Tag Archive

A lot of things are easier in the United states than in Mexico. Take for example, trying to get someone with a tractor and a disk to come out and work a field. In the U.S., when you need any kind of work done, you open the Yellow Pages and you can probably find at least a dozen listings of people or businesses that can do what you need to have done. Here in Oaxaca Mexico, not so much.

For the past month I have been looking for someone with a tractor to come out and disk a little field we have. Here you either have to know somebody who knows somebody that can do the job, or you need to get in a vehicle and drive around searching and asking. The first time I went out with my wife, Anita, looking in fields for a tractor working. If we would have saw someone, I would have parked the car and walked over to the tractor driver and asked him if he could come to the children’s home and do some work. We didn’t see anyone working in a field, but we did see a tractor at a gas station filling up with diesel. I pulled up beside him and asked him if he had time to come to our place and do some work. He said he was really busy and couldn’t come out. I asked him if he knew anyone that could come out. He said maybe the guy behind us could do the job. I looked behind me and to my surprise, another tractor had pulled up to get some fuel. With Anitas help, I asked this guy, if he could do some work for us. He said he was busy today, but tomorrow he could come out, but I would have to go to his house in the evening, bring him to the mission, explain to him what I needed done, then he could give me a quote on how much it would cost, and then he would come out the next day with his tractor.

I thought, “WHAT a hassle!” But I was desperate, so I agreed. Anita and I ran an errand and then returned to the mission. As we were turning off the main road, we saw this same tractor guy heading our way so we stopped and waited for him. He told us his big job for the day fell through and that he could work our field. I thought,”Praise the Lord!” I had asked God earlier in the day to help us find a tractor guy to come work today, and here he was. He plowed the field and then came back and disked the field. I was ready to plant grass seeds for a new section of our soccer field – except for one thing, part of the field was muddy, and the tractor left deep ruts and this would have to be fixed. The tractor guy said he would come back and fix that part of the field in a few days. I never saw him again. Typical of Mexico.

While I was waiting for him we had three weeks of rain. Now the whole field would have to be disked again. The search for a tractor driver began again. To my delight, a tractor guy began disking the field next to the mission. I walked over to him and asked him if he could spend and hour or so in our field. He said he didn’t have time.  Bummer.  A few days later the same guy was working in a field on the other side of the mission. Once again I approached him to see if he might have some free time to help us out. This time he said he might be able to come out Monday or Tuesday. I looked for him on Monday and Tuesday but he never showed. Double bummer.

The home for needy children is building an elementary school and has a full time worker engaged in the project. His name is Absalom and he lives close to the mission. I asked him if he knew anyone with a tractor who could come and work our little field. He told me he had a friend in the nearby town of Tanivet  who might be the man for the job. Absalom told me where he lived and I went there in search of him. I found his place, but he was not there. Probably out with his tractor. Walking back to the mission van, I heard a tractor working nearby. I drove over to this guy and questioned him as to whether or not he could come to the children’s home and work for an hour or so. He told me he could probably come out between twelve and one. I was excited and waited in earnest for him the rest of the day, but him and his tractor were non existent to the mission.

I went back to Absalom’s friend the next day with Anita. Again he was not there, but we talked to the guys wife or mother, I’m not sure which. She said it would be best if Absalom called him and talked to him. This was last Friday. Absalom never takes a day off, but he took this day off. We went to his house, but his wife informed us that he was in the Sierras for the weekend, and she didn’t have the tractor guys phone number, but her next door neighbor, Guillermina, might have his number. As it happens, Guillermina and Anita are friends and used to work together at the mission cooking meals. We made our way to her house. She was glad to see Anita and went in search of the tractor guys phone number. She discovered his son’s number, but not his number. She tried the number twice but got no response. On Monday I asked Absalom to call his tractor friend. He tried a couple times but the guy didn’t answer.

I talked to Absalom before lunch and he finally reached his friend, who said he would come out at two o’clock and look at our parcel of land and give us a quote. Two o’clock came and then two-thirty and still no tractor guy. Anita and I had to leave and I asked Absalom to show his no-show friend what needed to be done, if he ever showed up, that is. I received a call from our mission administrator about 5 pm who informed me that the tractor guy showed up with his tractor and did the job. I couldn’t hardly believe it.  At long last the field was almost ready to be planted. It seemed almost a miracle to me, and I gave thanks immediately to God that the job was done, and later to Absalom for helping us out.

So what is the point of this tractor tale? What does all this have to do with believing that God loves us and wants us to be happy? During this tractor search period I looked frequently at the field that was fast filling up with weeds and I would thank God that we hadn’t been able to find a tractor guy to come and till the field. That was my only option if I really believe that God loves me and wants me to be happy. I believe that God knows better than me, that His ways are not my ways, and that His timing is better than mine.

So the project, any project really, is more in His hands than mine. He allows me to cooperate with Him, but I have to trust Him, that He will do His part when the time is right, not when I think the time is right, then I can do my part. Sometimes God lets us in on the reason behind the wait, but more often than not, His perfect timing remains a mystery, and all we do is to glorify Him and enjoy Him, and know that all things work together for good to those who love Him and are called by Him. So what should we do when we are in a tight spot, and all our efforts seem in vain when we try to move ahead? We should say, “Thanks God! You make all things beautiful in Your Time, and in Your Perfect Way. I will do my best, pray that it’s blessed, and trust You to do the rest.”

*****         *****          *****          *****