Day 2183. I have not written anything these past few days. They have been spent with teaching and working for me, and playing hard with their nieces for the kids. On Thursday afternoon we drove the 45 minutes to the biggest town near here so that Randy could run some important errands. He dropped us off at McDonald's and went on his way. The kids and I had lots of fun. We had some food, and the kids were enjoying the playground. They also used their tablets for a short time before going back to the playground. I was then playing with Sammy, making him laugh, and that's when Randy returned - much earlier than expected. All he had had to do was done really quickly. He then took over so that Sammy got to go to the top and slide down one time, then we left to return to Randy's village. We've been eating dinner at Randy's mother's house, as well as lunch. The kids eat breakfast at Randy's daughter's house, where we are staying, while I usually eat at Randy's mother's house where Randy takes me in the morning so I can teach.
This morning we left the house at 9:15 am to go to a church in the town of Eupora which is 15 minutes away. It's the town where Randy started and pastored a church but it has closed its doors. The church we were heading to, we had already been to once two years ago. We were thankful for the opportunity to share there for a few minutes.
We got there at 9:30 am, unloaded, went inside where we were greeted. Then the pastor came over and showed us the table we could use for our stuff. I then started setting up our product table. Randy came in with Sammy in his wheelchair and started talking to people. Then we went into the sanctuary and got seats in the first and second row. Sammy made friends with an older lady, and Emmy with another little boy. Tammy was sad that she had not made any friends yet, and we had only been there for a few minutes!
At 10 am the service started with a time of praise and worship. It was different from what we're used to; we didn't know any of the songs but the one at the very end. All the people were up front. They were also praying for people at one point, and Emmy immediately went into action, laying hands on people and praying for them.
After worship, the kids went to the back of the church for their program which was just playtime, while Randy returned to the sanctuary. After the pastor had spoken, he called me up to share. I had a couple of pictures and testimonies I shared for 10 minutes. Then I sat back down. The pastor then preached until noon. When he was done and had everyone stand up, I went to our table in the back while Randy went to get the kids who then joined me in the back.
Most people just walked out the door but the kids were at work, doing what they are good at, handing brochures to those leaving. Only a few came to our table to talk or buy a book. Randy talked to one lady longer, the one Sammy had becomes friends with, and they also prayed for her. After most people were gone, we packed up, said good-bye and thank you to the pastor, and left.
Just before 1 pm we were at the house and changed into more comfortable clothes, then we went to Randy's mother's house where we ate something. After we had eaten, we returned to the house where I lay down for a much-needed nap. Last night, Tammy had had belly ache, crying a lot and even throwing up one time, so I was very sleep-deprived. I ended up sleeping from 2:30 to 4:30 which was just what I had needed.
The kids were impatiently waiting for their nieces' return, but they weren't coming. At 5:30 pm we then left to go to Randy's mother's house even though they were crying as they wanted to wait for their nieces to play with them. We ate dinner over there, then we returned to the house at 7:30 pm. Their nieces were there, much to their delight, and they started playing hard right away. As for me, I started packing as tomorrow is our last day in the US. I was able to get 2 of our 5 suitcases packed then I was done for the day. It was way past bedtime, so the kids showered and got ready for bed. No story tonight. I prayed for them and turned the lights out. They were still awake at 9:15 pm.
I turned my computer on for the first time today and started working on the pictures of the last few days. Now it's after 1 am, and I have an early morning tomorrow.
