Person of Peace--Part 2

Did I mention that sleeping at the home of a worthy person could involve sleeping on the floor?!

And so, when we were about to be literally de-bunked out of Isola, another worthy person—an Egyptian brother who also lived in Isola—offered us his home. This was no small gesture: our team now numbered…oh let’s say 16…I kind of lost track towards the end. I was so humbled by his act of generosity and spontaneity; we were extremely grateful for a quick and cheap solution, although I wondered immediately how many beds this offer included...

When we organize short term outreaches, we are completely dependent on the field to find accommodations for us. This could be a hostel, a guest house, or church floor (mercifully rare in my experience). To go into a strange place and look for a person of peace for a night’s lodging would be a challenge, to say the least, but the idea of finding one person, and staying in one place, is extremely appealing!

Missionaries in the States move from house to house as they report back to donors, friends and families. Most missionaries will confess to being extremely stretched to keep such a schedule, and extremely relieved to finally get back in their own beds. (We actually count how many beds we sleep in as we travel…a little touch of missionary nerdiness you can share with your friends.)

Can I confess to counting beds as soon as I arrived at our Egyptian brother’s house?

We found two available for our use, and one mattress. There was lots of floor space in an upstairs room, and two couches. We gave one bed to one couple. Men stayed downstairs, women hiked upstairs. Marco thought he would sleep in his car, but opted for a couch in the end. Upstairs, if we turned the mattress sideways, three of us women could fit. I wondered if I should be the sacrificial leader lamb, and take the floor, but decided if it came down to it, I would sleep in the van.

In the end, after taking the artwork to storage, I was one of the last to arrive home. By that time, half the team was already sprawled somewhere, and the rest had voted me onto the mattress (another good reason to be the last one to bed on outreach?!).

Can I say again how much I love my team?! They are ALL most worthy persons!