Day 2554. Last night I was so exhausted that I never noticed Tammy and Emmy joining us in bed. I only found out when Sammy was the first one up, as usual, waking me up and then his brother is next to wake up and get up. Next Randy got up, then I woke up Tammy, and we also got up. We got dressed, and my alarm went off at 8:45 pm, just as we were about to leave the room and go to breakfast.
When we got to the breakfast room, it was really crowded but we were able to still find one available table. The breakfast was the best of all the hotels we've stayed at during this trip. They had eggs, sausage, French toast, yoghurt, even tortillas, plus all the usual stuff. So we had a good breakfast, then we returned to our room where we still had some time before having to leave.
At 9:45 pm we walked to our car, got the kids buckled in, and started our 7-minute drive to the church that has been supporting the work in Mali for over 10 years. They gave up their old building and are in the process of building a new one which is why they are currently meeting in a conference center I had never been to before. We found it easily, parked and went inside. The new secretary waited for me right at the door and led me to where they had set up a table for us. Then the pastor already came to greet us. I was able to give two pictures to their teach guy and set up our table. The pastor's wife also came by to talk to me, and she showed the kids to the kids' ministry room. They then stayed there, while Randy and I went with the pastor to the back where he prayed, then we went into the room where the meeting was already going on. We went to the front row and sat down next to the pastor and his wife.
Worship was really wonderful, great choices of songs. After it was over, they did a video with announcements, then an offering, then the pastor introduced us, and I went up on the stage to speak. I had been given 5 minutes so I went as quickly as possible. I shared two testimonies with pictures, and the people loved it. Then I sat back down, and the pastor took an offering for us.
Before the service, the pastor had told us that we could go speak to the children after we're done in the sanctuary, so we left and went to that room. Our kids were happy to see us. They have actually never been in a group of kids I spoke to before as it's been a while that I've had that opportunity. But I really love it, so I was excited. I told the small group of children about the children in Mali, and the teacher had a screen where she had displayed a map of Mali which was cool. Tammy kept telling me I should share the testimony of the 8-year-old boy in Mali, and I did. The teacher then asked the kids if they had any questions, and they did have a few. After that, we left and returned to the sanctuary.
We sat back down in the first row and listened to the rest of the sermon a young woman was giving. When she started her ministry time, I went outside and to our product table. People slowly started coming out, and a few headed my way. I sold a few books and talked to a few people. And then one of our old friends suddenly stood in front of me. It was quite the surprise as they had moved away which is why we couldn't stay with them anymore. They were in town with the weekend and came to see us. So we talked for a while, later his wife came over and also talked with me. It was good to catch up.
The pastor had invited us to go to lunch with him, so when people stopped coming to our table, I packed everything up, and Randy took everything and the kids to the car while I finished talking. My friend walked to the car with me, then we had to say good-bye.
It was 1:10 pm, and 5 minutes later we already parked at the restaurant. We went inside and found the pastor already at a table; his wife joined us a few minutes later. I was unfamiliar with the restaurant and the menu so I needed a little time to choose, then we were able to talk. The kids had their tablets with them to keep them busy. We four adults had a great time talking with each other, and I got to share a few more testimonies. The food was really good as well. Just before 3 pm it was time to say good-bye to each other, and we took a picture together before going our different ways. What a wonderful morning we'd had!
Just after 3 pm we were back at the hotel, and the kids were ready to go swimming. It was really hot, and the pool was in the sun. There was still a bit of a breeze. However, it was a lot better than last night. Today Randy also went into the water, and we had a great time in the pool. After a while, it did start getting a bit cold, so we all got out again and returned to our room to take a hot shower.
After a while the kids were getting hungry. There was a grocery store across the street, so Randy went walked there to get a ready-to-eat chicken and icecream. I then encouraged the kids to do some schoolwork until Daddy's return and was surprised when they didn't complain but actually did some maths in their books.
Once Randy was back, he took the rice and vegetables downstairs to the microwave, while I started portioning out the chicken. We also had the leftovers from lunch to eat, so there was plenty for everybody. We had a good time eating, then they returned to their tablets.
At 8 pm it was bedtime. They insisted on reading a story so I said yes under the condition that they'd go to sleep right away instead of talking for the longest time. We had a good time reading, then they went to bed after praying. However, they did not keep their word but misbehaved for quite some time before finally going to sleep. I contined working on my computer, yesterday's pictures and report and today's. Now it's 1 am, and I've not finished today's pictures.
