MozamWeek

I'm always amused by differences in culture. After all these years, I still have moments of surprise thrust upon me. A day last month was a shocker. We laughed out loud at each other. Teacher training events all over the world throw loads of women together. I'm an "along-side" adviser to the presenters. I edit some slides and make sure concepts are getting across to our teachers. I connect projectors and click through the PowerPoint presentation. I'm pretty recognizable and they mostly remember my name since it isn't a hard foreign-sounding one- they are "Djeni" or "Geni" or "Jeny" around here. Dancing with the teachers... the fun part of the job! Lunch hour. I stepped in mud and took off my shoes to clean them. "Formadora Jeni, give me your hips!" A younger teacher around 40 or so is admiring me. Her friend proceeds to tell her that she doesn't need mine since hers are big enough. They giggle and want me to tu...

Inventam uma realidade daqui e fazem os planos sozinhos.  "They invent a reality, and then they make the plans alone." Let that sink in for a while.  My actual description of a road to a real place we are going to visit in the next few weeks.  She is right. I am guilty. I am so glad for this blast of wisdom when I least expected it. So much of what we do on the ground in development or mission work is based on an "invented" reality. How patient are my African colleagues who do not shout at my stupidity! How kind they are to say, "ok," and then kind of ignore my missteps and good intentions. We are careful to collect all the facts. Data is important. But background is difficult and hidden and messy and we don't even know what to call it or how to calculate for it. So we fill in the blanks with something that makes sense... to US... from where we stand and all that we know. We process it all very neatly...

Dear friends, FACTS (as I see them from here): Missionaries do jobs in places where the people they actually work for cannot pay them for what they do. Missionaries sometimes have jobs that can earn a "regular" salary. Missionaries often are paid according to what they need to cover expenses in the country where they work. Missionaries are vulnerable to international economic fluctuation. Missionaries can get a "pay raise" if the local economy fails or the home economy surges. Missionaries are viewed as poor and dependent from one side, but ss rich and responsible for everyone around them on the other side. Missionaries have to pay taxes... sometimes, somewhere. Social Security in USA,for example. Missionaries can drive cool cars and live in exotic locations. Missionaries have house-help... maids or gardeners or watchmen; often they contribute jobs to the local economy and avoid looking "stingy". Missionaries often cover all medical expenses ...