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the soft sign
That's right, folks!
It's that time of year again: the north side of our planet is tilting towards the sun and the snow is almost completely melted! In honor of this fact I present to you the April 22, 2006 edition of the Handyrachet Herald.
I recently had a few experiences that I feel are important to share with all herald subscribers (if you are "serious missions subscriber" feel free to scroll to the bottom):
As a missionary to Russia I feel that it is important to speak Russian. This way, it is easier to speak to Russian speakers, and I'll tell ya, there are a lot of people who speak Russian in these parts. Overall, I think that Rachel and I speak pretty well. However, recent experience has shown that there is always room for improvement.
In late March I was on a train traveling from St. Petersburg to Perm with my friends Roma and Tolik. Traveling on that same train was a university student who was studying to become a philologist (the study of "philology"). Picking up on my ever so slight accent (tee-hee) she saw this as a prime opportunity to transfer her philology (the study of "philology") theory into practical application.
After polite conversation she declared that I needed to work on my "soft sign". The "soft sign", you will remember, is a letter of the Russian alphabet which was developed by the KGB during the Silent Generation so that anytime a foreigner spoke it would be obvious that said foreigner was unable to speak without making a sound. That's right (Prince: step aside!) it is the letter that makes no sound. However, as this philologist-in-training informed me: you must hear the soft sound in order to be able to speak it. Furthermore, if you can "feel silence in your mouth then you can speak it". This is why fluent speakers of the Russian language can answer with absolute surety the age old question, "If a tree falls in the forest and no one is around to hear it, will it make a sound?”
A quick look at my planner revealed that I had nothing to do for about thirty hours so I was able to begin work on making the "soft sign". This is somewhat reminiscent of the game that my parents would sometimes suggest on family trips entitled: "Let's see who can go the longest without making any noise".
I think Tolik and Roma were relieved that my loud attempts at the "soft sign" were interrupted with an abrupt switch in conversation caused by the arrival of another passenger in our wagon. We soon learned that the new passenger in question was in fact a Russian village surgeon. A lively conversation ensued whereby each of us peppered the surgeon with health related questions. I then told the story of my tonsils being removed under local anesthesia. The surgeon stated that tonsils under local anesthesia are a cinch, but performing an appendectomy under local anesthesia is more difficult.
Tolik then inquired, "I have not yet had my appendix removed; is that okay?"
The surgeon, philologist-in-training, Roma, and I exchanged glances.
Tolik continued, "Because almost everyone I know has a scar there and I don't."
The surgeon, philologist-in-training, Roma, and I exchanged glances.
The surgeon then began to speak. This is what she said: "If someone comes who thinks that they have appendicitis we have to cut them open to make sure. And since they are already open we take out their appendix whether it is infected or not. This way, when they come to the doctor again the doctor will see that they have a scar and that their appendix has certainly been removed. If you leave the appendix in and there is a scar then the next surgeon will not know that it is still there. Therefore, we just tell everyone that they had appendicitis whether they really did or not."
Back to philology (the study of Phil-o-logy):
I was at work the other day minding my own business when I was contacted by a local university professor who tutors many foreigners in Russian. She is a good teacher! I went to her twice some years ago and now I speak Russian!
Anyway, she said that she was performing an experiment for Oxford and needed my help. Since I am always one who jumps at the chance to invest in science, and especially philology (the study of "Phil"), I instantly agreed. She then sent over an intern with a CD. The instructions were to listen to the CD and write down what I heard. The problem was that there was a loud static noise in the background which made the voices on the CD almost impossible to hear. After an hour of writing down Russian words with LOUD hissing in the background I asked the intern if there was a problem with the microphone when they were recording. "No," was the reply,” this is a study of a foreigner’s ability to understand Russian words with static in the background."
Speaking of scientific experiments which represent a breakthrough for modern man we have been performing a little experiment of our own here in the privacy of our own home. The experiment is entitled, "How can you tell if Charlie's bladder is full?” Over the years, Charlie has consistently maintained that he does not, in fact, sense any pressure on the inner wall of his bladder. He has stayed constant in this conviction in the face of overwhelming empirical evidence to the contrary. As he "marks his territory" he feels that this is, in fact, evidence that his bladder is empty.
"I think I need to read Wild at Heart".
-Rachel E. Frecka 2006
We interrupt this writing of the herald: I just received a phone call from the university professor. She claims that my results in "hearing Russian with a loud hissing noise in the background" were the best in the city! There is already talk of going public. Anyhoo, she now wants to me to work on another experiment entitled "How Americans understand English with a British accent with (you guessed it) a loud hissing noise in the background".
I suspect that somewhere right now in a university in Perm there are a bunch of professors sitting around and laughing.
Back to Charlie. He loves science. As a matter of fact, he is known on the streets among the gangs as "The Librarian". This is due to his tireless effort to rearrange his books on the shelf according to the Dewey Decibel System. And, I am happy to report, he is now mostly potty-trained!
Back to Wild at Heart. Rachel did not want to know if our next child is a boy or a girl. Rachel also wanted to go and get a 3D ultrasound. So we did. The ultrasound (which makes a "soft sign") medical professional asked, "Do you see it?" Rachel smiled, "And said, yes, I see it!" They both looked at me. I must be frank. I couldn't see anything. But both the 3D professional and Rachel claimed that they had in fact seen...a boy!
Hannah is excited about two little brothers. I threw out the idea of naming our next son LarryBoy. I expected overwhelming enthusiasm on this suggestion from both of our children. However, Hannah stood firm that "LarryBoy is not the name for a brother!” Oh well, back to the drawing boards.
We are really enjoying our new home. THANK YOU to those who have been giving towards the purchase of this apartment. It is truly a huge blessing. You can view pictures by clicking on the "Photos" link at http://www.ywamconnect.com/sites/handyrachet
Next week I travel to the States. I will be visiting some churches in New Mexico and Texas. Please pray for this time, but especially pray for Rachel as she is alone for 12 days with two little ones and 7 months pregnant!
We are excited as we look at what God has done and will continue to do this year. King's Kids will be sending two youth mission teams this summer from Perm to other former Soviet nations. Please pray for these young missionaries-in-training! We are also excited as we see the launch of regular evangelistic teams who will be traveling to unreached villages in our province. Please pray for these ministries!
Reckon that is all for this time. Thank you for your friendship and prayers! We love to hear from you!
Blessings--
Andy, Rachel, Hannah, the Librarian, and ?!
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