A Shofar, a Birthday, and a Team

Ok, I know, I KNOW! I've been silent for too long, but my brother Danny put it well: "It's pretty easy to measure your level of business. When you're busy your blogs are scarce and when your not busy there are more than enough to spare." Well those aren't the exact words he used but the basic gist. Be forewarned, I have a lot to share, but you know you love it so keep reading! Hahaha. Let's see, where to start...oh yes. The shofar. So basically Jason's bosses came down for half a week to spy on him and see if he's really clocking in every day (you would think the blogs, e-mails, phone calls, and pictures he sends them would be enough right?). No, but really, it was a blast having them around. David Fuller (the director of ATC) brought his friend Quigg with him and between them and Jeff (Jason's boss and otherwise referred to as "Fuzzy") it was all a whirlwind of activities. It wasn't always pleasant being the only girl around and having to put up with their incessant need to prove their manhood, but I survived. Quigg is an amazing photographer and he took the above picture. Just as a side note, the necklace I'm wearing in that picture is one of the ones I made. I wore it in order to bait Jeff into taking it back to Louisiana with him and sell it at his gallery where I used to work. He was easily hooked and took most of what I've made so if you live around Walker, stop in at Doron Gallery and have a look or two. If you do, buy something from the Congo on your way out if you can because it helps feed the Congolese Orphans. Ok, I'm done advertising.
A special event that took place during the crazy trio experience was that we went up to the project and David played his shofar. The sound was amazing and it echoed resoundingly through the jungle. A shofar is one of the instruments that was used (and is still used) by the Israelites to proclaim the presence of the Lord. It was a sweet time of prayer for the project and for what will take place on that land after the buildings are finished. It's so exciting to be a part of this ministry! On Saturday, the 31st, it was Jason’s birthday and although Quigg and Jeff had gone home Jason, David, his daughter Jess and I partied it up all day. By that I mean that we went horseback riding through the jungle and up to a waterfall and later were wined and dined at a restaurant called “Exotica.” They didn’t want to let us in the restaurant at first because you are supposed to have a reservation, which we did not know, but I managed to talk them into letting us in anyway. The funny part is that letting us “in” actually means letting us cross from the dirt road onto their restaurant floor, because all restaurants here are open-air. The food was amazing and the owner even brought Jason a free dessert with a sparkler shooting out sparks all over the place. Well that night David and Jess returned home and team #2 arrived. We loved them! The group consisted of a youth leader, a mom, a college student and four high school students. No Emily, I didn’t forget you. Emily Morton is a dear friend of ours who works for ATC and she came as the team’s host. It was a blast working with them and having them around. They worked very hard on the project against many odds, of course, and managed to play a lot in the afternoons as well. I only got to work a couple of days with them and the rest of the time I played house and babysat our friends Jess and Emily who came into town to visit during Holy Week. I’m just joking! It wasn’t baby sitting. Jess and Emily go to a Bible school in the capital and they had a few days off so they came to vacation here.
The Lord is very good to us and has provided our every need. We are very grateful to those who support us in prayer and finances. It would not be possible for us to do what we do without the help of our supporters and we are touched and encouraged by their generosity. Please continue to pray during these next few weeks for the project because some crucial tasks need to take place in order for the project to continue moving forward. The main need right now is for the road to be in good condition in order for the materials to be taken up. They’ve tried many times and failed but we trust that God knows best. Alright, I’ve taken enough of your time so I’ll end this post. I’ll try to post more often if I can so the next ones will be shorter. I love you and hope you continue to seek the Lord in all things.

P.S. “Mis dedos estan cansados” is Spanish for “My fingers are tired.”