I just had to put this little update in here. Remember my pondering about what to do about Emily's food while on vacation. Well, if God just ain't the coolest!

Our team mate, Mindy, left for a new job on Sunday and on her way out she asked me if I wanted this little crock pot. Around here, you never turn down electric appliances! I took it and put it up thinking, "how can I use this little thing." When I say little, I mean 1 - liter little. Cute little thing though.

Then today as I was standing over the stove sweating, a thought occurred to me. "Didn't I read somewhere that you can make oatmeal in a crock pot."

And so now after being tested and found to be true, I have a way to cook Emily's oatmeal in our hotel room!!

Well, they made it safely to their destination on Sunday evening. After getting settled in they were invited to play with the 50 something dorm kids and join them in worship. They did alot of singing! When they were done they could hear another dorm off in the distance still having their worship time. How neat that praises to God are being lifted up in the still of the evenings and the many people that live near by are also hearing about Him.

They had a restless night. It was hot!! It was very hot!! The mosquito nets are a must have but they also cut out much needed air flow.

Then Monday marked the start of the English Camp for over 200 kids. The group. . .well. . .can we just say have you ever seen a deer caught in head lights : ) Thank goodness they planned ahead of time to divided the group into 4 teams and rotate around every hour, but it is still very intimidating to stand in front of that many students and teach English. It's also difficult to get them organized to play the simplest of games when there is the language barrier. It was a tough first day, but everyone did great!

They got back to the dorm around 4 ish and were invited to play with the dorm kids and join them for worship. So, they didn't get much of a break. The weather was a little cooler Monday evening and everyone was slap worn out.

Tuesday was the second day of the English Camp and included a time of evangelism. At the time I was talking to my under cover agent, they were back at the dorm playing with the dorm kids. Everyone is happy and alive.

As a side note, Shawna and the girls are doing fine. Aleah has some chest congestion, cough, and runny nose so I've started doping her up. We leave on vacation the same day the team leaves on the 5th and I DO NOT want her sick.

I still sent her to school so that Aa-Mon and I could make desserts and snacks for our trip. We live in a secluded part of the country and we are going to an island that you have to take a ferry to get to. We know from research that there is not much on the island. Plus there's not a lot of places to stop along the way and we have to be careful not to get sick from eating bad food. So we are taking some comfort snacks with us: Rice Krispy Treats, Brownies, oatmeal chocolate cookies, pumpkin cookies and pumpkin bread. The morning we leave we'll buy some food at the market (sticky rice and roasted chicken) for our lunch.

Not sure what will happen with Emily's meals. She's not really into rice and prefers oatmeal. So, here at home, I grind the oats and cook them. I plan to grind enough for the week we are gone and hope that the kitchen staff at our resort won't mind cooking them for me everyday. She starts carrots today and if all goes well with carrots, she'll get pumpkin (that I have to make for the cookies and bread). Aa-Mon thinks I am so weird for only feeding Emily one thing at a time. At the hospital when Emily got her 2 month shots, the nurse told me to start giving Emily orange juice, egg yolks and bananas. I just smiled.

I don't have any pictures of these two days but they have been action packed!

Saturday the group did an all day sports camp with local village kids. I think there were 40-something kids. The fun part about planning this kind of thing is there is no pre-registeration. So you have to be ready for anything! And no matter what time you set the camp to start, kids will start coming about 2 hours early. Village kids wake up with the sun.

The morning was hot! If there weren't any red necks before the trip, they are all one now! After each game one of our staff gave a devotion in Thai. Blake said the devotions were awesome and the kids (worn out from playing the game) were quiet and listened to every word. The children also got very attached to the team. They didn't want to go home at the end of the day.

Sunday the team helped with our English Hour. We were glad they were there to help because 40-something kids came (Grades 1st - 6th). Many came because of the relationships that were built during the Sports Camp. Usually we just have one teacher, either Shawna or Brenda. And we are worn out after teaching so many kids. So, we were thankful to have the extra help this morning.

During church the team sang some songs and shared testimonies. They did an awesome job! It is so good for the young people in our church to see other young people doing things for the Lord. Then they all managed to stay awake during the preaching. I know first hand how difficult it is to stay awake and look interested in what is going on when you don't really have a clue!

Sunday afternoon everyone left to go to the village where they will be working for the next 3 days. I will have phone contact with the team once a day and will try to keep everyone updated when I can. Until then, you can pray for their strength: body and spirit! "God is our refuge and strength, a helper who is always found in times of trouble. Therefore we will not be afraid. . ." Psalms 46: 1 - 2a