A Day in the Life
It is Monday morning, 10 AM. Monday’s are always a bit crazy as it seems like there is always a backlog of things to do that have accumulated during the weekend. For some reason this Monday seems a bit crazier than normal. Sometimes people ask me what I do in this job and I often have a hard time quantifying it. There just seems to be a long string of “stuff,” some of which seems pretty insignificant, but all of which is important to someone. And it is all a part of working here and keeping the organization running. Just for grins I listed everything that has come across my desk in the two hours that the office has been open today. The list includes:
- Lead morning prayer time at the office.
- Provide food for the Nend translator who is in town.
- Write a letter to the Provincial Government requesting funding for airstrip maintenance.
- Work up a summary of the duties of a Board of Management to send out to the Mum Board in Katiati.
- Write an eviction letter to a tenant who is two months behind on their rent.
- Purchase anti-malarials for a visitor who will be coming over this summer.
- Work on the logistics of getting a hospital patient back to the village after she finishes her treatment this week.
- Arrange for purchase of translation supplies (pens, paper, etc) for the Nend translation team.
This afternoon if all goes well I can get into some translation work. That is the part I like best so I try to work in some translation each day.
Things seemed to have settled down a bit over the past 20 minutes. But before lunch I get to hand deliver the eviction notice. That should be entertaining. Actually it is not a full blown eviction letter. Rather it is more of a blustery “pay your rent or leave the premises” letter. So I don’t start the day by being totally wretchedly heartless. That comes later in the week I suppose.
This should dispel any notions that people have about missionary work being glamorous or exciting. Occasionally it can be that but often the reality is that it is a job, like any other job. The retirement plan is much better than most jobs though.