October 25, 2024 • 7 mins
On this episode of Our American Stories, regular contributor Stephen Rusiniak has a special story written by his daughter. She shares how helping those in need can help bring a little perspective to our lives.
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Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:05):
This is Lee Habib and this is our American Stories,
and we tell stories about everything here on this show,
including your story. Send them to our American Stories dot com.
There's some of our favorites. Our show is free to
listen to, but it is not free to make. We
are a nonprofit and any contributions, any donations, any support
is greatly appreciated. Do a little, do a lot. A
(00:27):
gift of five dollars ten dollars a month really makes
a difference in bringing these stories to you each and
every week and just keeping our team on track. Oh
and by the way, you can do that by going
to Ouramerican Stories dot com and simply click the donate button.
Stephen Raciniak, one of our regular contributors, has a special
piece for us today. This story was written by his
(00:49):
daughter and he's being read by his niece Sandy. This
story is entitled Please Don't Leave.
Speaker 2 (00:59):
I hadna for and so I had no reason to
believe that this time would be any different. I was
sure that when I returned home from my mission trip,
as always, I would bring back nothing more than some
mud of my boots, a whole or two in my genes,
and of course a lot of great memories. Little did
I know that this time it was going to be different.
(01:21):
The summer before my high school graduation, I went to
West Virginia with others from my church as members of
the Appalachia Service Project. Our goals included refurbishing the homes
of those in need, and where we were heading there
was no shortage of need. Along with volunteers from many churches,
we arrived at our destination much like an invading army
(01:42):
in miniature, and we arrived ready to do battle. The
tools that we brought from home would serve as our
weapons as we prepared to wage war against an all
too familiar enemy, substandard living conditions. Our mission was to
make the homes of those we served warmer, safer, and dryer,
(02:03):
and with only five days to accomplish as much as
we could, we were anxious to get started. My group
was assigned the task of rebuilding sections of a home
that had been damaged by fire. No sooner had we
parked on the home's dirt driveway when I saw an
excited little girl no more than five or six years old,
standing in the doorway of the family's temporary trailer home.
(02:26):
Shoelas and wearing dirty clothes and the biggest smile I
had ever seen. She yelled, Ma, Ma, They really came.
I didn't know it then, but her name was Dakota,
and four more days would pass before she'd say another word.
Near me, behind Dakota was a woman in a wheelchair,
her grandmother, we'd learn. I also learned that my job
(02:49):
this week would be to help convert a fire damaged
dining room into a bedroom for this little girl. After
meeting several more family members, we got down to the
business of making a difference in the lives. Grabbing our tools,
we went to work. Walls were torn down and replaced,
hammers and nails, saws and electric screw guns, drywall prepping,
(03:10):
and painting. We moved at a fast piece. Over the
following days. I noticed Dakota peeking at us every now
and then as we worked. A few times I tried
talking with her, but she remained shy and aloft, always
fluttering around us like a tiny butterfly, always there but
staying just out of reach, watching us intently, but keeping
(03:31):
to herself. By her fifth and final day, however, this
would change. Before I went to work on her home.
On that last morning, I spoke for a moment or
two with the grandmother. I was especially pleased when she
told me how much Dakota loved her new room, so much,
in fact, that she begged to sleep in it the
previous night, even though it wasn't quite ready just yet.
(03:55):
As we talked, I noticed something I hadn't seen before.
Dakota was hiding by behind her grandmother. Cautiously, she stepped
into view and I could see that, just like her clothes,
her face was still dirty, but no amount of soil
could hide those bright blue eyes and her big smile.
She was simply adorable. I wanted to hug her, but
(04:19):
respecting her shyness, I kept my distance. Slowly, she began
walking towards me, and it wasn't until she was inches
away that I noticed the folded piece of paper in
her tiny hand. Silently, she reached up and handed it
to me. Once unfolded, I looked at the drawing she'd
made with her broken crans on the back of an
(04:40):
old coloring book cover. It was of two girls, one
much taller than the other, and they were holding hands.
