Day 1434. This morning the alarm clock woke us up at 8 am. Tammy was sleeping in our bed, while Emmy had come and then returned to his own bed. The boys were up right away, Tammy needed a little more time to wake up. We got up, had breakfast, then got ready to leave the house to go to church.
We got there just before 10 am. It was great being back at the church that meant a lot to me and was my church the last few months before going to Mali 20 years ago. However, it was not the same church. Not only has it been remodeled, but it has a new pastor and does not support us any more. There were still a few people left that knew us and warmly welcomed us, but that was all.
When we walked inside, we were right away guided to a computer station to register the kids for children's ministry. The lady helping us there did not know us. After we were done, we walked through the sanctuary to where the classrooms were. Once again parents were not allowed to stay with the kids, so we had to leave Sammy there. The kids had stickers on their backs with their names on, and they were immediately going for the toys. There was no timidity or shyness. Sammy also started playing right away, and we left. They said they'd come get us if there was a problem.
Well they never did, and I told Sammy how proud I was of him to have been there without us the whole 90 minutes or so. He never cried, just asked for us a few times. The kids all enjoyed their time there. Of course I knew that they had an exceptionally good children's program. Randy and I got to stay in the service the whole time and enjoy worship and the preaching. And we saw some more people we knew and got to say hello. After the service we picked the kids up and talked to a few people, but never saw the pastor. Tammy was hungry and eager to leave, and we told them we were about to leave to go to lunch. We simply joined our host family who also attend that church and met up at the breakfast & brunch restaurant with them.
There were lots of people and a long line of people waiting to be seated. Tammy continued being cranky and impatient, making it clear she wanted to sit down and eat. We were all waiting and having fun, trying to make time go by faster. They had some paper crowns they enjoyed, and decided to jump from the bench to either our or their Dad who caught them. Finally our names were called and we sat down at two tables, as there were 11 of us. We had to study the unknown menu, and once again it took time before we were able to put our order in. And then it took a long time for it to come out. Tammy continued being impatient and cranky. Emmy trank some half & half out of those little cups meant for your coffee, and that kept also Sammy happy who was getting really hungry. It took a long time, but then the food finally came out, and everbody started eating right away, and they were eating well. We also enjoyed talking to our new friends.
There was a TV screen right above our tables, and all the kids looked at it, seeing animals and funny videos. At 1:45 we finally got up to make our way back home. It was nap time. In fact, I was so tired I actually fell asleep in the car. By 2:20 we got to the house, and I immediately put them to bed, and they fell asleep rather quickly. By 3 pm or so I got to lie down myself and fell asleep as well.
It was just after 4 pm, when I was woken up. Emmy came and lay down next to me to warm up, later Tammy also came briefly, but I was glad that I got to stay in bed and didn't have to get up. When I looked at the time again, it was 4:50 and high time to get up, as we had to leave the house at 5:15 pm. We got the kids ready right away and left, but it always takes a while, especially buckling them up in the car seats. And so it was 5:20 before we drove off.
We had a half-hour ride ahead of us to get to a church near the House of Prayer. There was a worship service there at 6 pm, just 90 minutes of worship, and our friend set up for us that they were going to pray for us during their service. We got there a few minutes before 6 pm and first had to find the entrance. One of our friend was right there as well, and then two others we had seen in the morning also arrived, and we all went in together.
The service was in a gym, and there was plenty of space. There were all kinds of flags for the kids to use, and a little girl even rode her bike and scooter around. Emmy actually got to ride that scooter as well, riding it next to the girl on her bike. When we told him to let Tammy ride it too, the girl on the bike did not like that, as she wanted Emmy to ride with her. As for Sammy, I was having fun with him sitting in the wheelchair, twirling him and moving him around with the bands and flags. I also played a little with the other two, but Sammy always wanted me to come back to him. Eventually I got him out of the wheelchair Once I was worn out from all the exercise, I left them there with Randy and returned to our seat, where I had a few minutes to worship God by myself, which was wonderful. I was lying on the floor, and Emmy came a few times to sit on me or lie down on me briefly.
Then the leader started talking that there were people here to pray for, meaning us, and called our friend forward to introduce us. We also walked forward and stood in the middle, while people came to surround us and pray for us. It was a really precious time. I was holding Sammy for the longest time, then handed him to Randy, after he had set down Emmy and Tammy. People who knew us and people who didn't pray for us, and we were thankful.
Next there was a baptism, and everyone walked to the exit where there was a food trough set up for it. Emmy was with a lady from the worship, while the rest of us stood on the other side. We watched the baptism, then the service was over, and we walked back inside. A few people came up to us to talk to us, and also thanks to Emmy's help, we got a lot of brochures out. We had some nice conversations. We then ended up being the last ones leaving.
When we left the building, there was lightning in the sky. We said our good-byes and got in the car and left at 8 pm. We ended up being in the middle of a severe thunderstorm, and it took us 45 minutes of driving in it to get home (instead of 30 minutes). It was terrible. It was raining so hard, we could not see anything, and there were 80 mph winds. I was really glad, when we got to the house, and we all got wet running inside.
The kids had only had some snacks but not dinner, so we sat down by our friends at the kitchen table and got some food out. Everyone ate, and it got later and later. It was high time to put them to bed. Randy got talking telling stories, so I had to get them ready for bed by myself. I read them a story, prayed for them and put them to bed. It was nearly 10 pm already, way too late. I sang to them and stayed a little, then walked away to turn my computer on and start working on today's pictures. Once again my eyes fell shut and I actually fell asleep while working. After some time I got up and found some second winds, so I was able to get this done. Now it's 1:40 and time for bed.
