I met Amy Morrow of Amy’s Assorted Adventures in Africa during SIT #commenthour on Twitter. She was one of the featured blogs that week. The next week while both attending the #commenthour Amy sent me a tweet stating that she was glad to see me there again.
It was like having a new friend reach out and welcome to gathering except this new friend was all the way in Africa. What a wonderful feeling!
I went on a short-term missions trip to in North Africa many years ago and loved getting to meet many wonderful people. Amy is in a different part of Africa and she is blessed to get to meet and work with many wonderful babies and families every day!
She is an amazing lady. I hope that after you read her post you pause for a moment and visit her blog.
In a world filled with electronic devices, it can be easy to fall into the trap of too much. Even those of us living in the middle of the African bush is not immune. I’ll catch myself watching TV while surfing the web or cross-stitching, AND checking email and Facebook on my phone. It’s all too much!
I’m often asked how I can manage to get so much done. I homeschool, my teenagers, run a charity, direct the care of 22 children at our orphanage and look after whichever newborn or ill (sometimes hospice care) infants that come to our door, while carrying out life in the bush. That is a lot of hats.
Part of what allows me to do this amount of work is my ability to multitask. However, this skill that comes in handy during work hours can be a handicap during down times. Rather than giving my full concentration to one task, I’m spread over a few things at once. My kids have complained that I don’t always give them my full attention when they speak to me. I try, but my mind will often jump all over the place from topic to topic. I’m listening, but I’m not really hearing. Can any of you relate to this?
A few times a week we have what is called load shedding where we lose electricity for a few hours in the evening. This allows Zambia to share the load of electric demands among all the residents of this small sub-Saharan, African country.
Now, to add to our challenges, for the next six weeks we will be losing power three days a week so that fiber optics can be laid along the high tension lines running from the capital to a city in the north of Zambia. This small country (it’s the size of Texas) has so few electric lines that even work that won’t benefit us still affects us. This makes us crazy!
However, these next few weeks can be seen as a chance to Pause Life for a Moment. The other day, the power had been off all day. We turned on the generator for a couple hours in the morning so the teenagers could use their computers and the internet to do school work, and I got some office work done. In the afternoon though, everything was off. No fans were turning, no computers humming, no TV playing, no rock & roll playlists blaring. It was quiet.—Well, as quiet as a house can be with 22 preschoolers running around anyway.
This particular afternoon, it was peaceful. The sun was hidden behind clouds and it had been raining off and on all day which created an almost lazy feel to the day.
We had run out of gas for our stove and were forced to cook on a brazier (a little metal bucket type contraption you fill with charcoal and set your pot on top of) that evening. We planned a spicy, one-pot lentil and rice dish that we love. I prepped all the ingredients and carried them out to the porch on a tray so I would have them nearby as I needed them.
My big kids and I gathered on our front porch and either read or chatted while watching the coals turn red, then white until it was time to put the pot on top and begin the meal. There was no hurry—no way to hurry anything along even if we wanted to—and we knew dinner would probably be late, but that was OK. We were sitting together and enjoying a moment of peace. Every once in a while, a child would run up to discuss something with us before heading back to play and the care of their nanny. We weren’t working and could fully enjoy their funny conversations or handmade offerings of grass bracelets or bits of paper glued together. My teenagers chattered away about nothing and everything, and for once they had my full attention. It was a wonderful evening.
Pausing life for a moment may not always be our first choice, but those moments are worth taking advantage of when they happen along.
I so loved reading this – Amy, you really gave me a taste for your life!
We have a ban on electronics in the evenings for now. When the kids get older and have homework we’ll reassess. But I shut down the computer everyday before my son gets home from school, and we focus on family time.
I enjoyed reading this! I’ve cut off my children’s electronic access during the week – but need to work on mine. Wonderful job you’re doing!
What a lovely moment. We went to Kenya several years ago, and I found it was so magical. Thank you for sharing this experience with us!
I need to get better at this. I have to set a time on my calendar for each day and stick to it. Items on the computer can wait. It is more important to me to focus on the moments in front of me when the girls are home from school. I just need to make it a priority. Beautiful reminder here. Thank you!
Sometimes we need a forced pause to realize that we need to take more voluntary ones.
Great post!
=)
What a wonderful moment to share and I know myself I half listen as I’m trying to conquer a oh so important solitaire game on my phone. I need to unplug and listen more. Great guest post Amy!
I too spend my day multitasking. It does seem to work for me, but yes I also try to find the time to take a walk or talk with a friend. I love meeting those from other countries. It’s so fun.
We were just talking about about at book at book club tonight, where a woman and here teenage kids went without technology for six months and I think electricity for a little while too. It turned out to be a great experience for them. They got to know each other.
I appreciated your post, btw!
Interesting post. I have been wondering about this issue,so thanks for posting.
http://www.daveigh-chase.org/