Lesson #3

DEFINITELY OUTSIDE OF MY COMFORT ZONE HERE!!
So, another thing God taught me while I was in Africa: It's OK if I don't have my whole day planned out to the minute because things will come up. I've learned not to be so anal and time/schedule-oriented. People commend me all the time for being so organized and always having things planned out far in advance, but you know what...that part of my personality has always been more of a burden to me. This goes right along with me being so routine oriented. I never liked being so stuck in my routine that I almost couldn't function if something came up and interrupted my daily routine. Well, I had to get over that pretty much as soon as I landed in Africa. Nothing was planned ahead of time, nothing was ever on schedule, and things were constantly changing. The whole time I was there, I kept on thinking about how I couldn't wait to get back to the states and get back into my routine, despite that fact that I knew I didn't like being the way I was. But, that was how I had been my whole life and that was what was comfortable for me. Little did I know that God didn't have it in His plans for me to fall back into my little routine when I got back from Africa. All along, He was preparing me for exactly what I'm going through right now in Charlotte. I was thrown in head first coaching 100 kids ages 12 and under without having any training or 'learning the ropes.' Yes, I have a lot of experience coaching swimming, but I have been out of the sport itself for 5 years, and unfortunately, swimming and rowing don't really complement each other. I didn't know my way around Charlotte AT ALL and most of you know how terrible I am with directions. Also, I had to borrow a car from some people on the team the first week I was here because I didn't have mine. Now, don't get me wrong, I was so grateful they loaned me their car, but the seat would not move forward b/c the gears were broken. It was set far enough back to seat a 6' person comfortably...So, not only did I keep getting lost, but I was sitting on the edge of the seat with my legs fully extended to reach the pedals. Anyway, without going into too much detail, I think it will suffice to say that my life is mass chaos right now. But....despite the fact that I still have yet to get into a set routine and I'm still getting used to having a real job, I'm OK with things being uncertain and I actually like it! I think God prepared me well for what I'm going through right now, and even though it made being in Africa really tough, I learned how to set my eyes upon Him especially when my world is in disarray.

2 Things Seen only in Ghana:
1)Women carrying a baby on their back, balancing a massive bowl of fruit or bread on their head, and maintaining perfect balance while dancing an African jig and not breaking rhythm
2) Showing the Jesus Film in a village on a portable TV running on a loud generator because, obviously, the villages have no electricity