Bursting our Boxes

The last two weeks we had brainstorming sessions as a team. The goal was ultimately to find a new way forward. The whole team knew that we needed to make changes as we go into this new season. As of January, we are taking on some new responsibilities and while the majority of our time will still be on Clove Island— our attentions are going to be in different places and we will have to spend more substantial chunks of time away from the islands, visiting work in other countries and attending regional meetings. Our team life on the ground here will have to change. 

Hiking a path we've taken many times

The goal of our brainstorm was to try to burst our boxes. We have been team leaders on Clove Island since 2013 and since that time our team life has always been guided by a set team schedule. We spend most of our time out in our individual communities and doing whatever work we are known for on the islands, but we come together to fellowship together on a Sunday, we have a dedicated time for prayer, we do regular individual check-ins, and we have our team day (time of language study, reading, discussion and team business). 

We have made changes in the past and sometimes it has felt significant— going from a full day to a half day team day, changing early morning prayer to an evening prayer, restructuring our team language study and discussion to cater to the needs of brand new team members. But really we were still holding onto the same basic structure. The content and/or position shifted but the boxes  stayed intact. 

There’s a reason why they stayed intact— we’ve enjoyed it. It has served our teams well. t We’ve been on the islands for over 17 years and we’re creatures of habit. We are much more likely to to develop a pattern and stick to it than to reinvent our schedule each week. But how do we stop patterns from becoming ruts?  

In a road, a rut is created by a well-worn path, by continually going the exact same way until the ground and your wheels sink in. The problem with a rut is that you may at some point want to shift and go a different way but there’s resistance. Now your wheels are so deep in that they can’t turn— you’re stuck in the rut. 

I think we have comforted ourselves with the minor changes we’ve made over the years, but maybe our rut is just a little wider, less constraining, allowing for minor changes but still not allowing a major shift. That’s why we needed a brainstorm— we needed to recognize our boxes and prepare to burst them with ideas that might require our old structures to change. 

The brainstorms and discussions have gone well and we’re ready to move forward with some new plans, but we’re a small group, we’re all Western, and we’ve known each other for years. What happens when we have an organization that is 100 years old with people from lots of different countries but which was established and organized by Westerners? What happens when they wants to be more open to Africans and want them to feel valued and equal members? Is it enough to just shift some things around, reposition our boxes, or are we going to have to burst the boxes and start fresh? 

Teaching a curriculum we've done many times

I don’t know that our new team schedule is that amazingly different from before, but we’re glad we went through the process of questioning, brainstorming and opening our hands. How do we know if we’re stuck in a rut, trapped by our boxes if we never leave them? The best way is to intentionally move in a new direction, do something that doesn’t fit the old patterns— is there resistance to that change?  The choice will be before you:  Do you stay in the rut, or are you willing to dig up the road and burst some boxes? 

PRAYERS ANSWERED
We are thankful for our teammate and for some good times of brainstorm and discussion and for a new plan moving forward. We got to spend some time this weekend with our colleagues from the medical team on the plateau. We continue to have good studies with Mtsa and Muki, and Hashiri. Muki tried to share the good news with another man visiting our house— Tom had to help but we are happy to see his willingness to share what he is learning. Praise that Hashiri has been talking to an island sister as well and getting some good advice and prayer. 


PRAYERS REQUESTED
Pray for our team and our organization as we evaluate what unhelpful ruts we may be in and seek to change. Both the Clove Island men and women are planning on having their monthly gatherings this week. Pray that they would be well-attended. We will head to the big island on Friday— pray for safe travels and for our connecting with both the big island and small island teams while we’re there. May the sessions we facilitate for both teams encourage honest and helpful discussion and reflection. Our son will have his drama performances on Friday and Saturday (he is in the lead role). Pray for this week of busy final preparations and for fun and satisfying performances for all. Pray also that someone videotapes it so we can enjoy it too!