An update from the project office

 We’re back from holiday and I have had to work hard to catch up on things around the project office.  Now we are the only family here and I’m the only foreigner in the community development project, so life has to move at a faster pace just to keep up with all that needs to be taken care of.  I actually feel encouraged with the way things are going.  My role with the project is much more defined, and that should help me avoid getting discouraged like I was prone to in the spring and summer.  I am now the “Programme advisor,” which essentially means I’m responsible for building capacity in our local staff so that they can do their jobs, while keeping the projects in line with the purpose of our organization.  I like that I do not have to do a lot of day-to-day management, and am not responsible for all those decisions that managers hear grumbling about.  It’s a new challenge to work so closely with our local leaders to do reports, proposals, and budgets.  Somehow we need to come up with fluid and logical documents in English, but to get there I have to be extremely patient and sip a lot of tea while we debate in repetitively cyclical circles and argue in 3 languages.

This week’s big task is submitting our 2012 project plans and budgets to our donor organizations.  I’m pleased with the progress so far.  To keep the process going, I have to think about the simplest way to introduce each task to the guys, and then come up with the right questions to draw out their thoughts and keep them on topic (ha).  Then I sit at my computer and quickly type notes in whatever language comes out first, and come back to clean them up later.  I’m really pleased that there have not been any big disagreements, even when discussing the budgeting of a lot of money. 

I will write soon with a description of the project plans for 2012, because I think some of you might be interested to hear them.  With the rest of my time tonight, I thought I would mention a couple nice discussions I had with local staff today.

This morning our youngest staff, who was married last year and has a new baby, was admitting to the other men that his wife is upset with him.  He said this was because he has been working long days, and when he gets home he has to study for the courses he is taking as well.  His wife has bluntly asked him, “where’s the benefit for me in this marriage?”  The men all turned to me and asked me what he should do, so I told him exactly what I thought.  I told him that when he goes home, he needs to put everything aside and take 10 minutes, and look in his wife’s eyes, and talk to her.  Ask about her day, and tell her about his, and keep eye contact the whole 10 minutes.  Further, he needs to pay her 2 compliments in that 10-minute talk.  And if she asks him why he is being so strange, he has to tell her it is because he loves her.  The reactions from the guys were mixed, clearly some of them thought this was a stretch for the male of this culture, but others signaled they agreed with me.  I will let you know if I find out how this went for our guys.

The last story for tonight is about two guys on the project, who took notice of a desperate family, and took action in response.  They were in a village monitoring some agriculture projects, when they came across a family living in a house that looked inhabitable.  They took some time to visit with the man of the house, who was ashamed he did not even have a cushion for them to sit on.  One of the most telling signs of poverty was also evident: there was nothing covering the windows mud openings in the house; no glass, no curtains, not even plastic to slow the cold wind.  Now, this sounds like the type of person our project should be helping, but we have strict rules about handouts, because they become so problematic.  Their hands a bit tied, both of my staff took this man’s situation to heart, and both responded personally.  One of my staff invited this man to come to his house the next day and work for him in his yard.  The next day came and the man happily went to work.  My other staffer stopped by with a whole load of clothes for this poor man to take home with him. 

This latter story is a big encouragement for me.  There are many days when I worry that our investment in this project and this staff is not going to produce the fruit that we hope for: transformed people.  Then stories like this come out of nowhere and remind me that the Spirit is roaming this place looking for hearts that have heard truth and are softened by it.