I can't tell you what a boost I got on Friday from a quick visit to College Station, Texas. I always enjoy the drive up in the spring with the rolling hills of bluebonnets. This trip was for an all-day meeting, and by the end of the day, I was pretty tired. I needed to attend the student awards that night, so I had to change somewhere, no longer checked into my hotel. So I drove to Target, thinking that would work, when I realized their bathrooms aren't the best for changing most of the time. Then I thought a pedicure would be nice, and I saw a place called RC Nails in the shopping center nearby.
Popping in, I noticed it looked clean, and there was just one woman there. I asked her for a pedicure, changed, and came to sit in my massage chair. We struck up a conversation, and with it just being the two of us, chatted on for an hour about how she came to be where she was today. Her story was incredibly touching, and she told me she was half white and half Vietnamese, and had been abandoned as a baby. A catholic nun found her at two days old and raised her for the next fourteen years, and she sang in the church choir. The kids always made fun of her though and some were violent, calling her the enemy since her father was white. This was just after the Vietnam War, and so she was then sent to Wisconsin to grow up at 14. She was able to have the catholic church there get her citizenship and papers for a name, which she chose herself, having never known her mother or father. She was then on her own just going to school and church, then went to college for 2 years before deciding she needed to work and couldn't afford the loans. She had a friend who lived in Houston, moved there, married, had two children, then divorced and moved to College Station. She returned to Vietnam twice to try to find her mother but failed. Since then she has worked at nail salons with her certifications and bought the one we were in 2 years ago. She said she was really down about her business being slow though, and kept saying she was praying she could sell the place and move to the city. It was then that I asked her if I could pray with her, and she began to cry. Afterward she hugged me like a good friend, and it was incredibly touching to be used, just to encourage her. She kept telling me thank you, but I told her that I was so thankful she had shared her story for me and that I would pass it on. That hopefully someday she could find her mom. We exchanged numbers, and I walked out smiling, so glad I had walked into her salon. It was one of those God-placed-me-there moments, and I left with such Joy.
If you are ever in Aggieland, stop by RC Nails. She is one of those nail attendants that you enjoy talking to and does a great job on your nails!
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