From Russia with Love

Today is Valentine's Day. My husband gave me a beautiful card before leaving for school this morning, and then showed up at my classroom with peach colored roses (my favorite). What a wonderful man I married!

I remember back in 1993, when we celebrated Valentine's Day in Russia as singles on a mission trip. Life was so different there. Boxes of chocolate, fresh flowers in the dead of winter, or Hallmark cards just didn't enter our minds. They weren't even an option.

Our definition of love began taking on a new meaning as we grew in love for the children and the elderly in our care. Love was more than a romantic feeling, or even more than a sacrifice. Watching the Missionaries of Charity devote their entire lives to serving Jesus in the poorest of the poor gave us a good idea of what love was all about. God was the source of their love, and His love was the product of their actions. He is the Alpha and the Omega, the Beginning and the End.

I remember very fondly that Valentine's Day in 1993. One of our fellow missionaries, Mike, gave me this card:

The inscription read:

"May the Love which inspired St. Valentine to show undying love in the face of death, inspire your heart today."

I can still remember how empowered I felt after reading this card. God, Who is perfect Love, brings meaning to everything I do. This turned out to be the "meat and potatoes" of that Valentine's Day. After all, this was what our mission was all about, sharing God's love with the poorest of the poor.


And for the icing on the cake.....

Since it was Sunday, our team went to the flea market for the afternoon, and Andy bought me this rag doll as a sweet, romantic gift. I affectionately named it my "Drusha Doll," since "Andy" is translated as "Andrusha" in Russian.

So, Happy Valentine's Day, and may the Love of God inspire your hearts today. And, if you want to do something sentimental as well, that's okay, too.

A Mouse in the House

We have a mouse in the house. Last time we had a mouse in the house, it turned out to be three mice in the house. Kevin saw it run across the kitchen floor last night after supper, so we put out three traps before going to bed. All three were empty this morning.

We still have a mouse in the house.


This reminds me of an incident in Moscow, Russia when my husband and I were part of an eight person team that filled in for the Missionaries of Charity (Mother Teresa's Order) while they went on retreat. Four of us went to an elderly care home, and four of us to an orphanage. Andy was at the elderly care home, while I was at the orphanage. Although Andy and I were not yet dating, our intentions were beginning to be known.

As part of the duties at the orphanage, we took turns sleeping out in the common area so we could hear the children and assist them as needed. We had seen the sisters do this, and asked if we could take our turn as well. The sisters slept on the dining room tables, which seemed strange to us, but when it came our turn we didn't ask why; we just did it.

As soon as the lights were out, we realized why. The scampering of big four legged creatures began, as they ran from one end of the room to the other, right under the tables we were sleeping on. Rats! It was the creepiest thing I had ever heard. After recovering from our initial shock, somehow we managed to get some sleep.

In the morning when I went into the kitchen, I saw four dark objects under the door that led to the laundry room. It was still fairly dark, so I couldn't quite make out what they were. "The rats," I thought to myself, and I began to tiptoe toward the door, as if I were going to capture the culprits.

But, as I got closer, I noticed that the four dark objects were not moving. So, I turned on the light, and saw that there, stuck under the door, were four very large carrots. Their large tops were too big to fit under the door, but their skinny bottoms were gnawed off on the other side.

I began to laugh at the image that came to mind. Some poor rat tried to drag four big carrots home, but they got stuck under the door. This was no easy feat, since the carrot bin was about 4 feet off the ground, and these were big carrots.

When Sister arrived to make breakfast for the children, I was still laughing as I showed her the carrots, but she found no humor in my story. The food for the children was being taken by the rats, and there was nothing they could do about it.

I see her point.

But the image of those carrots still bring a smile to my lips.

Now, about that mouse....