Africa runs on a different clock than the US. Time is relative; waiting is not uncommon. No one gets anxious about time or irritated if someone is late…no one accept me.
-I wake in the morning needing to use the outhouse but must wait until someone unlocks the door so that I can leave the building.
-I show up for 9 o’clock tea only to wait until 10:15 to be served.
-I show up for 9 o’clock tea only to wait until 10:15 to be served.
-Church starts at 10 and my ride picks me up at 10:10.
-I explain my need to discuss finances no later than Monday evening and don’t get a meeting until the end of the week.
-I feel the urge to go but the large lump of indigestible Ugali stays in my intestines for 5 days.
-The dumb cat rubs against my legs, meowing and begging for food. But when I finally have the chance to drop the remainder of fish scales I can’t bring myself to swallow, the cat won’t come.
-I create a Christmas video blog but after two and a half hours on slow African internet, I realize I will need to wait until Eastern Europe before I will have internet fast enough to post it.
-I have 60 minutes before my next meeting and am in desperate need of a shower. I turn on the water heater and wait for 47 minutes before the water heats to a temperature that won’t cause frostbite.
-I am told to be prepared to preach at the beginning of the church service only to sit in the front of the church for an hour and a half, just long enough to believe that I will no longer be preaching. Then, I am called up to the pulpit.
-I hand wash my clothes and hang them on the line to dry. I awake the next morning excited to have a clean outfit for the day only to find wet clothes on the line.
God, thank you for the abundance of opportunities to learn patience…I pray that I learn this virtue quickly. I am not sure how much longer I am willing to wait.
