When Termites Eat Your Mattress

On a seemingly daily basis we encounter….how shall we say it...opportunities to grow in patience and perseverance that could only happen here in Africa. Whether it’s the six minute

task at the government office that instead takes six hours, or the “shake-down” by the local law enforcement as they look for a bribe, or walking into your outdoor kitchen only to find a chicken sitting in the middle of your casserole on top of the stove helping himself to lunch, Senegal provides more than enough of these “growth opportunities” to quickly grey the hair of even the most ardent saint as we “count it all joy” between clenched teeth!

 

Our latest “growth opportunity” came as we were cleaning our bedroom/living room/Hosanna’s school room (yes, we thrive on multifunctional space here!). We occasionally have to move out our mattress to clean due to the fact that our ceiling is made from split mangrove roots with dried mud caked on top of them and the mud is very fond of falling from the ceiling. (Not the best for those of us who happen to be “mouth-breathers” when we sleep!) Anyway, as we moved our mattresses to clean behind them we were surprised to

see that we had been feeding a large termite population with our sponge mattress. The termites had come through the floor and nearly devoured half of our mattress that lays on the concrete floor.

 

While events like these can surely be frustrating, we try to keep it all in perspective, realizing that these are just inconveniences and that God’s faithfulness and His grace are larger than our difficulties.

 

To help us gain perspective, seeing that we were going to get rid of our half-eaten sponge mattress, our neighbor asked to have it saying that she had a room with no mattress. As Ezra

and Matt took it over to her house she thanked them and gave them a blessing in Diola and continued to say how  
happy she was that she had a new mattress. Usually, you truly do not have to look far to realize how blessed you are; even when termites eat your mattress!