That Friday after the SEED group left, we had one day to prepare the rooms for the next group. It was a Work and Learn team (WAL) from Iowa. The group leaders were parents of a SALTer here.
There were 5 people on the team and their main project was to help at the construction site of a daycare that is run by some local churches. It was going to be hard work, but a few months ago, we visited the site and the excitement from the director was moving, so I knew that these people were in for some meaningful work.
It was busy getting all the food for the group, getting water, and setting out breakfasts for them. There were little things like changing towels every few days, getting into the safe, photocopying maps, phoning artisan shops for their hours. The folks were very friendly and we enjoyed having little visits with them after work. Joel and Kezia and Asha enjoyed having countless stories read to them. It was special for them to have adults take time for them. Asha also enjoyed the fact that there were 5 more adults around to open "papas" for her, aka mandarines. I lost count how many she would eat in an evening...
The time went by pretty fast and soon it was time for the group to go. Unfortunately, one of the fellows had Dengue symptoms on his last day. Sigh, what a souvenir to take home with you, eh?
In all we had a good time with the group, but tonight, the grounds are silent. There's only the nightwatchman, the two dogs, and a few kids playing in the cancha. Tomorrow, we'll sleep in because there's no breakfast or coffee to prepare.
It's nice to have lots of people here, but we do appreciate the tranquility of guest house vacancy.
1 comment:
i can't even imagine the busy-ness! hosting can be so fun but draining if you don't pace yourself! oh, the experiences you have!
btw...i only wish i could get countless "papas!"
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