Three full days are left before Friday's sleep and long trip to the airport on Saturday. It always happens that as the days tick off, the list of things I'd love to get done before coming home grows.
God woke me with wide eyes about 1am and I checked my email to read that the team had just landed safely at LAX. I was able to crawl back between the covers with great peace knowing they were almost home. With LA's freeways and speed I don't know exactly why I found comfort because now that the sun is up I realize California freeways claim far more lives than the airlines. But knowing that everyone had been freed from the less than comfortable plane seats and would get to put their heads down on their own pillows, just made me happy.
After printing out a few things this morning to take to the house, Janet picked me up and we headed to town to run a few errands. Paying rent to the bank, dropping off backpacks for repair, and purchasing about 10 trees worth of school supplies. Do you know what 18 dozen composition books looks like? Or 18 packages of 18 rolls of toilet paper? Well, me either cause I wandered off to buy some different paper for new flash cards...but looking into the back of the van made my head hurt and my hands cramp up at the thought of all the writing ahead for the first term.
I accidentally gestured "hello" to a guy selling pine apples signalling him that I wanted one, when all I really wanted was to be friendly. I never want to be accused of being a false advertiser so I believed him when he told me I wanted one. He cut me a piece and wrapped it in a 2' strip of used lined paper that looked like notes from someone's business lesson and I have no doubt that the acidic juice caused the ink to infuse the fruit. Ya, that would never stop me from supporting someone's entrepreneurial attempts. I do wonder if after eight trips here there is some increased resistance from anti-bodies. I guess we'll know the outcome tomorrow (grin).
I came across a screen printer doing his work between buildings today. I don't know exactly the process, but have some familiarity with how it works in the states and this guy was getting the job done in the simplest way, nothing flashly, nothing convenient but turning out a pretty decent product. It made me begin dreaming about the possibilities our kids will have in the future.
I was able to sit with a fellow Californian that traveled with us on the way here and we talked about her ministry to children and young people and the side of it that involves life coaching and career/education planning...a timely coincidence? I rather think it was a God ordained meeting since we haven't run into each other since the 14th when we arrived. Is it weird that I want to yell out BAM! like that famous chef, what's-his-name? 'Could be the inky pineapple kicking in.
Tomorrow the older ones will come to the hotel here and be given a tour of all of the various parts of the "hospitality industry". Their idea of working at a hotel is changing bed sheets and mopping floors, but there are so many other facets of it and people are in nice uniforms, very friendly, very professional and do a great job. After that, we are all heading over to the nursing/midwifery school (a trade school) nearby. I asked today if they would give our group a tour tomorrow and they seemed to be more than willing, not that it hurt at all to gift the principal a new OB/GYN textbook type manual. Clearly I have no shame when it comes to wanting these kids to begin dreaming, planning for and working towards an independent and self reliant future.
My prayer is that after seeing Sharon at the University last month and seeing some of the trade schools here that their minds would be open and they'd begin even now in middle school and high school to work hard and set some goals.
I'm in for the evening and going to cut some felt animals for sewing and make some more flash cards, listen to some worship music and set some things up for later in the week. I wish I had some dramatic life saving or life changing things to report, but that's God's department and I'm grateful.
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