Trust

Thanks for your responses to our blog! It’s nice to hear from you and feel your care from far away. Makes the world feel smaller – so take a minute and leave a comment here or send us a short email at lynnandlaurie@gmail.com if you prefer. And it's great to hear about your lives too.

Here’s a story:
Last night I went to get some groceries. It would be a long walk, especially at night and with groceries, and the taxi was only 7 Bolivianos (7B = $1), so it seemed like a good time for a taxi. When I got to the store I realized all I had were “big” bills (100B = about $15). The taxi driver suggested I get smaller change in the store. So I went inside and gave a 100B bill to the cashier who gave me 10B back. I was waiting for the rest, but then he asked me if I’m going to buy something. I said I was and he said he’d just credit the rest toward my bill when I came through to pay. Seemed a bit unorthodox, but what do I know, so I went out and paid the taxi driver and then continued on to do my shopping. As I shopped, I began to wonder if the clerk who had taken my money would still be there when I went to pay. I shouldn’t have worried – when I got to the checkout, there he was. “You gave me 90B already, right?” he asked. “You got it,” I said. Sometimes you just have to trust people. Like the taxi driver had trusted me when I went into the store “to get change.”

It’s hard enough to trust people in your own culture. Being new in a culture, a significant struggle is feeling a lack of control. There are so many things we don’t understand, or don’t fully understand… many times when we have to depend on others. We have great support within MCC and many known people we can trust, but eventually you end up on your own in situations where you have to trust people you don’t know, while trying not to be naïve. There will be times I get burned, but it’s nice to notice the times when I don’t.

Lynn