Friday, November 23:
7:15 am – Headed out for the day
7:30 am – We arrived at the graduation of a preschool we had visited last week. They invited us to be a part of it, and we ended up volunteering to help with the cooking as well.
8:30 am – Put the cabbage through a grater to make coleslaw
9:00 am – Sawed the beef into smaller pieces
9:45 am – Sat and had a cup of coffee with the team
10:30 am – Half the team headed across the road to help a little with the graduation ceremony
11:00 am – Gisele, Laiken, and I peeled a bunch of cooked potatoes and cut them into smaller pieces for potato salad while talking about life and relationships
12:00 pm – We sat under the tree and spent time with the other cooks
1:00 pm – Got to taste some of the yummy food we cooked: samp and beef stew
2:30 pm – Finally, we took a few last photos with the cooks and headed over to the ceremony to see the last few certificates being awarded
3:00 pm – Served the food we cooked and were amazed and thankful at how God multiplied the food to feed the crowd
3:45 pm – We went home, very tired, and a few of us not feeling very well
5:00 pm – Got to take a nap, or at least rest, and had team time
6:00 pm – Made some dinner so we would be ready to leave at 7 for a fundraiser in the community
7:30 pm – Pastor John was still talking to a young man, Stefan, about the Bible so we hadn’t left yet
8:00 pm – We were still waiting, whiling away the time by looking at our old photos
8:45 pm – We left Pastor John’s
9:30 pm – We were told it would be a fundraiser put on by the police department for orphans in the community. Turns out, it was a fashion show fundraiser for elderly people. Two of our teammates got to be judges in the event. It was…interesting.
10:35 pm – Even though the final round hadn’t been judged, we left as it was getting late for our team. We usually go to bed around 8:30 pm.
10:53 pm – We pulled into our little gate to find the door standing wide open and the lights on. Oh no. Pastor John jumped out of the van and took off running around the back of the house after a guy while we watched another man carrying PJ’s blanket run out the front door. We prayed and locked the car doors.
11:02 pm – We were pretty sure no one was inside, so we got out and stood on the porch in a huddle and Laiken prayed. She prayed for the men (we call them Rob and Bobbie) and that we would have no bitterness toward them or be angry about the things we lost.
11:30 pm – We spent time rummaging through our belongings – what was left anyway – and tried to figure out what was missing. PJ was out with a few police trying to find Rob and Bobbie.
1:30 am – We were given quite a fright when two policewomen came to get our statements. PJ was still out and we didn’t know they were coming.
2:45 am – The policewomen finally got all of the details and a few of us were getting tired but none of us wanted to sleep
3:15 am – We decided to all crowd into one bedroom instead of two, with the door shut to provide some protection and comfort.
A few hours later, we started a day full of praising the Lord for His protection and eating a lot of baked oatmeal, pizza, and cake.
