Saturday morning

God's loyal love couldn't have run out,
   his merciful love couldn't have dried up.
They're created new every morning.
   How great your faithfulness!
I'm sticking with God (I say it over and over).
   He's all I've got left.

Lamentations 3:22-24 (The Message)

We woke up this morning to the Mozambique alarm clock,  John singing loudly in Portuguese by our bedroom door. Charles was late getting up and the men were leaving in 10 minutes to go on another long day of traveling and teaching. He jumped out of bed, flipped on the light and dressed quickly and sleepily. Coffee and pancakes and he was out the door.

I got up too because I thought it was funny and once my interest is peaked, I am awake. Our agenda for the women today was to rest and shop. We did both, plus a lot of good visiting. We went with Wanne to her grocery store (pics later) and to do some errands, and we went to the cappelana store, where we bought some beautiful Moz fabrics. The missionaries here all know each other and are good friends, so we stopped by two missionary homes and had a short visit at each. One of them was a home Jeremiah went to a lot as they have sons, and we will go back there this week for dinner some evening.

The streets in town are MUDDY and lots of puddles that are more like ponds, so we are wondering how the men are doing with all their driving on the back roads today. We're hoping they don't have any extreme adventures in driving stories to share when they are back.

After lunch, Wanne went to get her hair done at a neighbor's home and we have been resting, blogging and listening to the neighborhood sounds, as well as to the Dina boys quietly playing guitar and enjoying being home on a school break. We love that they are here for our visit. We miss you too Hannah (Dina)....wish you were here.

I smell cooking, so I'd better go and help. To our families and friends: We know you're all praying and waiting to hear about the trip, so we are trying our best to keep up with this. We love you! 

 

Villages on the coast-part 2

Back in the truck after being where Jeremiah had the accident and hearing about it, the mood was quiet and thoughtful. John pointed out things along the way and soon we were out of town, turning onto a dirt road and into another world.

Tall grass grew on both sides of the rutted road. Tree branches would sometimes swipe the side of the car and come into the windows a little. Once Diana got a wet mango branch to the side of the head, sending little tiny blossoms into her hair and all over the seat and our clothes. We smelled of blossoms the rest of the day.

People walked along the road and had to step off into the tall grass when we passed by. Men roade bicycles (women are rarely on a bicycle, except when being given a ride by a man), women walked, a lot of them with big baskets on their heads. They carried sticks, garden tools, supplies and food in the baskets and  there were  babies swaddled onto their backs.  The areas alongside the road that were cleared were planted with family gardens, long rows of mounded dirt with deep furrows between them, women hoeing or harvesting. The women here do tend the gardens and walk a long way from village to garden, such hard work.....just a normal day to them. Lots of beans, lettuce, squash and root vegetables were growing. People we passed had two reactions....either they stared and scowled at us or they smiled and waved. Most of the children run away. We smiled and waved and called "bon dia" as we passed.

Our first stop was Orlando's church. They have a large mud hut building, situated in a pleasant, clean village....very orderly and well kept.  I cannot imagine that keeping a mud hut village neat is an easy job, but you can tell there is a sense of pride and ownership with the people here and they even had some bushes and plants growing around their huts sometimes. We just visited a few minutes before piling Orlando and several youth into the truck. (I just asked Wanne and she said there were about 9 people in the bed of the truck, while Orlando sat in the cab with us.) This was Jeremiah's normal routine. He and Sobrinio would ride the motorcycle here, then meet Orlando. Then the guys on the motor cycle would ride ahead, then wait for Orlando to catch up on foot. They told us a funny story about how one day they waited and waited for Orlando, but he never came, so they went back. But Orlando had come and gone to the village leaders home to get permission and they missed each other so Orlando and the village leader were waiting on Jeremiah and Sobrinio who never came. He and Sobrinio just laughed and laughed at that. I think he thought Jeremiah was impatient. ;)

We visited two more small villages that day. Both of them were preaching points that Jeremiah and Sobrinio had started by gaining favor and welcome with the soccer ball. We met Jose (pronounced Jo-shway) at Madumwe, where he became Jeremiah's first convert. Two other men came to know Christ there too and now there are several more who meet with them regularly to study the Bible with Orlando and worship under a large mango tree along the road into their village. We would come back there for lunch, so we just introduced ourselves and went on to Palani, a little more primitive village, but the people there sang and talked to us about Jeremiah and what he'd meant to them. It means so much to the David and Diana to hear it all and see the places their son came here to serve.

