When I Drank Bug Juice

When I was sixteen years old, my parents took me to several countries in Europe. The most memorable ones were Russia and Yugoslavia because we had church there. And our point in going was most definitely more than to have inspiring worship services with our spiritual family in another language and culture. We went to share the gospel with those who had not had a chance to hear it. So one afternoon we were having a meal at the home of some people who were clearly hungry for the gospel of salvation. We were also on our best behavior knowing that you win souls one impression at a time.

I do not remember everything we were served to eat and drink, but I do strongly remember not liking the drink that was offered. It was part juice and part soda, and this spoiled, American, junk-food loving kid did not have a pallet for such an "oddity." But clearly, it would have been rude and unappreciative to not consume whatever they put in front of us. I also need to mention that this was a poor family which was obvious from their clothing to their furniture. We had been in many homes while in Yugoslavia, and this was not up to the standards of the other places we had visited.

So I had managed to eat all of the disgusting fruits and vegetables set before me. "Disgusting" not because they actually were disgusting. But I HATED eating anything that grew from dirt back then. If it did not moo, cluck, or snort, or wasn't bleached and filled with God-knows-what chemicals, I did not eat it. But, THIS WAS SOUL WINNING! And in my deep sincerity to be Christ's hands to the lost, I ate things I absolutely could not stand. Then the worst of the WORST occurred...

I had managed to swallow the last of that awful drink (again, it probably wasn't awful, but just my immature taste buds being bratty.) Then the hostess raised the bottle and offered to refill my glass. We did not speak a common language, so I gestured that I was full and "no thanks!" To my horror, she still refilled my glass, even emptying the bottle! I shot a glance at my parents, but they were no help! Their gestures were saying, "Wonderful! How nice! She LOVES it!"

I smiled weakly, took the glass and sipped. I sat the glass down just before a bug nosedived straight into my juice! Now, in my home that's an automatic reason to pour it down the drain while everyone at the table is resisting the impulse to hurl. But I KNEW that was not how this family dealt with a piddly insect in a valuable drink! Not allowing myself to dwell on it, I fished out the little beast and guzzled that drink as fast as my esophagus would let me. I honestly have no recollection of what anybody said or did from the moment I brought the glass to my mouth till we got to church. It's hilarious to me, but I absolutely blocked the whole experience out of my memory!

Their daughter received the Holy Ghost that night as a result of them following us to church. Obviously, it was definitely worth guzzling some bug juice!

Denée Richardson, Le Muser
www.deneerichardson.com

~Thanks to Lisa Velie for editing.