She told me that it was supposed to be me
and her, and scrawled on the bottom of the paper
were three little words that instantly broke my heart. Please
don't leave now. Almost in tears, I surrendered to the
(05:02):
impulse that I'd suppressed only moments before. I bent down
and hugged her. She hugged me too, and for the
longest time, neither one of us could let go. By
early afternoon, we finished Dakota's bedroom, and so I gladly
used the rare free time to get to know my
newest friend. Sitting under a tree away from the others,
(05:24):
we shared a few apples while she told me about
her life in the hollow. As I listened to her
stories about the struggles she and her family endured daily,
I began to realize how frivolous various aspects of my
own life were. Suddenly, Things like deciding what to wear
when I went out on a Friday night, or which
Wanabe celebrity was starring the latest reality television series now
(05:47):
seems so trivial in comparison. Thoughts like this and others
quickly took a back seat to what really mattered most
to me, my friends, my family, and my faith. More surprisingly,
all it took for me to reaffirm these important truths
was a wisdom of one special little girl living somewhere
(06:07):
in the mountains of West Virginia. I left for home
early the next morning, and of course I returned with
muddy boots and holes in my jeans. But because of Dakota,
I brought back with me something else too, a greater
appreciation for all the blessings of my life. I'll never
forget that barefooted little butterfly with the big smile and
(06:29):
that dirty face. And in the end, I pray that
she'll never forget me either.
Speaker 1 (06:38):
And great job on that production is always by faith
and especial thanks to Stephen Resinniac's niece Sandy for reading
Stephen's daughter's words about a simple mission trip. And by
the way we tell these stories because so many people
of faith around this country, what they do with their
families is remarkable. They don't just go to the beach
(06:59):
and eat. They go and they serve Mama. They really
came and please don't leave. You can picture it in
your hands, and I know you're crying listening to that story.
It's a beautiful story about love, about sacrifice, about gratitude,
and so much more. By the way, you can read
this story in the backstory by visiting Stephen Resiniac dot com.
(07:20):
That's stephensiniac dot com. Stephen Resiniac's daughter's mission in West Virginia,
the story of her connection with a young girl named Dakota,
and the people around Dakota's life. Here on our American
Stories
This is Lee Habib and this is our American Stories,
and we tell stories about everything here on this show,
including your story. Send them to our American Stories dot com.
There's some of our favorites. Our show is free to
listen to, but it is not free to make. We
are a nonprofit and any contributions, any donations, any support
is greatly appreciated. Do a little, do a lot. A
(00:27):
gift of five dollars ten dollars a month really makes
a difference in bringing these stories to you each and
every week and just keeping our team on track. Oh
and by the way, you can do that by going
to Ouramerican Stories dot com and simply click the donate button.
Stephen Raciniak, one of our regular contributors, has a special
piece for us today. This story was written by his
(00:49):
daughter and he's being read by his niece Sandy. This
story is entitled Please Don't Leave.
Speaker 2 (00:59):
I hadna for and so I had no reason to
believe that this time would be any different. I was
sure that when I returned home from my mission trip,
as always, I would bring back nothing more than some
mud of my boots, a whole or two in my genes,
and of course a lot of great memories. Little did
I know that this time it was going to be different.
(01:21):
The summer before my high school graduation, I went to
West Virginia with others from my church as members of
the Appalachia Service Project. Our goals included refurbishing the homes
of those in need, and where we were heading there
was no shortage of need. Along with volunteers from many churches,
we arrived at our destination much like an invading army
(01:42):
in miniature, and we arrived ready to do battle. The
tools that we brought from home would serve as our
weapons as we prepared to wage war against an all
too familiar enemy, substandard living conditions. Our mission was to
make the homes of those we served warmer, safer, and dryer,
(02:03):
and with only five days to accomplish as much as
we could, we were anxious to get started. My group
was assigned the task of rebuilding sections of a home
that had been damaged by fire. No sooner had we
parked on the home's dirt driveway when I saw an
excited little girl no more than five or six years old,
standing in the doorway of the family's temporary trailer home.
(02:26):
Shoelas and wearing dirty clothes and the biggest smile I
had ever seen. She yelled, Ma, Ma, They really came.
