In just under four-weeks (August 14th) I will celebrate living in Barrouaillie St. Vincent for three years. After the first six-months there wasn’t anything I missed from home (other than American coffee or an occasional krispie-kreme donut).
Except for Walmart….
I STILL miss Walmart!
Actually it isn’t Walmart that I miss, but the convenience of having a store fifteen minutes away where you can purchase almost any item imaginable. Living without Walmart on the mission field usually means instead of a fifteen-minute drive, you have to actually fix the broken item.
Fixing things instead of just buying a new one is a frustrating experience (especially if you have little experience fixing them like me) but the skills and patience developed during that experience is well worth the trouble.
Last month I excitedly picked up the long-awaited toner cartridge for my laser printer (it was shipped from America) and started printing worksheets for VBS in August.
When it started making a strange clacking sound that wasn’t there before I became concerned.
When it started paper-jamming I got worried.
When EVERY SINGLE PAPER continued to jam I got scared.
After deciding the problem was with the wheels that fed the paper I began cleaning and greasing them using rubbing alcohol. Slowly more of the paper would feed before the paper-jam occurred, but it ALWAYS did. Finally after a few weeks of work and much prayer it started printing properly!
Would it have been easier to buy a new printer from Walmart?
Yes of course!
But it wouldn’t have given me the same sense of pride from fixing it myself
I thank God for all the modern day conveniences He provides. But also for the moments I have to get my toolbox and start loosening screws instead.
Johnhwilburn.org 