“Why did you do all this for me?” he asked. “I don’t deserve it. I’ve never done anything for you.” “You have been my friend,” replied Charlotte. “That in itself is a tremendous thing.” ~E.B. White, Charlotte’s Web
We arrived in Tallinn, Estonia in the middle of September, 2010. A stranger in a foreign land, my feet had never even left the good ‘ole USA, let alone touch down three hours from the Russian border. But I was too busy taking in the sights of Old Town to be worried about the KGB. Thankfully, the Baltic countries of Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania had been out from under Soviet occupation since 1991; they were free, and nowhere was it more evident than in Tallinn.
We quickly settled in our quaint, historic hotel right in the hustle and bustle of Old Town. Well goodness, everything was historic in Old Town. The Danish rule of Tallinn had begun in the year 1219! They have a pharmacy that has been in operation for over 900 years; absolutely mind-boggling.
We stood in the city square and stared in awe; we just couldn’t take it all in. The cobblestone streets, the brightly colored buildings, the beautiful spires and steeples, it was all just breathtaking. My poor little camera was getting quite the workout but I knew my friends and family would probably never get the opportunity to see what I was experiencing and I didn’t want them to miss anything.
Eastern Europeans are not like Americans, nor would we ever want them to be. They are a very friendly and kind people, mostly quiet and reserved when you first meet them; but once you have won their trust then they are your friend for life.
We finally found an apartment a few blocks from Old Town, close to a market and the bus stops. Upon entering our building, there sat a security guard in a little cubicle by himself all day, watching a monitor and assuring that only those who lived or worked in the building were permitted in. There were two gentlemen, one in the morning, and one at night. Both of them were older, early sixties, and both were Russian.
Every time The Sweetheart and I would come or go we would always wave and speak the one or two words we knew in Russian and smile real big and then go on our way. The first time they just kind of stared at us with a surprised look on their faces, but eventually they started responding back with a smile and a wave in return. This continued for several weeks with nothing unusual, until late one afternoon.
We came in to find the day security guard in his cubicle as usual but he had a lady visitor and as soon as he saw us come in he jumped up and ran out talking loudly in Russian and waving his arms. He kept talking to his friend and to us and smiling and bowing and then he kissed ME on both cheeks! We were all laughing but so flustered that we could not communicate. While I was recovering from my kiss, he grabbed my husband, Doug, and kissed HIM on both cheeks! This was no small feat because Doug is over six feet tall and this man was about my height; I am just barely over five feet. All the while he was jabbering away, smiling, bowing and clasping his hands together. I knew he was trying to tell his friend something about us but couldn’t quite make it all out.
Thankfully, a young lady walked in and we asked her if she would interpret for us. Reluctantly, she agreed and we discovered his name was Nikolai and again he chattered away. When he finished, the young lady interpreted, “He says you are his friends.” I said, “That’s it?! He said all of that just to say we are his friends?!” She wasn’t into this at all and was obviously in a hurry, but we could tell there was more to this story and Nikolai was still talking ninety miles an hour. So finally the girl tells us everything he was saying and our lives were forever changed.
I hope yours will be too.
“Ever since you came to live in my building, not one day do you come or go that you do not stop and wave and smile at me. I have worked here many, many years. No one ever speaks to me. No one ever waves at me. No one ever smiles at me. I do not exist. But you people are my friends. You show me you like me, you show me love, you are my friends, you are my friends.”
By then the young lady is smiling, she doesn’t quite know how to get out of the awkward situation, so we asked her to tell him that he is our friend too, we tell him our names and we talk back and forth a couple of minutes and then we thank her for helping us; she ran toward the elevator. We were still talking to Nikolai but of course the interpreter was gone so we could not understand one another but it didn’t matter because love had taken over in that place and we were all amazed by what had happened.
You see, it wasn’t me. It wasn’t The Sweetheart. Most of us have that kind of friendly habits in our nature. We touch people’s lives every day without realizing it and thank God we do! Most of the time we do it because we were taught good manners, we had good parents, we went to Sunday School, we learned the Golden Rule. It does matter how we act, what we say, and how we react every day.
The love of Christ will shine through us….or not.
We had the wonderful opportunity to connect Nikolai with the missionary there before we left Estonia. We also had this picture framed and gave it to him before we left and he cried, which broke our hearts, and he proudly displayed it on his desk in the cubicle. We continue to pray for him and would love to be able to meet him again someday. I am grateful for the life lesson he taught us.
It does matter how I act, how I treat people, because they are watching me and I want to be an example of the love of Christ. 
Your ministry begins when you walk OUTSIDE the doors of your church, not when you step INSIDE.
“Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father which is in heaven.” Matthew5:16.
