Day 1455. It was about 7 am, when the kids woke up today, so they have adjusted to this time zone. We got up and went downstairs to have breakfast. Our friends' son then arrived with their dog, much to the kids' delight.
At 9:15 we left the house to make the very short drive to church around the corner. Once we got there we found the table already set up for us on the patio, and then the lady I'm always in communication with online walked out and greeted us. We had never met as she had taken the position after my last visit here. I set up our product table, then we took the kids to the kids' program. There was only one lady there, and she was new. Tammy and Emmy immediately started checking out the toys. Sammy was also fine, as we said good-bye and walked away.
We went up to the pastor's office, where we were warmly greeted by him. We talked a little, then we prayed together. We then left to go to the sanctuary and walked by the children's room. They were fiddling with the wheelchair, so we stopped to tell them what they wanted to know. Sammy was so glad to see us, and when we were turning around to leave, he started crying. So Randy stayed with him. About half an hour into the service he joined me in the sanctuary, when a second worker had joined the other one in the children's room.
I was sitting in the first row and enjoying worship. After the announcements and the offering, they showed my video presentation, then the pastor went up and introduced me before handing me the mic. I then had 5 minutes and gave a quick explanation of the situation in Mali, followed by a few testimonies that everyone enjoyed. Then Randy joined me as well, and the pastor prayed for us. We sat back down and listened to the pastor preach. As the service was ending, I went outside to our table, while Randy went to pick up the kids.
People were coming to our table, and I had some encouraging conversations and sold a few books. The kids also came over and showed me the papers from kids' program. Tammy had also scraped her knee on the playground. The kids were playing on the patio, running around, while I was busy at our table. Somebody from the church then gave us two bags full of groceries, which was nice. Eventually most people had left, and so I packed up everything on the table. We said good-bye and walked to our car to drive back to the house.
Just after 12:30 we were back at the house, where a good number of people from church had gathered for a time of fellowship. We changed from our Malian clothes to more comfortable clothes and joined the crowd. The pastor had come to just say hello and good-bye and left. Then we started talking to people there. One of the teenagers took Tammy, Emmy and another child outside to the climbing tree, where they were going up the tree. Sammy was also having fun, especially petting the dog. After some time the hamburgers were ready, and we grabbed some food and sat down to eat. I then ended up telling my whole life story to a lady who wanted to hear it all, as well as to her husband. We talked for the longest time. The kids were still having fun playing, especially when they got some styrofoam swords out.
Slowly people started leaving, and it was after 3 pm, when we went upstairs with the kids to put them down for a nap. They were pretty tired, but also hyped up. It took me some time and some singing to get them to sleep, especially as it was very hot in the room. I may have been 4 pm before the last one fell asleep, and that included Randy. I then lay down as well, but the heat made it hard to sleep.
It was Tammy who woke up crying so loudly that she woke everyone up. She wasn't really awake but was crying because of the heat. When she's like that, nobody can comfort her. At some point she calmed down and lay back down in bed and looked like she continued sleeping. By then everyone else was up. I got Tammy up as well, and we all went downstairs.
I followed Tammy outside, but we soon went back inside. I then went upstairs to do some work, while Randy stayed downstairs with the kids. Soon the kids came upstairs, though, and started playing or watching stuff on their tablets. Around 7 pm we went back downstairs, especially because Sammy was asking for food. I sat down with him on the ground and played with him. He was sitting up and reaching into the box to get out blocks that he then put on top of each other.
Around 8 pm we sat down to have dinner, then we went upstairs to put them to bed. It was high time. We took them to the shower, then got them ready for bed. I read them a bedtime story, prayed for them and put them to bed. It was already 9 pm. Having had a nap late in the day, they all stayed awake for some time, and at 9:30 pm, they were still awake. Yesterday Emmy had fallen asleep in our bed, today it was Tammy in our bed, and the other two on the air mattress. I sang for them to help them fall asleep, and lay down by all of them one after another. Then I sat down at the computer on the desk and started working on the pictures of the day. Now it's 1:15 am and time for bed.
