Meet Leah & Ruksana!
I started serving in the Reading Circle program in 2016, and it has consistently been a highlight of my week. I’ve enjoyed getting to know several students and their families over the years, but my most recent mentee, Ruksana, holds a special place in my heart.
Ruksana is a spunky 11-year-old from Myanmar who loves math, riddles, and her family. She is funny, brave, and smart, and I see so many leadership traits in her.
I’ll never forget meeting Ruksana for the first time. It happened to be the week for celebrating all January birthdays at Reading Circle, and I picked out a birthday gift for her before we had a chance to meet. After tearing into the present, Ruksana made it very clear that I completely missed the mark. I can now laugh about it with the realization that most ten-year-olds don’t share my enthusiasm for new books.
Despite our rocky first impressions, I slowly began to earn Ruksana’s trust and friendship. We met weekly for three months prior to Covid, and then we continued to meet virtually until we were able to regather safely during the fall. Week after week, our differences began to melt away and a friendship blossomed. It’s been a joy to witness how much Ruskana has grown in her reading skills, confidence, and desire to engage with the stories we read together.
And I have grown in many ways from our time together as well. Through all of it, God has shown me that some of the best things in life take time, patience, and consistency. I’ve spent the last eight years working in the technology industry, where work occurs in sprints and results are measurable and often instantaneous. But, love doesn’t work that way.
There’s a quote I admire from theologian, Kosuke Koyama. In his book, Three Mile an Hour God, he writes, “God walks ‘slowly’ because he is love. If he is not love he would have gone much faster. Love has its speed. It is an inner speed. It is a spiritual speed. It is a different kind of speed from the technological speed to which we are accustomed. It is ‘slow’ yet it is lord over all other speeds since it is the speed of love.”
When I’m in Ruksana’s neighborhood, Vickery Meadow, the pace of life seems to slow down. Residents get where they need to go on foot instead of by car, they cook at home instead of eating out, and apartment doors are left open as if to say, “come on in, you are welcome here.” On any evening, you’ll find kids from every nation playing soccer together in the nearby field or families chatting with one another in the apartment courtyard and sharing food and resources. It’s a kind of neighborliness and dependence on community that I think many of us have lost in our hurried way of life.
Punctuality takes on a different meaning in Vickery Meadow, which can often challenge my American way of thinking. My Wednesday evenings at Reading Circle have become the speed bump in the middle of my week that forces me to slow down, redirect my attention away from myself, and remember that “Love is patient.” (1 Corinthians 13:4)
It’s been a joy and blessing to serve as a mentor for Refugee Resources. I’m grateful for the opportunity to get to know some of my refugee neighbors in Dallas, and I know that I will carry their stories and my experiences with me for many years to come.
Written by: Leah Richardson
Student Name: Ruksana
Photography by: Veil & Vine