So, it is the end of week seven since I have left the United States of America and I have had the time of my life. I am so glad that God has called me to do this. I thank him everyday for the places I have been and the new people I have met.
There aren’t very many people that I see everyday, but the ones I do see everyday have really opened my eyes. One of them is named Frock. Frock is a man that runs all the things at the compound while George (the manager) isn’t there, which is for most of the year. Frock is one of the nicest people that I have ever met and he is also the hardest working. I have to go to him everyday and ask him what my team has in store for the day and since he doesn’t speak english we walk around the compound and he shows me and demonstrates everything. Once he shows me he allows me to go to my team and divide up the jobs for everyone. I have to think who would be better for what job and who would do the best and the fastest job. Frock is always asking if Im good or if it is going well or if my team needs anything and if we ever do need anything then he hurry off and gets it for us as soon as he can. Also, he is always smiling and joking around.
Then there is Dusha. Dusha is a very sweet and kind woman who comes in every day for every meal and makes us our meals and on the weekends she packs our lunches for us. She is always trying to talk to us and saying that she loves us very much and our families. She tries to learn more about us like where we are from and who all is our families and people we like. It is hard to communicate with her too because she knows even less english than Frock does. That doesn’t stop her from always talking to us and making sure we are having a good day and all fed and happy. Also, a few times she has come and joined us in our prayer time before every meal. She is truly an amazing woman and truly loves all of us and our family and friends.
There have been a few things that have happened around the farm in the past couple weeks like the birthing of pigs. One mother pig had two little piglets and just this week another mother had ten piglets. Today we all got to go touch and hold a few of them! They were pretty scared though and one peed of Jen!!
Also, this week was the first week that we could go to the school on Wednesday. That was a completely different expirience than what I am used to. The school is made up of 250 kids ranging though first grade to twelfth grade. Our job was to follow the english teacher around for the day (teachers move from class to class, not the kids) and see how she teaches and try to help the kids as best as we could. The kids didn’t seem like they cared very much, nor did they want to learn. All the boys in the school were very interested in the girls on my team and that was interesting to see how our girls would react to it. They just stuck close to Isaac and I. I never really liked school when I was in it for myself and nothing has really changed now that I’m teaching. Its just not my thing, I like farm work and heavy lifting better.
For all the people that know me pretty well know that I love to go to the gym and one of the biggest things that I was most bummed about was not having one while Im here. Well, walking around the compound with Frrock one day, we went into a room that I haven’t been in before. He unlocked it and there were some workout equipment inside! Then when we left I asked him if we could use it and he said yes but then locked the door and walked away…..I don’t think he understood what I said. Thats ok though because I had a back up plan. I found my lock picking set and i sat there that night for a few minutes and picked the lock. Now my whole team and I use the gym everyday! God answered that prayer of mine.
God and I have been doing pretty good. Sometimes we have our rough patches but most of the time it is getting better and better. The rough patches is just me in mourning for the loss of someone pretty close to me, who I miss very much. I try to read my Bible and journal everyday. The journaling is going good but the reading could be better. I just don’t like reading and never have but thats something I’m going to be working on for the next couple months.
Here is some more info about my team. Isaac and I have bonded really good and are really good bros now. The girls have bonded great and are laughing and having a good time with each other and looks like they actually genuinely like to be around each other. Since the compound is so big, we could all be in different places all day and not see each other if we didn’t want to. But everyone eon the team always hangs out most of our free time and spend it choosing each other more than choosing our phones or internet or other things like that. Also, we are the only team on this race that don’t live with wifi. That helps with being one on one with each other and not on our phones all the time.
Something that means a lot to me that my team has said to me is that I’m a good leader and they like to follow under my leadership. That means a lot to me that they say that because I’m trying really hard to be a good leader. I know that a good leader doesn’t always control them and lets them do their own thing and be them selves because they are grown ups. I am not here to control or put unnecessary rules that they have to follow. Sure there has to be some rules but I really try to keep that to the minimum. It really makes me feel good that they like me leading and that they make it really easy to lead them. They are all really great people. I couldn’t have asked for a better team.
Well, I have already wrote this much and my mom asked me to sit down and write a lot, so i might as well just mention my time in Montenegro. We stayed in a hostel for a week that was a 5-10 min walk to the beach. There was the beach on one side of us and then right on our back porch was the mountains. That week was probably one of the best if not the best week of my life. I spent a lot of time with Rachel, Maddy, and Tina and explored absolutely everywhere that we could. We went wake boarding and we went swimming everyday and walked in the towns and on the docks late at night. The place was the most beautiful and one of the cleanest places I have ever been to. I would love to go again.
Sorry for talking so much and for jumping around everywhere. If you made it all the way down here then it must have been good! I would have stopped a while ago (again…don’t like to read). Well, I better be going now so i can walk down the beach and go visit a town that I haven’t been to before! Thanks for reading and for all your prayers. They all mean so much to me. Till next time!
