Jan and Bryan had only been in Japan a couple of weeks when Jan first met Sachiko and her toddler daughter at a local park. 

Jan understood very little Japanese and spoke even less, so was thankful when Sachiko introduced herself simply in English, as she knew very little English at the time. 

“Hello, my name is Sachiko. Would you teach me English? And even if you cannot, would you be my friend?” 

So began their friendship.

You can also read the story on the OMF (U.S.) blog.