Tip of the Week—August 11, 2016

Well, that was a nice long break, wasn’t it?  I had a great home assignment in the States, and it was great to see a good number of you.  I’ve been back here in West Africa for almost a week now, and I’m just about feeling like I’ve got my rhythm back.

The transition from the States back to West Africa is always an adventure.  As many times as I’ve done it, I find myself still underestimating what it really takes to make the trip, get settled in, and get back to functioning normally again.  It always seems so simple when you are sitting America and your thoughts turn to the approaching return date.  You think, “I’ll just…” 

That’s just it.  There is no “I’ll just…” anything when it comes to transition back to the field!  So we end up saying some rather silly things.  So for the Tip of the Week, I propose to you: “10 Things You Should Never Say During Transition.”  I may have even said one or two of these, myself.

1.   “It’s rainy season there now, so it’s a bit cooler. It’s probably a lot like the weather we’re having here in Ohio in July and August.”

This is a blatant lie based on wishful thinking and selective memory. It’s hotter here.  A million times hotter.  Never in America did your head sweat this much.  You didn’t even know what hot was.  Silly, silly you!

2. “Well, it actually may be less busy for me once I return.”

You live in a fantasy world. Sure the traveling and speaking, the visits to friends and family, and the email correspondence kept you on your toes.  You just happened to forget that everything here takes at least three times the effort and twice the time.   

3. “I’m going to get so much done on the plane.”

In all reality, a couple hours into your trip, you will lay aside the book you had every intention of finishing.  “I’ll just watch one movie and then pick it up again,” you promise yourself.  The movie will finish and you’ll already be in what I like to call “Flight Zombie” mode.  By the end of your trip, you’ll be reduced to a shell of a person who can do little more than stare at the seat in front of you while you rub life into your sleeping limbs after your latest, fitful nap.

4. “Jet-lag never really bothers me.”

Correction: “It never USED to bother you.” You are older now…or don’t you feel that?  Oh yes, you feel it, and painfully so.  It’s 4:30am.  Why are you awake at 4:30am?? Even time change can’t make sense of that.

5. “Hey look, nothing in my house is broken.”

You thought you had escaped the usual fate of any West African house left alone for 3 months, but you just haven’t looked hard enough yet.  Just wait.  Wonderful things made of plastic, wood, and metal all through your house are holding together by only the strength of a hair.  You need only touch, and it will break in your hands.

6. “At least my house doesn’t leak.”

The storm rolls in.  Rain is coming down in sheets outside, and you are happy and dry inside.  Past experience brings up uneasy feelings and memories of ceiling leaks and fried electronics.  So you say it with confidence capable of chasing away those doubts. “This house doesn’t leak.  Not like the other ones.”  You are so sure of it, that you ignore that dripping sound, assuming it’s coming from outside.  At bedtime, you enter your room to find the rug soaked, the drapes saturated, and shoes floating in standing water.  But no, your house doesn’t leak.

7. “That To-Do list looks fairly reasonable.”

One unexpected visitor later, and you are already behind.  Then you get the call.  The local tax bureau is claiming that your old colleagues are in arrears on payments, and you see hours, days even, being swallowed up into the horrifying abyss that has just opened before you.  No To-Do list can factor in the “unforeseen” that West Africa is capable of throwing at you.

8. “I’ll just swing by so-and-so’s house for a quick visit.”

Quick visit here in West Africa, huh?  Have the last 7 years really taught you nothing?  Your host has stealthily put on the tea, and when you ask to leave, you are greeted with the news that the first round will be ready presently.  An hour later, you are on the road.

9. “It’s been raining all day.  It’s gotta be stopping.”

It wasn’t exactly a bad idea.  You took the risk of going out in a misting rain without any rain gear.  Now, stranded and needing to be home for an appointment, you find yourself with no choice but a very wet ride home on the motorcycle.

10. “How bad can a caterpillar really taste?”

[No joke, this just happened.  I actually deleted my number 10 to put this in.]  There you sit, writing your update, and your friend comes in with a handful of smoked caterpillars and offers you one. You doubt it will become your new favorite, but can it be all that bad?  Yes. Yes, it can.  Unless under major duress, I advise against it.

Prayer Requests:

1. Many teammates, new and old, are headed our way within the next month.  Pray for all the travel, and ask the Lord to allow everyone to get settled in well.

2. Pray for me as I reconnect with several friends who don’t know the Lord.  Pray that I’ll be able to continue to speak truth into their lives.

3. Pray for Pierre and Amadou, two patients who have been at the hospital for a while.  They both have started following Jesus during their stay, and they are leading a prayer group with other patients.  Pray that the Lord would continue to strengthen their faith and also that He would bring complete healing so that they can return home as powerful witnesses in their villages.

4. This weekend, I’ll be traveling to two villages where we were working earlier this year.  Pray that I can be an encouragement to the pastors and Christians there.

5. Pray for me in my role as team leader.  There is so much to praise the Lord for on our team!  He’s been doing great things.  I know, however, that there is a lot to be done as we welcome several new families and as we continue to pursue our ministry goals.  I want to be a good servant who facilitates the ministry and well-being of my coworkers.