While we were in Palani, we took a walk down to the river because Jeremiah had told them stories about how he'd had to leave his motorcycle and wade through the mud to get to another place, you may remember his stories too. On our walk we were joined by some drunken men, who were kind of poking fun at the 'preachers',  John, Charles and David.  He was a minor distraction to us, but the men of the village were embarrassed by him and asked him to leave.  John said their drug problem there stems mainly from homemade alcohol. They make it from the sugar cane that grows abundantly here.

Having been traveling a bumpy road all day, I finally decided that it was a good time to get an education in the squatty potty. Their bathrooms are just straw walls and the ground. They used a bucket of water to kind of rinse the ground several times a day.  This one was actually upgraded with two flat rocks to balance on and a pot of water to wash your hands in after balancing practice. Wanne was so nice to remind us to wear skirts this day (squatty potties in mind)....much easier than jeans in such a situation.

....and back to the story....

We went back to Madumwe, where Jose had his people preparing lunch for us and had logs to use as benches, chairs for us guests, and a mango tree for shade. We sang and the three men who had known Jeremiah gave testimony about his work there. Then began a discussion about church growth. We felt as if we'd walked in to a building committee meeting in an American church. It all began because Jose was apologized profusely for not having a roof over us (as it was raining lightly). Orlando and John gave him lectures about how your shoes can be muddy but if you just talk about it, they stay muddy. Something like that....it was comical to me as Wanne was interpreting it, but Jose had serious tears in his eyes and shame on his face about the whole situation. He was deeply ashamed and embarrassed. The other 2 men from that village who were also converts just hung there heads and nodded.  Orlando told them he would come and help them and bring other men if they would just gather materials and get some land to put it on. Jose admitted that there were women who were believers and wanted to come to learn with them, but it was dishonorable to just sit out in the air with no roof for such a thing.....this is their custom.

Jose quickly ran to his home and arranged with his wife, who is not a believer and did not seem very into the idea, to have us come to their home to eat the lunch his people had prepared. His home was interesting, as it was a mud hut, but it had nice wooden doors and windows built into the mud walls and he had a tin roof instead of straw.

Very interesting happenings to witness. I loved seeing all of it and we prayed for Jose's family to be brought into faith in Christ as we ate and visited there.

We were kind of afraid of what the lunch would be. We had passed several places in these villages where little tiny fish were lying out in the open air on mats, drying. I really started getting nervous that we would see something like that on our plates. But we didn't. They served us a very nice meal of rice and stewed chicken. The stewed chicken was not tough like the roasted kind we had the previous day. So relieved.

After that village, John drove his fully loaded truck....15 of us in all I think, to the beach. We drove out across a long plain with coconut trees waving in the wind and finally came up on a large berm that went down onto the sandy beach. We climbed down and went out to the water, it was so beautiful. I will post pictures later when I am home. The coconut trees grow right up to the beach and there were old wooden fishing boats along the shore, waiting for high tide and fishermen to ride out again into the ocean.

God's love and His work among these people is so apparent when you are here. I have heard each person who comes back to our church from here talk about how they would come back anytime they could to this place. And now I understand that feeling.

God is here in Mozambique and the harvest is ready.

Villages on the coast-part 1

Today John really gave us a workout. We all piled into the truck-6 adults in the double cab and Sobrinio and the Dina boys, Andrew and Matthew were in the covered bed of the truck on wooden benches. We were prepared for a long day of driving and visiting.

Our first stop was along the road that leads out of Quelimane to the villages. This was the road Jeremiah would drive out of town on as he made his way out to the villages where he worked. It was paved, but really only a bit wider than a single lane road. The edges of the road were eroded and dropped off just a few inches to the flat dirt on both sides. The dirt on either side of the road was about 10 feet wide, very normal looking. Small businesses lined the road, lots of people walked and rode bicycles along it. We pulled over by a lumber supply yard onto the dirt alongside of the road and got out. This was the place where Jeremiah's accident happened. We just stared at the road....nothing dangerous looking. It was not as you would picture the scene of a fatal accident.  John showed us where the motorcycle had fallen, where he found it when he had come back with the police later. Sobrinio remained silent and somber. Emotions were sad. There was a huge sense of "how could this happen".

