Pre-orientation

Monday wasn't an official day of general orientation, but the day that all the workers from Latin/South America were meeting.

I was right, 7:00 came WAY too early and both Joel and Kezia were in tears because they were so tired. Joel regretting fooling around until close to 11 the night before. Well, we had a good breakfast and then had a bit of time to wake up before we took them to the children's orientation. They would be singing songs, doing crafts, playing outside, and getting to know the other kids, especially the ones going to the same country.

We had very interesting meetings in the morning for a short while and then a short meeting in the afternoon. There are 7 of us going to Bolivia and we are joining the largest MCC team that MCC has in the world. I think they told us there are over 40 workers in that country. It was neat to meet the other families and to talk with them about some of their plans, their concerns, and to work through some similar questions. I was pleased to see that Joel had already bonded with Nathan and Kezia with Maria, because both of our families are going to the same country. For a while now I was mourning the loss of their friends back in Fresno, and while they still miss their friends, I'm glad that God has provided new ones for them.

I learn a lot from the meetings that we had, especially about the new direction for MCC Bolivia and how that effects those of us who will be working there. I found the information that was shared made it more exciting to be in the midst of the change. I'm looking forward to being there.

The meals are absolutely great here. The salad bar is amazing and so I am heaping my plate full of greens for every meal. Asha has fallen in love with chick peas and apple sauce and Joel and Kezia are loving the food too. Joel wolfs down his food so he can go and run and play with Nathan and the other Joel. Kezia still eats like a turtle....

The humidity was pretty fierce, but I'm getting used to it. The meeting rooms are the only place that is air conditioned, and am finding them too cold. I wish I could sit outside, the sweaty drippy heat and all. Joel is sweating profusely but that doesn't stop him from running all over the place, and Kezia and Asha's hair is SUPER curly. Poor Carl wasn't made for this kind of climate and seems to be melting before my eyes. Well, hopefully he'll adjust soon!

I'm feeling like we are really being taken care of here. The housing units that we are in are very nice and cater to families. I think there are 6 families here with small children and MCC has been very sensitive to our needs. And everything is so well kept. It feels like we are at a well-kept retreat centre. It just shows that when MCC does something, either here on the grounds, or abroad, they seek to do it well.

That evening the kids were SO tired. Joel fell asleep within 2 minutes. Kezia took a bit longer because she had a bit of a nap. Carl and I stayed up for a bit and visited with a few people before we headed to bed at 10:00. The next day would come very early and we were going to have many, many meetings, and even more forms to fill out.