Lots to Learn

Our daughter dressed for event

True wisdom and knowledge begin with humility.

There were lots of things I understood about the event we were going to. I understood the dress code, what type of music to expect and basically what was expected of us. Our daughter doesn’t usually go to events like this, but she was specifically invited and even given a traditional wrap to wear especially. I was trying to explain to her what would happen, but I had to confess some confusion. I knew the basic outline of the event but I still didn’t really know what it was for. I tried to ask the person I was seated next to, but my question only spurred her to berate the person who invited me for not explaining to me. She obviously had a grudge against my friend so I decided to let it go and wait in ignorance to see what would happen.  Even after years, the islands often still surprise me.

“Islanders are like this!” an expat we know confidently declared, making this definitive statement on island character after having lived here for a few months. Back in his home country everyone would have accepted his comment at face value, but he made his declaration to a group of people that had all lived on the islands for years. We each took it in turns to gently give our personal experiences, all of which clearly contradicted his statement. We weren’t questioning his observations but they were limited and he didn’t know enough to really make any declarations yet.

A little knowledge is always a dangerous thing. It can lead to a misplaced confidence that makes you think that you have things figured out. We’ve seen it multiple times. After a few months people have learned a lot and are eager to put the things they have learned to use. This is when people are primed to make mistakes, jump to bad conclusions and perhaps embarrass themselves. Eventually at some point you realize how much you still have to learn— this is the beginning. It’s a paradox that you have to learn in order to know how much you have to learn, that it takes wisdom to realize how foolish you are.

At the event

Tom listened patiently this week as another young expat shared with him his conclusions about island life after his first month here.  Recently we found ourselves smiling politely when a visitor of only a week, gave us her bold solutions to the islands’ complex problems. “They just need to do this!”  We remind ourselves that if we are truly wise than we should be willing to listen to even those with little experience.  Perhaps they have a fresh perspective that will allow them to see something we have missed. But we also find ourselves thinking back to the sorts of things we have said in the past, and feel challenged to be slower to speak if we ever find ourselves in similar situations again.

Because we still have a lot to learn.

We’ve been reflecting a lot on teams and team-leading lately, as we continue to reflect on the hard times we have just experienced. Sometimes we want to despair—will we ever fully figure this stuff out? Perhaps if we were wiser we could head off these problems before they blew up? We still have a lot to learn. The same goes for language/culture learning or just general wisdom/maturity. Realizing how far you still have to go, should lead to humility but can also lead to discouragement. You realize that there will never be a moment when you can check it off your list and say that you have arrived. “I am now completely wise and mature,” should never come out of our mouths. But humility and discouragement do not have to be packaged together. Because we are learning, we are growing. This is not a stagnant process. We may have far to go, but we’re still moving. We think about mistakes we made with our first team and realize— wow, we’ve learned something, haven’t we! We remember our ignorance when we first came to the islands and know that our efforts have not been fruitless.

Visitors on the holiday

Pray with us as we push forward. We are humbled by life and experience but hopefully it is humility coupled with hope (as it should be) and not coupled with discouragement or despair. The journey continues and if we are feeling humbled, then we know we’ve gotten somewhere!

PRAYERS ANSWERED
Ma Imani’s family was able to gather the funds for her to travel. She left for Madagascar yesterday. We haven’t had an update since but she was supposed to see a doctor today. Our teammates had a good time away this weekend to pray and reflect. The big holiday went well— we had more visitors greeting us for the holiday than we expected.

PRAYERS REQUESTED
Continue to pray for Ma Imani— that she would get good medical care and advice and that her nephew would take good care of her. Pray for the islands— we’ve heard rumors that the international community is threatening embargoes and there are rumblings that the unrest among islanders could ignite into something violent in the coming weeks. Tom is taking a new tack with the men he has been studying with— pray that it would be fruitful and hearts would be open. We have been brainstorming ways to encourage greater community on our island— pray for good discernment. We had some discouraging news this week— pray for encouragement and a return of our excitement for the tasks before us.