"We Are Family..."

We had a very unique and fun celebration for the 4th of July. We started in the morning taking our friends Barry and Cheryl to "Cracker Barrel" for breakfast (Mike wanted a REAL breakfast...eggs, bacon, toast,etc.) and then to the mall for shopping. Later that night we went to one of the local ministries called "Fatherheart" (a ministry for unwed pregnant women) for an "American" 4th of July. As you can see they put on a wonderful fireworks display. It was fun bantering with our friends from other countries about our 4th of July. But it was great, sitting there, eating snow cones out of cups with a spoon, enjoying a beautiful day with new friends. Both kids had their faces painted with the appropriate red white and blue.
So today, after a full weekend of relaxing and fellowship, we were back in the classroom. Our discussions centered around cross cultural awareness. Many of us will be going into a culture that is completely different from anything we have ever experienced. Oh, how easy it could be to insult our hosts if we are unaware that there are differences in our world view.
Last night we were re-doing our schedule after we finish Gateway, realization dawned, less than two weeks here and in just over 3 weeks we will be on board Africa Mercy.