It just did...it happened.

The hospital was not far away.  Jeremiah was alive (yet not talking or  responsive) when he'd lain in this spot, but had passed away by the time the driver got him to the hospital. Sobrinio does not remember much, just that when he opened his eyes and looked at his friend,  Jeremiah could not talk and laid there quietly, probably in shock.

We talked a lot about trusting God the rest of the day, even the villagers we met talked of trusting God with this. We can only guess on any reasons God would let this happen, but really no one can know or understand the mind of God....how He works and what His plans include or why.

We do trust God. I think all of us do here on this visit. It is good though, it's healing in fact, to reaffirm this trust with God and each other after a senseless event happens and it shakes us to the core.

I remembered Sobrinio's encouragement to us just  the day before at the memorial service was this:

Brothers, we do not want you to be ignorant about those who fall asleep, or to grieve like the rest of men, who have no hope.  We believe that Jesus died and rose again and so we believe that God will bring with Jesus those who have fallen asleep in him. According to the Lord's own word, we tell you that we who are still alive, who are left till the coming of the Lord, will certainly not precede those who have fallen asleep.  For the Lord himself will come down from heaven, with a loud command, with the voice of the archangel and with the trumpet call of God, and the dead in Christ will rise first. After that, we who are still alive and are left will be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air. And so we will be with the Lord forever. Therefore encourage each other with these words. 1 Thessalonians 4:13-18 

Sobrinio part 2

I wanted to include some other stories of the day but the previous post was turning into a novel.

After the testimonies and singing, the church men brought the Johnsons a gift, an offering....much like people bring food to a grieving family's home. Except they brought in a live chicken....a rooster. The rooster looked as shocked as we were and we all teased David that it was a new alarm clock because he had overslept that morning. He had to accept it and hold it and it was flapping around.....such comic relief for a heavy visit. The boys named the chicken Rojo on their ride back home in the back of the truck with him. And by the way, Rojo is no more....may he rest in gravy. ;)

We broke for lunch at Sobrinio's church to find some men climbing a coconut tree and dropping them to the ground with a thud you could feel under your feet. They cut the tops off of some as appetizers for us. We drank the 'milk' (which was clear) from the coconut, then ate the flesh inside of them with spoons. I drank some of mine, then poured the rest into my almost empty water bottle. Then the church men brought out a huge platter of rice, pinto beans and chicken. We learned later how bad the rice crop had been this year. Sobrinio's family didn't even get a grain of rice from their crop and this is their staple food. They were so happy to offer us a huge platter of it though. We enjoyed the lunch very much and were blessed to have it.

On the way home Sobrinio wanted us to stop by his home for a visit. His family had been at the meeting. His beautiful and outgoing wife sat with their nursing baby while she led out in songs and gave testimony about Jeremiah. Their 3 other children sat on a large grass mat on the floor of the church with some other children and sang with their whole selves the songs, clapping, swaying and singing. He lives quite a ways from his church in another coconut grove in a mud house. It was very small but wonderful. Usually they visit outside the homes, but Marada (?) invited us in and we sat on large grass mats in her front room while we visited, asked questions and took pictures of the family. (we'll be posting pictures after we get home)

As we sat there inside Sobrinio's home, I felt such peace and comfort there. It is a blessed home. Just being committed enough to actually marry a woman is a huge decision in Mozambique. He is such an example to have such a home and family. It is not the norm. In fact this morning as the men introduced themselves, some would say their name, followed by "and I am married". It's something John is really trying to emphasize in the churches here.

To make a living Sobrinio rides his bicycle 20+ miles each way to buy charcoal to sell. He makes a profit of $2 per bag of charcoal and he can only manage 2 bags per trip on his bicycle. We hear stories of people living like this, but here we were being treated so well, sitting inside his home with his family on straw mats. And they were so proud to have us there. Peace and joy are theirs....it is so apparent.

Lord help me to know contentment.

We have a long day of traveling tomorrow to see the beach villages where Jeremiah loved to go and where several have become Christians. We get to attend a baptism on the weekend of some of the people Jeremiah helped lead to Christ.

The journey has been amazing....I can't think of a better word.

