Not What We Planned

 When we were first preparing to move to Africa longterm, we had a plan. We would leave the US and start our lives in Africa in one year’s time.  That was what worked best for our schedule. But that plan was not to be. We were told that we would have to wait 6 months longer than we wanted. And when we heard that, we were deeply discouraged. As we questioned and struggled with our one year’s plan demise—being disrupted by a whole 6 months—some longtime overseas workers (unaware of our disappointment) started sharing their story with us.  They had just arrived back in the US and were going to be there for 3 or 4 years. It was not something they had planned.  But life situations had made it necessary.  More amazingly, they seemed at peace with it.“What’s 4 years, really?” One of them said.  “We’ll come back 4 years from now and still have 20+ years of work ahead of us, right?”

Tom at island event- they don't usually go to plan!

Needless to say, we were humbled by this perspective. To us, 6 months felt like the end of the world. We look back on that moment as the first of many lessons about holding our plans—especially the timing—loosely. God often has a better plan.

Over the years we’ve retold this anecdote to ourselves and others many times, which suggests that it is a lesson that lots of us need learning.  This week we had a visitor who shared about her journey so far. She said things always seem to take longer and work out differently than she had originally hoped. Not what she planned.

Our teammates have been trying to find a solution to their water problems for a long time.  Even once a plan for installing a cistern had been settled on, it has taken much longer than expected.  They could tell their own story about the twists, turns and disappointments along the way.  In fact, that story is not over yet.  We are still waiting for the text saying it is up and running.  It has not been an easy thing. Not what they planned.

We have colleagues on the small island who have been preparing for a new team and had hoped it would have been starting, but instead they are still waiting for things to come together.  Still waiting for people to sign up to join the team.  It’s not fitting the timelines we had all hoped for.  Not what we planned.

Some delays are long, some are short. The medical team was originally slated to start back in 2017 or 2018, but only got going in 2021. Our medical teammates were supposed to start their internship last week, but unexpected complications means that it won’t start until next week. That is not what we were hoping for.  Not what we planned.

Our son & daughter- homecooked meal in dorm

Things aren’t going the way you’d hoped?  You thought you had it all worked out and now it’s all falling apart?  Time to take that timeline you created  for your life, project, work, vacation, dream, (add your thing here), and start again? Not what you planned.

Islanders are so cautious about disappointed plans— not wanting the shame of people hearing about their plans and then having to come back to tell them that their plans didn’t work out. So they don’t tell people about their plans until the very last minute.  Multiple times we’ve had people tell us they were leaving to study abroad for multiple years only the day before they traveled. A few times they’ve even called from the airport or after they’ve arrived in the new location! The surprise is all so that they don’t get caught having to admit that reality was not what they planned.

Sometimes when the change to our plans happen, we can sense right away that maybe the change was for the best. Other times, all we feel is disappointment.  That’s true for everyone.  Islanders hold future plans very loosely. (God willing!)  They are quick to thank God when things go in their favor, but at the same time, they look at the future with lots of fear and uncertainty.  We don’t want to do that.  We want to hold our future plans loosely with a sense of trust.  Whether we can see it or not, we are learning to trust that God’s plans are always better than ours. There are lots of things out of our control, but nothing is out of His hands. Not what we planned? It’s better.

PRAYERS ANSWERED
The medical team got their approval for the short-termer and for our teammates’ internship. Progress has been made on our teammates’ cistern project. Praise that an older man that Tom has studied with amazingly did not sustain serious injury after two bad accidents.  Tom had the chance to challenge him to see God’s hand in these events. The young boy that stole from us (and who we said had to learn to read to pay us back) has returned and restarted his lessons with Tom and is doing really well.

PRAYERS REQUESTED
An island sister on the big island has had her father threaten to kick her out of her home and to have the police come and arrest her unless she follows island traditions. She has not been afraid, and so far she hasn’t been arrested. Pray for continued peace for her and wise words and actions as she interacts with her family, the police and her community. Pray for her children too. There is hopes to do a large gathering here on Clove Island this coming weekend with both islanders and expats on the island. Pray that the planning and the event itself would encourage unity and deepen the sense of community. Things have gotten better, but our son still hasn’t fully found his rhythm at boarding school. Pray for good friends, that he would feel encouraged, and he would look to God in the hard moments. Our medical colleague is still waiting on the funding for her breastfeeding training. Pray for patience with the bureaucracy as she tries to work with the island medical system.