I make no pretense of knowing with any certainty what the life of a missionary or outside the USA pastor is like. That said, I have experienced one very interesting day today, now writing as the sun sets. Interesting, by way of contrast to the expectations of someone who has grown used to the instant gratification provided by Amazon Prime, Grubhub, SpaceX, and the other logistical superstars that are the entrepreneurial grandchildren of the industrial powerhouses of World War Two that outproduced and outperformed all of the other countries involved in the conflict, both Allies and Axis. Make no mistake about it, it was our factories and farms that prevailed from 1941-1945, with 1.7 Americans falling in the European theater for every individual German military fatality. Let me back out of the rabbit trail and return to my day today.
Last night, after the midweek Bible study taught by Pastor Taki Korianitis, I was informed that the plumbing supplies needed at my place needed to be paid for, and Spiros would take me to the hardware store to make the purchase. At nine o'clock, my ride showed up, my friend, Spiros, the happy whistler.
Yes, I rode on the back of his scooter to the hardware store, without a helmet. You should have seen that guy negotiate the bumper-to-bumper snarl of cars, motorcycles, and scooters in the small town of Zakynthos, tucked into the east side of the Ionian Sea Greek island by the same name.
But we arrived safely at the hardware store, like hardware stores used to be like, like hardware stores are supposed to be like.
Spiros took me halfway home and invited me to walk the rest of the way, which was fine. And one of the hardware store guys delivered the three bags of washers, faucets, flex hose, and other items about 10 minutes after I got home. Different experience #1.
A couple of hours later, I received a call from a nice fellow laboring in English because I am a Greek-language incompetent. The new refrigerator and clothes washer purchased five days ago would be delivered in two hours. Great! Because the street we live on is both very narrow and on a hillside, this promised to be an interesting event, especially with the narrow and winding stairway to the floor we live on.
Notice the white car on the left parked against the curb and the curb on the right side. That is how narrow the street is. Now they have to wrestle the refrigerator and washing machine out of the truck and up the stairs. Easier in Greece than in the USA because the appliances are relatively small and comparatively light. But the stairs are something else!
Nice fellows. Very efficient. And they were on their way to other deliveries. Different experience #2.
Now comes the refrigerator setup, which must be left unplugged for several hours for the refrigerant to settle so the compressor isn't damaged during initial startup. That done, the fact that only two electric outlets are available presents a problem. To position the refrigerator where we want it will require an extension cord about six feet long. But that problem cannot be addressed until tomorrow. But we want the refrigerator on tonight. We have been without a refrigerator for almost two weeks! The solution? The refrigerator is in the middle of the small kitchen floor! What else is there to do? The extension cord will wait until tomorrow.
The refrigerator is a Morris. The only Morris brand I recollect in Europe is a now-defunct British automaker. This appliance was built in China. Different experience #3.
Next came the top-loading clothes washer, made by Whirlpool, under license in Slovakia. To get it operational, Pam and I had to borrow a screwdriver to remove a stamped-metal shipping guard, a much more challenging task than I would have predicted. But we did it. Adjusted it for wobble. Plugged it in. And then I did the almost unforgivable! I cross-threaded the water hose! Arg! Now it sits in the bathroom in its assigned space, useless until I can borrow pliers to remove the copper nipple and thread it properly. Different experience #4.
My final experience is the culmination of what has developed over several days. It begins with my CPAP machine, which requires only distilled water. Fine. Distilled water is available only in Greek pharmacies, and then only in plastic bottles designed for intravenous use.
Unless you punch a hole in the plastic, the distilled water is only accessible using a syringe! After several days of trying to open the bottle without success, I resorted to the steak-knife approach and punched a hole in the side, then poured the distilled water into an empty plastic bottle that had contained drinking water (the water here is very hard). From that repurposed drinking water bottle, I will dispense my distilled water as needed to my CPAP. Different experience #5.
Too much information, I know. But I had to express my small realizations to put into words my increased appreciation for those who live outside the USA and deal with the multiplicities of inconvenience that American citizens, on the verge of Elon-supplied robot butlers and maids, never face.
Everything about life and service to God is more challenging outside the USA. All of life is inconvenient, but especially so elsewhere. But God so planned it. Living for Him, serving Him, glorifying Him, seeking to exalt the Savior, and following the leadership of His Spirit requires that choices be made, challenges be responded to, options be evaluated, and acted upon. But we exist to glorify God, Revelation 4.11!
Thus ends my recounting of what was for me an unusual day.
