reede, veebruar 18, 2005
Opening Doors
The lock to the front door of our house has always been tricky. I think it's because the door doesn't fit quite right in the frame, and so it puts tension on the bolt making it harder to unlock.
To open it is a two-handed procedure. First you grab the door handle and pull the door toward you to release the tension on the bolt, then with your other hand you turn the knob to pull back the bolt and at the right moment (which you figure out by experience) while still turning the knob you pull down on the door handle to open the door. Once you are used to it, it can be done in a matter of seconds, but we have had countless guests stuck at the front door trying to get out because they didn't know the trick.
Today the lock finally broke. Chris had gone to get wood from the shed for tomorrow's fires (it's been below freezing almost every day since we got back from America) and when he tried to get back in the door wouldn't open. Elizabeth, who prides herself on her skills with that door, tried in vain, then I tried with no luck. I passed a house key to Chris through the bathroom window, thinking he could open it that way, but it still didn't work. Finally I had to let him in through the back door!
I took the lock off the door and found that a metal piece that draws back the bolt was terribly bent and just couldn't do the job any more. I took the broken part to a locksmith who I knew from past experience spoke English. He didn't have the part I needed, but had one like it from a different brand of lock which he gave to me saying, "If you just cut off some of the metal from the end so it is not so long, and then file down the four edges that go in to draw back the bolt, it will fit just fine." Okay. The problem is that I'm no big handy man, so I thought I might see if another locksmith might have the part I needed. I stopped in a lock shop at a local shopping center and asked if the guy spoke English. He said no, but when I pulled out the broken part he didn't need language to know the problem. He apparently didn't have the right part either, but instead took the bent pieces and carefully straightened them so that it was as good as new. I felt so much better about the idea of using the original part! When he handed the repaired piece back to me I asked "kui palju?" (how much?) and he just waved his hand in a gesture to say, "It was nothing."
I got back home thinking it would be easy work now. Well, it wasn't. I made several attempts and it would never work quite right--I even tried the part the other guy gave me at one point! I finally got it to work well enough that the door is locked from the outside and we can open it from the inside, although it is still quite rough. Tomorrow I'll go back at it and hope I don't have to call in the locksmith.
I don't know that I had any big point in telling this story except that I felt like it, but now that I've started thinking about it I can see how this is much like opening doors for our work here in Tartu. I'm figuring out the right way to do it, finding that there are good Estonians willing to lend a hand or give me the help I need, and having to be willing to try a lot of options to make it work. I'm not too worried about the door or the work here; I've got a sense that God's got it all under control.
--Tim
Tonight we prayed for my sister's youngest daughter, Bethany Kelly.
To open it is a two-handed procedure. First you grab the door handle and pull the door toward you to release the tension on the bolt, then with your other hand you turn the knob to pull back the bolt and at the right moment (which you figure out by experience) while still turning the knob you pull down on the door handle to open the door. Once you are used to it, it can be done in a matter of seconds, but we have had countless guests stuck at the front door trying to get out because they didn't know the trick.
Today the lock finally broke. Chris had gone to get wood from the shed for tomorrow's fires (it's been below freezing almost every day since we got back from America) and when he tried to get back in the door wouldn't open. Elizabeth, who prides herself on her skills with that door, tried in vain, then I tried with no luck. I passed a house key to Chris through the bathroom window, thinking he could open it that way, but it still didn't work. Finally I had to let him in through the back door!
I took the lock off the door and found that a metal piece that draws back the bolt was terribly bent and just couldn't do the job any more. I took the broken part to a locksmith who I knew from past experience spoke English. He didn't have the part I needed, but had one like it from a different brand of lock which he gave to me saying, "If you just cut off some of the metal from the end so it is not so long, and then file down the four edges that go in to draw back the bolt, it will fit just fine." Okay. The problem is that I'm no big handy man, so I thought I might see if another locksmith might have the part I needed. I stopped in a lock shop at a local shopping center and asked if the guy spoke English. He said no, but when I pulled out the broken part he didn't need language to know the problem. He apparently didn't have the right part either, but instead took the bent pieces and carefully straightened them so that it was as good as new. I felt so much better about the idea of using the original part! When he handed the repaired piece back to me I asked "kui palju?" (how much?) and he just waved his hand in a gesture to say, "It was nothing."
I got back home thinking it would be easy work now. Well, it wasn't. I made several attempts and it would never work quite right--I even tried the part the other guy gave me at one point! I finally got it to work well enough that the door is locked from the outside and we can open it from the inside, although it is still quite rough. Tomorrow I'll go back at it and hope I don't have to call in the locksmith.
I don't know that I had any big point in telling this story except that I felt like it, but now that I've started thinking about it I can see how this is much like opening doors for our work here in Tartu. I'm figuring out the right way to do it, finding that there are good Estonians willing to lend a hand or give me the help I need, and having to be willing to try a lot of options to make it work. I'm not too worried about the door or the work here; I've got a sense that God's got it all under control.
--Tim
Tonight we prayed for my sister's youngest daughter, Bethany Kelly.
