We were working hard on a new church building in Nyanza Lac, Burundi. The sun seared overhead as the sweat poured down our faces. As usual, we had driven like the wind to get to the work site as fast possible due to the roadblocks imposed outside of Buja after 5PM. Our team consisted of three ladies and 7 men if I remember right. One of the woman disappeared after about an hour on the worksite. She had been complaining of stomach issues on the drive down. I figured she was either resting in the bus or trying to take care of some business.
We were in the process of measuring and pouring the foundations (called footings) for the pre-fab tabernacle. As I ran around in the scorching weather trying to organize, translate, and steer clear of heat stroke, I heard someone calling my name behind me.
"Stephen."
"Yes," I responded as I turned around.
"This is kind of embarrassing...." the voice of the lady with the stomach issue trailed off.
"What's wrong?" I asked trying to be kind.
"Well, I was taking care of business and wanted to wipe off my hands well," she almost whispered.
"Yes?" I asked not sure where she was going.
"I took my watch off to clean my wrists too, and well, you see I dropped it."
"You dropped your watch?" I asked totally confused why this needed my attention.
"I dropped into the hole."
"The hole?" I inquired. The light bulb came on for me. "Ah, the hole? You mean the long drop?"
"Yes," she replied rather sheepishly.
"Look, I'm really sorry that happened," I tried to sound as empathetic as possible.
"It was a really nice watch. Could you please have someone go get it?" she continued.
"Go get it?..... You don't mean....?" I stuttered.
"It can't be that hard can it?" her face was dead serious.
I whistled out loud before motioning to the pastor we were working with in the area to come over. He quickly approached and asked what was wrong? Pastor Laurent is one of the kindest and meekest people I have ever met in my life. I think he would do anything for anyone if it were in his power. So I slowly explained the situation in Swahili and Kirundi trying to keep from bursting out in laughter. The female member of team stood by nodding in appreciation.
Pastor Laurent began to bob his head up and down as he shuffled his feet. I could see he couldn't believe what I was telling him.
"You mean she wants someone to go down in there?" he asked.
"Yes, but just explain to her why you can't," I replied.
The woman continued nodding her head in full agreement at the conversation in Swahili. "What's he saying?" she asked.
"Just a sec," I responded.
"How would I do that?" he asked.
"Tell her what's in there and how much is in there. Unless of course you want to go in there." I remained calm.
He looked at me like I had lost my mind. The lady looked at me confidently, as I began to translate for Pastor Laurent. The conversation went something like this.
"We dug that pit latrine quite some time ago...It is easily 9 feet deep." Now it was my turn to nod as I turned the words into English.
"It has been visited almost everyday by members of the community for several years now." I kept nodding emphatically as I interpreted.
"Many have diseases of the stomach. Plus, the heat in this part of Burundi can be scorching. And we just recently had to pour some soil in the hole to reduce the smell and keep the flies away. There are probably worms everywhere. And by now it is so deep that someone could probably drown in there. Not to mention that if we found it you would have to sterilize it for quite some time...." He was on a roll.
By the time I finished translating for Pastor Laurent the woman face had become ashen white for some strange reason. "Never mind," she finally stuttered.
When it comes down to it we are often guilty of trying to make other people responsible for our messes when we won't touch them ourselves. Too often we become fixated with a mistake, especially if we tend towards perfectionism. And then we find someone to blame, either ourselves, someone close to us, the government, or even God. This can be totally destructive.
I like to say: "learn a lesson and move on. " I know it sounds heartless, but there really are some messes that are better left well enough alone in the past. Mistakes only become serious when we fail to learn from them and continue to repeat them. I will sit before the Lord and ask Him to talk to me about mine. It's amazing what happens when he transforms my perspective to see things with His eyes. I learn. I'm encouraged. I experience grace. And I find true repentance to overcome remorse. And I'm able to move on by His love.
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