Efficiency. Yesterday I was wondering what it really meant. Is it doing things as good as I do them, or do we compare others to see what is best done. Yesterday as I passed a few different government offices, I began to think that there might be a better way of doing things....a more efficient way. Here in Mozambique, office rubber stamps are very important. All documents need to be signed by the appropriate person and then stamped. That is all very well until the official person goes out for the day, and he is the only one with the stamp. For the labor office, I needed a yearly vacation plan approved. Not something that is life and death to anyone, I personally can't see why it needs to be passed through their office, but I took it in at 8.30 am. The appropriate person wasn't in, but should be back in 40 minutes, I could wait if i wanted. I didn't want to wait as I felt that there was no guarantee that he would be back at any time. I returned at 2.30 pm and still not ready. Should I continue with the bank, where an hour wait in line is normal?

Relationships. The other side of this efficiency issue is relationships. If you know the right person, things go quicker and get done. So what is the moral of all this? Get to know the people in the offices. So when I could hire someone to do some of my running around from office to office, I choose to go myself, so I can get to know them and build relationships.

Patience. This is where it all comes down to, God is trying to teach me about patience, it is something that is hard to learn quickly, and there is always room to learn more. So office I go today again to try to pick up the paper from the labor office, but thankfully I don't need to go to the bank today. :)