My Goodness! So many things to be thankful for this year! First off, for the safe arrival of my Son, Gavin and his team. Gavin is a modern-day American missionary whose goal is to spread the love of Christ to youth around the country with his team of 10. They arrived on a chilly wet night with warm loving hearts and sunny dispositions. You could feel the energy of the whole room just light up. I felt blessed to have them safe in my home. Everyone introduced themselves and exchanged some quick hellos, a quick minute to slap on some name tags and the food arrived with my husband, Daniel. Some more introductions were made, loving prayers over dinner were said and (with the help of some of the girls) dinner was served. Chinese food for all! It was a little crazy, but it flowed rather well and everyone had their fill. It was amazing that all of the team members fit on my couch with 2 of my other kids on their laps. We chose to watch Nacho Libre together and had a lot of fun laughing through it....such a funny movie.
It was really great to get to know the "on the road" family that Gavin has lived with for the past 3 + months. There are 6 girls and 5 boys Some are quiet, but for the most part, many of them have very fun personalities. One of the girls and I giggled over our love of zebra print, one of the boys reminded me of Jack Black, some joked, some just smiled. They all were one big family.
One of the most fun things that happened before the team got there was the arrival of the packages sent from a couple of the family members of the team. One morning, I just found a package on the porch (I did not have any idea these packages would arrive) It was addressed to a person's name I did not immediately recognize. I thought it was sent to the wrong address, but my address was clearly printed on the package, so it was in the right place. Then, it dawned on me. It was for a team member! The next package came to me at the post office and this time, I knew that it was for another team member. I tucked them in a safe place and when the team arrived, the packages were given to the team members. It turned out to be a coat for one girl and Thanksgiving gifts for the entire team...it was a simple bag of peanuts, but the thought was so kind, it was touching.
Dinner was over too soon and the team left for my Mom's house where they would be sleeping for the duration of their stay. They were a joy to meet and it was a privilege to host them.
Loudly yours,
