Dear Family and Friends,
The team safely arrived yesterday morning and we have been non-stop since their arrival. Their bags were so filled with goodies that I already feel like it is Christmas!!
First, the Christmas packages that were supposed to be delivered yesterday for our distribution did not arrive. In fact, we were told that they will not be here until December 22nd. (We leave on the 23rd.) We will be delivering some gifts that we were given to a village church on Sunday and we made arrangements to deliver some gifts to one orphanage next Wednesday. As God would have it, the American pastor from my church needs our help to make and deliver food to two gypsy villages on Monday and Tuesday!! Praise God they are here to help with this.
We also have another praise to report….we signed the contract on a house today (House of New Life) and we will be taking our first babies in January, Lord willing. I took the team to the hospital today to see some of the babies that will be coming to our facility. They describe their experience as being heartbreaking. All were educated as to the immediate need for our “House of New Life” and they are excited to be part of the beginning. (They videotaped the contract signing!) We will be painting all the walls during the next few days and I am amazed at their enthusiasm at taking on this project! (I have attached a photo of the team with some of the babies at the hospital.)
The team members have been a blast to have here! Andrew is deeply grieved that Jodi will not allow him to discuss or acknowledge any bodily function. I think he was in a state of male panic after our fourth conversation regarding toe nail polish (thanks to Jodi, I am donning Christmas red with silver glitter.) After one day with three females, Andrew, being the only male, has made the decision never to marry.
Because of mechanical difficulty (i.e. Andrew) with the outside gate to my house, we were all forced to climb over a 10 ft. gate with deterring spikes in order to enter my home this evening. Andrew, thinking this a simple feat, gallantly hoisted all females to safety on the other side while neglecting his own well-being. He remained perched atop the ever-so-ill-placed spikes so much longer than he felt comfortable and is now painting his toe nails (I am not writing this with his permission or a great a deal of truth.) Praise God, we all made it over and are all fine.
Meg managed to destroy a power converter with a curling iron that has more wattage than my entire house. Meg, while holding a baby that burped, commented on how sweet the baby was. Andrew does not understand why children making bodily noises are cute while he is deemed disgusting. Anyone with explanations, please reply as soon as possible in an effort to preserve Andrew’s sanity.
Jodi, not be outdone by her cohorts in destruction, inadvertently turned on the gas stove (I am not supposed to tell you this happened with her hip) and came close to burning down the house and suffocating all team members, employees, and neighbors on the block. We quickly recovered after opening the doors and windows in freezing weather and you can tell by the content of this letter, the effects of the gas have not yet worn off.
We ask for your continued prayers (we obviously need them) and we also ask for you to pray for Michelle Mills, a team member who was not able to make the trip because of her father who had an aneurysm on Saturday. We miss her but know that her mission field is with her family right now. We love you, Michelle and are praying for you!!
Thank you for enduring this email. We will be writing again soon!!
Basking in the Son,
Michelle
Posted on December 16th, 1999 by Michelle
Filed under: Michelle's Journal