Tip of the Week-- November 6, 2014

Today's tip of the week is dedicated to my coworker, friend, and travel roommate, Jason.  He and I have had the opportunity to share hotel rooms throughout our country, as well as in many other parts of Africa and Europe.  Invariably in such travels, we have come across many bathroom showers that have no curtain, raising the interesting dilemma of how to shower without getting everything else wet. Without his valuable contributions, I would not be able to present you, dear reader, with such refined wisdom for this difficult aspect of hotel living. So with no further ado, November's first tip of the week:

The shower head, unrestrained by curtain, door, or other natural barrier, is apt to spray water all over the sink, toilet, and towels, leaving the post-shower bathroom full of puddles and excess humidity. Alone, an individual might be able to abide this condition, but a roommate changes this dynamic, as stepping in puddles on your way to a wet toilet seat is always undesirable, even if you have full confidence in your roommates general hygiene.  So strategies must be put in place to avoid over-spray.

The first tactic is to aim the shower head at a severe angle towards a wall.  This does confine the spray somewhat, however, it also carries the distinct disadvantage of cornering you against a wall, with limited mobility and the awkward necessity of raising and lowering limbs to get them into the water stream.  Also, careful attention must be paid in order not to leave butt prints against the wall.

Occasionally, the shower heads are of the detachable-wand type, meaning that you can hold it in one hand and shower yourself down with careful control of the water.  This seems ideal until it comes to lathering up, which is surprisingly difficult to do one-handed.

The preferred method, at this writing, is to use your body as a shield.  Upon turning the water on, insert your leg into the stream, directing the flow down to your foot which is held carefully above the drain.  As the water reaches ideal temperature (if you have that option), move slowly into the stream, absorbing the spray and using your limbs to direct it down and toward the drain. As you develop this technique, it will become almost natural.  You will have to learn to apply soap to only one half of your body at a time, but this too becomes easier with usage.

Even with perfection of these techniques, some spray will reach other bathroom surfaces, especially in compact or economy bathrooms.  This cannot be helped, but it is recommended, if necessary, to take extra measures to protect the following things: the toilet paper, your roommates towel, and the toilet seat.  Because after all, having to use soggy paper after sitting in a puddle has never increased morning happiness or engendered feelings of happy friendship.

Prayer Requests

1.  Our entire team, as well as the other two teams here in country are having a week-long conference this week.  It has been an enjoyable time in which we have had great times of worship, excellent teaching, and lots of time for relaxation and refreshment.  Pray that the conference would wrap up well, and that each individual would leave refueled for ministry.

2. Continue to pray for the various difficulties around us: the ebola crisis to our west, the problems in the north, and the coup d'etat in neighboring Burkina Faso.

3. Pray for Issa, the young believer mentioned often here.  We are considering trying to find a school option that would allow him to get more Bible and ministry education.  He is very interested in this, and I feel that he has a ministry call of some sorts on his life.  Pray that we'd have wisdom as we make these choices.

4. Continue to pray for the nursing department.  We are very thankful to have our coworker, Jessica, back with us.  We hope, in the weeks to come, to do some strategic planning.  Pray that we'd have wisdom in how to pursue this.

Thanks so much!