Day 2142. The boys were up at 7 am this morning, but Tammy continued sleeping. I got up before 8 am and got some breakfast as well; the boys had already eaten. Then I sat down at the computer and got ready for my 9 am student. Tammy then joined us but she didn't eat much though she thankfully felt better than yesterday today.
I then taught from 9 to just before 11 am, while Randy and the kids were playing, and the kids really enjoy playing with our hosts. After I was done, I tried to order our fast food lunch online but it never worked. At about 11:15 we all left the house together.
We drove to downtown Wichita and stopped at Wendy's to order some food in the Drive-Thru, then we continued on to Riverside Park where we were meeting up with the ministry's US secretary. We parked and got the wheelchair out for Sammy. Then we already saw our secretary and her grandson; they had already been there for a while and eaten. Together we walked to a picnic table and sat down. We got our Wendy's food out and ate and had fellowship with the secretary, catching up with each other.
While we were eating, the wild geese were coming really close to us, probably hoping for some food. So did a squarrel; I've never seen a squirrel come so close. The kids threw fries at it, and it started eating them and carrying them off.
The kids were impatient to go to the big playground right there, and that's what we did after having finished eating. The secretary then soon had to say her good-byes. The kids continued playing though it was very hot. I then took Tammy and Emmy to the restrooms, and after getting back we did not stay much longer. We had seen some water coming out of the ground, and the kids wanted to go there to cool off, so we all headed there.
There were already some other little kids playing in the water there. I told the kids to take their clothes off so they'd still have dry clothes afterwards to put on and get into the car with, so that's what they did. And they had lots of fun playing in the water, most of all Emmy.
After they had put their clothes back on, we headed to the "Kansas Wildlife" area that was closeby. They had some cages with animals inside - turtles, different birds, an eagle, beavers and a bobcat. We didn't see them all. Emmy was the most impressed with having seen an eagle for the very first time.
It was time to head to the car, but we weren't going home just yet. I had Kohl's and the bank on my list, but we didn't go there. The car has had a message displayed to have the oil change, so we were heading to a nearby Hertz location. We found it alright, and I got out to go in by myself while Randy stayed in the car with the kids. While the office was open, there was no one inside. I waited for a while and called for someone, but nobody was there. I then went to the back of the building, but there was nobody either. I returned to the front and called out again. Then someone came in through the back door. He was the only one working there. I asked him for a voucher to get the oil change done, and he asked what the mileage was. Then he said to wait until the mileage was closer to 10,000. So I got back into the car and we drove off. Tammy had been screaming the whole time I was gone. She does not like it when one of us is missing.
Just after 2:30 pm we were back home. Tammy and I wanted to take a nap. We both lay down, but neither one of us slept at first. When our hosts' grand-daughter arrived - the one who had spent all that time with the kids last Friday - Tammy got up and also went to play with her, just like her brothers. I eventually did fall asleep, but Emmy was so loud that he woke me up several times. And then I had to get up as well as it was time to leave again.
At 5 pm we got into the car and drove to Texas Roadhouse, my favorite steak restaurant. The pastor of the church where I had spoken yesterday had invited us out to dinner. We had great food and a great time talking. Emmy played games on the device they have on each table, while Tammy got my phone to do drawing games with. Sammy had Daddy's phone. While Tammy was much better today, she was still not quite herself and ate little all day.
At 7:15 pm we left and still took a nice picture with the pastor, his wife and Tammy and Emmy by our cars. We said good-bye and drove back to the house where we arrived at 7:30. Our hosts' grand-daughter was still there, as promised, and then she told them that she was actually gonna spend the night there which excited the kids even more. We let them play until 8:30 pm, even though 8 pm is usually their bedtime. They all had so much fun playing with the 12-year-old girl. It was a delight to watch them.
But then it was finally bedtime - shower, story, prayer. And then Emmy cried again, like every time since coming to Wichita, saying he was scared of tornadoes. I prayed for him, reasoned with him, but it took a long time for him to calm down and fall asleep. All three were still awake by 9:30 pm.
Then I turned my computer on and started doing the pictures and writing my report. Now it's after 1 am and time to go to bed. Tomorrow we move on to the next city.
