It's been a big week

There's been a lot going on here this past week:

1. The younger kids (Rachel, Chris, Bethany, and David) were at MK (Missionary Kids) camp this week. Every year, at a site near beautiful Lake Yojoa, this camp is held as an opportunity for the gringitos to get together and have a blast! This was David's first year to be old enough to attend, and Rachel was a counselor, not a camper. They return home today, and then I'll have a mountain of laundry to wash!

2. Kirstin, who is 21 now, moved back to the US for awhile. She left on Monday. We bought her a two-way ticket (the one-way tickets were so much more expensive, it seemed silly not to do so), with a return in three months, but we're all in agreement that this is a completely flexible situation. If she feels like she wants to come back, she's welcome to do so, and if she feels she'd like to stay longer in the US, that's fine, too. She's staying in Florida with my parents, continuing her online classes, looking for a job, using banks and libraries and mega-stores, so that she can have some experience with a state-side lifestyle.

Not having Kirstin around the house is a big change for everyone! We'll miss her, but Grammy and PopPop are enjoying having her with them for awhile.

3. At the construction site:

The interior walls of the buildings at our property are receiving their final finish coats, prior to painting. This makes a big difference in the "feel" of the place - the interior spaces seem more like rooms now.

The security bars are being installed on the windows of the buildings. This is another huge step. I hope to get some pictures tomorrow.

Allen has negotiated a deal for our water supply on the property. The lack of a working plan for our water has been hanging over our heads for too long - we're thrilled to finally have a solution!

4. This was the week when the Pastor's Bible Training School was in session for the month. There were 60 students in attendance, who were taught lessons on the history of the church. My part was baking four sheet cakes each day, for their supper desserts. I sometimes think my part in the school is what keeps attendance up so high . . . ;-D

5. I've been working with one of our dogs, who has been suffering from what I think might be a case of distemper (yes, he had shots, so I'm not sure why he would have gotten this - maybe the shots weren't any good?). I first noticed that he wasn't eating. He's mostly Boxer, and when he loses weight he looks more dead than alive. He lost a lot of weight. Then I noticed that his eyes were getting red and infected, and shortly after that, his eyeballs started to cloud over, and he was clearly losing his sight.

We started him on antibiotics, and an anti-viral drug the local doctor recommended, but he continued to go downhill. The day before the kids left for camp, he started losing the use of one of his back legs, and he had several small seizures. I had to warn the kids to be prepared that they might have one less dog when they came back from camp - but the next day he made a surprising turnaround, and was running about and playing almost like his old self. He even knocked over the kitchen trash can, raiding it for chicken bones! (Bad dog - but I was glad to see this sign of his old spunkiness and appetite!) He's doing okay now, but still recuperating.

So that's pretty much been my week. With the kids gone, I'd hoped to get ahead on a few things, but I found that I mostly spent my time handling the housework that the kids are usually responsible for! I'm looking forward to their return!