Just another Manic Monday

There's another song I know all the words to. Manic Monday by the Bangles. I also know all the words to "Walk Like an Egyptian" and a selection of other Bangles tunes.

It was a pretty crazy Monday, actually. Yesterday afternoon we discovered that there was no electricity going in to charge our back-up electricity supply in the computer container where the Internet routers are located. So that led us on a wild goose chase to learn all about 12 volt batteries, inverters and power supplies. There's no end to the things I have to learn around here! Whilst clamouring around the container and following various wires to different sockets and circuit breakers and inverters and UPS units, two Ugandans came knocking at the gate. Seems the 40 foot container truck that's packed to the gills with stuff for our house and the offices and the guesthouse had arrived... but was stopped at the customs point on the WRONG side of the Nile Bridge.

So, just as I predicted, just before the time came for the evening fellowship group, we had to deal with our truck! Thankfully, one of the guests in our house (who stays with us so much that he's becoming like family) knows a little about UPS systems, so he was able to rig up some extension cords to at least get our Internet going again until we can figure that whole thing out.

And Jackie and Wes went off to the Bridge to try to clear our truck out of customs. Because neither one of our extended cab pick up trucks are exactly legal to drive at the moment (that's a whole 'nother story!), they all had to go off in Jackie's little Suzuki. Well, this Suzuki only has space for 4 people, and even for 4, it's a bit of a stretch! So one of the taller Ugandans stayed with me in the guesthouse. So there I was, entertaining a Ugandan trucker. I mean, not entertaining a Ugandan trucker, but at least trying to give him enough water and bread to keep him happy!

Our fellowship group starts at 5:30 pm, and by that time, it was pouring rain. So I got the dining room all set up with the chairs, got the tea all set out and everything... just in time for Wes and Jackie to come back without the truck. Seems they didn't have the right stamp to get the truck, and they'd have to go today to get the right stamp from the right office so that the truck could be cleared through customs.

So Jackie went off to take the Ugandan back to the truck, so he could spend the night with his buddies. We gave them a jerry can of drinking water (which they said was too salty!), some bread and some money for dinner.

Fellowship was good. One of our neighbors shared about how God cares about the details - even things like how I found a hinge on our junk shelf which was exactly the size of hinge that he needed to finish building his dog pen yesterday. Our other neighbor (the doctor who kept me alive during the cat bite saga) shared from Psalm 139, about how God is everywhere, and he knows even our very thoughts before we even think them.

And there I was, worrying and stressed about this silly truck. How good it was to be reminded that God is in this situation too. I sometimes find that I get distracted by these practicalities of life here - nothing is easy or straightforward, and that distracts me from the fact that yes, God is even in the details that make absolutely no sense to me! All I need to do is trust Him, and seek to know Him more in all situations!

Plus, I was feeling much better after the fellowship because a whole bunch of us went out for Chinese food! Imagine, real Chinese food here - it's a brand new place that just opened up, and 10 of us swarmed the place last night. It was amazing. Sweet and Sour Pork was my favorite dish. Pork, you say? Yes, pork. Real pork. In this country. Pork. And made into a lovely sweet and sour sauce with pineapples and everything. Wow. We were all very impressed. And in the end, two of our friends refused to let any of us pay anything - they covered the entire bill! Wow, did I ever feel blessed!

And then today, I helped get Wes and Jackie out the door to the next government office where they were attempting to get this stamped letter that we needed. Getting out the door to any government office requires an awful lot of preparation - gathering copies of any bit of paper that we have with any kind of official stamp. The more stamped documents you have, the better! And take multiple copies of everything, since everyone you talk to will want a copy of it.

While they were gone, I hosted the prayer meeting for the remaining folks here. We sang a few songs, and then one of the translators here read from Jeremiah 1. What a great passage of Scripture, and such a timely reminder. I completely relate to Jeremiah - who am I to do anything great; to be "appointed over nations" (vs. 10)? I'm too young, too inexperienced for this whole adventure! But God really convicted me again... he's the one who called me here, so he will put his words in my mouth at the proper time. He will use me to do his work, and what a comfort that was in the midst of these crazy challenges!

We had a good time of prayer together. I like these guys so much. It's just good to sit around and pray with them, and then chat over tea afterwards. They have so many good stories! And really, it's only when we sit together and take the time to talk that I find out how I really can help them and facilitate the work that they're doing in Bible translation.

Anyways, after the prayer time, Jackie and Wes came back... still no truck.

So we had lunch.

Then they went back to try to get the paper stamped again. The guy with the rubber stamp had been gone to a funeral all day today, though. So come back tomorrow. Hmmmm... meanwhile the truckers show up at our place again. And we have to tell them that they need to stay here for another night, with their truck on the wrong side of the Nile. Of course, they weren't too pleased about that. But we offered them some lunch and a shower, and their moods were much improved.

But we still didn't quite know what to do. So we waited. The truckers waited.

And lo and behold. A little while later, Wes came driving in Jackie's little Suzuki... followed by a 40 foot container truck! I have no idea what he did or how it all happened, but all we could do was praise the Lord that our truck was allowed to pass without the permission of the man with the rubber stamp!

Then we really switched into high gear. All hands were on deck to get this truck unloaded so these poor guys could go back to Uganda!

Of course, it wasn't without incident. Two of our truckers got injured in the unloading process - one stepped on a nail and another ripped his toe-nail off. So Jackie and I had a good excuse to excuse ourselves from the unloading process for a few minutes, and went to play community health nurses. So funny to get these strong young men to put Dettol disinfectant on their wounds - it really stings, but they were trying to be men about it! I just provided the supplies, but they ended up actually applying the Dettol and bandages to each other. Seems they both had ticklish feet, too, so they were both sitting there in the verandah, giggling like little boys as they grimaced in pain and tickled each other's feet! Really, quite a sight to see! I don't know what it is with these 20-something year old East African men - they love to giggle!

Phew, finally, we all got back to work and got this truck unloaded!

Tomorrow, perhaps, Jackie and I might actually be able to unpack enough stuff to start moving out of the guesthouse!

And God is still in the details - if we had gotten the right funding for our Ministry of Education workshops that we've been working on, we would have been in a completely different city today, teaching the first day of a two week workshop... and leaving no one around to take care of the truck or the truckers! So maybe the lack of funding was really a blessing that we didn't quite see at the time.

Man, this became WAY longer than I intended it to. Sorry, but kudos to ya'll who read this far!