foundation of faith was well laid, and our friendships were initially based upon the beliefs that we all profess, in whatever language is our mother tongue. Catholicism is something we could all understand and it is what brought us together in the first place!

Beyond that, we became acquainted with each other often without words, using a different language: the language of the heart. Over time, we learned each other’s names and some small details about each other’s lives, mostly, I’ll admit, through the broken English conversations the Russians were brave enough to have with us. But without common speech, we had to look at each other with a deeper gaze, and come to know each other through actions and through our character. You see, practicing what you preach becomes a whole lot more important when you can’t preach at all! We couldn’t tell our new Russian companions about our faith in Jesus Christ; we had to demonstrate it. We couldn’t tell them about who we were as people; we had to show them with our lives!

Most of us at the beach after our retreat day 

I didn’t always need to understand what one of the girls was saying because she often came up to just give me a hug or a smile. When one of the Russian guys picked a flower for one of the American girls that had been sick, no words were needed. Pats on the back, smiles, handshakes, hugs, thumbs up…these visible signs of care, affirmation, and love spoke louder than any bilingual conversation could have. Sure, we might have formed more substantial friendships if we could have shared our stories with each other, or spoken a kind word without the intervention of a translator, but perhaps God did not intend that for our time together. Instead, I learned a valuable lesson in living a life worthy of observation, one that demonstrates who I am as a person, and as a disciple of Jesus Christ. Whether I was successful in my lived Christian charity or whether I betrayed my identity as a Christian at times, I’m not sure. I know I have a lot of room for growth in this area, and this experience has prompted deeper reflection on how I can put these lessons into practice.

By the end of the week, the thirty of us exchanged heartfelt goodbyes and tight hugs as we parted ways, international friendships sealed by shared experience of faith and fellowship. I left the Far East amazed at how closely connected I felt with these Russian brothers and sisters in Christ and how much I enjoyed their company, despite language barriers. Whether I’ll ever see them again, I don’t know, but I am grateful in a new way for Facebook, which will keep us connected…and for the “translate” button. :)