Learning Lessons: Unpreparedness in all it's Glory

Our power went out yesterday. This isn’t some “I’m a missionary and the power goes out on me” sob story—though that could be very legitimate in many contexts. Unfortunately, that is not the case. This is a tale of unpreparedness. Our electricity was turned off because we did not pay our bill. We didn’t mean to not pay it, but all the same, half-way through the lunch hour as all the lights and fans stopped short in our house, the lights turned on in our minds as we realized that the bill was not paid. We took action to see if the power could be restored, and promptly left the house, eager to find air conditioning or at least the breeze blowing down from the mountains.

After dark, we returned to our house, told by the power company that our power would be turned on. It wasn’t. We had guests with us, and nowhere to entertain them. Thankfully our next door neighbor is the Chiang Mai House of Prayer and they graciously welcomed us in to spend some time away from the blood-thirsty mosquitoes hovering around our front door.

The girls stayed the night at our leader’s house—three to one bed, two in our leader’s room, and one on the couch. It was a night of rough sleep, but at least there were lights and showers for all. When we returned from language school that afternoon the power was back on and all was well.

Before I returned from language school, however, I ran—or, rode, rather—into another situation of unpreparedness. My poncho hung on the hook at home, long-dry since my last rainy day adventure. It should have been stowed away in the seat of my motorbike. I could tell it was going to rain as I left the restaurant where Jasmine and I had shared lunch, but I thought perhaps I could beat it home. Five minutes into the torrential downpour, when all on me was soaked through, I knew there was no beating it. I dripped my way through the house to the bathroom, re-dressed, and put my poncho under my motorbike seat. No more wet days for me, thanks.

All this to say, I hope that our lessons have been learned, and like good boy scouts, we will always be prepared! ;)