Bottlenecks

Avoiding Nairobi traffic by walking!

A bottleneck:  What happens when a great deal of things need to pass through a very limited space.  I’ve been thinking about bottlenecks.  In life it seems like we are always running into them.

This past week we were in Nairobi - A large city with traffic problems.  This is probably the most classic example.  Too many cars trying to drive into or through the same narrow road ways—Nairobi has this in abundance!  But then we got back to the islands this week and found that there is no frozen beef!  Why not?  A bottleneck.  There is one port and after weeks of stormy weather, it is backed up.  Apparently the refrigerated meat has been sitting on a barge at a nearby port for nearly a month.  But it must wait it’s turn, and until then—no beef!

Air travel is another example of bottlenecks.  Normally air travel to and from the islands is rather uniform and somewhat smooth, but every year during wedding season there’s a bottleneck.  Everyone wants to come back for a wedding, and that causes havoc with tickets and luggage. Too many people, too many bags, not enough planes.

Visiting with friends on big island

But bottlenecks aren’t only something that happen with transportation.  They happen in other parts of our lives as well.  We have been guiding our newest team members through the process of language learning and culture.  Here we have yet another bottleneck.  There is absolutely no way to cram a whole language into a normal person’s brain as fast as one might wish.  Rather it has to trickle in slowly over time.

As an organization we find a bottleneck with leadership.  We have many people who are willing to come and give their lives for this work, but not enough people to guide them.  This bottleneck means the numbers coming to join in the work are slowed, and for good reason.  Good leadership can make or break people in a difficult setting.  But good leadership takes maturity and maturity requires time, time filled with experiences and lessons learned— so it’s another bottleneck that requires waiting and patience. People do not become mature overnight.  The road of experience, study, practice, prayer, and guidance shape us in maturity and it is a hard, slow process.  It simply cannot be hurried.

Why must so much of life be bottlenecks?

A friend of mine has been searching for truth.  He asks great questions, but there is so much truth to share.  It can’t happen all in one visit.  Another bottleneck!  In visiting our colleagues on the other island we hear of how truth is being obscured and tainted with false teaching and we see how the bottleneck of truth causes trouble.  If only our friends knew more of the truth—then they would not be swayed by false teaching.  Some of them haven’t even learned the basics and they’re being swamped with things out of their depth.  If only the bottleneck could be removed and everything could be absorbed and understood all at once—then this would all get sorted out.

Our water filter at work!

I thought of one more bottleneck as I was writing.  In our kitchen our water filter takes a large bucket of water and filters it through a microscopically small ceramic working, down a thin tube and drips it slowly into a bucket on the floor.  Another classic bottleneck problem.  And yet, this one I’m thankful for.  Do I wish it would filter faster sometimes?  Yes.  But the water that goes in at the top is often brown and gritty.  It carries dirt and dust and disease.  But the water that comes out at the bottom is filtered, refined and pure.  Good and safe for drinking.  We can’t rush the process without messing with the final product, the process is important.

And so it is with truth and maturity.  Some bottlenecks and the waiting they require seem like just a waste of time and we could certainly do without them, but others—others are important because the process matters and the ending is worth the wait.

PRAYERS ANSWERED
We’ve made it back to Clove island with all our bags and no worse for wear.  Megan’s recovery is still going well.  The kids went back to school today and all of them reported having a good day—something they were nervous about after their missing 3 weeks of school, so we are very thankful for that smooth transition.  Our printing project was completed and we are giving the finished product out to friends already.  Pray that these would be a blessing to them. 

PRAYERS REQUESTED
Pray for Tom’s friend who is still wrestling to find and understand truth.  Pray for island brothers and sisters with some big travel decisions to make.  Pray that they would make wise decisions.  One of Tom’s friends has remarried his wife!  Pray for a healthy marriage and for opportunities to encourage them to walk in the light.  We are getting ready for a short-termer to come.  Pray that her final financial needs would come in and that she would be able to buy her plane tickets this week.  Pray for her final preparations and for a blessed time with us.  Our team members will be returning this week.  Pray for safe travels.  They are in Kenya now.  Pray for the political stability of that country. We passed through the big island on our way home and saw Ma Imani— her daughter is doing much better but she has some kind of infection in her breast (it’s unclear whether cancer is a concern). Pray for healing, good doctors and good treatment. She is also discouraged by the island brothers and sisters she has met on the big island and the divisions and unhealthy interactions she has witnessed. Pray for her that this would not shake her and for the community on the big island that truth, reconciliation and unity would be found by all.