It’s so hard to believe that everything is wrapping up here for us. Tomorrow is our last day with the children, and saying goodbye is already something we’re dreading. Interestingly enough, the weather is matching our feelings. We woke up to rain and thick fog up here on the mountain, which put a little damper on the work projects.

The team went in a few different ways this morning, and a few of our team members were running fevers and battling stomach bugs, so they were out of commission today, hoping that a day of rest would allow them to be back in good shape tomorrow for our last day. Andy & Rob went down with Irene (Passion Center staff) to try to find out why the Passion Center chickens aren’t laying as many eggs as they should. Come to find out, the chickens are cold, which isn’t a good situation for egg-laying, so the plan is to build a better chicken coop to give more heat. They were just glad it was a simple solution.

Later in the morning, Drew, Max & Nick got the chance to talk to the teens who had gone on the field trip to Blantyre. They shared with them about short term and long term goals, and a few of our group who sat in on the talks said that the three did an awesome job. Then it was Cokes for everyone, which was a huge hit with the teens. It still amazes me that something so small can be so big to these kids.

The bad weather continued throughout the day, so the Residence and Multi-purpose Buildings looked a little different, since there weren’t the normal large group of kids rushing around. But inside the Multi-purpose Building the kids were still thrilled to be watching the painting crew finishing up. Ali was back at the Residence in the girls’ dorm hard at work on her butterfly mural, and the story goes that she even let Andy help since his work was put on hold with the weather. While the painting was going on, the team improvised, and rather than playing outside, there were card games in the rooms. Sarah (Dayton), Max, Michelle (Dayton) & Nick had a game of Rook going on at one point with about 15 Passion Center girls happily watching the action. They may not understand the rules, but just being with us is what they want.

Mid-afternoon it was time for two different seminars. Sharon, Jamie (Dayton) & Rob headed to meet with another Community Health group, and they had a great turn out. There were about 80 people there, both men and women, asking questions of Sharon, hoping to get ideas to help their villages. Once again Sharon was able to share the importance of good personal hygiene, and give tips to them in hopes of preventing the spread of disease.

While a group of us were waiting for the second seminar, we were in the Center’s office, along with a few of the staff and Eddie (Joseph & Mphatso’s son) and Linda (the little girl with the scarred hands). These two are too adorable for words. When they aren't chasing the kittens around, they’re just charming us into anything they want! At one point, Linda had my iPod and Eddie had Joni’s and they were rockin’ and dancing out to our VBS song from last year “Ain’t No Mountain!” It was so cute!! To see Linda smile the way she does, especially after going through that horrific experience is such a God-thing. If you were here, it would melt your heart, as well.

After the impromptu dance party, Joni, Jill & myself were able to meet with the women staff of the Passion Center. Joni started this ministry last year, and it’s just a time that we can get the ministry staff, as well as the support staff (cooks, caregivers, etc) together and just love on them. We gave them gifts, candy and Joni gave a short talk, reminding them that if they know Christ, they are children of God, they’ve been adopted into God’s family, and they are now heirs with Christ in God. What a cool thing to look around that circle of women and know that we are sisters in Christ. Once again the Cokes and snacks came out, and I guess it doesn’t matter how old you are, Cokes are a huge hit…even with Joni, Jill & me! Once her talk was over, we wrapped up and then the picture taking session began…you wouldn’t believe these ladies, all asking for their picture to be taken with us. They always wanted to see the digital screen, so they could see themselves. We’ve noticed that mirrors aren’t as common here as they are at home, so for the kids and even for some of the support staff, it’s a treat to be able to see yourself on the screen.

Once that was over, we headed back up the mountain, and the fog was back. These curvy roads made it a little tense, but everyone arrived safely. Since we’re eating out tomorrow night, this was our last night to sit around this big table with each other. It’s been such an answer to prayer to have a team that gets along so well. We come from three different places, but it was a quick bonding. There’s a lot of laughter going on…especially in the girl’s dorm after everyone heads to bed. It’s pretty awesome to see how the common love we have for the Savior has spilled out to the relationships we now have formed with each other.

Please be praying for us tomorrow as we say our good-byes to the children. Having experienced this last year, it’s a very emotional time for our team, and the children sometimes have a hard time understanding that we are leaving, especially after having seen us pretty much all day, every day for this trip. Thank you for your prayers for us…it’s the next best thing to having you here with us!

—Brooke