10/14/09

The best part of this past week was having my home church visit. They came last year about this same time, except this year the group was much larger. Before the group arrived, Scott, Lindsay and their boys came in first. They arrived Thursday the 8th. The rest of the group came in on Saturday the 10th and there were seventeen of them, so with Scott, Lindsay and the boys we had 21 people. Normally, I know most of the people who are coming in. This time, I didn't know everyone since our church has been growing, so I had a lot of new faces to learn.

It is always good to have people here to help out and to relieve John of the endless tasks he has to do. So much gets done in a week when we have a group here. This is a place where things tend to break down a little faster than anywhere else. Things rust faster since we are close to the ocean and since our running water has a little salt in it. Our generator runs non-stop (or a minimum or 12 hours when we have two working) so those don't last much longer than two years until they need to be rebuilt. There is always new construction happening which is great to see because it is a clear sign of growth here. However, more than all of this, it is great to see the group interact with the students. When I am passing between classes, I enjoy seeing group members sitting at a table outside the classrooms, or sitting side by side in a couple small chairs working on spelling, reading or some other subject. You can see the visitors bonding with the kids. Sometimes I get to see group members running around on the playground or soccer field during a game of kickball.

Once the day is over and we have all eaten dinner, I also enjoy going up on the school roof where we will gather in a circle with some folding chairs and discuss what we all experienced that day. I like hearing what the new visitors see when they first come and what they enjoy. I also like hearing what the veterans see as some have been visiting year after year.

Groups are also our lifeline for getting stuff delivered. There is no mail service. We did have Lynx, which would bring in small mail, but it was very unreliable/inconsistent as well as expensive. I don't think they have delivered anything since we have gotten here. I won't use it because if there is something I can wait 4 months for, then I probably don't need it. Anything else could be brought in by a group. When the group arrived this week, they brought in a few turbo chargers for our generator. The only other way of getting these would have been to send someone out and to fly them all the way to the States to get whatever we need. That's some pretty expensive postage. Fortunately for us, when groups come they only need one checked bag, so we request that each person brings two. One checked bag and one plastic crate. This means that if 21 people come, we get 21 crates of supplies. It is also a huge luxury for us. I can have family, friends...and my girlfriend :), send care packages to group members who will bring things in for us. It is a little like Christmas when they show up. Sometimes people just ask for simple things that they cannot get here. On top of crates, the group will also bring in a few coolers. So, we can ask for sour cream or other refrigerated items that we cannot get here. It's funny to think that someone bought sour cream, checked it on the plane, and over a couple days and a few chunks of dry ice, that it arrives perfectly cold and can be the best treat when you cannot find it here. I didn't ask for any food, but did have my sister Sherrie send some things to me that I forgot to bring. For example, I had bought a new pair of pants that I forgot to bring. She got them to someone at my church and they brought them. I also got cards from her, my brother-in-law and my niece and nephew. It was an unexpected treat.

On top of all this, my girlfriend was sweet enough to send a huge bag of her favorite candy for my students. They were very excited to each get a little bag of candy. I passed a sheet of paper around each class and they all signed their names and many of them wrote thank you messages. There were many funny ones. One of my sixth graders used her nickname when she signed her card. Her name is Eliette, but she signed the card "Magnet". She got that nickname from recess. She would always fall down so Mr. Thom started calling her Magnet because she was like a magnet to the ground. They love nicknames and they write their nickname on their homework and tests. The messages they wrote were very funny, especially since they knew that the candy came from my girlfriend, Lindsey. My sixth graders wrote things like, "I hope you still love Mr. Doug." or "I cannot wait to meet you when you visit." One student in my sophomore class took it upon herself to write a letter for the entire class. I had passed out the paper for all of them to sign and to write a little "thank you" message. Baradina was the first person to get the paper, and used the whole page to write a letter to her. The rest of the students only had space to sign their names. It was very funny and sweet.

I hope that for those of you who haven't been here before or haven't been here in a while will consider visiting. It isn't only enjoyable for us but life changing for you. Of course, I always enjoy seeing my friends and especially here when I have gone months without seeing you all, but mostly I want to share this experience with you. I want you to see how incredible it is here. It was great having my home church here, and though I didn't get to see a lot of familiar faces, I was happy to see so many new people come who got to experience this place.