Saying goodbyes

We finished our first retreat this morning and said our goodbyes to our missionary ladies. I had a couple ladies who knew both American and Spanish sign language join me the last day to sing "Open The Eyes of My Heart." Those who knew Spanish sang in Spanish the rest sang in English and these two lovely ladies did sign language for us. Had another lady join me the last couple days who was quite an accomplished violinist. She added some great depth to our worship time! She doesn´t have too much opportunity to play and I was delighted to have her join me. It was great!

We had some fabulous times together and they were so appreciative of all that we did. I received many thank you notes that were very sweet. Much to our surprise, the missionaries had rallied together to write notes to all the staff and present us with gifts at the end of our time together. What a treat!

Last night, we had the ladies share some funny stories they have experienced in their time in ministry. This is always a highlight because there is a lot of laughter! For those of us who only speak English, we often had to wait for a translation to really understand what was so funny. For example, one warm day, one of our ladies was trying to express to a gentleman that she was hot. Unfortunately later, she found out that she had been using the wrong word and told him she was very sexy. I´m sure he was wondering what was up with her.

Another lady had gone to the doctor for her annual female check up. She was a little confused when she was asked about being ¨Baptist.¨ She took the opportunity to share that she wasn´t ¨Baptist¨and went on to explain all about her ministry. She was embarresed to understand later that she was actually being asked about her ¨pap test.¨ We had many funny stories... unfortunately these are probably the most tame that I can actually publish here!

After the ladies left, I had the opportunity to get out to the local artisan market to shop. Some great things there! Unfortunately, it´s a little nerve wracking to shop because you have to be extremely careful about everything so that you don´t get robbed. We are told to wear our purses and bags in front of us and under a jacket if possible. Cameras have to be hooked over your neck and arm if possible so they don´t get yanked out of your hands. Someone (not from our group) was robbed right in front of the hotel. We are careful to go in groups and carry as little as possible. One of our staff wasn´t quite as careful and had her purse and $300 stolen without her knowing. Please pray for continued safety while we are here.

Some other prayer requests that you can keep in mind from our missionaries are for Cheryl: who is going to recieve results to find out if she is now cancer free from breast cancer. Her daughter finds out if she indeed has MS. (95% chance this is the case for her.) For Elise: who is contemplating marrying a Chilean man. She´s very much in love, but also understands there are some huge issues to really consider in marrying someone with a different cultural background. For me: I´m still sick with a cold and was not able to sing at all for our first retreats. Please pray that I´m able to get my voice back and be able to sing at our second retreat.

Blessings!