Have you ever read something in a book and thought...wow, how did the author get into my mind and know my thoughts exactly? My friend Alisa is an avid reader and has this happen to her a lot...well, it was my turn last night!
My dad suggested a book to read for me before I came here to Russia. It's written by Hannah Hurnard...she also wrote Hinds Feet on High Places....an awesome allegory that I have read more than once! She was also a missionary! Imagine that?! So, I am slowly reading her book and LOVE it more than I can describe---it's sooooo accurate about how one feels as a missionary or believer in a strange place.
So, here is the part that made me laugh out loud b/c it was so JOHN and ME!! I read it to him and he laughed too.
The enemy of souls, of course, knows this and does his utmost to hinder the keeping of the daily quiet time. Almost anything will prove easier than to form this daily habit, for so many factors combine to prevent it. First there is the strangeness of everything, the complete uprooting of all the old ties and habits and customs, leaving one feeling unsettled, restless, tired, and with the continual sense of being in a strange environment to which one only slowly and painfully becomes adjusted.
Then there are the endless irrations(Karen's definition--things that are illogical) and nerve-racking difficulties due to lack of the new language and the misunderstandings arising from this ignorance. Also the difficulty of adjusting oneself to the completely different outlook of those among whom one has gone to work. Then, perhaps there are the primitive conditions and lack of conveniences to which one has been accustomed; and above all, the change of climate.
Whew...there it is...ok, so these paragraphs seem like life is really hard...we don't feel that life is this difficult but the difficulties that we do feel are sooooo described here in this section.
My dad suggested a book to read for me before I came here to Russia. It's written by Hannah Hurnard...she also wrote Hinds Feet on High Places....an awesome allegory that I have read more than once! She was also a missionary! Imagine that?! So, I am slowly reading her book and LOVE it more than I can describe---it's sooooo accurate about how one feels as a missionary or believer in a strange place.
So, here is the part that made me laugh out loud b/c it was so JOHN and ME!! I read it to him and he laughed too.
The enemy of souls, of course, knows this and does his utmost to hinder the keeping of the daily quiet time. Almost anything will prove easier than to form this daily habit, for so many factors combine to prevent it. First there is the strangeness of everything, the complete uprooting of all the old ties and habits and customs, leaving one feeling unsettled, restless, tired, and with the continual sense of being in a strange environment to which one only slowly and painfully becomes adjusted.
Then there are the endless irrations(Karen's definition--things that are illogical) and nerve-racking difficulties due to lack of the new language and the misunderstandings arising from this ignorance. Also the difficulty of adjusting oneself to the completely different outlook of those among whom one has gone to work. Then, perhaps there are the primitive conditions and lack of conveniences to which one has been accustomed; and above all, the change of climate.
Whew...there it is...ok, so these paragraphs seem like life is really hard...we don't feel that life is this difficult but the difficulties that we do feel are sooooo described here in this section.
I love the part about miscommunications--you think it's hard when you speak the same language ...there are many times where there is a miscommunication just because someone is speaking English and it's not their native language so some things come out meaning something very different than what was intended! Funny!!!
I am loving this book and always look forward to reading it b/c Hannah H describes life in the Lord soooo well.
John goes to a "guys night out" tonight with a bunch of Americans---they are having barbeque(yep, they have BBQ sauce here!)...he has been gone today with some boys from one of the dormitories. Just wanted to update John's friends/family with a bit of what he is doing!:)
I am loving this book and always look forward to reading it b/c Hannah H describes life in the Lord soooo well.
John goes to a "guys night out" tonight with a bunch of Americans---they are having barbeque(yep, they have BBQ sauce here!)...he has been gone today with some boys from one of the dormitories. Just wanted to update John's friends/family with a bit of what he is doing!:)
1 comment:
I think this part describes it for me "with the continual sense of being in a strange environment to which one only slowly and painfully becomes adjusted." This first month has been like a fog for me and I have to remind myself this is not a dream.
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