Cultural clues......

There i was, sitting outside thinking of the millions of things that needs to be done inside, but trying to be just sitting.  Very difficult!!  Today is my son's birthday - the dough is drying out and tomorrow 32 people will be here for his birthday and meetings all combined - a good reason to sit and worry.

But why am i outside then?  Well, i have a visitor and until today, i have kind of enjoyed her visits.  But the clueless cultural detective that i am, i have only today realized that me, the great missionary, really could be missing the point of her visits......until it struck me, that she a mere girl, might not be wanting to visit me at all - that there might be Another Reason.  And so, i sit and think Very Hard, and try to look interested in my impromptu language lesson, but to no avail, my head is too full!  And in any case i was also wondering how do you get rid of visitors??  I know this sounds terrible, but there you go, the truth is out!  I wanted to bake a cake and knead the bread.  I sit, i sigh, i sigh, i sit, but nothing works, it's up to the visitor to decide when to leave...... and then i begin to wonder if i might just might be missing the point of her visit - could it be that there might be some interest in one of my sons??  My husband (this is a polygamist society!)  Yikes!  I go into full denial until my theory is proven (by asking discreetly our workers what they think) and hope to do better next time......

So i decide, i am a grown women and i have work to do, she is a girl and would be able to handle it if i say, "look, i really have work to do, but come and visit anytime (hypocrite!)"....and then i flee and pray that i didn't do too much damage - i can just see our whole ministry teetering on the brink of calamity because of my selfish act!  Oh, Lord, be merciful and give this poor anthropologist some insight and some clout!