Day #5

I felt this morning was very productive.  The other projects are proceeding well and the one I have been working on got finished.  Unfortunately, I was not there to help finish it.  I worked on it most of the morning then Pam was ready for me to tackle the internet issue.  One of the other members noticed I was computer capable,  I won’t say expert in any way.  Pam had asked the other member to install a program on a tablet pc and set up a time clock, I assume for the employees to sign in and out.  That member asked if I could do it, so I agreed.  Pam then threw in her phone she was having issues with.  Ok, not so bad, out of the sun, no heavy lifting, great.

I began with the internet issue.  I wanted to make sure we were getting service from outside the building.  I went to the main box and was going to hook my laptop to the line coming in, but no ethernet  slot.  The modem was flashing on and off so that showed me there was some kind of issue there.  I was then told even the computers that were hooked in directly by cable were not working.  Ha, found it.  Call the service provider and tell them it is an issue outside the building.

I then moved on to the time clock.  I could not install the software because the tablet pc did not have a cd/dvd reader.  I was able to get an external drive from Jorge.  I got the software loaded then found that the connector from the time clock was not compatible with the one on the tablet.  ARGGG.  We went to 3 little stores in town but no one had an adapter.  I was pleased to see there were 3 different places to choose from.  Probably more.  I am now in the process of trying to install it on an older computer that has the right connector but a very slow cd reader.  Hope for tomorrow.

The phone I was able to at least get an answer for Pam.  I could not do what she wanted/needed but told her how to do it when she had time.  She was afraid her phone was going to die, she dropped it in water in December and it acts funny.  She needed her contacts moved to a sim card and put in another phone.  I found out that is not possible with her Nokia but all her contacts are in the “cloud” so if the phone dies she can retrieve them.

I felt a great deal of my day was non-productive.  I shared that with Tom and he showed me that I had gotten quite a bit moved forward.  It made me feel better.  I felt good about trying to fix the computer things but not getting them done maybe I should have spent my time on the shelves.  I really wanted to see that project through to the end but my slack was picked up and they completed it.  That was the most important part.
         
At morning devotion one member shared that she had an issue with another one on Sunday night.  The details don’t matter but one member offended another with their actions.  It seemed selfish at the time and when confronted, gently, the actions were justified and the confrontation was not accepted well.  All during church this member thought about how they reacted and after the service came to the other member and offered a heartfelt apology and asked forgiveness.  This was accepted with open arms and all was well.  The devotion was a lesson on seeing our sin, accepting our sin, correcting our sin to our ability to do so.  Part of the message was what the meaning of putting aside meant in the old Greek.  Casting it off and putting it away, out of reach.  An extra piece of pie was used as an example.  It would not be good to have more and if you leave it in front of you it will tempt you.  Put it away, remove the issue.  This member had done just that.

In the evening we met with pastor Emilio to hear about the mountain ministry and the Mayan culture.  The dinner was delayed for this so the children were given a snack to share during the meeting.  One young man was told by his mother that he had eaten enough and no more.  He did not argue.  He was on one end of a group of 4 children.  He pushed the snack far over to the others, out of his reach, unless he stood up.  After the meeting I approached him and asked if he remembered the lesson from this morning about sin or temptation and putting apart something.  He did.  I told him that he had done exactly that when his mom asked him to have no more.  Instead of leaving it with in reach, he put if far away.  A perfect example.  He was not aware that he had done it at the time but understood what I told him and was very happy with himself.  I was happy for him.

As we were leaving the school I was taking one last look at the internet connection coming into the building.  As I was, Pam pointed out that every time the front gate is opened fully, it rubs on the cable coming in.  We may have just found at least part of our problem.  I will pray about my disappointment over not getting much done and start afresh in the morning.