I didn't know it then, but her name was Dakota,
and four more days would pass before she'd say another word.
Near me, behind Dakota was a woman in a wheelchair,
her grandmother, we'd learn. I also learned that my job
(02:49):
this week would be to help convert a fire damaged
dining room into a bedroom for this little girl. After
meeting several more family members, we got down to the
business of making a difference in the lives. Grabbing our tools,
we went to work. Walls were torn down and replaced,
hammers and nails, saws and electric screw guns, drywall prepping,
(03:10):
and painting. We moved at a fast piece. Over the
following days. I noticed Dakota peeking at us every now
and then as we worked. A few times I tried
talking with her, but she remained shy and aloft, always
fluttering around us like a tiny butterfly, always there but
staying just out of reach, watching us intently, but keeping
(03:31):
to herself. By her fifth and final day, however, this
would change. Before I went to work on her home.
On that last morning, I spoke for a moment or
two with the grandmother. I was especially pleased when she
told me how much Dakota loved her new room, so much,
in fact, that she begged to sleep in it the
previous night, even though it wasn't quite ready just yet.
(03:55):
As we talked, I noticed something I hadn't seen before.
Dakota was hiding by behind her grandmother. Cautiously, she stepped
into view and I could see that, just like her clothes,
her face was still dirty, but no amount of soil
could hide those bright blue eyes and her big smile.
She was simply adorable. I wanted to hug her, but
(04:19):
respecting her shyness, I kept my distance. Slowly, she began
walking towards me, and it wasn't until she was inches
away that I noticed the folded piece of paper in
her tiny hand. Silently, she reached up and handed it
to me. Once unfolded, I looked at the drawing she'd
made with her broken crans on the back of an
(04:40):
old coloring book cover. It was of two girls, one
much taller than the other, and they were holding hands.
She told me that it was supposed to be me
and her, and scrawled on the bottom of the paper
were three little words that instantly broke my heart. Please
don't leave now. Almost in tears, I surrendered to the
(05:02):
impulse that I'd suppressed only moments before. I bent down
and hugged her. She hugged me too, and for the
longest time, neither one of us could let go. By
early afternoon, we finished Dakota's bedroom, and so I gladly
used the rare free time to get to know my
newest friend. Sitting under a tree away from the others,
(05:24):
we shared a few apples while she told me about
her life in the hollow. As I listened to her
stories about the struggles she and her family endured daily,
I began to realize how frivolous various aspects of my
own life were. Suddenly, Things like deciding what to wear
when I went out on a Friday night, or which
Wanabe celebrity was starring the latest reality television series now
(05:47):
seems so trivial in comparison. Thoughts like this and others
quickly took a back seat to what really mattered most
to me, my friends, my family, and my faith. More surprisingly,
all it took for me to reaffirm these important truths
was a wisdom of one special little girl living somewhere
(06:07):
in the mountains of West Virginia. I left for home
early the next morning, and of course I returned with
muddy boots and holes in my jeans. But because of Dakota,
I brought back with me something else too, a greater
appreciation for all the blessings of my life. I'll never
forget that barefooted little butterfly with the big smile and
(06:29):
that dirty face. And in the end, I pray that
she'll never forget me either.
Speaker 1 (06:38):
And great job on that production is always by faith
and especial thanks to Stephen Resinniac's niece Sandy for reading
Stephen's daughter's words about a simple mission trip. And by
the way we tell these stories because so many people
of faith around this country, what they do with their
families is remarkable. They don't just go to the beach
(06:59):
and eat. They go and they serve Mama. They really
came and please don't leave. You can picture it in
your hands, and I know you're crying listening to that story.
It's a beautiful story about love, about sacrifice, about gratitude,
and so much more. By the way, you can read
this story in the backstory by visiting Stephen Resiniac dot com.
(07:20):
That's stephensiniac dot com. Stephen Resiniac's daughter's mission in West Virginia,
the story of her connection with a young girl named Dakota,
and the people around Dakota's life. Here on our American
Stories
Host
Lee Habeeb
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