You Can't Do That

Forbidden photo--(it's okay, I smudged the price out)

“Madam, you can’t do that.”
I put my phone down. I had been taking a picture of one of the toaster oven boxes on the shelf. Remember my friend who wanted us to buy one for her?  So I stopped by one of the prominent stores on the big island to check out the options. The problem was that there wasn’t just one toaster oven model, there were at least five, made by different companies, with different prices and different sizes. At that point I just needed to get the information.

I explained the situation to the door guard who had stopped me, but he insisted that no photography or video was allowed in the store.

“It is the law of the store,” he told me emphatically.

So I put my phone away into my purse and got out a pen and paper. I started to write down the specs and prices. I could sense the man looking over my shoulder and acting tense. I started to look at the back of one of the boxes and he had to speak. “Don’t do that!”

I immediately asked him why and while he didn’t seem to know why, I could tell that he thought I was circumventing the rules somehow. Whatever the heart of the no photography law was, he seemed to think that the heart was to keep this detailed information secret. “But I need the information to know which one to buy.”

Kids taking a break from testing

I kept looking at the toaster ovens, trying to commit the information to memory without writing, thinking I might go outside to write it down if necessary. Soon some type of manager came up. I still had the forbidden pen and paper in my hand. The manager confirmed that I was not allowed to write down information like that. I expressed my dismay. “How am I supposed to tell my friend what you have available if I can’t have this information? She is on another island, she can’t come here.” The manager gave me a solution. “Tell me which ones you are interested in and we will print you a paper with all their information and prices.” I was surprised and wondered if perhaps I didn’t understand (these conversations were all in the local language), so I repeated, “You will give me a paper with all this same information.” He nodded his head. So I pointed out the five different toaster ovens on the shelves and he took them down and to his counter, while I looked around the rest of the store.

Ten minutes later the manager found me and handed me the printout, full with serial numbers, specs and prices. I left the store still at a loss of what the point of the “don’t write anything down” law was.

Islanders are often content to accept rules without the “why”. They are generally told not to question, to follow the letter of the law without an awareness or concern for the heart of law. That’s why it can be so confusing for them when they ask what are the laws that govern us. How are we supposed to pray? wash? live? We tell them that for us, it is the heart that is important, not the letter of the law.  Islanders also value information.  Having information that others do not have is a form of power.  Perhaps this was also at play in this interaction.  A sort of cultural perfect storm of silliness.

The good news is, I have the information about the toaster ovens.  Now we just need to choose one…

First time with glasses!

PRAYERS ANSWERED
Our travels to mainland Africa have gone smoothly.  We are enjoying the cooler weather.  Our medical and dental visits went well.  Tom has a new crown and Megan’s ultrasound showed her to be completely cyst free—the first post-op follow-up had shown the cyst growing back. We see this as a miracle!  Megan and our daughter also had a very good experience at the optometrist and are now sporting new glasses.  Our colleague managed to return home and be with her mother before her passing.  We rejoice that her mother is with the Lord, and that family could be with her for her final hours.  Pray for our colleague as she hopes to return to Africa this week. 

PRAYERS REQUESTED
Our children will be in testing all week in an effort to assess how they are doing with homeschooling.  This is a bit stressful, but it also offers them a lot of fun opportunities to participate in activities at the school where the testing is being done.  Pray that this week would be a good one and that we would learn what we can continue to do to oversee our children’s education.  We have had frequent messages back and forth with our friends on the islands.  Pray that those islanders who have been learning and growing will continue to do so in our absence.  Continue to lift up the political situation which has the potential to become unstable. Good friend to many of our teammates has just gotten engaged— she has been wanting to get married for a long time so this is an answer to prayer but we also want people praying that she would marry a good man and not just be forced into a marriage with the first man that offers.