About a month ago I was yelled at, quite abrasively by some older ladies. I had let Hanjik pee on a bush right in front of our apartment building. I even had one lady follow me to the door telling me all of the other places that Hanjik could go the bathroom. I didn’t know that people who live on the 1st floor of an apartment are allowed a small area to grow flowers (So apparently this was someone’s flower garden….whoops!). All I could say in Russian was that I was sorry. Maybe it’s good that I couldn’t understand everything because even with the little I could understand I must admit that my reaction was less than “Christ-like”. These ladies sit outside on this bench for hours every day. I’ve heard them yell at other people. They seem to have little purpose besides watching and waiting to yell at anyone who does something wrong. After this encounter I knew that it would take time to undo what happened. After smiling at them and saying hi every day for weeks, they have finally started to smile back! They have started to ask questions about Hanjik and where we are from. One lady even informed me that the elevator was broken so I should call Gabe to have him help carry Esther and the stroller up the stairs. They always enjoy seeing Esther and smile when she waves hi. One of these ladies asked if we liked it here. When I told her yes, she replied with surprise that she didn’t know why. My heart went out to her as I see her life with no hope. Even though I can’t minister much through my words because of the lack of language I pray that the Lord can shine through my presence.
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