Mid-Term, What's Ahead?

It’s Sunday and I sit here in my house, usually I’m just thinking of going to the market to buy food,  but today I’m consumed with the completion of my first year in my village.  I have just returned from my Mid-Service Conference with the other volunteers, which points our half-way mark. At this point on the journey it is bitter sweet, I feel relieved that it is half done and stressed that I only have a year left.

The first year was slow; much time was spent trying to understand, be trusted, build relationships, and advocate for change.  Despite my capacity and motivation, my time here is very short. It is said “what takes a day in the USA takes a week in Africa, what takes a week in the USA takes a month in Africa; what takes a month in the USA takes a year in Africa”. I will admit that is very true.

I think about the monitoring the projects that have started ; Is this project going well? Should this be dropped, changed, started? Questions haunt me - Is my contribution to this village going to make an impact? Will these projects enriching their lives?  Will they continue when I leave? The questions are daunting, and the answer kicks my ego:             I am not the messiah.

So with that realized, I will continue with more humility and gratitude, but I will keep trying of the sole reason that these good people unfortunately drew a short straw.