Bon Voyage Thedes, Welcome another team!

This morning the Thede's took off for their two week trip to Petit Goave as a family. When Kris left the day after the earthquake to offer her medical skills, that is where she ended up, and where she eventually met Chris's dad too! Now they are returning as a family to offer another two weeks of service and experience a taste of what Kris did together. We will be praying for them and ask that you do too! Cory will be traveling around with an agricultural team for the first week, seeing what crops should be planted post-earthquake that could provide food quickly. We'll be praying that they have a really amazing experience as a family and individually! That Anna and Eli will adjust to the new temporary living situation easily and that they will each be used in special ways. The picture to the left shows the large military tents they'll be staying in, as well as the ocean view they will hopefully enjoy when they need a breather. On the right you see the pharmacy that has been accumulated at the clinic in Petit Goave. The Thedes are bringing more boxes of medical supplies to add to the stash you see here. The palm tree pic shows part of the clinic area; patients are laid on those tables for exams and wait their turn on the surrounding benches.
It will be strange being here in Fauche without the Thede's for the next few weeks! We and the Bailey's will be hosting a team of 4 men coming to do more work on the clinic and things around the compound. We will try to keep them busy, fed, challenged, comfortable, and happy! We don't know anything much about the guys, but will have met them all by (hopefully) about noon today. Chris went along to pick them up from the airport this morning and drop the Thede's off at the same time.
Next week we start our English classes once again. So far I am finding out that my worry was unnecessary (I suppose worry is ALWAYS unnecessary, but that's hard to realize at the time) about whether our students would be upset over our leaving without letting them know. So far, each one we have talked to has been gracious. God shows us again that we only need to trust him.
This past week Chris and I honestly didn't do much when it comes to actual work. We got home and realized how tired we were! The first night we were back I think we slept about 10 hours, it was so nice. We spent the first few days unpacking, accumulating a large pile of laundry to go along with the large pile we had left 2 weeks ago, getting acquainted with the team that was here, hanging out with Eli and Anna, relaxing, talking to neighborhood kids, sweeping flies out of our house, and spending some time together. It was interesting hearing the teams from the US talk about their experience here. They LOVE the kids, first of all. They find them charming and fun, which was good for us to hear. We have become a bit jaded when it comes to the kids, since they rarely come without asking and asking now a days. When we first came, we spent hours playing with them and really enjoyed that! But as our months have gone by it's become less enjoyable and more a source of frustration and confusion--we aren't sure how much to give, both in time and material things, and they seem to just want to take. So it was good for us to hear them rave about the kids, and to reevaluate our attitudes toward them. It's still hard but we don't want to become too cynical!
Today I am getting ready to go talk to the cooks and tell them to spice up the beans and rice (Kris, Eli and Anna don't like spicy food so while they are gone we will try for something different!) and then help Bill and Elaine get ready for the teams' arrival. Thanks for your prayers. We have 2 more months here and want to finish strong, whatever that will mean! We appreciate your prayers and encouragement more than ever. God bless and have a great weekend!