Flexibility

(written April 1, 2013) And so, the countdown begins. I have less than one month left in Cameroon. 4 weeks from today, I will once again be standing on American soil. It’s absolutely unbelievable how quickly time passes! I decided to write today about one of the big lessons I’ve learned while in Africa: Lesson #1—Be Flexible   I think my biggest lesson in flexibility occurred last year. I know I blogged a little about it, so forgive the repeated information. Last January, I took a trip to the Far North with five other people. We experienced delay after delay. Our first vehicle broke down three times. Finally, after the third break down, it was beyond the point of repair. We then had to wait a few hours until our next vehicle arrived. We promptly squeezed six people and luggage into a small 4-door car. That was just the beginning of our trip. Later, we were stranded on a boat on Lake Chad, at nightfall, with no working motor, and sugar cane for paddles. Another time, we lay on the side of the road (very literally) for several hours until we found a ride. Needless to say, I was not surprised when the train ride back took over 15 hours instead of the usual 12. Our train broke down less than 5 miles from its final destination.   Of course, many occurrences on that trip were rather location specific. I’m not daily learning flexibility from a broken boat motor because I’m hundreds of miles from Lake Chad. Adaptability is perhaps better learned in the day-to-day interruptions and resulting schedule changes. An important thing for me to remember here is that people more important than my own personal schedule preferences.   Remember earlier this year when we got a new homeschool teacher, and then she had to leave within a month? Flexibility. Like I told her, here in Cameroon, we often move from plan A to plan Z in less than 1 hour before returning to plan A. I’m not saying that I have perfected the art of being adaptable; however, by God’s grace, I have been able to grow in that area during my time in Cameroon.