Surprised x 2

Two Surprises this week.

One of the "endorsements" inside the covers of "The Shack" state something to the effect of: "I don't jump on bandwagons... I'm on this one." I guess I'm like that too. I'm just a little skeptical when there's a lot of hype about something.

What really piqued my interest in this book though was that I read on a blog from a missionary serving in Ukraine that she is using the book as a text for teaching English as a second language. Hmm, I wondered...what's so good about this book?

Well- read it and find out. It's a great story to begin with and it's the best novel revealing Truth (the person and the concept) since "This Present Darkness". Again...one endorser said it's the best Christian Fiction since "Pilgrim's Progress".

It's a little out there...but at the same time I'd have to say I feel like it's spot on.


Another great surprise this week.

I bought some Tea home from China last year. It's been in a bag with other memorabilia since I returned home. I ran across it a few weeks ago before moving to the lakehouse so I packed it. I broke it out last night.

It's an "oolong" tea. That's all I remember about it. It's a very mild, light green tea. When I first opened the bag I feared it might have rotted or something...I don't know what I was expecting...tea leaves I guess. Instead the bag was filled with little greeny-whitish balls. I thought the white might be mold or something.

But I pressed on. I heated some water and dropped a few "balls" into it. And within a minute the balls unfurled into pretty little green leaves.

The taste: Oh. Like I said, not very strong- just a mild green tea. But this one has an aftertaste. It's so subtle you might miss it. I don't know how to describe it except that it reminds me of Honeysuckle. You get this very subtle, sweet aftertaste that makes your tongue probe all over your palate trying to find more. And what's even better...is when you inhale through your mouth...you get this fragrance or taste (I don't know which) of Honeysuckle...or whatever it is.

Just a really nice surprise...and a nice reminder of many of the places I visited last year because everyone else in the WORLD drinks hot tea. (Not that I'm not still addicted to good Southern Sweet Iced Tea!)

Rosetta Stone Day 10

I wish I could report that I'm getting pretty fluent by now...but you didn't really expect that did you?

Two matters loom large: 1) I haven't been as disciplined as I wanted to be thus far. I've even skipped some days altogether. 2) It's every bit as difficult as I thought it would be...but it does get easier.

I spent a solid week on Unit 1 Lesson 1 Session 1. I think there are four sessions in each lesson and 4 lessons in each Unit. I doubt seriously if I'll even make it to Unit 2 at this rate.

I am about to master session 1 though. I can say phrases like, "girl eats", "boy eats", "woman eats", "man eats" and I can use other verbs like "drinks", "runs", "swims", and "cooks"and I can make those phrases plural too..."girls swim", "men cook" etc.

Spending time doing this is definitely going to help me though.

In other news: I've been really lazy since I've been back in the lakehouse. I started out pretty good...getting in about an hour of kayaking every day...but we've had a good bit of cloudy weather...and it turned off cool the last few days so I haven't been out as much. I did get the jungle in the backyard mowed down though. I'm bringing my weight bench over from Amory this weekend...and eventually I'll try to ride my bike some.

I also made one trip to Birmingham to have dinner with Gina and her roommate Amanda. I'd like to get over there again sometime soon. And the relatively close proximity here to Mississippi State has afforded me the opportunity to see the Dogs play two games. We beat Southeastern Louisiana and lost a memorable game to Auburn 3-2!

Rosetta Stone- Day 1

I guess it will take a few days to fine-tune a workable schedule.  I learned a lesson today though…and it wasn’t from Rosetta Stone either!  It’s a lesson I’ve known for many years but apparently had forgotten.  The lesson:  Don’t plan anything mentally taxing for the afternoon!

I think my original plan was to be awake by 8 am, have breakfast and some worship time followed by language study with Rosetta Stone until noon.  Then in the afternoon I can go play in the water or ride my bike or go to the gym or whatever.

However, today I didn’t get out of bed until 9 today (I’m sure no one is surprised), had breakfast and some worship time and then went for an hour long kayak excursion.  It was pretty steamy-hot even at 10:30 am and I guess it sapped me pretty good.  I made it back to the house and showered and sat down for language study at 1:00 pm. 

Bad Idea!

I made it an hour before falling asleep.  First on the couch and then under a blanket on the bed!  I should know better than try to study in the afternoon.  Maybe early in the morning…probably moreso later at night.  That’s how I roll.

In any case, I’m off to a less-than-encouraging start.  If I can master Rosetta Stone I’ll definitely have a head-start on the Russian Language by the time I get to Ukraine in January.  And I’m really not beating  myself up too much for having such a hard time on my first day.

But gosh…I spent an hour repeating the same 8 or 10 words and it seemed like as soon as I exited the program I couldn’t recall but one or two of those words!  What’s that about? 

That door is finally shut...for now.

You may recall that I interviewed with the International Mission Board for an International Service Corps  position back in July and that I withdrew from the process because 1) there didn't seem to be a job that I wanted (even though there were a lot of cool jobs available) and 2) the ISC job in Ukraine only provided 1 month of language study and I've felt all along that I want more than that.

In consultation with some of the leadership at the Candidate Conference, I transferred my application from ISC to the Career Track- the Apprentice Program they call it, because the Apprentice Program provides a full year of language study and I was told, would offer more flexibility in creating a job for me.

Alas, that door is now officially shut.  I spent an afternoon on the phone with the Regional Consultant last week and he in turn emailed and met with several others and here, in part, is his reply:  "There will not be a job forthcoming from the Central and Eastern Europe Region for a candidate to work with children and orphans."

As for now, I'm still in process with the agency I alluded to in my last blog.  I should be preliminarily approved this month with final approval coming after a mandatory week-long meeting with them at the end of October.

I'm back at my friends lake house near Jasper, Alabama for a few months.  Pray for me as I try to learn as much Russian as I can with Rosetta Stone and as I try to get some routine in my life (exercise, eating healthy, etc) for a few months.  I'll also be working on getting contact information together for the impending support raising blitz come November and I'll be working on my support letters and promo materials.