Sobrinio part 1

After our warm bran muffins and fruit this morning, we headed out to visit a local pastor at his church and home. Sobrinio was Jeremiah's language and cultural mentor. They were very close-like brothers. Sobrinio was on the back of Jeremiah motorcycle when they had the accident and Sobrinio was so traumatized that he could not speak for days afterwards. And although his physical wounds are healed, his heart is heavy with grief for his lost partner. I think this visit with David and Diana will really help him to have some closure and relief from such a heavy burden. He is a dear man and loves the Lord and to serve, keep him in your prayers.

We met in their church building....a mud structure with a straw roof and beautifully set in a coconut grove. As we entered they were singing. John would try to help us understand the meanings of the songs....some in Portuguese, but most in Shwabo language (I know I spelled that wrong, but I can't find it on google and everyone is in bed). They sang worship songs and grieving, funeral songs. And in between the songs people from that church would stand up and tell the Johnsons their stories and thoughts about Jeremiah. It was so hard not to just lay down our heads and sob as we listened. They loved that boy so much and they knew he loved them. Here are a few of the things I remember them saying as John translated:

*He became one of us. He did not separate himself from u s, but was like one of us.

*He was a son to me. Another said he was like a brother.

*He spoke to all, not just to a few, he was a friend to all.

*He ran....he ran ....he ran. (this was in reference to how Jeremiah could  play soccer)

*One man told about going to a village where the people ran away from Jeremiah and Sobrinio. While Sobrinio went to talk with the village leader about why they were there, Jeremiah got out the soccer ball and began people started coming back toward him. When Sobrinio came back Jeremiah was talking and playing with the people and they had such a welcome into their village. One man was saved that afternoon while then men talked with the people. Jeremiah's playfulness had opened a door to that community.

*Sobrinio told of how Jeremiah would try anything, even things Sobrinio felt bad about him doing, like wading through deep mud  or riding on a tiny canoe with no complaining, just a big heart and adventurous spirit.

*A lot of the people expressed their thanks to the Johnsons for letting Jeremiah come to them.

*A lot of them said they did not understand why God let this happen, but they know it was for a reason. They are learning to trust God with the future, but they were so sad from grief at the same time. And they were so sad for the Johnsons losing their son.

*A few of them spoke so confidently of their assurances of Jeremiah being with the Lord and that they looked forward to seeing him again one day with the Lord.

So overwhelming. I would look over at Diana and David sometimes during all of this and wonder if it was too much, but the only look on their faces was hunger to hear more stories about what their son had done during his time in Africa. What a gift for them to hear the stories directly from the people he had worked with half way around the world.

It was a wrenching good day. I think you know what I mean.

Quelimane, Mozambique

Smooth sailing on Wednesday morning as we made our way to Quelimane from Maputo. The plane we flew on was a little (lot) larger than the tiny prop plane the previous day. Mostly filled with Africans, there were a few missionary types as well as business people on board. So far the Africans we have seen are as western looking as we are, that was surprising. There were noticeably less things like ipods and laptops on this flight and I felt kind of uncomfortable getting mine out, but I did. Simon and Garfunkel were my private soundtrack to this leg of the trip and as I listened to Bridge Over Troubled Water and Homeward Bound, I said a silent prayer for these people to know the Savior.

As we landed, we realized we were not in Quelimane but Charles recognized it as Tete. Like a bus we stopped to let people off and on except we all had to disembark while the transfer took place. While we were waiting we met a missionary from Cape Town, who was coming to Quelimane for a week to help with a project here. She said she had actually been praying for the Johnsons because their church knew of his accident. So we introduced her to the Johnsons, she was full of compassion and I think it was a meaningful connection to meet a random person who had been praying for them.

After three days of travel, the Dina family looked like angels standing at the gate to meet us. We kind of air hugged through the fence, and they took us and all the luggage in two cars back to their home. Orlando and Sobrinio two of the pastors John Dina is close to were at the house to meet us. They were quiet and somber, talking a little bit through John's interpretation. These two worked closely, daily with Jeremiah and  it was obvious they were still deeply affected by the past 3 months.

I have to add here that being in the Dina's home is just like being home. It is comfortable, there are places to gather and talk all you want and there are places to retreat and be quiet. Most of all though, the atmosphere the family has created is very loving and peaceful, very much a retreat. Wanne made us stroganoff, but it wasn't beef, it was reed buck stroganoff. All of their meat is game meat that John hunts. It was so good! They visited with us until late in the evening as our eyes got more and more heavy.

