Birthday Surprise

We prepared lunch as much as possible last night and this morning. Then we went to our own Bible class so that it would be in English. John and Arlene Galloway joined us again today. After class, we joined the congregation here for a service that was mostly in French. There was an American man that has lived here for years that translated the sermon for us. Becky had gotten sick again after class so went back to bed. When the service was over, our American translator asked if there were any birthdays this week. The majority of our group turned and looked at me so I felt I had to raise my hand. They had me stand along with a little Belgian girl and they sang "Happy Birthday" in FRENCH, no less. It was priceless!

After the services were dismissed, Debbie and I ran back upstairs to check on dinner. We had made a pasta strata with pasta, alfredo sauce, ham, mushrooms, and cheese on top. Side dishes were a fruit salad and a regular salad. and of course, baguettes. We enjoyed visiting with John and Arlene during the afternoon. After they left I took about a 30 minute nap before scrubbing potatoes. Dinner was leftover Belgian vegetable soup, baked potatoes with fixin's and assorted other leftovers that we needed to use or lose. Unfortunately, the potatoes didn't get quite done. They weren't exactly crunchy but they weren't smooth either. The unbelievable thing is the kids never even complained! This is the best group. I told them we wouldn't be hurt if they microwaved their potatoes, but only a handful did. And they were so sweet about it. I have never seen a group of college kids who were so appreciative of everything we do. It still amazes me that we have 33 people, all with different tastes and preferences and we fix one main dish and a few side dishes every meal and I have never heard the least little complaint. LOVE these kids.

Jon Michael napped almost all afternoon so he may be up with the college kids until curfew. That may have all been part of his evil plan all along. He kept falling asleep in church but so did I. Ha!

A secret project was revealed tonight after dinner by the students. More about that when the time is right. Now we have some students working their work study jobs, some studying, and well, most of them are studying. Which is what I need to do to be ready for class tomorrow. Going to let Jon Michael use the computer for a while and help Debbie prepare for tomorrow's meals. Night all!