The weather disintegrated this morning and stayed wet and dreary all day. Lonita, Yisrael, and Javon were at Sowers for their morning team huddle at 7:15. The rest of us came for a lovely breakfast when the café opened at 8:00.
We left the Sowers trio there, and the rest of us came back for debriefing and orientation for the day with Ernest and Bryant. Some started digging holes to plant shrubs and others helped with deep cleaning in guest quarters.
At 11:00, we put those jobs on hold and headed into the student center at the University Park. We split into small teams to pass out flyers about Happy Valley Christian Community and look for students willing to take surveys. Because of the rain and wind, it didn’t work to be outside where some of us started. Keith and Annalisa found warm, comfortable places in the library and people to talk with. Those who stayed in the student commons had less success meeting people. It seemed students were focused on getting out of the rain and to the next class. Still, there were some good connections that happened.
We all came back to the hill (ABT headquarters) for a 3:30 Zoom meeting with Bible translator team member Leonard Hege. He is part of the team working with Mixtecs in southern Mexico. About 20 minutes into his fascinating presentation about the culture they live in and the challenges of their work as Christian workers, his electricity stopped, and we were unable to reestablish contact with him. We felt really disappointed but we prayed for their team and dispersed with free time that we hadn’t planned on.
For supper, we all enjoyed Chinese take out in Keith and Yisrael’s guest quarters, then we gathered with Ernest and Cathy’s family and Pomeranian puppies. They had invited a Christian friend, Mikayla, to come talk with us about her college career and her job as dorm supervisor. It was fascinating to hear about her classes, schedule, and what she does for the 30 ladies in her dorm! We met Mikayla today in the student commons, and we look forward to being with her tomorrow at supper as well.
After Ernests and the puppies and Mikayla left the circle, the rest of us stayed in the same circle to debrief the day, and tried to head for bed before too late.
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