It seems like expectations is the word of the trip so far. God has been teaching me so much about this. What I expect from people, what they expect from me or better said what I think they expect from me. What is it all based on?
I came with great expectation for the experience here and what I would be doing and when it wasn't what I thought it really threw me off. It has me thinking though. How much of my life and the decisions I make are based off of my expectations for myself and what others expect from me? What if I have always assumed something in my life and then realize that I let fear of taking the road less travelled and all the unexpected that is found there keep me in the place that I think keeps the level of security high and calculated risks to a minimum.
I have found, even in just being here for a month, some of the difficulties of stepping outside of the box. Even bigger than that though I have been so blessed and am learning so much about myself and others and life in general. I'm learning a new depth of trust in Christ alone that even when everything else doesn't make sense, He is solid ground and everything else is sinking sand.
In other news, I got to celebrate my birthday in Africa! It actually ended up being over Thursday and Friday. Because Friday was a ship holiday and we didn't work, they sang happy birthday to me on Thursday morning and one of my coworkers made me a birthday cake. Everyone (people from the US, UK, Australia, New Zealand, China, Germany, South Korea!) signed a bona fide African card and had one of our translators to write happy birthday on the front in Fon. On Friday morning the same coworker that made the cake rang the bell in the dining room which cues everyone to sing happy birthday. Pretty embarrassing since I had literally just rolled out of bed but it was still funny. We then went to tour a local hospital and clinic. The day was finished off with one of the gurkhas singing happy birthday to me in Indian. Not to mention I got a call from some of the evening crew from home singing happy birthday. It was such an international birthday! Just beautiful.
On Tuesday we had 5 boxes of random instruments shipped to us and it was my job to help sort through them. The fun part was that there was bubble wrap in the boxes. We took it to the wards to introduce it to the kids there and they loved it! It was so neat teaching them how to pop the little bubbles and then showing them how to lay it on the ground to walk or jump on it. There is a little girl there who people have been trying to get to smile for awhile and I'm pleased to announce that the bubble wrap got her to budge a grin for us.
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