We Are Moving Part 2

Renovating a house to make it livable is a headache no matter where you live. But accomplishing such a feat in a culture where a “good job” is so radically different than what that term means to us makes the process all the more challenging and frustrating.

Hiring painters is a new concept to us since I have always done the painting myself. We chose to have the interior painted to accomplish two things--get the job done fast without interrupting our other work and to provide jobs.

So Jason bought what he thought was off-white, oil base paint (turned out to be an ugly shade of yellow) and thinner as requested by the painters. Oil base is the only thing available here other than ceiling paint, which is like watered down chalk. He turned it over to the painters then went outside to troubleshoot the plumbing problems (another topic for another post).

When he returned, there was paint everywhere. The rooms were in worse shape than before because paint was all over the floors, tile, and cabinets. They had thinned it with equal parts of paint thinner making it run like water. Naturally he asked what in the world they were doing. Their response? “Oh, this is the first coat. It requires at least three.” We decided to let them continue (don’t question our sanity, we lost that years ago) and hoped for the best.

After the second application, it was apparent that this was NOT going to work. Jason sent the painters home until he returned from a conference three days later.

Sometimes cultural differences cannot be overcome by letting nature take its course. Obviously, the painters ruined the paint with thinner. Paint is terribly expensive here and we have an entire house to cover, not just a room or two.

I took some much needed time to reflect and pray over these circumstances. How do we minister the love of Jesus and fire someone at the same time, through an interpreter no less? I prayed that God would help us see these men through His eyes and with His love, not through our human limitations.

Monday morning, Jason met with the painters, took them through the rooms they painted and gently explained that we come from two very different cultures with very different expectations. What is considered a “good job” to them and to us is too far apart for us to work together. He paid them for the two days they worked, added an extra day and sent them on their way.

He has been painting the house ever since.

I always thought missions was about learning, growing, teaching through activities such as Bible study, feeding and clothing the poor, and providing an education to those who would otherwise have none. But it is more than these things. You can’t really “know” people until you live their culture.

Learning to live and function in a world so vastly different than our own has kindled many discussions and ushered in more understanding than would otherwise be possible. It has also revealed our weaknesses, which is even harder to deal with than the circumstances that expose them.

While all of this is going on, the daily routine with school continues uninterrupted. All of the kids are growing by leaps and bounds through their studies. I cannot tell you what joy this brings to my heart. Jane and Prudence wrote their first creative writing pieces in English this week.

Jane’s brought tears to my eyes. She wrote about school and her dreams to become a doctor. You may remember, Augustine found her crying hysterically on the side of the road as he rode into the compound where she lived. She had recently learned that her mother could no longer send her to school due to finances but even worse, because she would not need a better education to fulfill her destiny in the compounds.

Jane dared to dream and can now can express her vision in English. She has only been here two months.

Prudence described how to prepare nshima. There is tons to share with you all about school but I will save it for another post. This one must come to an end.

May God shower you with grace and wisdom.

Blessings and joy,
Beckie