The Send-Off

Last night, we arrived at AMAD for our farewell banquet/celebration of all the work that our team and the other workers had accomplished. After we had all greeted each other with kisses, we made our way into the gymnasium that we had been working to paint and put a ceililng in. Chachi and I were on standby to give our testimonies, and actually began the ceremony with them. Mine went a lot better than expected as far as nerves are concerned, and I think people were encouraged by it.

Later, we showed a slideshow of pictures from the week both of our team working and the children at AMAD. Oohs and Ahhs filled the room, as well as the occassional outburst of laughter at some of the pictures. At around 10:30pm, dinner was served, and I must say Edgardo outdid himself as this was by far the best meal of the trip! He had cooked outstanding chicken that fell apart as you ate it, potatoes with herbs, onions, and garlic, and some vegetables here and there.

At the end of the meal, some of the workers at AMAD began throwing balled up napkins at each other, so our team joined in by all throwing little napkin balls all at once. This, of course, escalated to little pieces of bread, and then bigger pieces of bread! As the clock ticked past midnight, then past 1 am, we began to tire, and made our way to the cars after saying our final goodbyes. I was definitely sad to leave, and am motivated to get this video out so that their ministry can grow.

Today is a fun day for our team. We'll spend part of the day shopping at little tourist shops, then playing some serious ping pong, and finally packing and debriefing from the trip. At some point, I need to get team interviews. This may happen today or might have to wait until we are at the airport in Chile for our 8-hour layover.

Well, this has been a great trip, and again I thank you all for your prayers and support!

Bendiciones!