The Family / Children of God

ONE MONTH IN MAMA AND PETER'S HOME--DIARY OF A FEMALE SGA

Excerpted from The Grapevine,  #105 - 108. 2001

Introduction

       The Lord showed me to write a diary for a month.--Heaven knows I've never been able to keep up with a diary consistently, but this is reachable. And since I might be in Mama and Peter's Home for only a month, it's a good incentive. There are so many little things that I didn't notice when living in the Folks' Home before. But now tha t I've been away in another unit for a while and I'm fresh to the situation again (and yet I have the advantage of feeling perfectly at home here, since I lived and worked in their Home for a year and a half before and I know everyone very well), hopefully I can give what the Lord called a “fishbowl glimpse” of daily life in their Home.
       Actually, all everyone in the Folks' Home does (besides our tireless shoppers, handymen and childcare people) is sit at their desks for a good hunk of each day , tapping away at their keyboards to get sundry publications out to the Family and the GP. A good 90 percent of my day is taken up with that as well, so if the daily accounts seem scant, just remember what all those blank spaces represent.--Work … work … and, guess what? More work.
       I wonder if people realize that Mama's staff rarely see her? I mean, I wonder if they really realize it. I've been here for just over a week now, and I've briefly spoken to Mama three times in person (and that's an unusually high number)--two when she was walking somewhere in the driveway and I just happened to pass by, and once when I'd just finished hanging my laundry, last Monday. As I was walking back to my little room, I heard a “Hi, Honey, I love you!” I looked up and saw Mama poking her head out of her “upper room” door, waving and beaming at me. (Mama and Peter live in a room on the second floor, above the laundry room/tool shed.--It has a private entrance at the back of the house.) Since my little room is at the end of the carport (the carport is open on the sides, covered on the top), I have also heard her go by twice, and glimpsed her through my window once.
       We do get regular updates/prayer requests from her helper, Rose, or the Home Shepherd, and of course most people are connected by a phone intercom, so if they work with her they hear her voice daily or at least weekly. But since I'm a temporary resident, I don't have an intercom in my room. In any case, I reckon that'd be one of the surprises to a field person (barring leadership, of course, who come for the main purpose of seeing and talking to Mama and Peter).
       Okay, I'm writing about today though, so I'd better get on with it, or this'll be way too long for Jenna to pub in the GV.

WEEK ONE

Day One. Thursday.

       I woke up and quickly got ready for devotions, only to walk through the sliding door of the living room and realize (due to the empty couches) that it's private devotions today. Ha. So I grabbed a quic k breakfast--peanut butter/honey sandwich and a piece of fruit--and went back to my room. Three of the wonderful resident guys were in the kitchen, Joseph, Matthew and Keefe, all getting coffee or breakfast. Otherwise the house was totally quiet. I take private Word time.

       As I sit at my tiny desk in the room I'm staying in (the desk is just wide enough to fit my computer monitor and a lamp, with a pull-out tray for my keyboard), I have my curtain cracked so I can see one patch of greenery in the neighbor's field (this part of our backyard is a grassless courtyard--there's grass further out back where the laundry lines are).

       8:00 PM. Rebecca SGA (who loves to cook Indian food) has made us a delicious meal of lentils, rice, and Indian style peas/potatoes/cabbage. We serve ourselves from a counter in the living/dining room. The space behind it has been converted into a food-prep area for Mama and Peter's helper, Rose.
       It's a quiet meal as a few of the guys have gone to play bask etball (which they do about three times a week). Women outnumber guys in the Home, so their absence is noticeable.
       I sit with Yvonna, Jenna and Colette. The little girl entertains us with an incomprehensible song and such polite things as “How are you, Mommy?” said ten times consecutively. Then, after she almost slips off her chair once, a little wail, “Help me, Mommy, help me!” as she pretends to be slipping a couple more times.
       During dinner the intercom in the dining room rings. Rose answ ers it, and someone calls out to her, “If that's Mama, can I talk to her after you?”
       At prayer time we pray for people we know are traveling to Mexico and to Russia, for two of the staff who have headaches, three staff backaches, and our resident artist, Tamar, who has a neck and hand cramp!--This must be how the Lord keeps Mama's staff righteous--they have so many afflictions!
       I love the late evening. The street lights in the distance are beautiful against the night sky.
       I work after dinn er for a couple of hours, like almost all the residents here.

