Unfortunate Events (Part 2)

...so the saga continues...

1) Tuesday afternoon, we were supposed to have a young lady flying in, working as a short-termer for a few weeks. Unfortunately, she missed her connection in Paris, was rerouted through Casablanca, and instead of arriving early afternoon, she arrived around 2 in the morning.

2) So, we woke Brendan up, told him he had to play computer games to stay awake (he was heartbroken...) while listening/babysitting his siblings, and took off for the airport around 1:30 in the morning.

3) She arrived and successfully navigated her way through customs; however, her luggage did not arrive with her. It was nearing 4 in the morning before we arrived back at the house, quite ready to crash since we knew we had to be up and going again at 6 for the kids to be to school on time. As late as it was, we decided to have our visitor crash at our house for a few hours instead of trying to settle her into her guest house.

4) Busy morning after that - getting our short-termer checked into her guest house, the closing assembly at Brendan's school followed by a reception (I'd also made a desert to pass already that morning for the reception)... throughout this time, I was very much anticipating a nap.

5) But, when I arrived home, our house help was in tears. Her husband had come by and her sister had been in an accident, was in the emergency room, and no one really knew how she was doing.

6) So, I told her I'd take her to the hospital and we'd see what was going on with her sister. But no one knew what hospital/clinic for sure and her husband wasn't answering his phone, so we drove th their house. Then we followed her husband to the National Hospital, where her sister was still in the ER, waiting for an X-ray. Apparently what had happened was she was walking across a street when a man on a motorcycle decided he didn't want to wait for his green light, proceeded through the intersection and ran into her, knowcking her quite forcefully to the ground.

7) We sat in line with all the taxis, waiting for a place to open up so I could park the car, paid the parking fee, and finally got out to go into the hospital... just as Safana's sister came slowly and painfully limping out.

8)I offered to give her a ride home, so I went back to sit in line again to leave the parking place I'd just paid for and occuppied for no more than 5 minutes, wound my way back into her neighborhood and dropped them all off. I also gave our househelp the rest of the day off so she could attend to her sister.

9) I arrived home to the kitchen mess and a bunch of kids wanting to head for the pool to see friends who are down from Mali on vacation. Tim and Brendan (still tired from his computer marathon) were sleeping and our visitor was checking her email.

10) After dropping her at her guest house for some much needed rest, I took the rest of the gang to the pool for a few hours before coming home to eat dinner.

11) We did quick, but by no means thorough picking up of the kitchen mess, and then Tim, bless his heart, turned on the AC and I crashed. I think I was sound asleep by 8:15 and he took care of everything else that evening.

Unfortunately, as I stated before - schedule changes and unexpected daily life modifications seem more the norm here than a day going as you had originally planned - and I haven't even included other little details (toilet tanks falling off the wall, rooster running away, car refusing to start..., internet deciding to no longer work - hence the long silence between parts I and II of this post...) that all fit into the mix. But I do think God uses these to teach us flexibility and to keep us continually dependant upon Him, asking Him what He would have us to do. I really didn't want to miss my nap time to take my househelp to see her sister at the hospital - but I do know that was part of God's agenda for my day and afterwards I was very thankful for the opportunity I had to talk with and pray with our househelp, and the opportunity to encourage and share God's love with her and her family. My challenge is recognizing and gently accepting that God allows these changes, and regardless of whether I'm happy about it or not, I can choose to accept and follow through with a good attitude, or I can pout... and one come much more naturally than the other.

What I am trying to remember is thankfulness because I am seeing God's hand as He continues to teach me His gentleness.