“Serving overseas as a small-town boy from America is intense, stressful and humorous! Enjoy a light-hearted story with me from our last 20 years overseas!”
—Matt
Productive in unideal circumstances
I had the honor to grow up in a pretty much idyllic childhood. Most of us were born with a silver spoon in our mouths when we compare our childhood with those in the rest of the world. Maybe one of the reasons it was an idyllic childhood for me was because it wasn’t perfect – I had to actually work through trivial and less than trivial experiences. Bailing hay or straw on sunny, hot, humid and dusty afternoons in Indiana is some of the best training for life.
Overseas, one of the first lessons I give new workers is on how to be productive in less than ideal circumstances. They will never get anything done if they wait for the situation to be ideal, before they can start working. Many are growing up in conditions that would be considered luxurious by the world’s standards or by our previous generations. I once had a team from the States come to help. They did a great job, but it was not easy for them.
Before one meal, their prayer included a petition for the Lord’s help in the hot temperatures without AC and to be able to live without ice in their drinks. A national worker was standing by me at the time and asked, “What was that praying for ice in their drinks thing all about!?” – it was something he had never done!
In our early years, I shared an office space with another worker, but it was often noisy to work there. The other worker returned to the States and it was no longer affordable to keep that place. I downsized and rented a “garage-storefront” space to work from, but rats, cockroaches and a plummeting currency exchange rate meant that place would come to an end. I now do office work from a dinner table or a chair in our family room. It is in the mid-80’s and humid. I am sweating like mad and have a beach towel on the chair to soak up perspiration. I have a 1 liter glass of water at my side to keep my fluids up while I work. I have no basement to escape to as I did as a kid growing up with no AC. My childhood was idyllic.
Years back I read the story of one of America’s most influential writers and leaders who ran various organizations. His son said his dad did all his office work while sitting on the end of his bed and used a clip board as a desk. He never had a corner office. I think I can get something done when things aren’t perfect, because perfect conditions just aren’t idyllic.
Something similar ever happen to you? Contact me and let me hear your story!
Matt’s Mishaps, PO BOX 114, Grabill, IN 46741
