I have no idea where to begin! It was our last full work day, so emotions were high!
It began with breakfast at 7 am. We had ham and cheese omelets, toast, fruit, and coffee (for some). After breakfast we went to the chapel for devotional. Devin from Sarasota led us in our thoughts this morning. He talked about how we need to do everything to he best of our ability. After devo we loaded two buses with medical supplies and carnival materials then made the trip to Didasko.
Didasko is one of my most favorite places to go, well actually I guess all of them are my favorites. This was the last day we will be going to Didasko until we return next year. When we arrived we unloaded all of the things we brought for the orphanage and the patients for the medical clinic. The carnival and the clinic were open to all the village people in the area so we had a lot of people. I am not quite sure how many patients were seen today, but our team had their work cut out for them today. I want to give major kudos to our medical team. They did an incredible job, and also our translators. They were patient with the long process of the clinic. Our team stayed at Didasko until our supply were gone!! They were great!
The carnival was also a huge success. Every child (and child at heart) had a wonderful time. They got to kick the soccer ball at Tyler Steffy for hours, there were also some other guys involved in that station, but I'm not sure which ones they were (sorry guys). Taft threw the football around with some kids and then prayed with them, which was amazing! There was a small beauty shop set up for the girls to get their hair and nails done. The kids got loads of prizes. We threw some frisbees around with them too. There was a soccer game and basketball game. The children and adults were fed for lunch too. One of the last things we did was have a huge water balloon fight with the children. That was a lot of fun!!! Of course some of us didn't get water balloons thrown at us, instead we were held under the faucet or we had buckets of water tossed on us. It was all very fun though and the children loved it, which is most important.
I believe that this might have been the most fun day, but also the hardest. So many people were so touched by today. It is something that is so hard to walk away from. That is one of the reasons why I choose the title to be tough love. Tough love can be used in so many ways, but this love truly hurts. For me, this was the first time that I did not choose just one child to be with. I would be what people would call a floater. I went around today observing everyone else. I took pictures and played with all of the children. Most everyone had particular children they stayed with most of the day, so when it was time to leave they had a difficult time saying their goodbyes. It is so hard to leave places like Didasko, when you do not know what the future holds. The good thing is, God will take care of us all. If we do not get to see these children next year, we do know that we will meet again. Although, this was a tough day, we all pulled through it, and we were all very much blessed by the experience.
Once we had gotten back to the mission house we were able to clean up a bit before going to the mall to eat dinner. At the mall people choose different places to eat, of course we stayed in groups of five or more with an adult guy in each group. After we had spent a couple hours there eating, we came back up to the mission house for devo. Keith from Memphis led us in our thoughts tonight. He spoke about tough love. He mentioned how the ultimate tough love was Jesus when he took everything for us. He also talked about how God did not put us here to start the race, but to finish it. I think we can all get something from this lesson. The lessons here have been incredible, I mean WOW!! I have gotten so much out of the lessons, something that I will carry with me for the rest of my life. I hope you all at home, that have watching can agree with me on this.
I really appreciate all of you guys back home. Your thoughts and prayers are very much needed and appreciated. However, our mission is not complete yet! We should all continue to pray for all of God's work that is being done worldwide. Once again if you would like to leave any comments please feel free to e-mail them to me!! brandyb06@gmail.com
Brandy B
