I'll have to keep this post a little shorter than normal. The electricity has shut off three times as I've tried to open the Internet... ugh!
Yesterday our entire team went to the Bocaria together. It is such a difficult place to minister because of the presence of hunger, poverty and suffering. However, what a privilege to serve "the least of these." And this trip to the Bocaria, we had bread left over, praise the Lord! Brent ran back up the mountain of trash (no exaggeration on the descriptive word, "mountain") to hand out the rest of the bread to people sifting through the trash. These images are burned into our hearts and I think the entire team will come home with a burden to pray for the poor and hungry.
Our team worshiped on the soccer field last night under a beautiful display of God's glory... the stars are stunning here. There is a team here of college students from Texas - we've decided to put the Red River Rivalry aside for a few days and have really enjoyed getting to know them. It was fun to have them join us for worship.
Things are great here... everyone is having the time of their life and it is an honor to serve with such a fine group of young people! Brent made us a delicious fish dinner last night. Lauren, our prayer-warrior, just returned from ministry at the hospital. Ashley and Riley have been decorating the Baby-House this evening. Jeremy is now known here as "the tall man." Heather and Amber are making popcorn for some kids right now... I'm unsure if they have any butter - let's hope so. Kathryn has spent hours sitting in the sand with her little girlfriends. Kelsey has befriended a stubborn little girl here and is starting to soften her heart.
This morning at church, they honored our team because it is our last Sunday here at Iris. They called us to the front and many of the kids came up to pray over us. It emotionally wrecks you to feel the embrace of these kids. We are already dreading Tuesday morning... it is coming quickly.
I had a sweet little girl this morning climb into my lap... she is probably 2 years old. We danced and stared into each other's eyes for quite some time. It was such a wonderful gift to spend time with her. I gave her a big kiss on the cheek, and then she turned her head and returned it with a big kiss on the lips! Ha! It was hilarious! She was adorable, and every little girl here is melting my heart... I think preparing me for little Ellie's arrival in August.
I can't believe we'll all be packing tomorrow night and then boarding a plane Tuesday morning. Of course, we have plenty of travel ahead of us which should allow plenty of time to reflect on these last two weeks. Thank you for praying for us! It is such a key component to have friends and family back home praying for our time here and the people we're serving! Looking forward to writing when I'm home and posting pictures. God bless you!