Sunday Funday

Greetings from the jungle. I'm happy to be posting a little earlier tonight, so I don't have to keep you moms (and dads!) up too late. Sunday Funday truly lived up to it's name. We started the day with some last minute prep and worship, then our friends showed up at about 10:30. I was in the dorm when their bus pulled up, and all I heard was happy screams as everyone was reunited again. 

We spent the first 2 hours running and running and playing and hugging and running (it's really hard to describe exactly how much running and playing... that's the best I can do). We sat down for lunch at around 12:30. Miss Shenny served up an amazing feast of fried chicken and nachos and cheese. Right after lunch we fired up the slip n' slide, which is kind of the Sunday Funday main event. It. Was. So. Fun. The slip n' slide consists of a 40 foot piece of poly plastic, a hose, and about 10 bottles of soap. So simple. So fun. We played on it for at least two hours. Our kids, and theirs. There was giggling, dancing, cheering, and only a couple of bumped heads. It always starts off in a kind of orderly line. It always ends up with 100 kids rolling around in soapy water on a giant piece of plastic. Our boys were the last ones on the slide. They were honestly giggling every time they went down. We just had such a great time. I wish so badly that I could transport all of you here, even just for a few minutes, so you could feel the joy and love that we feel. It is so hard to put into words. But the love is tangible. It's thick in the air. We are trying so hard to soak up every single second. We know that before we know it we will have to get on a plane, and these moments will be memories. 

The kids left at about 3:30. What we really wanted to do was give them one last hug, and immediately lay right down on the ground to take a nap. Instead everyone pushed through and cleaned up the giant mess we made. I am so proud of the amazing attitudes and willingness to serve. Even when the team is so tired, they are willing to keep serving. 

We had a chance to take a little rest and shower up, and everyone ate some left over fried chicken and peanut butter sandwiches and headed to church. I'm sad to say that we've dealt with our first encounter with sickness today. I stayed back tonight from church because Adonica and Kim aren't feeling well. Adonica was sick to her stomach last night, Kim has felt off all day. I stayed back to keep an eye on them, and they are both sleeping now and I feel confident they're on the mend. Austin also didn't feel well this afternoon. I think he had some heat exhaustion. He took it easy for a couple of hours, and drank a ton of water and he's feeling much better. He was able to join the rest of the team at church. 

Some highlights:

-Slipping and sliding

-watching all of our guys constantly holding babies (we have got some serious baby holders on this team. It's all kinds of cute)

-getting a true glimpse of God's heart through these amazing kids

-playing catch, and football, and tag, and volleyball, and skipping, and swinging, and peek a boo, and "no I love you more!"

-hilarious and encouraging parents and friends who are keeping the team on their toes with blog comments. 

-not having to deal with a snow storm today

Some prayer requests:

-restored health for Adonica and Kim. They both want very badly to feel better for work tomorrow morning. 

-continued health for the rest of the team

-that we can begin to process the fact that tomorrow is already our second last day at the Kids Home (it's impossibly hard to start thinking in terms of "lasts" instead of "firsts"). 

-that we can serve to our fullest in every way possible as we head back to the Kids Home tomorrow. We honestly and truly want to be a blessing. 

Thanks for checking in. I wish I could update this blog 5 times a day as a way to try and connect you to the amazing experience we are having. Parents, I would give anything for you to be able to see your kids thriving they way that they are this week. It is not lost on me that I am one incredibly lucky human for having a front row seat to this experience. Go to sleep tonight feeling incredibly proud of your young people. They are amazing. 

With the fullest hearts possible...

Us