what a day!!!!!!!!!!!!

Woohoo, what an amazing Sunday! It was absolutely amazing, the way I wish every Sunday would go. Driving to the House church, I was really unsure of what this would be like, but it was very cool. 36 people were there, sitting in dining room chairs, couches, steps, and the back porch, with the mountains outside. Nothing extra, just songs, prayer, and a message. It was great, and very easy to remember. Because of the smallness, it was as if the preacher was having a conversation with me, I really enjoyed it. Then came the waterfall, oh my goodness. It was amazing. The whole time we were walking, I was thinking, oh dear, we have to walk all the way back up this mountain. I was seriously contemplating staying there, not bothering to come back. Then we reached a huge waterbed, completely dry except for a small stream running through it. It just amazed me to see little kids with buckets in their hands. They could have walked all day just to get the water their family needed. We have so much water, and we waste it so much. These people were bathing openly in the streams, it was totally normal for them. As we continued on, the view of the mountains continuously took my breath away, which was a bummer because after that and all that hiking, I was quite lacking on breath! once we came closer, I got really excited. We took tons of pictures, then came the waterfall itself. Brett, Ryan, Nate, and I decided to head up the waterfall with Mark and His friends (who look like mountain goats compared to us) and slowly but surely made ut up the waterfall, one step at a time. Talk about scary rock climbing, it was so cool. We just kept going and going, then realized we should head back. on the way back I figured since I was so sweaty, I might as well get 100% drenched. So therefore, I decided to stick my head into a waterfall. The rock was amazing, it looked like a smooth slide, it had been formed by the water so much, and it looked just georgeous, I have no words to describe it. We kept making our way down, little slips and falls here and there. Once, I slipped and got wet to my waiste, so I just layed back into the waterfall and sat there, once again a breathetaking experience because of the cold water! So we made it, only one little waterfall seperating us from our group, but it was nearly impossible to climb down, so then came the next best thing. Sliding down the 18 foot waterfall on our precious little bums, landing in a knee deep pool of water. Here we go, Kristin and Jay threw our shoes to us to help break the fall. Nate went down slowly and gracefully, then it was my turn. I tried to go slow, then slipped, landed in the pool of water sideways, and sat there, quite surprised, with the biggest wedgie I've had in a while. On the way back, we enjoyed the scenery again. I had to keep concentrating on what was right in front of me to avoid falling, but whenever I took the time to actually look at the view, I was amazed. Sunday afternoon, looking at an amazing creation, not much can beat that. It was awesome. We got back, washed up after being drenched in sweat. Then came our baby fix, it was awesome. Supper was great, and then came devos, bible school prep, more babies, and then blog time.
After a day filled with God's beautiful creation, worship with fellow believers, and cuddle time with God's littlest angels, now comes the not so glamorous part. Cocroaches and Rats, our two favorite things here at GLA. The massive cocroaches have officially invaded, and just 5 minutes ago, we had 4 people screaming, feet instantly up on chairs, and Kristin slapping at it with her flip flop. Those are the things we won't ever forget. All in all, I love this place, and we are all becoming more and more comfortable. Now its time to try and get some shut-eye before our VBS. Pray for energy for all of us as we try to teach these awesome kids! Thanks So much, I appreciate you all!

_Kelly VandenBerg_