I'm a planner and prefer to leave nothing to chance. Do some research. Make a plan. Make a list. Double check it. Confirm my expectations by checking with folks I must depend on.
Well, a lot of this goes out the window with this Mission Trip. Life in the DR is a little different, as it is in most countries outside the USA and Europe. Time has a different meaning. Relationships trump efficiency and completing tasks. I know we'll get a wonderful welcome, but what about all the advance work we are relying on.
We hope to have the holes dug for the latrines. We hope the concrete foundations will be laid. We trust that all the materials we need will be waiting for us, as promised. These matters are out of my control. It feels unsettling, but also turns me toward God. Trusting Him is what I must do. I'm praying that will be a part of my learning experience on this mission -- learning to trust God and back away from my natural tendency toward self-reliance.
Exactly! I want to get all my ducks in a row and be prepared for whatever may come. But that is simply impossible to do. The other night I was walking through Lowe's to get some supplies for my deck that I am slowly rebuilding and it struck me again that there was nothing like it up in the little villages where we will be building latrines. After FREAKING out for a moment, I just bowed my head and said, "Your game, your plan and not mine." I have made my lists, I have packed all that I can and now I just have to be in the moment and enjoy the adventure. We cast our cares upon He who cares for us and rest in that.
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