Day 1662. It was after 2 am before I made it to bed last night, and 10 pm for the kids. That didn't change at all how early they were getting up. Sammy was up first before 7 am, and soon the others were up as well. All I wanted to do was get some sleep, but there was noise, and there were kids coming to me, so it was hard to get to sleep. Eventually I also got up and took a little time to look for some testimonies I wanted to share tonight. The kids were playing in the meantime.
At 12:30 we left the house to drive to our friends' house 22 minutes away. It took us a while to get everyone strapped into their seats, so it was 1:15 pm before we arrived. We hadn't seen them in a year, so it was great to see them again. We sat down for lunch right away, and all the kids ate well. They were especially excited to see their little girl again who's a little older than them. They were having lots of fun with her. After lunch, they were playing with the games lying around.
The sun was coming out, and our kids wanted to go jump on the trampoline, and so their girl and our two went outside to play. They also have a swingset that they enjoyed. Later the rest of us also went outside and even sat down on chairs while watching the kids have fun. Tammy then found the sandbox and started building a castle in there that she was really proud of.
Sammy was getting cold, so we went inside with him. I was so tired by that time that I lay down on the couch, while Sammy was sitting by the play kitchen and playing by himself really well and for quite a long time. Then the others came in as well. We had to leave at 6 pm, and I knew that there was no food at church, so I made some sandwiches for the kids and us to take with us. 6 pm came way too fast. We had greatly enjoyed catching up with our friends and talking with them, but it was time to say good-bye.
We drove off in the direction of the church, a 20 minute ride. We found parking near the church, then walked to the building. It was just after 6:30 pm. We received our name tags, and then someone showed us to our table. I'd been told that I needed to be at the 7 pm meeting for all of those who were involved in the service, so I was a little stressed setting up our table and watching the time. Sammy and Emmy had fallen asleep in the car, but it was Tammy especially who was pretty cranky, making everything even harder. People were greeting me, but I didn't have time to talk to anyone. It was after 7 pm, when we left to walk in the direction of the room. I went inside, while Randy stayed outside with the kids to give them their sandwiches. In any case, the meeting had still not started quite a bit after 7 pm, and as I could hear Tammy crying for me, I left the room again and let Tammy come with me into the room. Emmy came as well. Then the meeting started, and it was quick. I just wanted to know at what point I was speaking.
After the meeting was over, we took the kids to the kid program room. There was only one other child there. Tammy was still pretty cranky, probably tired, and was crying, when I said that Daddy, Sammy and I were returning to the sanctuary until I was done speaking. When I said I'd go by myself, Sammy was the one crying, as I was gonna leave him in the kid room. There were only those two options, and in both cases there was one unhappy kid that was going to cry. In the end, Randy, Sammy and I left together. I could hear Tammy cry, but she didn't cry for long.
We returned to our table and joined in the worship that was already going on. Sammy was clearly tired, resting on Daddy's chest. After worship, they had announcements, and Sammy said he was okay going to the kids' room with Daddy. So they left, while I was getting ready to go to the front and speak for a few minutes. Randy stayed in the sanctuary long enough to take a picture of me.
I presented the ministry in Mali, and I was speaking faster than usual as I only had 7 minutes for it. In light of the attack the day before yesterday, I told the people the story of Falani. When I told them that the village was attacked by jihadists, my voice broke with emotion. That came as quite a surprise. I added a few more sentences, then I was done. I gave the mic to the pastor, hugged him, and walked off. He then did one of the conference offerings, while I left the sanctuary to go join the kids.
When I walked into the room, there they were in front of the TV, watching a Christian cartoon and eating popcorn. Everyone was content. I could have stayed in the sanctuary! They were still happy to see me.
After the cartoon had ended, the kids didn't want to watch any more, except for Emmy, so Tammy, Sammy and I went to the corner, where they had lots of blocks, and we started building with them and having fun. Emmy continued watching and sat on one of the teacher's laps for a while. There were no other kids in the room by then.
Just after 9 pm I left to return to the sanctuary, as the service was supposedly nearing the end, and I had to be at our table to be able to talk to people. So I got to hear a few minutes of the preaching. Then Randy and the kids returned and sat down with me. They were bored and tired, but they had to be patient until the service was over. Once it was, I put some brochures into the kids' hands to give to people who were coming to our table; that's something they always enjoy, and they do a great job. Maybe two or three people came as a result of my mini-speech, which is already good. I sold one book and had one person sign up for our newsletter.
Once noone was coming by any more, we decided to get going. We left the sanctuary and put our coats on, then walked to the car. The kids were pretty tired, especially Tammy who started crying, when I said it was so late that there was not going to be a bedtime story tonight. It took a while to strap them in, but then it only took 5 minutes to drive back to our Airbnb, which was a blessing. Once in the apartment, I got them ready for bed right away, then lay down with them and told them a quick story that represented them, prayed for them and stayed with them to cuddle. Tammy fell asleep immediately, then Sammy. Emmy needed a few minutes. I then left them, went to our bedroom and turned the computer on to work on the pictures and write the report. Now it's 2:40 and once again way too late as I go to bed. Tomorrow we leave the house at 9:30 am.
