I talked Elise into coming this time to pick up the team. They actually arrived 15 minutes early. I had waited well over an hour for each of the previous teams to get through customs, but this time we met the team within 5 minutes of walking in the door.
We thought that we’d give you a glimpse into the typical first day for a team. With this team, we made it home by 12:30am. Usually, it’s more like 2:30 or 3:00am, depending on lost luggage. The missionary team always meets together for prayer on Tuesday mornings so we let this team sleep in.
During orientation everyone introduces themselves, tells what they do here, and then provide them with necessary info for survival. Jon enjoys explaining the culture, how to interact with the kids, the ins and outs of our team apartment, and what to do in case of emergencies. Elise usually gives a brief teaser about how the kids and different programs are supported and then will provide opportunities for them to get involved more permanently, but this time she had to prepare for a pizza party with the kids.
The team then ate lunch (Elise’s from scratch sloppy joes) with the missionaries that could stick around at the team apartment. Afterwards Tyler (our construction guy), Leo (our driver), and I take the team around to the different sites. It’s 3 hours of bumping up and down and swerving around potholes and buses. It’s typically fairly quiet except for lots of periodic questions as the team explores a whole new meaning of poverty. When we get back the team has a little down time before heading over to the children’s home for dinner.
After dinner the teams typically spend a little time talking with the kids, pushing them on swings, and, of course, snapping lots of pictures. Yesterday, though, it was one of the children’s birthday and the team was able to meet the kids amidst some serious group sillyness. The team then goes back to the apartment where some sleep, relax, or, like this team, find the deck of Phase 10 cards.
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February 22nd, 2009 at 7:14 pm
Hi jon&elise, just found my postcard and amgkad to see you are happy and healthy! Savannahs bday is 25th and she was originally due 3/7 i will be praying for you! Miss your help at mc
February 23rd, 2009 at 12:06 pm
Hey, Mr. Jon ~ Terri informed of your site and have enjoyed reading ~ am taking a break at the library and getting materials for the kids ~ I now have 11 ~ ages 7 – 16 ~ goal is 20 ! Had a great A.M. explaining to the kids ‘Fat Tuesday’, which gave me the opportunity explain the significance of Lent. Hope you remember Dr. Luther’s great Reforamation writing ” Man can engage in no greater work on Earth than educating people by preaching and teaching.” God Bless ~ Blayne
May 2nd, 2009 at 7:48 am
[...] Elise and I have become a bit too Lilia-centric since her birth. After looking back at our old posts we’ve realized that we completely neglected to talk about the teams that we had since her birth. The first team that we haven’t talked about yet is from the Forest City Fire Protection company based out of London, Ontario. Technically, they arrived before Lilia’s birth and were the first team to meet her, but also, technically, we already talked about them and posted a photo of them in the post from Wednesday, February 18th, 2009. [...]