The Sister's House

I think I'm starting to understand mission life. Before staying here, I thought that it was constricting and oppressive and filled with over the top obsequiousness to God. But it’s not like that here. It’s calm and relaxed (in fact, the only tension that I've seen has been between Hans and Ed and they seem to have made up).
Even though things are very simple (my room for example, has a cot with four poles taped to the legs to hang a net over, and a desk, and a small sink in the corner and a large metal cabinet for keeping your clothing. And a fan. The fan is crucial) it somehow seems luxurious. Every morning at 6:45 everyone goes to Mass in the chapel across from the sister's house, and they sing while it’s still early morning and cool outside. There are four chairs under the mango tree in the gated garden of the sister's house, and sisters usually sit there visiting with each other during cooler parts of the day. The inside is bare walls and scrubbed floors and fans and it all seems perfectly constructed for living comfortably in Africa. Too much stuff and clutter and decoration would be oppressive without air conditioning-the weight and space of it would make it hotter. The bare minimum here seems like unimaginable luxury because there is nothing around you to get in the way of the air the fan is blowing towards you and the breeze blowing in through the window. But what is so wonderful is the atmosphere, and the people. Everyone is friendly, everyone says hi when they pass by you. They make conversation and ask you about your day, and they know your name even if you have never formally been introduced. The sisters especially seem so comforting. You are cocooned in feminine-ness, the sense that you are surrounded by the feeling of mothering, comfort, of people who are living simple and peaceful lives. There is no stress to speak of. No overt animosity. I'm sure there must be problems from time to time but to me, it seems very home like. I still don’t buy into God. I think he is a useful but imagined character. But if devoting yourself to him means living gently, I can see the appeal