Ants Attack

Our day at the beach was fun and relaxing (with a 30 minute stop at the flea market). The sun was hot, the water was warm, the water slide was open, and the food was good. Exactly what we expected from Atami Beach (ok, the newbies - AKA Rachel, Ray & Jonathan - didn't expect the beach to be that nice but the rest of us knew!)


We made it back in time for dinner and had a few moments to go back to our rooms. The guys opened the door to their dorm to find a swarm of ants on the ceiling, beds, floor, etc. Needless to say, our team of guys kept their cool (sort've), quickly packed their suitcases, and hightailed it down to the cafeteria. They were pretty freaked but Ed (one of the missionary associates here) quickly got someone up there and assigned the guys to a new, ant-free dorm. Ed told us there were three kinds of ants in the room: flying ants, little red ants, and large ants carrying eggs. That was NOT  the kind of excitement we were expecting on our final night. All is well now (except we all think there are ants everywhere). 


The farewell service is always a special time. The national staff, missionary associates, Pastor Julio, and Missionaries Don & Terri Triplett thank us personally, do a few dramas, and show our team video. We conclude with a time of prayer - the nationals pray for us and we pray for them. It's always a good time but somewhat sad to say good-bye to so many friends. 


Tomorrow, we travel home (leaving a little early to get papusas). Pray that we arrive safely and on time! I want to invite everyone to hear from the team on Sunday morning at any of our services. I promise you, it will be a service you won't forget! 


Thanks for reading the blog faithfully. We've enjoyed your comments. Kathy Harting gets a gold star for commenting the most and for pumping up the blog everywhere except the jumbo-tron in Times Square!


Adios, amigos! 
Pastor Arlena