This week was just plain exhausting. Telling you that it was “Spiritual Emphasis Week” at school won’t explain to you the insanity. I think it would be appropriate to compare our Spiritual Emphasis Week to a week of summer camp. Every morning we began bright and early with an assembly and worship before breaking into groups to visit different activity centers: Bible class, games, team building exercises, and creative arts. Why is it that children never seem to run out of energy? I was completely drained, but the kids seemed to be constantly on the go! We suffered a couple injuries, but nothing hospital worthy – yea, for no broken bones! All in all, it was a good week. Our OC visitors had a special treat for the kids this week: they passed out a Bible to each child at the Village of Hope! As you can imagine, the kids loved them and were 
pretty much jumping off the wall. Not only did each child receive a Bible, but each Bible was purchased by a child from the Memorial Road congregation and had written a personal letter to that child. The kids always love getting letters but a letter accompanied with a Bible was extra special!
I always try to spend some one-on-one time with several children each week. And I confess that this is easier with some of the children than others. But over the last few weeks I have really tried to focus on some of the “troublesome” ones. They are pretty rowdy and require an extra measure of patience, but it’s totally worth it when one of them comes up to you and slides his hand into yours. This has been an uplifting week on that score... On Thursday Nicholas and I got to play games for an hour and a half, just the two of us: Monkeys in a Barrel, Tumbling Tower, Connect 4, Chutes and Ladders. We had a lot of fun! It was pretty much the highlight of my week.
As you probably already know, Mother’s Day was last week. (If this is a news flash to you, stop reading and call your mother.) For this reason, and because they just work darn hard, we decided to give Ruben and Latisha the weekend off. I love cooking, especially for groups of people, but I can safely say that I have never prepared a meal for over 20 people. I have prepared one dish for that many several times, but never an entire meal. Luckily tacos are very easy! Rebecca and I made tortillas, meat and rice, and chopped a couple of tomatoes and avocados. We had so much left over that we just warmed it up for dinner the next night. (This is what I get for taking after my father and always planning for leftovers.) Ruben and Latisha are great cooks but most visitors crave something familiar by the end of their two or more weeks here. And I have to confess that I was craving something familiar as well.
We are gearing up for a couple of busy weeks with a lot of guests so I might not be able to update very frequently. Sorry if we endure a long period of silence. I hope everyone is doing well. Thanks for all the emails and warm thoughts!
pretty much jumping off the wall. Not only did each child receive a Bible, but each Bible was purchased by a child from the Memorial Road congregation and had written a personal letter to that child. The kids always love getting letters but a letter accompanied with a Bible was extra special!I always try to spend some one-on-one time with several children each week. And I confess that this is easier with some of the children than others. But over the last few weeks I have really tried to focus on some of the “troublesome” ones. They are pretty rowdy and require an extra measure of patience, but it’s totally worth it when one of them comes up to you and slides his hand into yours. This has been an uplifting week on that score... On Thursday Nicholas and I got to play games for an hour and a half, just the two of us: Monkeys in a Barrel, Tumbling Tower, Connect 4, Chutes and Ladders. We had a lot of fun! It was pretty much the highlight of my week.
As you probably already know, Mother’s Day was last week. (If this is a news flash to you, stop reading and call your mother.) For this reason, and because they just work darn hard, we decided to give Ruben and Latisha the weekend off. I love cooking, especially for groups of people, but I can safely say that I have never prepared a meal for over 20 people. I have prepared one dish for that many several times, but never an entire meal. Luckily tacos are very easy! Rebecca and I made tortillas, meat and rice, and chopped a couple of tomatoes and avocados. We had so much left over that we just warmed it up for dinner the next night. (This is what I get for taking after my father and always planning for leftovers.) Ruben and Latisha are great cooks but most visitors crave something familiar by the end of their two or more weeks here. And I have to confess that I was craving something familiar as well.
We are gearing up for a couple of busy weeks with a lot of guests so I might not be able to update very frequently. Sorry if we endure a long period of silence. I hope everyone is doing well. Thanks for all the emails and warm thoughts!
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