Helping is Hot, Sweaty, and Really Really Boring

     Having a blog is harder than I thought. As a writer, I only usually write when I have inspiration. But as a blogger, I feel like writing consistently about interesting things is hard to do. Especailly when i know people are reading it, unlike most of my other writing. In a way, it makes me feel more courageous as a writer, and in another way, it makes me feel like I'm not putting my best out there, which is one of my greatest fears. I do have a valid excuse for not writing in a few days though. For one thing, we made a brief but harrowing trip to Accra, which involved the Great Gatsby, a live Clue game, and the making of home made wizard wands. The trip to Accra is fifteen hours, and when you're driving all the way one day, spending two days in town, then driving all the way back the next day, it takes it out of you quite a bit. 

     We came back from said trip on Tuesday, and had a nice time sleeping until ten in the morning. On Wednesday I passed the day listening to Disney and making a necklace and a sign for my door that says 'Trespassers will be eaten by Zombies.' That's right, I know I'm cooler than you, you don't need to tell me. We also heard some great thoughts from the interns on Wednesday night. 

     I've always known that when people hear we're missionaries in Togo, it impressed them. But I never really realized what kind of impression it made on them. When I think about it, and try to put myself in the mind of someone who has never been here, I come up with some interesting thoughts. I think about what most people must think about; you know, hugging orphans and saving lives and all that. Then I think about what impression I have: going out an hour to a church on Sunday, sitting for a good three hours in a tiny, hot, mud hut with a good sixty people. It smells, I don't know the language, my back hurts because I'm sitting on a small wooden bench, I just want to put shorts on, and I'm most likely hungry and thirsty as well. I'm going to say these are two very different ideas. 

     The more I thought about it though, the more I realized that this is what I love. I always say I hate the heat, and I do, but it's not so bad sometimes. I don't understand the language, but I love watching peoples' animated reactions to things that are said. I don't have anything to do out there in the tiny building but it gives me a lot of time to read or just daydream. In all, I have the less glamorous view that the average person, but if I were in a place where the weather was nice, I always stayed clean, and knew how to talk to people, what fun would that be? I love coming home with dirt and sweat all over me, feeling so tired I can hardly stand. That's what makes it special. And some people in America could say they have a job just like that, but can they say that they met amazing people and helped a great cause while they did it? 

     I could never be happy doing something selfish, or even something average. Some people work solely to get by, but I feel like my line of work should be important, helpful, and something I love. I used to think that as an MK here, I didn't have a job to do. I stayed at home, did school, and mumbled my way through village visits, even though my parents always told me that was helping. Now I feel like I do have something to do. I'm working at the clinic, I'm helping with orphan letters and pictures, and I'm helping to raise bunnies for the orphan program. Even if something is small like these things, or sitting through village, it IS still helping, and who knows, maybe I do make a difference and I don't even know it. I'm sure I'm paraphrasing someone in some way, but the way I see things, there's always help that's needed somewhere if you just know how and where to look.