Hospitality to the Max

Last week the Hohulins went up to Manila with their two older daughters to check out Faith Academy for next year. Derah, their youngest, who is eleven, stayed with us for three days and we had a very nice time with her! We made a sock doll and some clothes, and I got her started on Redwall by reading aloud almost half the book! When her folks got back, they all stayed until the next day, wanting to talk about what they saw and the decision they needed to make. They were not very impressed.

The next morning Bob and Ann Owen, with Barnabas International, arrived on the first flight from Manila, so we had nine around our breakfast table. The Hohulins left mid-morning and we had a really good time with the Owens. Their ministry is to encourage and minister to missionaries, and they have been a blessing to us several times in the past. It is so good to be able to talk to older, wiser Chrisitans who are not a part of any of the situations you may be struggling with. Part of what their supporters want them to do is spend money on missionaries, so they took us out to Countryside Steakhouse and we had filet mignon! Boy, was that good!

The next morning (Dad's birthday) we picked up Phyliss and Donna who were also coming in on the first flight from Manila, so we had six of us for breakfast. I was really good for the Owens and Phyliss and Donna to get to know each other a bit. Ann had sprained her ankle earlier in the week and was thinking seriously about taking off the splint earlier than the doctor had recommended. I encouraged her to ask Phyliss about it, so she did. Phyliss recommended that she get a short walking cast instead, and leave it on for close to a month so she could have complete healing, since this is not the first of such injuries.

So, after P&D left, we took Ann to see the Orthopedist we had taken Wandy to, and after a wait, he put on a short fiberglass cast. Then we needed to go to a shoe place and have some highth added to her other shoe so she can walk more evenly. That would take an hour, so we ate at McDonald's and came back to the house. At the appointed time, Dad took them to get the shoe and took them to the airport, where an SIL plane was to meet them and take the up to Nasuli. I turned on the air conditioning in our room and took a much needed nap!

This afternoon we expct Norm and Jerome, two staff with Family Life Ministries in Davao. I think they will be here for supper and breakfast, and then return to Davao. They are coming from Butuan, and wanted to check in with us on the materials we are working on. I am almost finished with a version that has all the Bible verses written into the text, but removes anything extra, to make it shorter, hopefully. We are trying for a format that comes out to 72 pages or less for the Bible League printing.