Oat meal for breakfast. Devotion afterwards as usual. We are studying Mark chapter 11 today. While getting ready in our room after breakfast Christy wasn't looking so good. I asked her if she was alright and she laughed and told me she took on too many Colace pills. Well crap!.... literally.
Today we all headed out to our destinations. Me, Danielle, Emily, Michael, and Alex went to the factory to work more with the painting and other stuff. The others went to do VBS with the kids. When we got to the factory I had plans to start on certain things and we were short on supplies. I was a bit frustrated today, feeling like I wasn't going to get things done before we left for Nazaret Sunday. I felt as though my whole project was falling to pieces and it was going to be a huge failure and look horrible, not only to Barrett but mainly for the women that work there that we were doing it all for. It's funny how satan can push thoughts of destruction in your head. I always think about that book by C.S. Lewis The Screwtape Letters when I realize how ridiculous or destructive my thoughts are towards myself and others. Being able to realize that, I have to shine the Glory to God for that ability. The more my relationship with Him is strengthened the more I am able to recognize those lies. That is the only way I have ever been able to recognize the lies of the deceiver. Constantly listening to God and being in communion with him.
Ok, so, when we got there we were short on supplies and had to wait for the bus to come back in order to fill those needs. The bus took forever and that was when I started to doubt if this project was ever going to come together and start looking like it should. I told Danielle that I was a little discouraged that things weren't coming together like I planned and seemed to be falling apart instead. God totally affirmed me in what she said to me, not only as an artist but as someone that is worried about doing good for His kingdom and being able to help. When we finally got the bus back me, Danielle, and Su went to a hardware store to pick up some more supplies. A butt load of supplies. Everything we needed they happened to have at the first stop we went to. Seriously? Did this just really happen? You mean we didn't have to drive around to 10 different hardware shops to find one gallon of the right color of paint? We got everything on one stop?! Awesome. God totally provided and affirmed that everything was going to come together.... also, maybe, that he was laughing at me a little.
We also stopped by a pharmacy to pick up some masks because the paint fumes from the black paint we use are pretty bad (really, I think only gas masks would have worked for that situation but whatever... Su was trying to be helpful). Both Danielle and I went in with Su and noticed the man seemed a bit annoyed and short with us. It dawned (sp?) on us that he saw that we were white and American and probably assumed we were getting them to wear around the city so that we "wouldn't catch anything these nasty people have." Su said that, that was probably why he was acting the way he was. Whatever, who cares, you can't go around correcting everybody's assumptions all the time. I really didn't want him to think that of us though....
I was so glad we had enough supplies to last us a good bit, if not the rest of the project. When we got back to the factory, Barrett came by with his wife Rachel and daughter Howie to see the progress of everything. He said it was looking awesome, which made me glad. The day was turning around! Praise the Lord! You brighten discouraged hearts....
This is Barrett, Rachel, and his Daughter Howie.
Does this post kinda sounds a little "Leave it to Beaver-ish"?
We worked a little more and when Barrett left we went to get lunch back at the house. Left overs. I was in one of those "I'm STARVING!" modes to where I could eat anything in sight and binge. I had my left over pizza from the other night at Antica. Then I cooked some Ramen noodles and I was also going to have some cereal that Emily and Danielle were eating that looked good as well. But there wasn't enough milk so I just ate it dry. Pizza, Ramen, and cereal. Such a well balanced meal :) As we ate it started to rain and was nice to be inside and relax a bit.
The bus came back and dropped us off again at the factory to get a ton of more stuff done. We got all of the blue walls finished and started the painting on the cinder blocks with the black paint. We stayed a lot later this time than yesterday. We were on the ball! I even finally got to at least start on the white dots on the larger black wall, and I think I got most of the mirror pieces done for the mosaic mirror wall as well. I haven't put up anything yet but I'm sure I got a good bit of it done. It was still gloomy and rainy, and had gotten a bit chilly. I was of course freezing.
The bus came back for us at the end of the day after it dropped off our other teammates (that were at the VBS camp) at the house. We were all cold and tired. BTW... At the factory they have a washer and dryer. Seeing that and realizing that we could bring our clothes and washe them was like seeing them with beams of light from heaven. Clean clothes?! What?! umm.... yes please. So we had brought our clothes to be washed and washed them. I made the mistake of bringing almost all my clothes I had, expecting the process to be done and clean by the time we left. But no.... when we left the clothes weren't even dry yet, so I was screwed for pj's tonight. Luckily I had an extra t-shirt at home to sleep in instead. No pants though..... who need's to sleep in pj bottoms anyway right? :/
When we got home we all got ready to go eat dinner. We went to that place we went to that I got a dish that sounded good but didn't turn out that great.... oh wait.... that's a lot of places. I got fish this time that I knew was really good. Yep! Good again! Delicious! My food choices have really been turning around lately! Tonight, at dinner is when I realized how much of an ass our new teammate George is. The way he has acted since he's been here is what gives the bad image of Americans to other countries, complaining and looking disgusted at all the differences of a different culture. Getting his sister to do anything and everything for him..... Generation of Entitlement to a T. It's people like him that I wonder how and why did you even consider coming on a trip like this? God has brought him on this trip to teach us something fo sho! How do I love this person the way God sees and loves him? I should probably rejoice he is on this trip because it is people like him who make me cry out to my Lord.... but to be completely honest I'm not glad at all that I have to deal with him. I actually haven't had much enteraction with him because I've been at the factory, but I hate that the others have had to deal with him. Even his sister, I'm sorry she has to deal with him not only on this trip, but in regular life. I hate that all I have to say about him arn't good, but difficult people are difficult people.
When we got back to the house from after dinner, one of the girls broke down about how horrible her day was and how lonely she's been feeling on this trip lately. The icing on the cake was that she had to deal with George all day and the awful and inappropriate things he had said in front of the kids today. My heart broke for her, but I think that was good for her. It was a situation that she needed to vent about to someone which in turn helped her to open up to some of us and get connected with the people around her. It's been an interesting night. To see some of the dynamics of destruction and healing in our group in one night. Like I said before, I think God has given me a pair of glasses that give me the ability to see things that other people can't..... and to put puzzle pieces together to see things that He sees.
I hope God works in George's life on this trip and breaks him where he needs to be broken. It would be a miracle and a miracle I pray and hope to see during the last few day we are here in Ethiopia.
Things from home I miss.....
warm weather, washing machine, my friend Susan, my warm bed, moist (sorry for all who hate that word) non stale bread, my bed.
0 comments:
Post a Comment