Day 1461. This morning the alarm went off at 7:30 am. There had been a coming and going during the night. We got up, and I packed up, while Randy gave the kids something to eat. Then he loaded everything into the car, while I had some breakfast.
At 9:30 we drove off and said good-bye to Disneyland. We had a one-hour drive north ahead of us, and as we were a little early, we stopped at the cheapest gas station along the way to get gas. Just after 10:45 am we pulled up at our friends' house. I've known them for many years, so it was good to see them again. They had meat going in the smoker on the porch, and when the kids saw the trampolin, they ran to get on. However, it was a very hot day, and so they did not stay up there for long.
I enjoyed talking to my friends, and then the Mom brought a bag of birthday gifts and gave them to the kids. They were all individually wrapped, so the kids had the fun of unwrapping them all. They were all Christian books, mainly coloring books, and the kids were all very happy. They wanted to do some drawing and painting right away, especially Tammy. Sammy enjoyed the attention, but he was hungry. Their sons also arrived, and one of them played ball with the kids. He lifted them up to dunk the basketball in the goal. Then the food was finally ready, much to Sammy's delight. Tammy ate pretty well, Emmanuel didn't eat anything. They had been snacking on chips and other stuff on the table the whole time.
And then came what they had been waiting for - the birthday cake. Our friends had three cupcakes with four candles each and a Micky, Minnie and Cars ring on top. They had another cake for the adults. They lit the candles, then we all sang HAPPY BIRTHDAY, and the kids blew out the candles. Then it was time to eat the cake.
After we had finished eating, it was time to get ready to leave and make our way to our next hotel. We said our good-byes, knowing we'd see them at the service at night, and got back into the car to drive the 20 minutes. It was nearly 2 pm. Because of an unplanned detour, we arrived there at 2:20 pm. We checked in, got our keys, and I took the kids to our room together with their pillows. It was nap time. I put them straight to bed, while Randy unloaded the car. By 3 pm Tammy and Emmy were asleep; when Randy brought in the luggage, Sammy raised his head up again. A few minutes later he was also asleep, and I lay down to also take a nap.
Of course Sammy was the first one up. It was only 4 pm. I gave him his tablet to play music, and then Emmy was up as well. At 4:40 I woke up Randy, as we needed to leave at 5 pm. We put their Malian clothes on them and left on time. By 5:30 we arrived at the church in Sunland; it was my first time at that location which was not theirs. We unloaded the bag with the stuff for our table and the wheelchair and went inside the church. I set up our table, while people started arriving, including the pastor. I gave the tech guy my flashdrive, and then we went inside the sanctuary.
It was a classical, Baptist church with stained-glass windows, a high ceiling and pews. I got a microphone that they did a soundcheck with. Someone we've met before and who follows us on Facebook and is in this church was excited to see us and to finally hug the kids. We talked to a few people, then the service started with a time of worship. I was really enjoying worship, but the kids soon wanted to leave to go to the kids' room, so Randy left with them to take them there. There were no other kids in this church. I continued worshiping, and the presence of God was strong. He was also speaking to me about the churhc, which I love, especially before I get up to speak. After the announcements it was my turn.
They showed my video, then I started speaking. I told stories of what God was doing in Mali, then shared some of my story of going to Mali. I then ended with a closing prayer. After the service ended, I went straight to the back to be at our table, and I sold a good number of books and had some good conversations. I got some great feedback from people, which is the best reward. We enjoyed our conversations, and then most everyone was gone. It was time to pack up and also leave. It was 8:30 when we did and already dark.
It took us 20 minutes to get to the hotel, and I was pretty hungry. Thankfully we had some leftovers from lunch that I warmed up, then we sat down and ate it all. I was sitting on the floor with the kids and feeding Sammy. It was really late for them already, so once they were done eating, we immediatley started getting them ready for bed. Then I prayed for them and put them to bed - all three in the one of the two beds. All three have been coughing, and they all have a runny nose. Tammy started a few days earlier, so she's about over it. The boys have really been coughing, and Sammy has woken up crying several times already tonight. It was 10 pm before Tammy and Sammy were asleep, some time later Emmy also fell asleep. I then sat down at the computer to download the pictures and write my report. Now it's 1 am, and I need to go to bed, as I preach again in the morning. Praise God!
