Friends in Curious Places

I was at the Provo rec center the other day - trying to get back into my swimming routine - when I started chatting with a woman swimming next to me. She said she was just getting back into swimming after a 10 day trip to Israel. The moment she said Israel, I knew we'd be friends. She told me that she had lived and taught at the Jerusalem Center at one time and that she now taught at BYU. We talked for a few more minutes and then I asked her name.

"Ann Madsen," she said.
"Not the wife of Truman Madsen," I asked.
"Forever and ever" she said.

I must have listened to 100 hours of Truman Madsen tapes as a kid! Here I was swimming next to his wife. She gave me her email and we promised to be in touch.

The Free Family

My mind raced back to another swimming pool, miles away, over 2 years ago. I was a brand new swimmer and could hardly swim more than a lap without stopping. I just started using goggles and putting my head under water. I didn't have a swim cap yet. The woman in the lane next to me was clearly an experienced swimmer. She stopped and we chatted for a few moments. She offered me her extra swim cap and we talked for quite a while longer. Who would have thought that we would become fast friends and stay in touch when we moved miles away. I had the chance to stay with her sweet family in Denver this summer and it is really because of her that I was able to go to Israel this past fall.


I'm so grateful for the friends that we make in curious places. Airplanes. Grocery stores. Swimming pools. Church functions. Jogging in Africa. The list goes on and on.

Chen and I on the way to Israel

I can't help by think of the first time that I flew to Israel and met Chen Biron. My grandma swears we didn't stop talking for 10 hours. She's probably right. I asked 100s of questions about Israel and Judiasm and Chen's life in the military. He asked about our farm in Idaho and Mormons and my family. We kept in touch and when he moved to New York, we talked on the phone for hours. I'm so grateful that small talk lead to a beautiful friendship.


I remember a lecture I went to one very chilly night in Rexburg. I wanted to stay home and do my mountains of homework. My aunt convinced me to come hear the speaker from New York. I heard him, met him, ran into him again a year later, and eventually worked for him in Manhattan. My experience working with and learning from Ahmad Corbitt has been a rich part of my life.

Vic, Mommie Comfort, and Keshia

In Accra, Ghana, near Kaneshie road, there is a small house where a woman lives with her mother and children. A friend and I used to run early in the mornings before it was unbearably hot. We would run by this small house where the woman would often be outside, sweeping the dirt or enjoying the breeze. We casually exchanged greetings until one morning we stopped and she told us she recognized us from church. Apparently she had been meeting with the missionaries and going to church. We stopped and talked at times while jogging and came to visit at other times. We came with the missionaries and attended church together. What a sweet day it was when Mommie Comfort was baptized and later (after I was gone) that Vic was baptized as well.

I could write story after story of encounters with strangers that have become dear friends. I'm so grateful that God allows us to meet friends in curious places!