Errands…
Today all of our meetings with people fell through or were canceled so we used the time to catch up, do laundry, clean, and run errands.
Two sides of mission work for women…
It is late and I am sure that there are probably more, but here are two components you could say of mission work from a woman’s perspective that I am learning about here.
- People- This is the part that includes witnessing, meeting new friends, teaching English in class, learning Arabic, etc.
- Practical- This is the washing clothes, going to the store, preparing lunch for the group, washing dishes, cleaning the house, etc.
People…I am by no means an expert on either of these subjects, but I have been learning so much about both of them. This trip has taught me so much about witnessing and building friendships for the purpose of sharing the gospel. Nearly every day the Lord brings people our way to share the truth with. I am not nearly as bold as I should be, but I thank the Lord for the ways that He is teaching me in the area of sharing Him with others.
Practical…The other side of missions is the practical. I think I knew more about the practical side before I came on this trip than the people side. One thing that I did not realize though is the time that the practical side takes. Today, the practical side ate up most of my day. We start to cook lunch around eleven or so in the morning. It takes anywhere from an hour to two hours. We eat at 1 and then at 1:45 or so clean up begins. With a large group this takes up to an hour or more (depending on who’s washing dishes 
) Lunch is a big deal! And this is just one meal… I was thinking of all of the missionary wives who prepare food for groups and don’t have a team of girls to help AND they have a husband and children to take care of.
Balance…I am glad on this trip that I get to experience the practical and the people side of life in missions. I think that both sides are important. It seems like the practical side is time-consuming and unproductive sometimes, but honestly, the people side can’t be done without someone doing the practical side. I appreciate the way that the wives here are so willing to teach us what they know. I definitely have seen ways that I can prepare better and things to work on both sides.
Random thought of the day:
- I seriously need to learn to light a gas oven (I got the gas stove down!) and eventually to drive a stick shift, learn to convert Fahrenheit to Celsius, and all the other conversions. Read Jaime’s blog entry for more about the oven
