About a week after our Party, Philip and I looked out the window to see this tent raising out of it's previously secure position on our lawn. We tried to hang on but finally had to flatten ourselves as it went whipping off over top us. It landed not so very far away...just square on our chimney. As thunder and lightening rolled down from the western mountains, Philip climbed onto the roof to rip apart the bent rods and pull of the slightly ripped tarp.
Vincent and Elliott slept calmly through it all inside.
The party itself was almost as memorable. As rain pelted the tent and the grass-strewn carpet, 70-80 people from the varied areas of our lives crowded in and through our little cottage to scarf down kabobs and bulgar salad, hummus and pita, grapes, apricots, almonds and mint tea. Jenna, our housemate, when clouds creep steadily onward, prayed earlier in the day, saying "God, we will rejoice if it rains and we will rejoice if it doesn't." We did.
Gifts ran in with the rain and we raised more than we had to raise. Many people still voice the desire to support us. We are overwhelmed with community: Sadie, an African American saintly kitchen volunteer whom I work with at OCP and her daughter, cowboy son-in-law and grandson, Willard and Eva, Ken Horst, Jon Keener and his girlfriend, Early Church people of all kinds, Jenna and friends who helped cook and clean up, Jason and Carmen and family, Evie Yoder, Paul and Katrina Yoder, Rhodes of various ages, Dayton folks young and old, Aunt Reba and Uncle Raymond, Carmen and Luke Schrock-Hurst, Mike Klein from OCP and so many more who could and could not come.
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