Forward steps, backward steps

The more you see, the more you know.   As we spend our time here, we’re seeing and hearing more and more about YWAM, the base, and its operation.  It’s not Utopia (darn), and the challenges and frustrations are probably more than we anticipated, so we try to remind ourselves of why we are here and move on.

It’s a big base, with lots of big plans and ideas (vision), but not enough resources and manpower to follow through.  Not enough, really, to maintain what’s already here, so it seems to be the source of a good deal of frustration.  Of course, there are plenty of opinions about what could and should be done, including my own.  But it also presents opportunity for positive change, and I think that’s what Beth and I get to be a part of.  It also means that the men’s vocational training school and health clinic aren’t immediate realities, the resources just aren’t available for either and it wouldn’t be wise to start another project which can’t be done well.  I believe we’ll see those things at some point, but for now we are filling other roles.  The biggest is building relationship; with staff and students and others we meet and interact with.

One of the successful programs here is a girl’s vocational school.  Most of the girls come from backgrounds which would make it very difficult to finish their education or develop useful skills which would allow them to become self-sufficient.  Many are orphans, or have had to drop out of school, or lived in situations which put them at risk for failure.  They come here to live for a year while learning skills; hospitality, cooking and baking, and others, as well as participating in the base community. We (primarily Beth) are building rapport and spending much time with the girls.  It’s part of the mentoring role which we play and is really the bigger reason for being here.

The most time consuming thing for me has been to try to keep the Homes of Hope block production going.  Unfortunately it’s not been very successful.  Equipment breakdowns, power failures, having to relocate have all interrupted what we’re trying to accomplish.  Basically we’re trying to make giant legos from expanding foam (the kind you seal gaps with).  It requires a consistent high amperage electrical supply for the air compressor and heating elements, specific chemicals for cleaning the equipment, and a clean and organized work area.  None of which are available here, so we try to make due.  We’ve now set up in a chicken coop, but because of breakdowns haven’t got much done in the last two weeks.  It’s obviously not the appropriate technology right now, but since there is a group coming in two weeks to build a home, and the equipment and chemicals are here we’re going to follow through with production for now, and re-evaluate whether to continue the process once the remaining 55 gallon barrels of chemical are gone.

Between the times spent on that I’ve taken on the task of trying to clean and organize some of the storerooms on base.  I’d done one when we had to relocate the HoH operation, and unfortunately it became the catchall for that.  There seems to be a tendency to throw things which are broken or not known what they are, or for, into locked spaces where they get buried and become home for rats, mice, wasps and other critters.  Anything of value or usefulness disappears because of a lack of accountability or knowledge of what’s there.  It’s our hope to restore those things.  Meanwhile I get to go on treasure hunts, and have already used many things to improvise on other projects.

Last week the School of Sustainable Agriculture that was here finished up.  Since the leaders and four of the students were American, and because graduation coincided with Thanksgiving, they decided to treat the base to a Thanksgiving feast; complete with green beans, mashed potatoes and gravy, pumpkin pie, some local dishes, and beef.  (Turkey and chicken were too expensive.) The girl’s vocational school did all the cooking and serving, and it was excellent, and everyone really enjoyed the evening, including the music and dancing after the graduation ceremony and meal.

This week we’ve moved into what should be our more permanent home.  We’ve taken over the space previously occupied by the Ag school leaders, and prior to that another couple close to our age.  It’s basically a one bedroom apartment with a small kitchen and (terribly executed) bathroom.  The other couples have done a good job of stocking it with kitchen supplies and a few furnishings, so we have only a few things to do to make it ‘home’.  Both the other couples have tentative plans to return, so it will be interesting to see how we’re all situated if we’re here together.

"That is a snake!"  (almost as big as the spiders)

some Thanksgiving desserts

some Thanksgiving caterers- vocational school girls

Homes of hope block making arrangement.  Chickens on the other side of the screen aren't happy.

One night in the other place I found a snake in the kitchen.  It was small, maybe sixteen inches, dark in color, and kind of pretty, but we didn’t know what kind it was.  Rather than kill it, I caught it in a bucket to let go because I prefer harmless snakes to mice and some of the other critters that snakes eat.  There were some people in a common room next door and Beth went over to ask if anyone could identify the snake we’d caught in our room.  One young man said he knew about snakes and came over to help us out.  When he came over and looked in the bucket he declared:  “That is a snake!”  We’ve met a lot of people, and I don’t know all their names yet, but I’m calling that man Sherlock.