We're in Africa--we are using a wireless laptop and eating reed buck stroganoff in Africa!

--and we are so thankful to be here.

The Journey

I am quickly writing my first Africa trip post in my spiral blog.....a spiral notebook with a real ball point pen. This is how people used to blog before technology made pens and paper seem like a lot of work. My handwriting has clearly suffered from lack of practice. We are sitting on a little prop plane.

Yes, that's right.....a prop plane that is very similar to the one Charles told me we would not have to ride on. Very interesting that we missed our original flight and are now on what I had dreaded flying on. I think sometimes God just chuckles at the way we think we have everything planned and organized.

We think it is Tuesday afternoon, but not being sure feels very strange. We have felt strange the whole way, fish out of water in so many ways. I guess that is what it's like when you travel the world....different languages, customs, food, conveniences or lack of. It is now 28 hours into the journey and we are in Johannesburg, South Africa, wondering what to do. Our flight from London was delayed because a little engine at the back of the plane was not working. The pilot assured us that this engine was not in any way involved in flying the airplane, it just pumped air into the cabin while idling on the ground. It also had something to do with getting the plane to the runway. Once the plane's jet engines were on, this little engine turned off. After an hour waiting in a very stuffy airplane cabin, they told us it was an easy fix....a breaker had blown. We were now on our way, but we were not going to make our connecting flight to Maputo once we arrived in Jo-burg.

We had just spent about 5 hours running (literally runnnning) around London with friends of the Johnsons, the pastor of William Cary Baptist Church (which really was William Cary's church before he left to begin the modern day mission movement...how cool is that!)  and his wife. Very fun and joyful people and they invited us to come stay with them if we ever came back this way. We made fast friends with them while we tried to see some sights. Her Majesty was out of town for tea, so we just had some fish and  chips together before heading back to the airport.  We rode the Tube (London Subway) and I listened to the Headphones song while we sped underneath modern day London. It was all very surreal and went by too fast for my brain to process much of it.  

So after a couple of hours of trying to get the prop plane out on the runway....sound familiar?....we finally were on the way to Maputo, where yes, we had already missed our connecting flight to Quelimane. We would have to wait there over night until the next flight, which was in the morning. The airline paid our expenses and put us in a very nice hotel in Maputo overnight. It was wonderful to have a shower and sleep horizontally, in a bed even, before we went to greet the Dinas. A missionary there named Steve gave us a ride to and from the airport. It's a cool city, right on a water front, and the hotel was really nice.

We are almost there and even though it's been 48+ hours, we feel like the journey has not even started yet.

David Johnson told us their verse they have clung to  lately and for this trip:

Psalm 30:11-12 

  You turned my wailing into dancing; 

       you removed my sackcloth and clothed me with joy,

 that my heart may sing to you and not be silent. 

       O LORD my God, I will give you thanks forever.

I have a 7 page spiral blog post coming up just about today, but I'll have to type it later. I am hogging the computer now and need to share. So hopefully it will be up tomorrow. 

Into Africa

Tomorrow evening my Charles and I and David and Diana Johnson will get on a really huge plane and fly nine hours to London. Then 6 hours later, having run through as much of London as we possibly can in 6 hours, we will get on a large plane and fly 11 hours to Johannesburg. We will only have time to look out the airport windows at Jo-burg while dashing to our next flight.....a small puddle jumper ride 2 hours to Maputo, Mozambique, Africa. We have a few hours there so we will be greeted and shown around by a kind missionary named Charlie (everyone who flies through Maputo on mission trips gets to meet Charlie I think) until it is time for our final (oh gee, that is a really bad word to use) flight to get us to Quelimane, Mozambique on a little prop plane. I think it also takes a couple of hours.

Thirty six hours of traveling in all. We are going to love seeing John, Wanne and their boys, but I think by then all we will want to see is the inside of our eyeballs while lying down in a bed.

Our mission is to bring the Johnsons over and accompany them as they see the places their son lived and ministered before he died. The only thing on our itinerary while we are there is for some good visiting with the Dinas (the missionaries there) and to see the places Jeremiah worked, lived and people he knew while he was there.

We're praying (please join us)....for some further closure for these two families, the Johnsons and the Dinas, healing and comfort for their minds and hearts.

