It has been exactly 3 weeks since our last summer team left and we feel like we are finally catching our breath! We not only survived the summer but we learned SO much and are beginning to feel like we may actually be able to do this! You may laugh but we've had a few days in the last couple of months where we had our doubts.
What a whirlwind we dropped into that sunny day way back in June. As we said before, from day one we dove right in to do what we had come here for. None of our "jobs" are difficult; there is just a lot that has to be done. The first thing we learned is that every day of a two-week outreach brings a different list of things to accomplish that day! We never had a clue of the amount of work and coordination that goes in to running a "simple" outreach. But we have learned how to schedule transportation and housing, plan a menu and figure food amounts for various team sizes, divide up a 2-page-double-column shopping list, check out of a grocery store in a store full of people who speak a different language, pack a van full of groceries, schedule the cooks, the cleaners, and the maintenance crew, order bread, coffee, and snack food for hungry American students, sort and distribute donations, wash load after load of clothing and bedding teams leave behind and sort and distribute that. Surely there is more on that list of "things to do" but you get the general idea! All we can tell you is there were nights where we forced ourselves to stay awake because 7:00 is just too early to go to bed!
With the busy summer months behind us, we took a little time to relax and get rested. We drove up to the north coast and spent a few days at the beach and drove through some incredible countryside to see more of this beautiful island nation that we now call home. In the next couple of weeks, we will be able to finally unpack the rest of our belongings and maybe hang a picture or two. We will also spend more time with Cheryl learning as much as possible before their departure for Nicaragua. In September we will begin more Spanish - please pray that we learn much!
We so enjoyed getting to know the people who have come through the base this summer - the interns, the team leaders, and the outreach participants (from age 1 to 75). We had many great conversations across the tables at meal times. We never grew tired of hearing how being in a new culture, experiencing new things and sharing the love of the Lord Jesus Christ has an impact on people's lives. We look forward to new teams coming and seeing some of the folks we have met return - we hope that some of you will be among them!
"Now to Him who is able to do far more abundantly beyond all that we ask or think, according to the power that works within us, to Him be the glory in the church and in Christ Jesus to all generations forever and ever. Amen."
Ephesians 3:20 & 21
