Hello, blog readers!
Apparently, people at home or elsewhere are getting the impression, from our previous blogs, that we are having a holiday here! Over the phone, I’ve talked with people from back home and some told me that while reading about our adventures here in Palmgrove, Africa, they got the impression that we were having a good time here, that things were going well, and that we have nothing to complain about! Though this is not the case, I wasn’t surprised to hear that. You see, when we sit down to write blogs for the public, we are scared of making too negative an impression on our readers, so apparently we go to the other extreme. Things are in no way easy here. With trying to live a Christian life by being a daily example, dealing with unreasonable and demanding people every hour of every day, and dealing with the heat all the time, the overall situation here in Palmgrove is trying and difficult. Day to day life is in general very frustrating, with trying to get people to work, with the little working equipment that we have, and having no income is a constant struggle. Sometimes it seems the Palmgrove people just sit and wait for money from overseas, and that they aren’t interested in earning any themselves. This is very unfair of them because at home our young people do plays and bike-a-thons and what-not to raise money for the ‘desperate’ people of Africa. We ask our outside friends to donate to this cause. People give their hard-earned money to Palmgrove, and do they appreciate it? Sometimes it seems they think they deserve to be given money and not work at all. It’s very hard to have a positive attitude with that going on. One thing that is a bit uplifting is that some of the younger people, puem mostly, seem to be open and willing to be taught and are trustworthy. Eddie Vetter from Cascade says back in 2000 when he was here, the puem were a nasty bunch, not Christians at all. So these here now are an encouragement.
The barns and factories are all run down and not in working order. They need maintenance, fixing, improving, money, more money, and people with ambition to work. It seems that every factory, soap, yamelina, tile, etc. that should have worked in the past, didn’t, and now we are working on getting the water plant in order. If the boys will show enough ambition and interest, that might be a source of income in the near future. A lot of the fault lies on the corrupt infrastructures most African countries have to deal with.
We will try to be more blunt with our blogs from now on. But, now you know why they seem to be all sunshine and roses, but in reality, life here is more difficult than most people at home can or will ever grasp.
Ed Vetter, Crystal Springs, keeps encouraging us by saying that “Our vision must be bigger than just Palmgrove.” Daily we come into contact with many, many strangers and it is up to us to be a light in this dark world. Our Lord expects us to make a difference in people’s lives, if we call ourselves his followers.
-Leanne-
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