Thursday, July 26, 2007

Preparing for a visiting team

On Saturday a medical and construction team from Grace Anglican Church in Jacksonville Florida arrives to spend a week with us here. This church sent a team last summer, as well, and we are delighted to have them coming back!

The week before a team's arrival is a busy time. Allen went to San Pedro Sula Monday to handle some errands. This trip replaced the trip which was scheduled last week, and which was cancelled because of protests. Our vehicles need a few repairs, before we use them to haul around a group of gringos, so he was looking for some replacement parts, plus we stocked up on paper plates and a few food items we can't purchase locally. He also went to Santa Rosa de Copan Tuesday (this is only a 45 minute drive) to try to find the vehicle parts he was unable to get in San Pedro Sula.

Rachel and I worked up the menus and shopping list for the week of meals. Approximately 40 people will be eating at our house, including the team members, Honduran doctors, translators, our family, and other helpers we seem to pick up along the way. Rachel and I are so excited about using the new chest freezer with a team here! In the past, we have had to make numerous shopping trips throughout the week, because we couldn't store a week of food for a large team. Truthfully, we couldn't even store enough food for our family for a week, before the freezer! With the large freezer, we are hoping to purchase everything we need in advance. We are also able to make up spaghetti sauce, beans, taco meat, cookies, etc this week, and freeze these for use with the team.

Because we will be feeding close to 40 people in our home, three meals a day, we have had to move furniture around in the house, and plan how 'traffic' will move at meal times. It's a good thing we all enjoy the team visits, or our children might not be such willing workers as they have been!

Of course, because we are so busy, I managed to get sick this week, on top of everything else. I started having strange pains just under my lowest ribs, on the left side. These pains went from uncomfortable, to disturbing, to extremely painful, throughout the course of Wednesday. I also started to run a fever with this. I've started myself on a course of antibiotics, and through the wonder of ibuprofen I am mostly back on my feet today. This self-doctoring is difficult when you don't know what causing the distress, though.

1 comment:

La Gringa said...

Trish, that couldn't be where your appendix is, could it? I hope not. I hope that you continue to feel better and if not, get thyself to a doctor!
(bossy me)

Wow! Cooking for 40 people! I hope you are going to make some big pots of beans.

Have fun with your company.