At the end of a month, we have a time called debrief. My original thoughts about what a debrief was going to be like is not even close to what happens. I have learned that you better get plenty of rest heading into the debrief time. If you do not get some sleep or rest, you will be exhausted by the second day. Debrief is full of meetings and time to just figure out what happened in the month; a time to digest and to think through everything that has happened.
Ending the ministry in Manila has been strange. The September teams arrived to rest and relax in Manila. Usually we go to a place that no one has ministry in, but the teams came to where I had lived all month. My team still had a few things left in ministry. My team had to go to a Christmas party at the school and be the ‘parent’ figure to the children’s home kids. We were to go swimming with the children and have a sleepover. My team also still wanted to hang out with the children before we left. It made the days of rest and relaxation not come as quickly as I would have liked it to have. We spent the days in Manila being busy, while other teams were relaxing some. The only good thing was, I got to spend some extra time with the friends I had met. 
The good thing is, it is Christmas time. The staff of AIM had decided that we were going to get a few days off for the holidays. The June team arrived just to be able to leave for the beach. I am sad, but glad at the same time that this is the last time we get to spend with the June team. It has been difficult to travel with all 52 of us. It is hard to get all of us, plus luggage, into a bus. The thing I have enjoyed about the June team is their wisdom. I love to sit down with one of them and just here about their experiences. I am always learning what has worked for each of them and what has not.
I had a wonderful Christmas. Christmas for me is different. I have not been able to spend Christmas with my whole family for six years. My parents moved to England to work on a military base and so a family Christmas is truly rare for me. I woke up on Christmas day to the best note ever. My mom showed me her love with a letter about Christmas. She wrote encouragement with a prayer and a bible verse. It was truly the best gift I could have ever received. The day was wonderful with our secret Santa exchange, a sand castle building, games, and skits. You can look at other people’s blogs for videos of the day.
The rest of the time at the beach has been interesting. Every has been spending time just talking to other people, playing games, getting some sun, and going on hikes. I have spent a lot of time relaxing and watching people. I will point out here that I am a very clumsy person. I have been lucky so far in the race to not have injured myself. Well, the other morning, I was not so lucky. I was walking down the steps of the place I am staying and fell. I accidently bruised my tailbone. Now I am almost fully recovered and am thankful that I did not injure myself more seriously. I have been spending the days slowly walking around, watching people, and playing a card game when it comes available. I think it is funny how God makes it so you have to slow down and just relax when at times you do not want to.
