letter 28 – hardware trip

Heh friend
Have you got a minute for me to tell you about a less than typical day and yet a day that taught me that my idea of typical needs some serious revision?
Yesterday was one of those days you hope doesn’t happen very often. I was trying to finish work on the tile in the bathroom, but the adhesive would not hold the tile. It would dry out as soon as the tile touched it and so wouldn’t hold the tile on the wall. Well after four hours of trying to put the same 12 tiles up, mixing the cement this way and that way, (oh by the way all the mixing instructions were in German, so it was all guess work).
If finally gave up and decided to go to the local hardware store, that happens to be in Makeni 22 miles away, an hour drive on a good day. Also provided by this shop is the unguarantee. That is, that there is never a guarantee that they will have what you want. They may stock an item for a while and when it runs out, may not restock that item.
Well after four hours, even a slim hope of doing the job was better than what I had been failing to do. So off I went, with the hope of finding the right adhesive, and a lock for the dispensary, a sheet of plywood for our bed, and to pick up some mahogany boards. (You never make the trip just for one item. There is always a list waiting for when the time comes to make a trip to Makeni). I had already purchased some of them and stored them at K’s until I could get them. (note I got most of the wood for under $.75 a board foot for the carpenters out there. Expensive here but a real bargain in the States.)
Well things went better in Makeni than in GB. I got everything I wanted. The adhesive, the lock, the plywood, and the lumber and I even placed an order form additional lumber. (You never know when it will be available, so you have to plan ahead, even as much as a year for some supplies.)
Well I got home and managed to accomplish in one hour what I had failed to do in four hours. If anybody is interested in opening a hardware store here in GB there is one person that would be a faithful customer. Twenty-two miles and the unguarantee can be pretty challenging. But frustration is only temporary and has so little value.
The goal is to focus on the important things, things that help you get through the frustration and focus on the real purpose for you being here. Like the baptism last Sunday. I had the opportunity to baptize nine people. That is not a large group, not like Bafodia. But in this small group were two sons of our cook and the dispensary watchmen, plus the mother of our language helper. That is what is exciting. I know we have only had a small part in their lives but to have a part is refreshing and revitalizing.
And besides that, while I was in Makeni the Lebanese owner of the hardware store invited our family to Christmas dinner at their house. So maybe it was important for the adhesive to fail so that I would have to go to Makeni to purchase supplies. That opened the door to a conversation with the owner and now we have been invited into their home.
So maybe I need more less that typical days so that I will have more opportunities to meet people where they are, you know God appointed meetings. Yes I need to revise my idea of what is typical so God can have more freedom to work.
Well that was my day. You just never know where things will lead you. The key is not letting the frustration of the moment cloud one’s vision from seeing where God is leading.
Perry J
What frustrates you about the way things work where you are serving? How can that be changed into something God could use? How often does what you think is a problem turn into an opportunity to accomplish what God has prepared?