It has started. My next 9 days ("tomorrows" as the kids call them) are measured in small segments of time that have more than enough things to totally fill them. And of course, in the midst of it all, there are the time-out moments when everything must stop for certain things to be handled. You know, the bruises or cuts from crashing your bike into the shed on purpose, etc. And then there's the times we you have to carry out the threat you made, even though you don't want to but you know it's necessary.
One of our 3 visitors has had a consistent problem with "talking" as the kids call it (calling others bad names). There have been times in years past when the translators would refuse to tell me what was said, saying it was very bad and too bad to translate. Since I don't speak Russian, in normal circumstances I don't know whether it's a real argument, or simply kids being kids. But the subject came up in the mountains, and I finally gave the ultimatum: this happens again, and your mouth gets washed out with soap.
It happened. I even called the translator to double check the seriousness of the crime, and it was bad. So I gave a choice: 1) mouth washed out with soap or 2) no more video games. There was crying and indecision, then the child finally chose number one. I wanted to cry. But we did it, the child survived, and then even had the audacity to tell me thirty minutes later that the soap was good. For the second night in a row, I chose a Bible bedtime story and followed up with a reading. (Two nights ago we read the good Samaritan and discussed the difference between a practical joke and meanness; last night was the lost sheep and James 3, which we had a hard time finding...their New Testament books come in a different order than ours!).
I'm hoping the rest of our time ticks like clockwork without any more crazy interruptions. My heart breaks that we have this language barrier that interrupts communication and understanding. Meanwhile, I cling to the unchanging Seed and am claiming the verse that God's word will not return void, all the while pleading, "Let it be."
One of our 3 visitors has had a consistent problem with "talking" as the kids call it (calling others bad names). There have been times in years past when the translators would refuse to tell me what was said, saying it was very bad and too bad to translate. Since I don't speak Russian, in normal circumstances I don't know whether it's a real argument, or simply kids being kids. But the subject came up in the mountains, and I finally gave the ultimatum: this happens again, and your mouth gets washed out with soap.
It happened. I even called the translator to double check the seriousness of the crime, and it was bad. So I gave a choice: 1) mouth washed out with soap or 2) no more video games. There was crying and indecision, then the child finally chose number one. I wanted to cry. But we did it, the child survived, and then even had the audacity to tell me thirty minutes later that the soap was good. For the second night in a row, I chose a Bible bedtime story and followed up with a reading. (Two nights ago we read the good Samaritan and discussed the difference between a practical joke and meanness; last night was the lost sheep and James 3, which we had a hard time finding...their New Testament books come in a different order than ours!).
I'm hoping the rest of our time ticks like clockwork without any more crazy interruptions. My heart breaks that we have this language barrier that interrupts communication and understanding. Meanwhile, I cling to the unchanging Seed and am claiming the verse that God's word will not return void, all the while pleading, "Let it be."
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