The Little Things

Our life here has taught me that serving God is not always about big things upfront, but often about the small things.  Building relationships is the same.  Our trips out the village remind me of that truth as the whole purpose of the trip is relationships.  So that means that my roles consist of many small tasks.

This time out  to the village I was…

• A flashlight holder … Dinner is served around 9, but with no lights it means that we are often dishing up bowls in the dark.  So I was granted the important task of holding the flashlight as the ladies worked away.
• A waiter  … you know the kind that sits and waits.  Once one task is done it is just a matter of waiting for the right person to come and give you directions for the next task.  Which sometimes means waiting for quite a while!
• A Rice Sorter … Rice here comes mixed with small rocks.  So we sit there and take out the rocks one small piece at a time.

  

• A Meat cleaner … We butchered a whole cow for the funeral and I was in charge of washing the pieces after they were cut
  

  

• An Onion cutter  …  This is a very important task as the main sauce here is made of onions.  We were up until 11 cutting onions by flashlight.  I have become good friends with my paring knife.

  

• A Garlic Peeler … 50 bulds of garlic, yep I got quite good at it by the end!
• A Spice Pounder … Pounding up spices in a mortar and pestle is still not my strong suit.  Especially not the large mortar and pestle they use for big events, but they always kindly make sure I get at least one stab at it.
• A Fool … Common lets be real!  There are moments when I am totally ignorant of what I should do.  Like when I am handed the heart of the cow like I should know exactly how to clean that or what to cut off of it.  Thankfully I have learned if you stare dumbfounded long enough someone will come to your rescue.
• A Faithful Prayer …  When you look at dinner and all you can do is pray that what you swallow for dinner will stay down.  These moments have taught me how to be real with God
• A Hostess … For the first time since we have been here, Cecil’s house was one of the gathering places.  That means I was given the task with her of making sure that everyone who came to their house was given food to eat, water to wash their hands, and water to drink.  There were probably close to 100 people in her yard and this was very difficult to keep track of, but thankfully she was much better at it than I.

When I look back at my days out at the village and list the things I accomplished, the tasks seem so small and irrelevant.  Yet I have learned that it is the small things that make the most impact on relationships.  It is the willingness to participate in the small pieces of life, the everyday mundane tasks.  So often serving God is about these small things.  It is not glamorous or enjoyable, but the relationships it creates makes it so worth it.   So I am learning to praise God in the midst of the little mundane tasks life throws my way.  Because ultimately all God has ask me to do is to be faith to serve him no matter what he sends my way.