On Saturday, the men went into camp for the 8-5 shift. The ladies got to a have a bit of a later start to go to women's day at the Ephraim Center (run by GEM). Women's Day is from 10-1 every Saturday. We met other volunteers serving there at 9 to set things up and prep for the time together.
Stations were set up for make up, nails, making friendship bracelets, and watercolors. As the ladies arrived, they were so excited to have a place of peace and refuge, away from the men and children, for a little bit of time for themselves. Barb was feeling a bit better and was able to join us. Barb and I were chatting with a young girl from Afghanistan, learning some Farsi words and teaching her the English words. It was fun to interact with her and laugh together, each of us laughing at our language skills.
After leaving the Ephraim Center, I dropped off LH and Sarah at camp to join the men and other volunteers for the 8-5 shift. I took Barb to meet up with the medical team so she could go in for her 4-12 shift.
Once we arrived at camp, it was a slow start for us. Many other volunteers were working on various projects and it took a bit of time to get us plugged in. LH and Sarah went out to do some census work (basically checking in housing structures to verify that the records that we have are correct as to who is living there). I believe Kevin and Perry did this most of the day today. Eric and I also were also sent to do the same thing. We were all in different sections of the camp.
After Eric and I finished, as we were leaving on of the units, there was an elderly man from Afghanistan sitting at a picnic table drinking tea. He asked if we would like to have some tea as well (he didn't speak English, it was by "charades"). We sat down with him, and soon after, many children came to hang out with us. We took some time visiting, and playing with the children--Eric arm wrestled some of the boys (letting them win, haha...they were 8 or 9 years old), and taught them thumb wrestling. Many of the girls wanted to sing to me, we played many hand clapping games/songs, and shared our names. Then I showed them photos of my family (husband, parents, brothers, nieces and nephews). Eric did the same. It was a really sweet time together, even with the language barrier. Before we left, the elderly man asked if we would take a photo. Of course, I was happy to do it.
After a nice dinner by the water in the town of Thermi, we ended up with an earlier evening. A few of us went to a local cafe for some tea and journaling (or blogging).
Stations were set up for make up, nails, making friendship bracelets, and watercolors. As the ladies arrived, they were so excited to have a place of peace and refuge, away from the men and children, for a little bit of time for themselves. Barb was feeling a bit better and was able to join us. Barb and I were chatting with a young girl from Afghanistan, learning some Farsi words and teaching her the English words. It was fun to interact with her and laugh together, each of us laughing at our language skills.
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| a volunteer sharing the gospel with a Somalian woman |
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| The camp ahead |
Once we arrived at camp, it was a slow start for us. Many other volunteers were working on various projects and it took a bit of time to get us plugged in. LH and Sarah went out to do some census work (basically checking in housing structures to verify that the records that we have are correct as to who is living there). I believe Kevin and Perry did this most of the day today. Eric and I also were also sent to do the same thing. We were all in different sections of the camp.
After Eric and I finished, as we were leaving on of the units, there was an elderly man from Afghanistan sitting at a picnic table drinking tea. He asked if we would like to have some tea as well (he didn't speak English, it was by "charades"). We sat down with him, and soon after, many children came to hang out with us. We took some time visiting, and playing with the children--Eric arm wrestled some of the boys (letting them win, haha...they were 8 or 9 years old), and taught them thumb wrestling. Many of the girls wanted to sing to me, we played many hand clapping games/songs, and shared our names. Then I showed them photos of my family (husband, parents, brothers, nieces and nephews). Eric did the same. It was a really sweet time together, even with the language barrier. Before we left, the elderly man asked if we would take a photo. Of course, I was happy to do it.
Tomorrow we will go to church again at Oasis. The rest of the day we hope to explore some of the island.
Vicky your blogs are great. Makes me feel like I am there or experiencing de je vue all over again
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