Translation Confusion

Three of my favorite English phrases, spoken by Belarusians who thought they knew what they were saying:

"Close your sin." = Avoid temptation

"Take off butt." = Relax

"She wants to be a professional salad." (The young man was trying to say a "professional seller" as in a saleswoman, but it came out as "professional salad" instead.)

New law: no Speedos

I had the opportunity to go to a region called “Narich” for the past two days. It is a collection of lakes that were formed when glaciers scooped out the dirt and then melted. Since the weather here in Belarus is much colder than in the States, and these lakes were a couple hours north of here, it was a might bit chilly in them! By far my favorite lake was one about two miles in diameter, and one could walk about a half mile out and still touch the bottom of the lake with your head above water! That’s very nice for the aquatically-challenged folk like me and my family. So after swimming just long enough in the chilly water so that I couldn’t feel my legs anymore, I came back into the shore and changed into dry clothes. I was there with the Nebel family and a Belarusian named Maxime who served as the translator and guide for us. Once we were all warm, Mr. Nebel made a campfire and we sat around enjoying the warmth. There are no graham crackers or marshmallows over here, but I attempted a couple cooking experiments to make them, and using some delicious Belarusian chocolate, we had something that somewhat resembled s’mores. After two days of an absolutely wonderful experience (minus the old men in Speedos), it was back to Ratomka and the work there.

Girls' Night, yeah yeah yeah...

Here is a new recipe for one to try: Take 15 Belarusian girls, four American girls, two American mothers, and an assortment of junk foods (popcorn, chocolate, cookies, etc.), shut them up inside an empty church for an entire night, and then see what happens. That was what happened last night right here in Ratomka, and it was a blast! The three Nebel girls (Sophia, Lydia, and Annabelle) and I planned out an outreach for teenage Belarusian girls in the Ratomka area. Some of the girls already go to church here, but our real mission was to reach out to girls in the Virtual Orphanage program, who have perhaps never heard the gospel. So we lured them in with games and ice cream sundaes, and then when they least expected it, we presented the gospel in the form of a short Bible study. I was delegated to lead the Bible study, through an interpreter, and to be honest it was a nerve-wracking experience. Here were girls who perhaps had never heard the Good News before, and maybe never again would. I just pray that something miraculous happened when the translator was translating, because I kept stumbling over words and losing my train of thought. It was a humbling experience. A tiring one, too, since some of the girls had so much sugar that they didn’t fall asleep until 5 AM!!!! Perhaps I’m getting old, because I caught myself being the “grumpy chaperone” who kept telling the girls to be quiet, settle down, and go to sleep. It all turned out well, though, and we feasted on chocolate chip banana pancakes for breakfast, always a great way to end an event. J

What is Visitation?

“Visitation” is the term that applies to any time one of the people from the Virtual Orphanage ministry drives, walks, bikes, rides horseback, etc. to go see on of the children in the program. This week I have been traveling everywhere it seems, going on visitation with David Nebel, the director of the program, so that every child can be interviewed, and I can take new pictures of them. Sometimes we find the kids happy, sometimes they haven’t eaten for a few meals, often times the parents are missing or drunk or both. It’s common to see children jus wandering the streets, playing with friends and getting into all kinds of mischief. There are over 100 children in the Virtual Orphanage program, and the goal is to take pictures of as many as possible, and interview as many as possible.

Etiquette Rule #37

In the Belarussian culture, one must neverwait patiently in a line. The proper technique is to push and shove to the front, always looking for an opening to sneak in. And of course, it is vitally important to act as if you have done nothing wrong. : ) Another interesting bit of culture is that when one or two people stop to look at something, suddenly an entire crowd has gathered around to see what's going on. So a fun game to play is for one to grab a couple friends in the grocery store (preferably people you know) and start to look at something intently, then see how long it takes for a crowd to gather around. Come on over here and try it out!

Family of Eight

Here is an example of a family that lives in Belarus:

There are six children, twoboys and four girls, ranging from ages 12 to 20. The father travels over and hour by foot to get to work each morning. The oldest girl, Natalia, was hit by a car while walking across the street, but the man who did it refuses to help pay for her leg surgery and the family has little chance of winning their court case against him, because the unwritten rule about the judiciary system is, "Whoever has the most money, wins." And on top of this, the mother has dreamed for years and years of taking her family to Vilnius, a city in the neighboring country of Lithuania, so that her children might actually meet their grandparents. It is only a two-hour car ride there, but the high price of visas and their lack of a car make it a nearly impossible dream. Yet despite this situation, the 4 kilometer walk to school and the local train station that family members make every day, they are cheerful and giving. When visiting this family with an American couple, the mother immediately brought out her best cookies and preserves and their much-treasured Folgers Instant Coffee, which to them is priceless. They happily work in their garden, and the family obviously is very close. In many ways, they have a love for each other that many American families lack, yet there is not always a guarantee of enough food for the entire family at dinner.

THE TINY HOUSE

Here it is! The doors are about 6.75 feet high.
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