Expecting the Unexpected

Amelia and I in our beds.

My alarm was set this morning for 6:30 am, because I wanted to work on work that I need to get done.  I woke up before my alarm and realized that it was raining a torrential downpour (or so it seemed as it hammered upon our tin roof).  The rain took away my motivation to walk out to the pavilion in order to get internet and work on my work so I laid back down to rest more.  Before I knew it, I heard someone yelling "Guest speaker in 15 minutes!"  I was thinking,
"What in the world?  We are supposed to leave for the school at 8:30 and it's only 7 am!"  Listening to a speaker was not exactly the first thing I wanted to do this morning.  Never-the-less, I headed out to grab breakfast (pancakes with honey) and listen to our guest speaker.  We talked about cultural differences between the states and Belize mostly.  It was actually pretty interesting (although, I think we can all agree that our 15 minutes of warning beforehand left many of us a little off kilter).  At the end, we were told to go change immediately, so we can head off to the school.  So, all of us girls ran off to grab our skirts in order to head to the school for the day.  When we were ready to board the bus, we were informed that with all the rain, the bus couldn't make the drive, so we would actually be staying here.  Once again, we headed back to change.  Dr. Skon gave us about an hour to figure ourselves out before class.  In class, we talked about love.  It was a pretty good discussion with the occasional interruption of dogs barking and loud rain banging on the tin roof, but it left us all with thoughts of what true sacrificial love really is.

Following class, many of us rested and worked on class work.  The internet wasn't working very well and the rain was rather unmotivating but we had most of the day to work.  I tried to get some stuff done but like many of the others, I was distracted by every little thing and couldn't sit still.  I was anxious to go do anything.  Once the rain calmed, Brighton and I went on a walk exploring the area, hoping to see something exciting.  Along our walk we didn't encounter anything too unordinary, other than Belizeans graciously offering us rides in their cars, some friendly boys on bikes, grass huts, butterflies, and a pretty stream.  Once we got back, we found out everyone at the camp had experienced a downpour, but we never felt more than a little sprinkle!  We felt pretty lucky!  Then we joined some of the others playing with a soccer ball with some little boys and eventually some Monopoly Deal and euchre.

After dinner, Dwight (our bus driver and friend) summarized his life story for us.  It was captivating.  I was intrigued with his stories about growing up in Belize, attending SNU, teaching in schools, and most importantly serving God.  Dwight challenged us to keep our names "good' and to minister to others in all that we do.  He encouraged us to be righteous with a roar like a lion, not from fear but from confidence.

Last but not least, Third Day "When the Rain Comes" has been in my mind all day long.  It seems rather fitting considering all the rain we've had recently and our discussions about love and ministry.

When the rain comes, 

it seems that everyone has gone away
When the night falls, 

you wonder if you shouldn't find someplace
To run and hide
Escape the pain
But hiding's such a lonely thing to do

(chorus)
I can't stop the rain
From falling down on you again
I can't stop the rain
But I will hold you 'til it goes away.

When the rain comes
you blame it on the things that you have done
When the storm fades
you know that rain must fall on everyone
Rest awhile
it'll be alright
No one loves you like I do