Miss Banks of the Wabash visits the Big Apple!!

God works in mysterious ways ...

My junior year of high school, I wrote an essay about a man named Chiune Sugihara through my involvement with the Anti-Defamation League (visit http://www.adl.org/). As a result, I was granted the opportunity to visit Japan.

A couple of weeks ago I sent an email to the Director of Education at ADL to ask if the family I stayed with while in Japan was ok. After he assured me that the Naka family was fine, he informed me that some people from Japan would be visiting New York. He wanted me to come speak to them about my experiences in Japan and how I've used the lessons of the ADL since 2003.

So of COURSE I said yes. :-)

I met a woman that described her escape from the concentration camps in Poland. She is in the above photo in all red. She walked us through how each situation she and her family came across was life or death and God made a way. For example: She and her family got stopped by a Russian soldier with a gun who was about to kill her. The only reason he didn't was because he had a sister who was the same age, had the same name (which was a Russian name and it was odd that this woman had this name), and had the same two pig-tail braids in her hair. Her narrow escacpe seemed unreal.

The picture below is of two of the girls from Japan. For some reason, we had tuna and turkey wraps instead of food that would have been easier for the Japanese guests to eat. Watching them attempt to eat their food with fork and knife reminded me of how I tried to use chopsticks in Japan. I had to explain that wraps were finger food. It was a cute moment.

Below is a photo of me at ADL Headquarters the Monday after the Japanese guests came to visit. The Director of Education for the ADL introduced me to the staff in charge of their web publications. He told her about my experience with ADL and how that led to many decisions later. He explained how my Miss Indiana platform was linked to ADL's mission, so she asked me back to do an interview. They treated me like a real celebrity. Once they send me notification that my story is posted, I'll be sure to add a link here.

I can't believe how one simple email checking on my host family turned into this ... God is awesome. :)

Remember ... Unity Starts with YOU. Learn who you are. Respect the person God made you to be. It will help you respect (and not just tolerate difference) those around you.