Day 1

Our first full day in Buxton was Aug. 29, 2007. Amy and I both slept in until about noon then met Tammy downstairs who walked us over the the Charis house. We briefly met Sue, our host mom, before leaving. Her and her husband Mich and Benard had returned from a Christian conference late that last night.

At the Charis House (Good News Family Center) we met a plethora of people, both workers and residents. It was a little overwhelming considering I'm still extremely tired. We had a little bit on orientation (or induction as they call it) and then were sent home about 3:30.

Amy and I spent about an hour figuring out how to set up the wireless on our laptops. We were both very happy that the house has wireless and even more excited when we actually figured everything out. It's such a comfort knowing that I can access email, facebook, and myspace whenever I feel like it. It's also great knowing that I can do webcam chats with Steve and download the latest episode of Greek--my newest addiction before leaving the States!!!

At 6PM Debbie picked Amy, Benard, and I up for dinner at Tim and Beryl's house. Along the way we also picked up Cida, a woman from Brazil also working at the Charis House. Tim and Beryl have the volunteers over for dinner once a week and also take the volunteers for coffee when needed. Beryl's relationship with us is she's an outlet when work becomes too much for us. This is such a blessing since she does not work at the Charis House and will keep anything told to her confidential. Her dinner was excellent and they are a wonderful couple. Beryl is a kindergarten teacher and helps with worship at the Charis House on Sunday. Tim does construction work. This was the first time we spent any time with Benard (the volunteer from Nepal). He is great, very funny and has such an infectious laugh! Cida (the volunteer from Brazil) knows very little English. I felt so sorry for her at dinner since she wasn't included in much of the conversation. For pudding (dessert) we had a cheesecake like cake topped with blueberries (I think!). They also had cream to pour on top of it--very British. So I did and it was wonderful!!! But I probably shouldn't make a habit out of it!!!

We returned home around 9PM and spent a little more time talking with Sue. She seems wonderful and I'm excited to spend more time with her and get to know her better!!! I was proud of myself for being able to stay up until 10. I tried to watch this weeks episode of Greek but after I realized I was listening more than watching I decided to call it a night.