Shthtung on the Tongue

(From Aug 24)

Yeth. Thasth whah happened yestherday when I accthidentally dwank a bee thath wath dwowning in mah jduice. Now I can’th swawow mah sawiva vewy wew, and I thalk with a lithp becauth mah tongue ith bigger than mah wowah wip.

Actually, the swelling has gone down and it barely hurts any more. But yesterday evening was pretty painful. I’m learning a thing or two about bees. I always thought “you leave them alone and they’ll leave you alone,” right? Wrong. First I let one crawl up my arm, and it stung me. Then, yesterday afternoon, I waltzed into the kitchen to get a sip of juice from my bottle, which was open on the counter, and naturally having my mind elsewhere and not expecting dangerous predators to be lurking in my drink, I took a swig and was jolted out of la la land by a near-electric shock.

I’m sure the bee was shocked, too. I yelled and ran to the sink, where I spit him out and he died. And then, stinging insanely, I ran for the vinegar and poured some in my mouth (yeah, I know, very smart!) So then I was burning as well as stinging. It felt like ridges of electric current flowing through my tongue, and I could feel it swelling.

It was extremely painful for several hours. Ibuprofen didn’t help. Talking was an adventure, as well as keeping my saliva behind my dwarfed lower lip. Actually eating supper was soothing, albeit a bit awkward. After a little while it really did strike me as being a comical situation- getting stung twice in one day and on the tongue, no less! Today it’s much better, only slightly swollen and a little sore.

It’s bed time, but there is so much to write about today. It’s been such a good day. Church is at night instead of morning, and market was this morning, so around 9 Bron and I met Marie (The Gollan’s oldest daughter, who’s 11) and we walked down together. I learned a couple of things about going to market:

1. Never buy more than you can carry.

2. Always bring a drink, because no matter how pleasant and breezy it is outside, you’ll be completely dried out by the time you climb back up the hill.

3. Bring bags, or you’ll have to buy them.

Yes, I did nearly buy more than I could carry. What with the blanket, the material, sweaters, bread, kefir, zippers, and fly paper wrapped in a big bundle, I felt like a pack mule. Oh, and we got some flowers too, but the girls carried those.

We went to a garage sale type thing where there were piles of second hand clothes, tablecloths, etc laid out on tarps, and looked for winter stuff, primarily a snow suit. Deb had been down earlier and found some inexpensive ones for the boys, so I thought I would look too. I didn’t find any there, but I did get a couple of sweater type things, some material for sewing practice (I would like to get the girls together to sew, but I’m not sure what we’ll make, and used pillow covers and tablecloths will be great practice material) and also a blanket.

I’ve been really wanting a “normal” blanket, and it’s such a great little blessing: I found this one for two dollars, and it is the same kind I use on my bed at home. It’s rather well-loved, but then, so is my one at home :) I think it will contribute greatly to my health :)

So, it was, as Marie stated with a sigh of satisfaction as we started home, “a good market day.” I enjoy going to the market whether I buy anything or not, because it’s a good chance to pick up on the culture and use a little bit of Russian. I actually saw a lady from church there—she came and tapped me on the arm and said “prevyit.” I recognized her but I couldn’t think from where, and then Marie helped me out.

I’m greatly encouraged about Russian. Thanks to anyone who’s lifted up prayers on whether I should learn Russian or Ukrainian. Of course I’m still not 100% sure yet, but I’ve been asking God to show me, and He seems to be guiding me towards Russian.

Last night, Cheryl was here for supper and I was talking with her about it, and she said that if I’m only going to be here a year, I should learn Russian, because most people hear can understand it and speak some, it would be much more useful later. And once again, I said, “But I’m not planning to go to Russia…” But she told me that she has friends in other countries like Kazakhstan and Uzbekistan (I can’t remember the exact ones she said, but they were around there) and they speak Russian there. Something inside me gave a little JUMP because I’m sort of drawn to those “Stan” countries for some reason…maybe just the mystery of them, I don’t know. And if I went there and could speak Russian??? Hmm. I really have no idea what God will do with me, but since the moment she said that, I’ve had more motivation to learn Russian.

This morning I was thinking about that again, and realizing that although it’s important to live “every moment to the hilt,” to quote Jim Elliot, it’s also good to look ahead. In the past I focused so much on the future that I ignored the present, so lately I’ve swung a little too far in the other direction! I’ve gotten burned out on the word “vision,” but suddenly I’m seeing that a little vision is good seasoning for everyday life, however flavorful it already is.

So I’m asking God for vision for what comes after Ukraine to give more substance to what I am doing here. Not in the way of “I’m not content here and can’t wait to leave,” but rather, “God has led me here and I want to use this time to the fullest for His glory and whatever purposes He has.” Because He’s definitely a God of mystery, and I can’t even guess what little things He’s using in my life to prepare me for later.

So, newly inspired, I sat down with my Russian books today at the green plastic table. Deb and I studied together for a while and didn’t feel like we were getting very far. Russian is very difficult. All that declining and conjugating and fuss about imperfective and perfective, nominative and genitive and accusative and dative…(yeah, we don’t get it either.) Latin and Spanish helped give me a foundation, but this is much harder than either one, and it doesn’t help that I picked a crummy grammar book that is written for people who have already probably majored in linguistics.

However, there were two encouragements. I found a group of nine verbs that act the same way and don’t switch endings when you aren’t looking, and they are important, useful verbs, so if I learn them, I’ll be doing well. And, tonight at church, Deb and I both discovered that we were understanding much more Russian during the singing and teaching than last week! I guess I’ve made more progress than I thought.

Church was sweet tonight. Once again, the singing in Russian, Ukrainian, and English was refreshing to hear, and I enjoyed the time in the Word. Daniel was talking about 1Timothy 4 and the discussion became quite lively when someone disagreed with a point he was making and then everyone talked about it. I guess I’ve never seen that before, but it was really good, I thought, to hear what different people had to say. It made me really think about it and examine the scripture instead of just listening and possibly tuning out.

We went home around 8 and had a young couple, Altu and Svetlana, over for supper. Altu is Turkish, and Svetlana is Ukrainian. They were really nice…Bruce is trying to convince Svetlana to give us Russian lessons, but…yeah. You can pray for that. We need a teacher! They had a great teacher in Kiev, but she’s, well, in Kiev.

I’ve so enjoyed having company over here. Bruce asked me why I get so intimidated by social interaction but yet love it when we have company. That’s simple. In a crowd, it’s up to me to participate, find people to talk to, find a “spot,” etc. At home, there is the security of a family circle that you are drawing the guests into, and there’s more focus. I feel free to enjoy being with people while not having the pressure to initiate anything. I already know who to talk to, and, to be honest, I just feel safer and more comfortable that way. I want to be willing to get outside of that comfort zone…but right now I’m already out a good deal just being here. Baby steps.

This morning, God GREATLY ENCOURAGED me with verses from Psalm 37 about my many life questions.

“Trust in the Lord and do good. Dwell in the land and cultivate faithfulness.

Delight yourself in the Lord, and He will give you the desires of your heart.

Commit your way to Him. Trust also in Him, and He will do this:

He will make your righteousness shine like the sun, the justice of your cause like the noon day sun.

Be still before the Lord and wait patiently (longingly) for Him…”