It's a chilly wet overcast morning. I'm dodging puddles in front of my apartment building. Before I get 10 strides out of my stair way, I slow for an elderly woman walking ahead of me. Judging by bundles swinging from her hands I could tell she was on the same assignment as I: Throw out the trash. My apartment's dumpster site is on the way to the language school where I teach. Today I left a few minutes later than I should have and slowing my gate to a trot behind the "babuska" wasn't a something I felt like I could afford today. But I gave her polite space (which is my US culture showing through. They don't exactly have personal-bubbles here.)...Suddenly we were both stopped in our tracks. The mother of all puddles was hiding behind the parked car she and I just walked past. A man-hole cover was bubbling up a steady stream of water. Steady enough to make a mini sea of our road & walk way...
Thankfully I spotted a stretch of raised asphalt between another parked car and a wall that she and I could fit through to complete our shared objective: Throw out the trash. Once through this detour we were home free, and I raised arm to fling my grocery bag-o-rubbish by the knotted plastic handles to it's target. "Is there bread in there??" I hear from behind me. I looked back and saw her place a little bag of bread on a ledge near our dumpster. Our building isn't sophisticated enough to have a designated bread bin. "No I there's no bread (in my trash)" I replied. "Honestly?" She continued. "Honestly." I said confidently.
This place has been "home" for a year, but the custom of regarding bread so highly that even when moldy and stale, it is never tossed with the rest of your trash, still makes me shake my head. Actually, It's bad luck to throw out bread. It's bad luck to throw out trash after the sun setts too. I do what I can to not raise eyebrows, but today's a reminder that they take this stuff seriously.
One young man on my team witnessed as a "Narnian" demonstrated how he takes Jesus' message to heart in a new way...YES one new brother has joined our family. I can't post much about them online but I must share the news of this miracle! Though there is still much darkness and deception held by these dear people, there is yet hope and we trust that the seed sown will at it's appointed season bear fruit!
I will post again about life here soon!
In Him,
Yvonne