I deliver donations to Ruth and my insomnia problem # 5,839 is solved...

The wednesday before this past Wednesday, I visited a student, Ruth, who has been in and out of the hospital with surgeries and appointments because of a dibilitating disease that's attacking her bones and teeth. I went there to deliver money that was raised by selling hand-knit hats and scarves to my church members and a few family members to help pay for her medical bills and to tell her how much I miss her sweet, smiling face in my classroom. When I walked over to the chair she was sitting in, she grabbed hold of me, held me tightly for a long hug and wept on my shoulder after I gave her a card with the money. She's had hip surgery, which eased the pain in her back and will soon have knee surgery by a kind doctor who is doing the hip and knee surgeries for free! She saved money for 8 years just to make a downpayment on dental work. Her teeth have been falling out and it's very difficult for her to talk, even in her native Spanish, with only a few teeth left on the top roof of her mouth. The money raised by my church and family is a small but important slice of the pie; it totaled almost $200. Most money was raised by the West Chicago church that hosts the ESL classes and by our own generous students who made homemade treats and donated money to eat the treats during our classes' break times. Enough money was raised so that Ruth can now pay in full for the dental work that she needed and also have better quality dental work done than she had originally planned! She has saved money for so long and gone so many years without needed treatment and is now suddenly blessed. She is praising God for it! And she was gracious enough to mention that practicing filling out information forms in English in class helped her fill out forms at the hospital. This made my heart happy--that teaching English does make a difference.

What does this have to do with my whistling nose spawned insomnia? A man from the family she lives with asked me if I wanted him to pray for me--for my insomnia and subsequent heart trouble (not serious or fatal) that I mentioned as part of the explanation for why I didn't visit her when she was in the hospital. Of course, I accepted the kind offer. He prayed an amazingly passionate prayer in Spanish--a very long prayer on my behalf, for which I was so grateful, considering that Ruth is in much worse condition and has surely suffered so much more than I have. Ruth, who came slowly limping to class every day before her surgeries, who had to watch her body deteriorate for years before her eyes, due to lack of money and resources, wept for me as this man prayed. How small my suffering is compared to hers and yet, she prayed and wept for her English teacher. After he prayed, I prayed for Ruth. When our prayers ended, I felt an amazing weight being lifted from me and I just knew everything was going to be ok. That night, I had a whole night of sleep and have been sleeping decently ever since. So yes, I bought a humidifier, but God has answered prayer. And no, it wasn't just psychological. I didn't sleep better just because I felt better. I had been feeling really relaxed and sleepy before that and had already had the humidifier going for a couple days, but just couldn't fall asleep because my nose was so noisy. That night, my nose suddenly stopped whistling enough for me to fall asleep. Thank you, dear Lord! But thank you most of all for using us to be the hands and feet of Christ to help Ruth!

Phoebe, the liaison between World Relief and the West Chicago church where we teach English, visits Ruth in the hospital before Christmas and tells her about the fundraising we've been doing on her behalf. Phoebe was the catalyst and organizer of the fundraising and has given many hours to assisting Ruth in her dealings with doctors and payments. Ruth is overwhelmed and holds a picture Phoebe took of some of the students and us outside of the church.

This picture is below. In the front row center, my student Apolinar holds the donation jar:

Insomnia problem # 5,839

So...my latest insomnia problem, since having our addition completed over a year ago, is a noisy, whistling nose. It's driving me crazy. My Internet research this morning (it's usually more helpful than seeing a doctor, unfortunately) yielded the suggestions of somehow sticking Borofax ointment up my nose, adding Karo corn syrup to my neti pot of salt water solution, a nasal saline irrigator, a humidifier in the room, and possibly antiseptic for bacteria (1 teasp. vinegar or 1-3 tabsps. boric acid powder). Whatz with boric acid being advised for everything from killing ants to sticking it in a womanly area to get rid of yeast infections?! Do I want to use something that blows up ants? Here's an outstanding picture of some half-naked hippie guy washing out his nose from Jalanetipot.com:

Get more exciting tips about washing out your body on Jalanetipot.com!!!

Whoowee...Stupidbowl is coming up....

"GOTTA SUPPORT THE TEAM"

Recognize this guy? It's Elaine's facepainting boyfriend David Puddy on Seinfeld.

Yeah, so I guess I'm a real American fuddy duddy, unlike Puddy--don't care for sports, fast food, burgers and hot dogs, minivans & SUVs (no offense), TVs in every room, sloppy men wearing their caps backwards in the nice restaurants their wives drug them to as they wait for football season to start, shopping, soda pop, beer...AND HELP!!!....STUPIDBOWL IS COMING UP!!!....Yes, most people I know, including friends and relatives, will be watching...But I will be eating at Benihana's with fellow football avoiders Brad and Susan, thank you very much. A few years ago, we started including these friends in our tradition of enjoying a restaurant that's crowded all year except for Stupidbowl Sunday. Last year, we were going to have fondue at our house, but decided to up that one for New Year's and instead ate at the Mongolian Grill, which turned out to be a little annoying, despite the yummy food. There were a couple Puddy types running the grill, with their faces glued to the TV sets over the bar area. The TVs were so loud that even in the back of the restaurant, it was hard to talk. Our male server and the grillers were visibly annoyed that they had to work and that we were there, wanting food grilled. We were treated like unpatriotic offenders. So much for getting away from Stupidbowl. And Brad, who doesn't drink much but didn't want his manhood questioned by our annoyed server, ordered a beer.

I think I will resurrect a A description of football from last year's blog. I found this gem on the web. It's by some guy named John Brizzolara:
"Football is two lines of identically clad automatons facing each other with a little ball. They bash into each other, advancing or retreating a few yards. Someone gets hauled off the field on a stretcher, and the little ball resumes moving back and forth a little bit. The men resume bashing. Someone throws the ball; it is either caught or it isn't. Running, then more bashing and jumping on a pile of men, anonymous except for the numbers on their uniforms." Yeah, so that just about sums up all I know, and ever want to know, about this game.

The ringing in of 2008

Bobbo and I had a wine tasting this year for New Year's. All the wines were tasty--gee, is that

b/c we served our favorites? We hope our guests enjoyed them as much as we have. I made WAY too much food, so we know no one went home hungry! Now...for the New Year's resolutions!

Brad gives a gregarious laugh as Susan snaps photos

Rob and Sheila enjoying vino in the kitchen

Dave, Revell and Mildred. This was our last hurrah with Rev and Mildred since they are abandoning us to move to North Carolina. Boohoo!
Rachel and Dave enjoy some eats:
Despite receiving new beds for Xmas (old ones were getting stinky), Sienna still double-stacks them--the more cushion, the better! We have to pull them apart sometimes so Mick can have a bed.

After New Year's, we took down the tree and decorations--I am always sad to see them go. Bob enjoyed playing with his train set again this year--he's had it since the early 80s!

And the trolley leaves Christmas town...