Rain

20 huge cases of romaine. 1 large bowl of tortilla dough. Several men speaking Spanish. 2 boiling pots of beans. A colander of potatoes made into homefries. A man from Mexico: "I'm going to preach tonight so I don't want to touch things of the flesh" when asked if he wanted lunch. A young Catholic man who graduated from Houghton College and works with young men who are mentally challenged (they come to volunteer at OCP as part of their program). An older lady with dark brown skin excited to receive our prayer letter "you will love living there" she says although she only recently left the US for the first time. A long haired young man who eats the leftovers. Then, a trip to a local Middle Eastern store to order homemade pita for the weekend and to buy bulgar and olives (for a wedding AND a party this weekend). On to Philip's cubical to sit for a while because we rode together. This is my day.

Our week has been exciting encounters with diverse and comfortable people. Jenna, a young JMU grad moved in with us for the summer. Very teachable and interested, she already shares our love for hospitality and peace, creativity and chickens. We are all learning and teaching.
Next, we found ourselves at a friend's house on Sunday afternoon stamping and folding hundreds of wedding invitations for their wedding in July.
Sunday evening found us several hours at our landlord's house, sitting on the lawn, eating popcorn and ice cream pie when it became too cool outside, chatting about Catholics, buggy rides, poetry, and Jews!
Finally on Monday evening we took a ride on the motorcycle to Union Springs damn and raced to beat the raindrops that never really found us. Round our way home we shared several hours with Angela Farren, Dietrich and Rick, Rebekah and Jared, and Evie at Angela and Evie's home. Lots of laughter.
Thunderstorms interspersed all these adventures.

We hope the rains hold off on Friday night - day of our PARTY!

See you soon!