Miss Personality

My friend Hanna serves here as a missionary from Sweden. I don't know how she does it, but somehow, wherever she goes, Hanna "collects" people. She has friends all over the city--I think she is on a first name basis with all of the airport personnel, security guards in our big shopping center always stop her for a chat, and she knows several nationally famous basketball players.

She makes friends in circumstances where I would be quiet and keep to myself. She really reminds me of my sister Abby, who is best friends with everyone from the cutest boy at school to the lady who cleans the bathrooms at the mall. I admire this trait--with me, in new situations I am either intimidated or overly bold; and intimidation usually wins out.

At Christmas some of the Swedish missionaries here went to a Santa Lucia gathering at their embassy. I think Hanna picked up another 3 or 4 friends with whom she keeps in regular touch. Attending a Christmas party at an American embassy alone would terrify me, so I could never be so bold as to pursue friendships with strangers I met one time with whom I had only one thing in common: being American.

Anyway it takes a rare person indeed to be able to sit in a coffee bar in a foreign country with random strangers and make friends. Hanna does that. She has an extraordinary gift of drawing people out and making them feel comfortable. I was talking with her this morning and marveling at this gift in her life. We all have strengths and weaknesses, but I think the strength of universal friendliness is one I would love to have. Every human is drawn to such a person--I hope that Hanna and others like her realize what a treasure they are.