Coming and Leaving

Well, our third set of visitors have come and are soon to be leaving.
Sarah and Brad have spent the last few days in village and we're
currently in Lome. Their flight leaves tonight. We had a long car
ride yesterday but ended it with Lebanese hamburgers..it even came
with an egg on top! Afterwards, we took showers and went to bed! I
am up earlier than them this morning so am catching up on my email.

As for Sarah and Brad, they have been great sports - eating foufou,
using our latrine, constantly reapplying bug spray, riding
motorcycles, and tolerating Asher's hesitant feelings of having guests
in the house. They got a taste of market - and the local beer - and
were guests at Pierre and Rachel's wedding (pics to come!). They
happily wore Togolese clothes and hiked through puddles and mud to the
reception. Most importantly, we had a great time together. I learned
I am more like my sister than I thought possible - we like to nap,
don't put too much emphasis on cleanliness and organization, and love
to bake (pictures of our "experiment" coming..). Plus Brad and Nathan
realized they too have much in common - love to hike and camp, will
eat large quantities of whatever food is served, and a desire for
future log cabins and vegetable gardens of their own. Everyone felt
relaxed (lots of book reading!) and had fun teasing each other (lots
of time for talking!). I'll be sad to see them go, but am glad they
were able to share this experience with us. They are two more people
who will now understand why chocolate and mac and cheese are such
prized commodities!

As for the "work" front, I have been chosen to be a trainer for the
incoming GEE volunteers. I wrote a letter of interest to the director
and was chosen as 1 out of 5 trainers. I will have a week of training
myself and then will ultimately spend a week with the trainees (who
arrive the 3rd week in Sept). I will lead sessions and be generally
helpful (ie explaining how to buy stamps, encouraging their French
learning, and buying them ice cream - Remember when I was in training
and had no money?! It's almost be a year!). Nathan is hoping to be
picked as a trainer for NRM and will hear next week. Keep your
fingers crossed!

Well, signing off again. We're going to the big Lome market today to
look for Brad a Togolese soccer jersey...I'm also going to buy some
dog food! Maybe pizza for dinner tonight?! Look for a posting from
Sarah soon - and pictures! Thanks as always for the love, support,
and prayers!