Greetings. It's been another busy and wonderful week. I think I say that every week actually. Hmm. A lot of things happened this week so I'll make a list, in no particular order...



1) Three day urban service trip to Orlando. On Tuesday morning we packed up our cheery crew headed out to learn about a few help centers in Orlando, attending different worship services, and participating in a few service oppportunities. We spent the majority of our days and nights at the Women and Families Shelter. I don't think it was your typical homeless shelter. It was very new, modern, and our living accommodations had been nicknamed by previous HEART groups as "The Hilton." We stayed in the guest apartment at the shelter and wow- it was really really nice. Our group was divided up into a couple of different service project areas. I decided that I'd take one for the team and volunteer in the nursery. It was rough. I held sleeping babies while... Seth worked outside on the "outdoor crew." I'm not sure exactly what they did but I hear they did some landscaping, chainsaw-ing, and other such labor-intensive activities. The Women and Families Shelter had some incredible programs such as opportunities to get their high school diploma, Bible classes which all were required to attend, childcare, and other programs to help these women and families get "back on their feet." We got to know quite a few of the women and families at mealtimes and other times during the day. It was humbling to hear their stories, a few of them talked about their dreams but weren't in a position where this was an option to them. I got to have a few good conversations with some of the mothers as they came to drop off/pick up their children in the nursery. One woman had four children, all under the age of 10, single mom, trying to get back on her feet, working at a department store. And yet she talked of God's bountious provision in her life and in awe of the strength that God gives her every day to be a good mom for her children. Hmmm... There's much I can learn from that. During our time in Orlando we also attend a Spanish-speaking church, actually the largest Spanish-speaking church east of the Mississippi. Wow. It was big, powerful, and they even translated the sermon into English. The message that night was about comparing the Jehovah Witnesses to Christianity. Everything the pastor spoke about he backed by using the Bible. It did our hearts a lot of good to hear Spanish. I was surprised at how much I remembered and understood, even though it's been a while. We also attended the worship and toured the facilities at the men's shelter in Orlando. Another incredible organization that God is doing incredible work through. There's probably A LOT of other imporant things that I forgot to include about our time in Orlando... Maybe you'll hear more later.

2. Hehehe. I bet you forgot that I was making a list. Friday was "Butcher Day- Part 1." We learned how to butcher and clean rabbits and chickens. It was actually a really good experience. I was a little apprehensive about the day, but once we watched it and were able to do it ourselves, it was a lot better. After all, if, someday, we're out in the African wilderness, and we need to eat some meat, we can't exactly go find a Wal-Mart to buy the boneless skinless chicken breast that my stomach loves so much. It's reality. This past week I'd spent a lot of time with the chickens and had gradually acquired a strong dislike for these creatures. They're messy and they poop in their food and water. So, I had little emotional attachment to the chickens.

3. Now, for a more uplifting happening. Baby goats! One of our mommy goats had a three little babies on Thursday afternoon and we arrived back from Orlando just in time to watch her finish delivering the placenta (not the most exciting part). Each of the babies are a different color and are pretty healthy, considering they were triplets. Now we get to work on milking the mother and helping the babies to feed. We're hoping to bottle feed them to make it a little easier, but we'll see. They sure are cute though.

Ok, there's a lot of things I could include and have probably forgotten, but that's ok. Love you all lots!!!