...And totally redeem yourself!

Since we've left you all hanging for the last couple days, we thought we'd each post a little something to hopefully make up for our lack of updates. I apologize for not writing until the halfway point of the trip, but Jenny was right, we have had one thing after another distract us from the blog. Exhaustion mainly, the first night we got here we were so excited to crawl into bed at 8 p.m.! And we probably haven’t been too far behind since; I don’t think there’s been a night when we’ve been awake after 10 p.m. Waking up each morning at 6:15 a.m. and working our butts off during the day has made it easy to fall asleep at night, that’s for sure.

As Jenny mentioned, we’re almost done with Playground #1 at LoveBotswana’s Life Centre. We will be dedicating that this Sunday, where they are expecting to have up to 300 children waiting to play! I’m sure I will cry. :) A couple days ago, three people from our team traveled to a more remote area in Botswana a couple hours away to set up another playground, and the community was just thrilled. We have two playgrounds to finish here on LoveBotswana’s plot. One will go by the school, I believe, and another one is to go near the Lorato House (the rescue center/orphanage). It’s crazy to think we have just as many days left to work as we have already worked. Time flies when you’re building playgrounds in 95 degree sunshine, I guess.

I’ve definitely learned a lot about nuts and bolts and tools and what my arm muscles feel like again, but God’s definitely teaching me other things as well. Like patience. Humility. Respect for other cultures. Reliance on him for strength and energy. One of my favorite God things so far has been Bubba, the cat that lives in the house (not where I am staying, but where many of my other team members are staying). I think God knew I would miss my cats so he provided Bubba. And the dogs that run around everywhere. All of the dogs on the LoveBotswana plot have names and have been vaccinated, so they’re not gross street dogs, they’re very sweet, and they definitely cure my need for animal companionship. That sounds totally cheesy, but for those of you that know me, you understand. :)

Long story not-so-short, all is going really well. The team members seem to have a great dynamic and no one is really driving me crazy yet. I’m hopping right out of bed when the alarm goes off.  Food has been delicious. I don't have malaria. There’s a CAT. Everything has been wonderful. I’m so thankful to be a part of this team, this whole experience, and I’m looking forward to everything else that’s in store for the days ahead.

Until then…