We woke up Sunday morning and got ready for church. Our ride was supposed to pick us up at 9am to take us wherever we needed to go - they were late but arrived at 9:30. I thought it'd be a big van or bus that would fit 12. To my surprise, it was a tiny SUV that really comfortably sat 4 and yet we had to do two trips with 7 people in each (including the driver). Needless to say it was hot and we were squeezed in like sardines. Our team was amazing - they were such troopers and never complained. The flexibility of the trip had begun! Turns out, the bigger vehicle was unavailable that morning and the driver we had been told was picking us up didn't - his sons came instead. Super nice guys but they were late and then by the time they took the first group to the church and came back for us in the 2nd group - we were an hour and a half late for church. We met up with some missionaries at church that Bethany (our other co-leader) knew and decided to have lunch with them. They had a big flat bed pickup truck that could fit 12 of us in the back so we asked if there was any way they could take us home so we could all ride together. Our drivers had been waiting for us while we were in church because it was far away and they didn't want to go all the way home. Then when we came out of church - they had a flat tire so they had to change that. We told them to just meet us at the restaurant. By the time they got there, the missionaries had agreed to take us back to the Guest House and we were able to let our drivers go for the day. The missionaries also recommended a driver they use often who had a big bus that seats at least 20. We met up with Bethany's friend Sylvestre who was to be our translator and he recommended the same driver the missionaries recommended and he called and negotiated a cheaper daily rate for us than what the other people charged. So we used this other transportation for the rest of the week and were glad that we did - it was a big bus with AC (sometimes it blew out cold air), a very nice driver and room for all our supplies.
Anyway, the church we went to was packed full and the worship was amazing. We caught about 1/2 hour of it since I was in the 2nd crew of people. We stuck around and met the pastor and his wife and chatted with these other missionaries. We then went to lunch with them at a place called Hot & Ready that they recommended as safe for us to eat and delicious. Most of us had hamburgers and fries - so yummy. Some had pasta or sandwiches. It was really good. After that, a young man named David took us back to the Guest House in the flat bed truck. It was a bumpy ride, pretty hot and lots of traffic along the way but we were thankful to all be together. We also were thankful for the connection with him and his team because we decided to go on Wed to a clinic and orphanage they help run. After lunch, which took quite a while, we had an adventurous ride through the city streets on the way back to the Guest House. Got lots of pictures and had lots of laughs as we talked about our squeeze in the SUV's that morning and adventure at the airport the day before.
We relaxed at the Guest House once we got there. Bethany and I made phone calls to try and plan for the week ahead as far as what our schedule might be. We made a plan for Monday and the team unpacked all our supplies and organized them into piles for the week. The Guest House was so accommodating and let us spread out our stuff all over the place. What a Godsend they are!
They made us a lovely chicken and rice dinner with rolls and green beans and the best ice cold rasberry tea ever. So nice to have a home cooked meal every night and to be able to eat together at the awesome big long dining table. We had a time of prayer and planning after dinner, took cold showers and went to bed early to rest up for a full day on Monday.
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