The Writing In The Fog

In the Bible, in the book of Daniel (chapter 5), there is reference to a story where a hand appears in a room full of people and begins writing on the wall...

Lately though, I've been learning a lot from the writing in the fog... Let me explain:

We have recently opened a new soup kitchen across the street from the poorest of the poor in Shutka. 90% of the 60-70 kids we feed daily are new to us and present a new sphere of influence for us to work in. Most of the kids come from very difficult circumstances that most Americans couldn't even fathom. We have amazing opportunities every day to shine a light of hope into their lives and have already started to see changes taking place. Their attitudes are changing and they are always full of joy, not to mention a ton of energy! The kitchen we are serving them from is being rented from a Muslim man, his only requirement of us is not to put a cross on the building, and it is full of windows. Every day we cook our soup on a wood stove, and for me that means that I get to play with fire, I mean, start and keep a fire going every day. As the water heats up though, it steams up the room and without a ventilation system most kitchens have, the steam clings to the windows. As most of the kids we serve there know less Macedonian than I do, I've started trying to learn Romani a little at a time. Romani isn't a written language, so taking a class like I did for Macedonian is pretty much impossible. Fortunately, there are 3 believers from our church that are paid staff and work with me every day, and know Macedonian and Romani. One of them has a 12 year old daughter who has probably gone farther in school than most of the other kids will ever go, and knows Macedonian quite well. She has started to teach me important words and phrases in Romani through writing them in the fog on the windows using Macedonian letters. It's so exciting! I've learned the basic greetings, basic counting, words for bread, water, juice, how to ask if the kids want different things. I know some languages can only be learned through full immersion but I never would have imagined that would mean learning a language from the writing in the fog! Hopefully, learning Romani little by little will open doors to changing the lives of these kids. I learned a long time ago that if you are trying to share God's love,you should try to do so in the heart language of the people, not the most common language. I just wish I had begun to learn Romani sooner, but at least I can learn it now, thanks to the foggy windows!

If you ever need to learn a language, just find a foggy window and start writing in the fog! It may take longer than a class, but in some circumstances, it may be the only option, and believe me, it works!