5 years 10 months 25 days

Day 2155. When we woke up this morning, I asked Randy what time it was. He said 7:15 but I thought he'd said 7:50. We all got up right away to have breakfast and get ready to leave the house at 8:45 am.

We drove just over 45 minutes to the north of Kansas City, passing through downtown, and parked in the huge parking lot. The church building was quite impressive. When we walked into the church, the 9:30 am service had already started. We couldn't believe it when the song they were playing was once again Sammy's favorite song "Praise the Lord oh my soul", just like last Sunday when we had walked into the church building. God loves Sammy!

Some people showed us the way to children's church where we registered the kids. Then we were told that it was not a typical Sunday but that the kids would stay in the sanctuary for worship. So we headed back there, and Emmy chose the second row but we sat down in the third. I had Sammy who was worshiping God and even singing along with some songs. He was putting his arms straight up into the air which touched my heart. As for the other two, they sat down and were bored. I tried to encourage them to sing along/worship.

After worship was over, the kids were released so we took them back to the room we had been shown. There were already a few kids there with a teacher, in a circle, and our kids joined the circle. We then left them there and returned to the sanctuary for the sermon. We enjoyed the message, and around 11:10 am it was over. We were told to get our kids and head to the fellowship hall first, so the kids would get their food before the rest of the adults came and lined up. 

When we reached the kids' ministry room, there was Sammy on the floor, about to crawl under a bar they had put up for him. A man was encouraging him to keep going. Sammy was happy to see me but he'd had fun and never asked for us. The other kids then saw us too, and together we headed to the fellowship hall for the potluck.

We got seats, and Tammy, Emmy and I joined the long line to get our food. It took a while but then I filled two plates for Sammy and myself and helped them with their plates. They had some great food there. Then we sat down and let Daddy go get his plate. He also had to stand in line for a long time. In the meantime the four of us were eating. 

A lady came by us and greeted us, and we started talking. She came back later and sat down with us, and I had a great time talking with her. I felt a heart-connection and knew that we'd be friends if we lived here. I gave her my book, and we had a picture taken together. Randy had also talked to people while lining up to get his food.

And my goal was to talk to the pastor. The only reason that we were at that church was that my pastor friend in Wichita, where I preached two weeks ago, had told us to connect with the pastor at that church who is his friend. When the pastor came into the hall, I went to see him. I gave him our information and talked with him briefly, and that was it. But I feel like it was worth going there today. Everyone was really nice, and I think that I made a lasting connection with the one lady. The kids had had fun in children's church and were playing with the other kids while we were finishing our food and talking to people. Finally it was time to say good-bye, and we left for the 50-minute drive back.

By 1:45 pm we were back at the house. I was very tired and lay down for a nap but the kids wouldn't let me sleep. Finally Randy and the kids went upstairs, but they were still loud and then they kept banging the door with a ball. I did fall asleep at one point but they woke me up again with their noise so that I don't know how long I actually slept.

I finally gave up and got up. I wanted to clean up and pack so that I had less to pack in the morning. It was our last day in Kansas City, and in the morning we're leaving after I'm done teaching. The kids helped me a little bit as our host family was not home which was disappointing to the kids who wanted to play with them.  After I was done, I sat down with my phone and still had a few minutes to relax. Tammy and Emmy had been practicing a performance with the oldest kid of the house they wanted to show us. Once the family got home, we were called upstairs to watch their show, and they did great. Then it was time to get ready to leave once again. 

At 5:15 pm we drove off; it was half an hour to another church, this time in Grandview. That new church was meeting in the building of a Baptist church. We had first gone there two years ago, and the pastor had been very supportive since then. We got there at 5:45, so 15 minutes before the service started, as I had been allowed to set up a product table. There were round tables set up in the room, and we picked one. It was only later that we got our table as someone else had put their stuff on it. It was only the second time on this trip to have our table set up. We have now reached the half-way point of 4 weeks done, 4 more weeks to go.

The service started, and Tammy was excited to have found some kids' stuff in the back, like paper and crayons. She took it to a table and started coloring. Then the kids took some flags to dance with briefly. I also danced with Emmy, as well as with Tammy. Sammy was with Randy most of the time, and he soon got hungry. Unfortunately we had not brought any snacks with us. 

Tammy got some flags, and I then grabbed some as well, and we both started dancing with them. I had danced in my church in Vienna with flags for several years, as the only one, so I have a history and I hadn't done it in a long time. And so I got really into it and was greatly enjoying it, even after Tammy stopped dancing. 

A couple of people were speaking at different times, then they had communion. Shortly after that the pastor called us to the middle and asked people to surround us to pray for us. Everyone was praying for us, and the pastor on the microcophone, as well as one of our friends who was there that night. It was precious. Then we returned to our seats, but as people were at our table, I went back there. The service then soon ended, and I got to talk to people at the table. Tammy and Emmy were great helpers again, grabbing our brochures and handing them out. We briefly talked to a few people, then said good-bye to our friends. One friend walked to the car with us. Then it was a final good-bye.

By 8:45 pm we were back at the house, so quite late, but the kids were still hungry so everyone had some food. Then we got them ready for bed. It was 9:30 pm, so pretty late for them so they fell asleep right away. I then opened up my computer and started working on today's pictures. Now it's going on 1:30 am which is way too late given how early I have to get up in the morning.