A glass that keeps looking different

Hard to believe I have now lived here in San Juan de La Maguana for two years. In November of 2014 we officially broke ground and started the clinic project, two years later we have an earthquake resistant foundation supporting about 80,000 concrete block that make the walls with all of the plumbing lines in place.
When I started here I thought it would be a challenge being the "mediary" or middleman between two cultures - one very driven by expectations and one with a slower feel with lower but rising expectations. This has turned out to be the case. 
The Dominicans can get work done as fast as us Americans when things are lined up and available - and they like to do things quickly. What has been a challenge is the "getting things lined up and available" part. This has been due to many factors, one of the main ones being the Dominican government which has very good intentions of requiring the highest levels of quality and design but in reality causing beneficial projects and work to be delayed while trying to meet the governments ever changing moving-target requirements. The clinic has fallen prey to this issue more than once so we continue to work our way through the issues. 
One of our biggest issues we have had to meet was the re-design of the foundation, as I am sure most of you know about. The earthquake in Haiti caused the Dominican government to dramatically strengthen their building standards - similar to what happened in the US after hurricane Andrew swept away building in South Florida. Our platea foundation with it's 100 miles of rebar is designed to resist the effects of an earthquake. 
After getting underway with construction in January of 2015 the government released two new books in the summer listing new specifications required for medical facilities - we had to make make many changes to the floor plan in order to meet these requirements. This essentially made our drawing package obsolete - drawings showing electrical, plumbing and structural details no longer matched the revised floor plan. 
So as a result we have had to work the project as a "design-build" type project ( a common practice in the US), where you have a good plan of what you want to end up with but as you begin a construction phase you can adapt, change and modify aspects of the construction which can help minimize costs and meet the latest requirements. In the States there would be unlimited resources to quickly work through the many issues with each phase, here in the Dominican "urgency" is not a word that describes how things work here. 
This might be the one issue that has been most difficult as a "gringo", I fully realize we cannot impose our American drive on another culture (if you do you will have burned every bridge along the way) but at times my patience runs out. I have to remind myself that the GOAL of this project is what is important, and that the road to that goal will be as it has to be. 

Our latest interaction with the government has led my glass to initially be half-empty but after contemplating and considering things it is over half-full. 

The timing of things related to my life (things working out in Stacy's and my life so I could help oversee this project) and the project have been amazing and forced me to truly appreciate the God-induced timing of everything in life. We do not appreciate this most of the time especially when we want to be in complete control of all aspects of our lives (oh if we could only control the weather!), but of course we are not in control at all. All we should do is carry into each day a positive attitude for what that day brings knowing life will head us down a path unknown. 

So my momentary philosophical pause is due to our latest meeting with an important government official who represents the department of health - the department that will approve our facility and allow it to function and receive financial assistance from the different insurance programs available here. 
Our plans were reviewed and all in all the changes were minor but significant. The main issue being that they now require wider doorways than previously and what our architect designed. After my glass quickly looked half-empty I realized how fortunate we are to have had this conversation BEFORE we have formed and poured the 150+ concrete door headers/beams. Had we been pushing along earlier this fall (as my American self-control mentality hoped) we would have completed a good many of these headers by now and we would have a big problem on our hands. 

Timing again has helped us avoid significant changes with added costs - my glass is half-full.

Trust in the LORD with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding. Proverbs 3:5