Throughout our lives we are exposed to and often use many different excuses to get out of our responsibilities. One all time favorite in our family is the quote above from Don Knotts in "The Reluctant Astronaut". I am sure we have also all heard of the ever famous "My dog ate it" or the old, "My grandmother passed away". (No offense intended grandmothers)
When we hear these worn out excuses we can't even help but laugh at the audacity one has to even attempt to use them anymore!
Well, Luke and I have also heard some very interesting excuses over the past year and a half on the mission field. Many come from students not showing up to our classes or Bible studies. They always seem to give us a little laugh so we thought we would share (these are translated from Spanish with no exaggerations):
Young student, "I was on my way to class but then I had to go to the store"
*This was an excuse for a two hour class and the store was 2 doors down!
Adult student, "I can't come to class anymore because my brain is sick and the doctor told me not to use it for awhile"
Adult, "I was going to come but then it started raining" (This was for church)
Adult student, "I can't study English today because I hurt my finger last night in my sleep"
Adult student, "I can't come to class today because my sister is in the hospital from a miscarriage"
Me, "So you are going to the hospital?"
Student, "No, I am going home to take a nap"
Adult student, "I can't come to class because I have been throwing up"
*(Approximately 10 minutes after she said this I passed her at the bus stop catching a bus to downtown San Jose to go shopping. We ended up giving her a ride to San Jose... to make things more awkward she never brought up that she just spoke to us about being "sick"!)
Me, "Where is Christopher?"
Adult Mother, "Oh, he did not feel like coming to church tonight so he is home watching cartoons"
*Christopher is a 5 year old child that was coming to our kids church program! It is common in Central American cultures for children of any age to make their own decisions about going to church or even school.
Adult Student, "I can't come to class today because my brain hurts"
Adult Student, "I did not go to class because I did not know where it was"
*This was for a 3 hour class that has been held in the same place for 2 months straight (the student above was attending this class faithfully for the full 2 months)
And last but not least......
Adult Student, "I can't come to class anymore because my brain is not built for that"
Well, we hope you were able to enjoy these as much as we did! I am sure there are many other teachers/leaders who could add to this list as well. Feel free to comment with some good ones you may have heard in the past!
9 Let us not lose heart in doing good, for in due time we will reap if we do not grow weary. 10 So then, while we have opportunity, let us do good to all people, and especially to those who are of the household of the faith.
-Galations 6:9-10 (NASB)
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