Pace and Patience: A conversation between Bob and Renita

Hi. Being here has meant much more frequent and steady communicating between Renita and me. We always have viewed communication as a pillar of our relationship, but I think we are talking and listening now more than ever. The enormous change in our lives makes it absolutely essential. Here is a somewhat reconstructed but typical conversation between us about what we are learning.

Renita: I remember once being wisely advised not to pray for patience. The danger being that praying for patience means being tried over an extended period of time. So I have stayed away from that prayer. It has dawned on me recently however, as we complete our first month here in Liberia, that I did ask several of the folks back home to pray that I would adjust to the slower lifestyle here. I remember stating that, in my typical desire to be busy and get things done, I feared I would find a way to make the slower pace of my life in Africa speed up.

Bob: I remember that too. And I see the tension it produces in you. You are being tried.

Renita: Yes, that particular prayer request is being answered, much to my chagrin. I have not been able to speed up the slower pace of life; I have realized that Liberia won’t be sped up.

Bob: Nicely put. Accomplishing single tasks take much more time than in the US. Three hours just to withdraw money at the bank! C’mon! I’ve always heard that the African pace of life is slower, but I could not get a handle on that in previous visits. Now, honestly, I think from my American perspective I’d say African life is less efficient. And as I say this I realize that efficiency itself is a product of privilege and access.