And for that prop plane.....

Okay, disclaimer everyone: Charles read the post and said I was wrong (thankfully so). He said all of our planes are jets. No prop planes or puddle jumpers. This information would have saved me several nights of tossing and turning  the past week thinking of the trip. aaarg!

If he is wrong, I'm going to smack him.

Everybody say YES....yes to VBS

When I got my enrollment sheet  last Monday, the first day of Vacation Bible School, I just cringed. I had all boys.....second grade boys. But now, 3 days later, I have to say, this has been one of the best VBS's I've been involved in. (I did get 2 girls in my class too.) Although they've been squirrely a lot of the time, I don't know if I've ever had a class in VBS in which every child really seems to be having some significant spiritual growth and hunger.

We sing this song  as our special tonight at the program, so we've been practicing it a lot. Every time they sing it and I watch their faces,  a sob rises up in my throat. Each one is singing with their whole heart and not thinking about who is next to them but singing to God. These days there are a lot of families who do not attend church, even if the parents do believe in Christ and I think it is such a loss for their children. Being together to study the Bible on their level, singing songs of worship and letting them explore God's Word ignites a flame and burns within them their whole lives. Only one of the children in my class actually goes to our church. A couple of the others go to other churches, but most of them do not attend anywhere.

My prayer is that their parents will see a spiritual hunger in their singing tonight and realize how important it is to bring them up in an atmosphere that sparks into flame the interest they naturally have in God at this age. The teachings this week centered around the themes in this song and wow, did they get it.

Watch the link. The man leading the song on the video writes all the music for Lifeway Vacation Bible School and does a great job. Just imagine children doing the motions and singing with all their hearts. See if you get the sob thing.

Payson, AZ 2010

Finally, the pictures are all uploaded and ready. Here is our last week:

Little cabin in the woods

I am back from my sister's cabin. It was very relaxing. I'm glad to be home though and soon (late tonight) my husband and 2 teen daughters will get home from youth camp. Bethany gets home tomorrow night from helping at kids' camp. Hannah flies in next Wednesday to spend a week with us back up at the cabin. All together....the whole family. 


Like.

My week at the cabin with my sister, her 4 year old son and my dog included:
-Answering 4 year old nephew's endless questions, also enjoying his observations on dogs and life.
-Taking walks with my dear dog...lots of walks because she can't be trusted off the leash in the woods. We walked and I chanted, "go potty, good girl, potty time now, this looks like a good spot, go for it, potty potty." 
-While doing the last walk of the day, we heard coyotes howling and yipping all around our area one night....very cool, but creepy at the same time. Maisy wasn't sure what to think but ran in the house pretty fast when we got to the porch. I don't think she is ready to answer the call of the wild.
-Watched movies after nephew went to bed each evening. 
-I took a bubble bath in the claw foot tub. =)
-Went plant shopping at the local Walmart garden dept. We bought lots of flowering plants for the cabin's front gardens. We bought lots of perennial things and deer/bunny resistant plants and then spent a long morning planting them all. There will be people there consistently for the next few weeks, so we can get them hardy before Larry and Becky come back from vacation. Lavender, salvia, dianthus, marigolds, day lillies, some ground cover things with little flowers, black eyed susans, an oriental poppy plant, a gardenia plant and some portulaca.  I hope they like it, it was fun to do!
-Eating breakfast on the back deck, reading our Bibles and spending time with God in His creation and keeping afternoon watch on the front porch, watching thunderstorms move in the last 2 days.
-Visited Bethany at the kid's camp. The camp is about 12 miles from the cabin. All the adults at the camp were telling me what a great help Bethany is and we saw it all first hand. She was busy helping to do a variety of things.  We were also told this by people from our church when she helped last week at our kids' camp....AND the owner/caretaker of the camp was bragging about Bethany at a wedding we went to over the weekend. Very proud and happy to see her doing what she's gifted to do....hundreds of things all at the same time, organizing, keeping track of things and helping kids to have a great camp experience. 
-Ate pretty healthy all week except for the brownies and ice cream but had a Lenny's burger on the way home. I now have heartburn. 

And now catching up on the local news because we didn't see any news all week.


Also my husband just called and there is a detour on I-10 which is going to put them home in the wee hours of the morning. At which time I will be expected to drive over to the church and pick them up. 


I need a bubble bath.