Waiting.... Waiting.... Waiting ... WAITING

So today is the day! I finally come home.... well almost. I leave today yes, but I am staying in london overnight and then flying at 10:30 AM tomorrow morning and will get back in the states at about 2-2:30ish. CRAZY, but let me tell you the wait is killing me. having a flight at nighttime is DEFINITELY not a bright idea. Because when the other interns leave at different times and you are left alone, you get kinda bored. Right now I am waiting in the airport and don't leave til 9:10.... my flight was suppose to leave at 7:10 which will get me into london probably around 11:30 pm or so. Which now resorts me to buying time until my flight.... here is what I've found...

As you can see waiting does me no good. BUT as for Greece I will miss you. I will miss all the wonderful people I got to work with, and most importantly I will miss every Refugee that touched this little heart of mine. I'll continue to pray for each of them. Please pray for the team. There will be lots of people leaving to raise support and get their paper work taken care of, so they will be short of hands which is no bueno. And pray for my roommates; Tiffany and Jessie, with the next steps of their lives as for me. Hello adventure here I come. Thank you so much for staying in tune with this blog and supporting me with not only your contributions, but also your prayers! Thank you thank you thank you. God truly did bless this time while I was here. So thanks again! May God bless you today and days to come!

OH pray for safe travels today and tomorrow for me :) THANKS

-Callie

The End Is On The Horizon

The final week is here. Actually the last 4 days is here. We have done 3 of the 5 parties. Two more left. And it is getting hard to say goodbye. Tuesday was probably the hardest. The women from the Shower Day, came with all of their families. This was the first time I saw everyone in their family, and it didn't make it any easier. Tears were shed, hugs were given, and kisses on the cheek and thanks for blessing each others lives were exchanged. I am going to miss them all. Which makes these last couple days SO hard. As much as I have looked forward to coming home, at the same time I haven't looked forward. What makes this hard is knowing what the next step might be, I know there is something big I am going to do but after that, what is next. And knowing I might never see these people again until the final days makes it even more sad. But at the same time, I will look at the pictures I have taken, I will recall the times I have experienced, and I will have a joyous time going down memory lane. I love these people with all my heart, and I bet you would too. The Christmas party includes, Family pictures! (with a fire place backdrop) and A christmas tree, a Program(which includes singing, puppets, and a sermon type thing), food, and presents. Such a joyous occasion seeing their eyes light up, allowing fellowship, and having them all together for once. Such a beautiful picture. As time gets closer, and goodbyes come my way I have to reflect on this trip. Have i changed any, and if so in what areas.

I believe I have changed, but unfortunately I can't pinpoint the areas for you at this moment. God has shown me lots, has allowed me to experience different sides of ministry, has allowed me to give everything my all, and has allowed me to see pain. What it means to be a humble servant is on the eyes of the beholder. But all I can say is that I have been truly blessed and feel honored to have been picked to come. Now too look forward to culture shock. I wonder how bad it will be, I guess i'll just have to trust the Lord to get me through it. No worries :) ANYWAYS Today we are having a family over for some presents, pizza, soda, and fellowship. Tomorrow is my last English class :( and a christmas party. Saturday is the last time with the team and Last Christmas party. Sunday is packing and cleaning of the apartment. And Monday I will be on my way back Fly to London at 7:30 PM next morning fly at 10:30 AM and reach the Lonestar state! It is coming faster than expected

Thanks for the prayers! Keep them coming for strength and for safety! Love you guys :)

CHRISTMAS PARTY 1

So Yesterday was the CHRISTMAS PARTY for the kids. AND ONLY the kids. It was such an awesome experience. There were 4 stations the RED, BLUE, YELLOW, and GREEN teams could go to:
1.) The Craft station: which included a Nativity scene with stickers you could put on. (The kids LOVED the stickers).
2.) The Cookie Station: where they were able to decorate cookies. WHICH my girls saved for later :)
3.) The Game station: Where they had to knock down the snowman (made out of boxes) with little balls. It had a tin hat and everything :) (AND I MADE IT which made it super cool ;) )
4.) The Toy Village: Where the kids were able to pick out their own toys.

The party went better than expected about 40 kids showed up from ages 7-12 boys and girls. We had fun times. Myrna who is on our team dressed up as an elf, and told the Christmas story in a way they could relate too. I know the kids had a great time. You could see it in their eyes. And what the neatest thing about it was that the parents weren't there at all, and our whole team got involved. Which was the coolest thing to see. WE sang a song that was called He Is The Light, and by the end of the day ( and after the 1,000th time we sang it the kids LOVED it and knew it word by word. There was even a little girl that said a little poem TWICE that said something like " Jesus was born to die for all our sins, 3 days later he rose again, and he is still alive today." SO neat. The coolest part was the toy village. Not only did they get to get 1 toy but they were able to get 2 big ones and 1 little one, and by the end of the day they were able to have 2 more. SO COOL. What I realized though, is that the women are more stressful than the kids to me. They are the ones that are pushy, and these kids have gotten to a point that they actually listen. The women don't. And they can be really hateful at times. I dunno I guess I am just drawn to the kids more so.

One thing that was the sweetest thing was one of the little girls that was in my group when she came up to me she said "Caroling Caroling (since they can't say callie for some reason it sounds like carorling lol)" but yeah she shuffled around her bag and pulled out this little ring. I thought she was just showing it to me but instead she wanted to give it to me. So i tried to let her keep it but she was persistent, and gave it too me anyways. The little girl has only come a few times, and she gave me her ring. I am going to miss these kids so much. I have tried to put off the thinking that I am about to leave and that I'll might never get to see them. BUT it's really hard. On monday it will be 1 week until I leave. Today is my last shower day. And I have to say goodbye. I think that is the hardest thing for me is saying goodbye. I mean I am coming back to the life I use to, the life of leisure, the life of materialistic things. And leaving everything I have become so accustomed to. I am sad. And as I said the other day. If I was Mary Poppins I would just stuff all these people into my bag, and try to help them find a good life. Sigh I must be off I have to go get ready for my last showers day :( It's not going to get any easier from here on out. Better start with the sadness now. But in the midst of that I must MUST must make every moment count. EVERY moment.