Yesterday was cold and very rainy, so I resolved to spend as much of the day as possible inside my house, in my biggest and fluffiest sweatshirt and comfiest socks. I did some singing, writing, and reading in my room for a while, and then my housemate, Ciin, came downstairs with baby Sammy. She set him in his swing in the dining room and then went in the kitchen to start cooking.
This is my chance! I thought, and ran in to the dining room.
It's been very difficult for me to get to know my new housemates... they are very nice, but very private people, preferring to spend most of their time upstairs in their room. Granted, I was gone for most of the summer, then I was in the hospital, then Ciin had her baby, then I went home. Not a lot of time for us to form a special bond. So any amount of time we share together on the main level of our house is time I hope will be good for relationship building.
Back to Ciin in the kitchen... I tried to strike up a conversation, but giggles and one-word responses don't lend themselves to long or detailed dialogues. So I decided to talk with Sammy. I sat by his swing and gave him an occasional push to keep him going. From our short visits together, I have learned a few things: he likes to swing high, he likes to wave his arms around, and he loves music. So I tucked his blanket under his little elbows, rocked him, and sang to him. I also prayed for him... Once he was asleep, I got my book and kept reading and humming, keeping an eye on his sweet little face.
Ciin came in the dining room with a bowl of ramen for me, and asked, "You like?" Ok, sure, why not. Actually, ramen is a wonderful rainy-day meal! She also gave me a steaming cup of Burmese tea. We laughed together over how I tried to wind the eternally-long noodles around my fork... chopsticks would be much more practical, if we had some.
Pastor Meng Pu came over soon after lunch, and we studied the Bible together. I had given him an ESL version of the story of Abraham and Isaac on Monday (which he absolutely loved), and yesterday he quoted the whole thing to me from memory. Then he went back over it in his own words - beautifully broken and mismatched English - as a sermon, explaining how Abraham must have felt and yet chose to obey God, and how the lamb was a picture of Jesus. It was so cool. He asked about my home church, and he said some day when he can speak enough English he wants to visit it! Oh, I can't wait!
After our study, he went upstairs to visit with Ciin (his sister), and I realized baby Sammy was still downstairs with me. So I got to babysit! When he woke up, I talked and sang to him a while and he waved his arms around and smiled in response.
Days like this make me remember how much I love the taste, the sounds, the smell, and the people of our Little Burma...
Thursday, October 20, 2011
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