Thank You, World

In my Perfect World...

I think there should be a law that says no appliances are allowed to break down and no foreign bureaucracies must be dealt with until you're over jet lag. (Ah, if only reality would comply with my demands!)

The day we got back from Malaysia, my cell phone broke. This may not be a big deal to some of you, but our house was not wired to have a land line, so we rely on our cell phone as our only phone. Without it, I have no means of communicating with the "outside world."

I went to the Virgin Mobile shop to see if I could either get my phone repaired or replace it. They said I qualified for a free phone upgrade, as we've had a contract with them for three years, but they were out of phones. They only had one phone left, and it was hot pink.

Virgin Mobile shop #2 said they would have to run a credit check if I wanted to replace my phone, and they weren't sure they could even do that since we didn't have a South African id number (but we have a contract with you already, I kept saying).

Virgin Mobile shop #3 said they needed a whole host of paperwork - passports, proof of residence, proof of salary, etc. etc. etc. (but we already have a contract with you - you already have that information!)

Virgin Mobile shop #4 took my phone in for repairs and gave me a free upgrade. No questions asked.

If you can tell me why I got four completely different responses from four different shops, I will vote for you for president.

Shell-Shocked

We have a pet clam. It was an accident.

Long story short, we were in Malaysia attending a work conference. Our oldest daughter, Emma, also went with us. One afternoon, Emma and I were looking for shells on the beach. I found the clam shell. I thought it was cool because it was whole and unopened.

The clam spent four days out of the water, two days in a suitcase, survived three aeroplane rides, and when we got it home, we noticed that the shell had opened a bit. We tried to open it all the way, but the shell suddenly snapped shut. That's when Emma shouted, "Mommy, it's alive!"

So now we have a Frankenstein bivalve, and I am doing Google searches on "Caring for your pet clam." (Add that to the list of things I never imagined myself doing...) In my defense, I had no idea. I assumed that all shells washed up on the beach no longer had living creatures in them.

One dog, three hamsters, and a clam named Shelldon (I was told to make sure I spell that with two l's). I think I have a new definition for the word "nonplussed."

On a Detour?

• When Saul had an encounter with God on the road to Damascus, it took 3 years before he began his public ministry.
• When Samuel appointed David as king over Israel, it was 25 years before he took the throne.
• Moses herded sheep for 40 years in the wilderness before God's call was fulfilled in his life.
  

I was reminded today that much of life is lived "in the wilderness" - in a period of waiting. In order to prepare us, teach us, change us, God often takes us on a path that seems to be leading us away from what we know He has called us to. There are times when our path seems contradictory to what God has promised, times when we begin to doubt whether or not we really heard Him correctly.

But if you look carefully at the Bible and the examples of others, you'll see that God never wasted that time. Saul (renamed Paul) learned much of God's grace and love during those 3 years. David had some growing up to do, and Moses learned some valuable desert survival skills that would come in handy when leading the Israelites to the promised land.

It gives me hope that no matter where I find myself, God is using that to mold me and shape me more like Him.

Siyabonga!

This is a video of South Africans thanking the world for visiting their country during the World Cup. You can get an idea of the many different cultures here, and why we love South Africa.

Fly the Flag Campaign

It was Abraham Lincoln who said, "A house divided against itself cannot stand." But He was pretty much quoting Jesus, who said, "Every kingdom divided against itself will be ruined, and every city or household divided against itself will not stand." (Matthew 12:25)

My Shopping Confession

I went to the shops today to look for an electrical adapter thing. As you can probably tell, I'm not an expert on electrical adapters, so it was taking me a while to figure out which one I needed. While I was busy concentrating, the floor mopper came down my aisle.

I don't know if this is unique to South Africa or not, but there are workers who mop the floors in almost every store, in front of the ATM's, in the bathrooms, etc., and all during business hours while people are shopping. In their defense, South Africa has some of the cleanest public toilets in the world. In my defense, I just wanted to sort out which electrical thing I needed without slipping on a wet floor or making dirty footprints where she had just mopped.

So the floor mopper got to where I was standing and stopped. I pretended not to see her, hoping she would mop around me. She did, and then came back and stood right behind me, with her mop hovering around my feet. I was irritated; she was irritated. But here's where it gets tricky:

My Perspective:
I'm the customer. Your store wouldn't exist without customers buying your products. Don't make the customer move so you can mop the floor. Wait for the customer to leave. Give them a pleasant shopping experience.

Her Perspective:
I have a job. I want to do my job. I want to do my job well. She's in my way. Why can't she just give a little?

Would it have killed me to move, interrupt my shopping for a moment, and let her mop where I had been standing? No. Would it have killed her to wait until I found what I was looking for? No. That's when it suddenly dawned on me how my Western mindset is rooted in a sense of entitlement, which is a nice way of saying "selfishness." And I felt ashamed.