Day 2141. Even though it had been really late Friday night, the boys got up as early as usual and Tammy didn't sleep that much longer. I had a student at 9 am on Saturday morning. We had all eaten breakfast before that, and the kids were then playing while I was teaching. At 10:30 am I was done. But we soon got ready to leave the house which we did just after 11 am.
We drove a short distance to a restaurant called Carrabbas which is an Italian restaurant. The pastor of the church where I was to speak on Sunday had his family in town and was busy so another couple from the leadership team met with us at that restaurant. We didn't really know them but got to know them during the meal. The food was also really good, and we all enjoyed it and had plenty of leftovers.
By 1:15 pm we were back home. Tammy was very tired, given the short night, and the two of us lay down for a nap, while Randy and the boys were in the living room and playing. We slept for a while. Then we got up and left the house again just after 3 pm.
We drove for 15 minutes and reached our friends' house after first having had some trouble finding it. Those are very special friends to me who I've know for 17 years, and I used to stay at their house. It was great seeing them again. We sat down and talked while the boys were playing and Tammy was drawing. They were getting hungry so we had some watermelon and cantaloupe, their favorite fruit. It was definitely louder than my friends are used to, but everyone was having fun. Then the husband left to go pick up two pizzas for us for dinner. The kids were still saying they were hungry and really liked the pizza. We had a wonderful time of fellowship while eating. And then my chair suddenly broke right under me and I landed on the floor while I was holding Sammy up who was on his feet. Gladly neither one of us got hurt. If that is not a call to lose weight!
We were all getting tired and the kids restless, so we said our goodbyes at 6:30 pm. But first we called Paul in Mali who was so very happy to see them as he had also stayed at their house when I took him to the US with me. It's one of his favorite memories of his US trip.
Just after 7 pm we were back at the house where we're staying. The kids still wanted to play so I let them play until 7:30 pm, then it was bathtub time, storytime and bedtime. Once they were in bed, I turned my computer on. I hadn't spent as much time as I had wanted preparing for my sermon and I didn't like it, but I made good use of the evening hours. I had pictures to put on my flashdrive and stories to look up and put on my tablet. Not having a printer, I decided to borrow one of the kids' tablets to have my stories and notes on. And I was still looking up Bible verses I was going to need. Time went by fast, and so it was about 1 am when I went to bed.
This morning it was Emmy who was up first at 7 am, and Sammy then woke up as well. Tammy stayed in bed longer. I had my alarm set for 8 am. Then Tammy and I both got up and went to have breakfast. She ate little and said that she wasn't feeling well. After breakfast, I lay down on the floor to spend time with Jesus and prepare for my sermon. I had a great time on the floor, and at one point the kids came and joined me briefly.
Then it was time to get everyone dressed, and at 9:30 am we left the house together.
We arrived at church around 9:50 am. It was great to see the pastor again who had served on the board of the ministry in the past. We had last seen him and been at the church during our last US trip two years ago. I set up the Mali table, gave my pictures to the tech guy, and put my stuff down on the front row. Tammy was cold and got her jacket out of the car. Our hosts had also decided to come, and we saw our former secretary whose church this is, as well as some other people.
At 10:30 the kids' program as well as the service started. Randy went with the kids to the kids' program but ended up in the nursery with Sammy. In the sanctuary, we had half an hour of worship that I enjoyed greatly. Then they a had a send-off for a member who was moving then the pastor introduced me. I then came to the front to speak, and I had an interpreter for the Spanish-speakers among the congregation. I didn't show my video presentation this time. I prayed and then shared what God has done these past 22 years. My voice broke and tears came when I shared how many churches and believers there now are because one person said yes to God's calling. I then started telling stories as well as quoting Scriptures, focusing on perseverance. One person later said that the gist of my message was that God is all we need, just holding His hand and going with him.
With the interpreter I had less time, and I kept talking and talking. When the pastor moved to the front, I knew it was time to come to an end even though I had not told all my stories. I finished with a resurrection story, then the worship team returned, everyone got up and I prayed over everyone. Then the pastor came up front and wanted to pray for me. He did, and the service was over. I was surprised when no one came to the front to get prayed for, but also glad I could go to our table. I did pray for someone's healing there and sold two books in total.
It didn't take long for everyone to be gone. They had lunch at the church because of the young lady moving away, and we joined them in the hall where they had set up the tables. Tammy and Emmy were already sitting at the table there. I then stood in line to get plates of food for everyone; it was taco time. We sat down and enjoyed our food. Except for Tammy who didn't even take one bite. She was not hungry and didn't look good. She said she had a headache and was dizzy, and I could tell that she had a fever. She's also started coughing now. As for Emmy, he ate and then got up to play with the kids he'd befriended during kids' church. He was having a great time with them. Sammy then joined him on the floor and they played together.
I enjoyed getting to talk to some people while eating, including the pastor. People started leaving, and it was time for us to leave as well. I packed up our Mali stuff from the table, and we walked to the car to drive back to the house. It was very hot ouside.
By 2:15 pm we were back home. Tammy and I lay down right away, and we both slept for 2 hours. The boys stayed up and played in the living room but Emmy came in a few times and banged the door waking at least me up a few times. After we were up, Tammy also went to the living room and played a bit. I stayed in bed for a while, relaxing and enjoying it.
Then it was dinner time, and we all sat down at the table to eat leftovers. We enjoyed our time with our hosts. Emmy then wanted me to play tic-tac-toe with him, and I did a few times, then Tammy started playing with him, and I went back to our room to relax. At 7:30 they took a bath, then we read a story together, and I prayed or them. Then it was bedtime for them and time to turn the computer on for me. I worked on today's pictures at first, then started writing. Now it's midnight, and I hope to go to bed soon.
