Unfufilled Expectations

We have lived in the community of Patujusal for four years. When we came we had many dreams and expectations. So did they. The trouble is that most of these expectations have not been fulfilled and that has led to disillusionment for all parties.

Our expectations

Expectation 1: The people would be eager to learn about better health and better nutrition.
Reality: They are happy with their food. They are not that interested in learning to cook new recipes because unless it is cake. They know that an egg a day keeps their children healthy so they feed them that. Chicken and beef are eaten for fiestas. They already know how to cook. They have been doing it for hundreds of years.
Expectation 2: The people would accept our help and our advice.
Reality: We are the strangers. We do not understand their culture. They are not sure that we really know anything about living in the jungle. But they are very willing to have us take them and/or their products into town.
Expectation 3: We could just live in the community in the same way that they do.
Reality: We will never be accepted as full members of the community.

Expectations of the Community

Expectation 1: We have access to funding for their projects, especially machinery and infrastructure such as building roads and bridges and canalizing the river.
Expectation 2: We would buy them the machinery needed to do their farming,
Expectation 3: We would be at their beck and call when they needed to have something done, whether it be bringing them to Yapacani or threshing their rice.
Expectation 4: Anything we did would be free of charge.
Reality: We don’t have that kind of money. We do not have access to government funding for infrastructure projects. And if we asked for money every time we came home, no one would want to see us. This mentality does not jive with our ideas of what we should be doing.

Expectation of the Churches

Expectation 1: We have the money, or the access to money, to build churches for whomever needs one. We should also purchase instruments for the church.
Expectation 2: We will administer the local mission.
Expectation 3: We are missionaries and, therefore, preachers. We should preach every Sunday. If we visit a church, we should preach.
Reality: We are not preachers. I do give the message in our church when I am there but it not top priority. The churches must exist apart from our being there. If they become dependent on us for the preaching, teaching, or money, they will not be able to continue when we leave. This is a difficult concept since many missionaries become much more active in the general administration of the church but these churches operated before we came and are able to continue without our interference. We encourage them and we visit them.

So, after four years the honeymoon is over and we realize that all of us are disappointed. We are disappointed with their lack of initiative; they are disappointed that we do not give them the things they would like.
I am always thankful for my many books. At this time Henri Nouwen’s writings have been uplifting and challenging. This is not about ‘us’ and ‘them’. It’s not about me! It is about working in God’s kingdom. It is about working together in community. No one said it would be easy. It will take time to show them that, despite not giving them money, we do care about them.