Just a little R&R! :)

Well! Happy to report that after a wonderfully harrowing weekend, God allowed us some much needed R&R at a small beach area on the coast. Monday morning was beautiful, since the daily down pours usually hold off till afternoon. Connie and I took a long walk on the beach and debriefed from our mission experience on Sunday. Adam, Jake, Jim, Mariel and Tim swam in the China Sea and soaked up some sun. Bambi, in her delicate condition, sat under a shade tree and read. Nice to relax for a couple of hours! We had lunch at a small cafe seaside and then came the rain. I thought we would wait out the storm until Jake decided that he was a fish and took off toward the ocean to swim in the rain! Inspired, Adam followed at a full run and dived into the waves. Not to be left behind, Tim soon followed! Only Jim kept his sanity and remained dry. We women praised him for resisting peer pressure. :) Later, Connie and I attended a ladies cell group that met at 5:30, which of course had food (did I mention that these people eat all the time?!, I don't know how they stay so slim. :/). I was asked to share my testimony (which I have never formally done) and then the ladies asked us many questions about our faith and our marriages. Many of the women were single or widowed. We were happy to share our "wisdom" and amazed that they were so interested. We ended with a birthday cake (June, one of the widow ladies had a birthday), made from Ube (a sweet potato type local plant) which was purple and WONDERFUL!

Monday, we roughed it again (ha, ha) when we were invited to have breakfast and swimming/surfing at a local business owner's home whose name was Rey. His home was magnificent and he was very gracious. He had a beautiful infinity swimming pool that Connie, Adam, Mariel and I enjoyed while the men visited with Rey. It was rough, but someone had to do it! In the afternoon, Connie, Bambi and I visited a member that had almost died last week in child birth. Her name was Fe (Fay) and I was shocked at how healthy she looked and her level of activity. The baby (Rhoda) was precious and we prayed over them before we left. She was so touched and you would have thought we had given her a priceless gift (which in reality we did!). I am convicted to learn to appreciate better the value of intercessory prayer. I have witnessed God's movement as a direct result of prayer many, many times on this trip. It never ceases to thrill an amaze me. The church is planning a couples dinner on Saturday night which Jake and Connie have been asked to host. We did a planning meeting in the afternoon and are waiting at the center for Praise & Prayer at 7:15 this evening. Not expecting anything short of wonderful as these people truly love to praise and worship. Will fill you in later! Wish you all were here!

Debbie