I am so glad you enjoyed the story of Nikolai…he taught all of us a valuable lesson! Thank you for stopping by. Please know you are welcome here always!!
what a lovely story… and an absolutely beautiful photo! thank you Nannette. 🙂
Hi Nannette,
What a beautiful story of how the seemingly small act of acknowledging a person with a smile and a wave make such big difference….so glad you were able to show God’s love to Nikolai…and I am thankful I visited from JDL’s blog 🙂
Thank you Julie, it truly wasn’t us. Any of us would have done the same. He was a special man, a paratrooper with the Russian army, he had been a POW. He showed us his “tattoo” on his wrist 🙁 We moved on to Latvia for a year after three months in Estonia, it was just a short-term assignment. But I am always praying for Nikolai. Who knows what God can do!
Please do feel free to follow us on Bloglovin, email, Twitter or Facebook. Love to have your input 🙂 The blog is nothing without the reader’s insight! Blessings friend!
What a special touching story. Nikolai’s story, of two people who cared for him in such a small way. I love it! Every bit of it, especially that you were able to connect him with a missionary before you left. I pray to God that we can all meet him someday in heaven because he has come to love our Jesus!
Ugh, I think I need to find how to sign up for your blog, LOL! 🙂
Isn’t God amazing? I am still moved by Nikolai and hope I never forget what he taught us. I am more than humbled to be chosen at #TellHisStory!! I have been visiting there about a month now and just love all of the stories and inspiration. I am definitely a “newbie”, so much to learn, I know I have come to the right place. Thank you so much for the honor, truly a “day-maker”! Blessings to you!!
Tears! I’m so inspired by this, Nannette … the power of friendship and love, evident here. It’s absolutely life-changing, to take the time to be a friend.
And told so beautifully through your storytelling. I’ll be featuring it as our featured #TellHisStory over on the blog. Gorgeous!
Thank you so much for your visit and leaving such a sweet comment. You left me in tears too. Please feel free to email me: b.jp101@hotmail.com or the link is on my About Me page. Looking forward to further fellowship with you my new friend. 🙂
I just came from reading “The Trees Will Clap Their Hands”…I have not yet recovered…My friend I cannot tell you how beautiful that was to me. You have a gift to write for sure. So beautiful and so timely is your story. And our stories are so very similar, I am amazed. I would love to know more. Thank you so much for stopping by today, I am thanking God for sending you to me. ♥
I love this and it brought tears to my eyes. This is so very true: “It does matter how I act, how I treat people. . .” I pray you will see Nikolai again someday in Heaven.
Right where we live, how true! Thank you Barbara! I love everything you had to say! You said so much in one sentence! Thank you for taking the time to share, blessings to you!
oh, how I love this… may we be the fragrance of Jesus in our hurting thirsty world today, right where we live!
WOW!! It is truly a small world! I sometimes miss Indiana, just not the snow! 🙂 And I sometimes miss South Carolina too. But I am close to family out here and get to spoil my nephew and niece too so I’m content!
Thank you Datha for every time you chased Molly through Dogwood Estates! 🙂 She was a sweetie wasn’t she? And for all of the tragedies that you saved my boys from, especially you-know-who…I am glad you enjoyed the story of Nikolai. We all have people watching us every day and we can’t afford for them to not see Jesus. Love you!
Wow Nannette, I am in awe. It seems so simple, kindness, yet it goes deeper then we will ever comprehend. Thank you for sharing! I’m eagerly awaiting more. Keep on writing Candace Jo!! (who knew) 😉 love it!!!
You know me too well! Thanks for the support and encouragement! Love you too friend of mine!
Thank you for visiting the site Kim! I want it to be an interactive place where people can share their stories and we can encourage one another. Feel free to sign up and follow the blog for updates and be a part of the community! If you have a prayer request or know someone with a need I would love to help pray with you. You can also contact me via email at ynannette@gmail.com Blessings!
Thanks for sharing.
I can’t believe you lived in Martinsville! We lived there in Legendary Hills for several years when my husband was an air traffic controller at the Indy Center. We had lived in Indy while he was in school and were trying to get back closer to Bloomington and then finally when we bought the farm he commuted back and forth to Indy.
I am glad you enjoyed the story of Nikolai. He was such a sweet man. I should have mentioned he was a POW, he was caught when his parachute was snagged in a tree. I wish we could have spent more time with him.
Thank you so much for your support of this site, it has meant more than you will know!
I love this just as much as I did the first time
I heard the story. After personally experiencing a language barrier in Haiti, God confirmed there is no barriers with love. Thank you for sharing this life changing moment! I’m inspired and I love my friend and her Sweetheart, Doog-a-lus 😉
Keep sharing!
“That’s it?! He said all of that just to say we are his friends?!” ~a Nanners line if I ever heard one. Loving your blog as I love you, my dear friend. 😉
oh, I love this story!! wow! what a testimony for Christ!
Your ministry begins when you walk OUTSIDE the doors of your church, not when you step INSIDE.
…and I love this quote! We are always witnessing for Christ even when we don’t think we are!