Status 11.11.07
We’re about 19 days away from a tight deadline and I’ve finally got a task that I might be able to complete on time. The mission center at our little business park is still a far cry from complete; but we’re almost capable of accommodating a small group for the first time ever! It would be a rustic experience lacking any resemblance of luxury, but if we can somehow get light and water online by December 1st then I’ll be a happy kid. We’ve also got to get the café ready for our cook that she might adequately feed our group of 12 gringos! Pray that I’ll be able to juggle the necessary balls in order to make everything happen in time.
As an abnormally long side note: I’m getting sick of having to reply with a “no” to the almost daily illegitimate requests of certain people. You tell someone no and then you’re their enemy. There are a few people in the village that don’t wave back to me anymore and it’s sad. (most of them take it pretty well though) They ask me for things that I don’t feel right about giving. Things that they can and should take care of on their own and I feel justified in denying their requests. My biggest desire for any people group in a developing country is that they would become self-sufficient. This means that any aid of mine that discourages them from progressing on their own; is the wrong move on my part. My purpose for being here is ultimately to glorify God and make His name great! The greatest way that I feel I can do this is to help them become sustainable within themselves. It sucks because they can’t see it when I’m telling them “no” and my Spanish isn’t quite good enough to explain my reasoning. I suppose this is just a part of my life here that I’ll have to get used to. The worst part is that I think about this every time I buy an ice cream cone or spend $8.00 on dinner! Every time a kid asks me for one cordoba on a street corner. I have eight in my pocket that I could just as easily throw in the gutter; what’s wrong with me? It can’t be this hard!
If I could only return to the bliss that is so constantly fleeting………
As an abnormally long side note: I’m getting sick of having to reply with a “no” to the almost daily illegitimate requests of certain people. You tell someone no and then you’re their enemy. There are a few people in the village that don’t wave back to me anymore and it’s sad. (most of them take it pretty well though) They ask me for things that I don’t feel right about giving. Things that they can and should take care of on their own and I feel justified in denying their requests. My biggest desire for any people group in a developing country is that they would become self-sufficient. This means that any aid of mine that discourages them from progressing on their own; is the wrong move on my part. My purpose for being here is ultimately to glorify God and make His name great! The greatest way that I feel I can do this is to help them become sustainable within themselves. It sucks because they can’t see it when I’m telling them “no” and my Spanish isn’t quite good enough to explain my reasoning. I suppose this is just a part of my life here that I’ll have to get used to. The worst part is that I think about this every time I buy an ice cream cone or spend $8.00 on dinner! Every time a kid asks me for one cordoba on a street corner. I have eight in my pocket that I could just as easily throw in the gutter; what’s wrong with me? It can’t be this hard!
If I could only return to the bliss that is so constantly fleeting………
posted by Alan Wilser at 2:24 PM
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