Work and Rest

Tom and friends at a ceremony

Balance is a recurring theme in our lives and our talks with our teammates. Are we balancing our different responsibilities and roles well? Are we prioritizing the most important or are there things slipping through the cracks? Are we spending our time on the things that matter most? Are we striking the right balance? Are we maintaining a sustainable rhythm? Are we balancing work and rest?

Sometimes it takes awhile to find the right balance, but once you do, things go well. But then inevitably something shifts. Either you, your schedule or your surroundings change and you have to rethink the balance.

Gathering on retreat

As team leaders we feel the balance shift as our teammates have crises come and go and as our teammates grow more comfortable in the culture. They don’t always need the same amount of care or attention from us. Our new teammates recently told us how they have noticed that their day-off needs have changed. They can go out and about without it sapping their energy anymore. They are changing.

Island life ebbs and flows. For example the month of fasting has a completely different pace and balance from the rest of the year. At other times there can suddenly be a rush of English teaching requests, or it’s wedding season or a string of visitors come one after another. Our normal patterns of work and rest have to be tweaked to find balance.  

So there we were last week—the month of fasting was complete.  Our newest team members had just completed the 3 month mark.  We were welcoming a short-term intern in a few days.  We were in transition—our balance was being disrupted. The perfect moment for a team retreat! A chance to check-in, reflect and rest.

Team retreat Group shot

Unfortunately team retreats can be kind of stressful. We may live on a beautiful tropical island, but, in a place where there is little to no tourism, organizing a time away for 7 adults and 3 kids is no easy feat.  Transportation can be difficult.  Accommodations can be difficult.  Food can be difficult.  Even water can be difficult. The logistics are stressful.

There is really only one motel in our whole island that is both in a beautiful location and can accommodate our team.  Thankfully, that option was available.  It’s a long car ride to get to there, but thankfully we found a taxi driver willing to take us the shorter route. The motel’s accommodations are less than ideal (one towel per room, unpredictable meal times, expensive water, fans that don’t work, power cuts), but with a little ingenuity and planning (bring your own towels, snacks and water filter) we could have a great time. Our wonderful teammates stepped up to help figure out the logistics, removing stress.

We had a good, restful time. We only had two nights and one full day to spend between the big holiday and our new intern arriving, but it was time well spent. We hit the balance right. We came back to work feeling more rested and with more energy to figure out our new post-holiday balance.

PRAYERS ANSWERED
We are thankful for a nice retreat! Our short-term intern arrived safely and his orientation time has been going well. We have a new island brother! We heard from island brothers and sisters that at their gathering this weekend that a new young man made a decision. Tom’s teacher training has been intense, but has been going well. Another book has been fully translated and checked! We are so thankful to have more of the Book in the local language.

PRAYERS REQUESTED
The islands are tense. On Wednesday, the opposition has set the ultimatum that the standing president is supposed to step down. No one expects him to, but past Wednesday everyone expects there to be unrest. We aren’t sure what will happen or even if it will amount to much, but please continue to pray for the islands—for justice, for peaceful avenues for change, for the protection of the innocent and for good leaders. Pray for all of us traveling at this time. One teammate, our short-termer and then our whole family are all supposed to be traveling to other islands this coming week.