Work begins

Well, things are starting to settle down into a routine. I’ve gotten much more comfortable at my job, and continue to slowly go through all our procedures, learning to understand them, making sure they are necessary, fixing a few problems, and generally trying to put things in order. I’m getting to use some parts of my brain I haven’t used in a while. Problem solving, finding errors and correcting them, and a little bit of logistical planning. It’s pretty fun stuff. It’s interesting to see so many of the same organizational issues I studied in Canada, and how they come into play here. How do you determine the best way to allocate resources when there are so many people in need. For example, one of the things are organization is dealing with is a food shortage. We are working with other organizations on a mass distribution effort, that is targeting the neediest people for help. The needy have been identified by the communities themselves, which I think is great. No system is perfect, but this seems the best way to me of allocating scarce resources. There’s always tough decisions to be made by everyone here, and there are so many organizations trying to provide aid and relief, we try and find a niche and do what we can. Spending some time in the villages has convinced me that we are certainly positively affecting lives here in Malawi. And that fuels my hope, as I work through reams and stacks of papers of accounting data to ensure we’re accounting for everything. The fact that the job itself has thus far been quite stimulating for the most part, has been a pleasant bonus.

So I dealt with my first minor illness on the weekend. A bit of diarrhea, I suspect from something I ate at some point. But I got a day off work, got a chance to get a good bit of reading done, and enjoyed a good time of rest. So, all was well. Many people have talked about how I may regret being here from time to time. I suspect this may happen, but probably not often. There is little that I may encounter here that I don’t risk encountering in Canada. I may not have as much risk of malaria in Canada, but here I don’t have to put up with as many common colds or the like. So, sick days are a reality no matter where I am. I may find myself without much to do on some evening or weekend, but that happens in Canada too. I may not want to drag myself out of bed to go to work some morning, but that was a pretty regular part of my weeks in Canada. And thus far, except for a little weekend sickness that is now past, I haven’t encountered any of these things. Plus, I’ve had plenty of fresh air, and it’s so nice to have quiet to be able to relax, read, write, and spending time just thanking God for the opportunities I’m getting to see things and experience things I would never have thought I would be part of.