Day Two. Friday.

       I did it again! Went into the house for devotions, only to discover it's private devotions. Oh well, at least I'm up! During our united praise time we took a few minutes to thank the Lord for our birthday people (it's their birthday dinner tonight). Everyone popcorned things we like about them. Here are some of the things I jotted down:

       Fun
       Sexy
       Affectionate
       Reliable
       User friendly
       Enjoy good food
       Have soft hearts
       Beautiful additions to our Home
       Know how to enjoy life!
       Love the Lord
       Determination
       Hard workers
       Easygoing

       At prayer time we prayed for Rose's eyes, as they're sore. We also prayed for Mama's eyes and against a slight sore throat she had yesterday. We have a sick kitten--someone prayed it would get better so we can find it a better home. Someone prayed for a relative who has promised to support the Family financially. Three people have bad backaches and three p eople have neck aches. We prayed for Magda, who's visiting us for a while and is soon going back to Russia with a bunch of overweight luggage (forsake-all clothes from Mama and the Home here).

       4:10 PM. I just finished an hour-long soccer game, about six on six. It's hard work! Though of course, our “field” is only half-size, and our goals consist of two wooden posts and no net.
       Peter is in the workout area (a corner of the carport that has an old carpet on it), just outside my door, doing a little painting and fix-it work on the weight equipment. He's dressed in a light gray pullover work suit, his long hair partly back in a ponytail to keep it out of his face. The paint is bright, bright red. Jenna's dropped by to discuss some work with me, and we both bemoan the fact that we don't have a camera handy for some “now it can be told” pub someday.

       6 PM. Colette loves my miniature yellow stuffed rabbit. She dropped by to borrow it again, for the second time.

       7:45 PM. Almost t ime for the birthday dinner! I've been smelling the BBQ all afternoon and I'm FAMISHED.

       8:00 PM. It's dinner time, and none too soon. Everyone comes out of the woodwork and into our dining room. (We have several little square tables set up, sitting four-apiece in our rather narrow but long dining/living room. With the checkered tablecloths it's kind of cozy, like a little restaurant.) Contrary to our usually quiet and uneventful meals, tonight the dining room sounds like a college cafeteria, with Latin music playing above the happy din of conversation.
       It seems like everyone's a bit overdue for a party in this house. I've discovered that a good percentage of the people here generally do some desk work on their rest days, even, depending on the need. It's the era of action and there's so much to do!
       The party is quite a cultural mix: The meal is American--BBQ'd chicken and ribs, french fries, and salad. The beer is German (a special occasion treat) and the music Latin.
       After I get my food I hear a voice saying, “Come sit with us!” It's Misty, her husband, Matthew, and Mama's long-time secretary and custodian of the prophecy archives, June. Though our mouths are mostly occupied with consuming this hearty meal, my table companions do have time to share a few jewels of knowledge with me.
       There's a delicious, spicy BBQ sauce, courtesy of Misty. Matthew warns June that it's kind of spicy, and she responds, “That's okay, I was a Hari Krishna!” (Ha! I query June only to f ind out this is actually true!)
       At the end of the rare and sumptuous meal, we all lift our beer glasses and give three cheers for the birthday people. A hush falls over the room as people pray popcorn style for the Family, and especially for a couple of very sick brethren we have just heard about.
       King Peter has blended right in for this dinner-party, and after we all pitch in with dishes a bunch of us huddle around his corner table for 15 minutes of light-hearted conversation.
       Then we wat ch a birthday movie with an intermission for birthday snack, and hit the sack around midnight.

Day Three. Saturday.

       Keefe, one of our Home shepherds, has made pancake batter again for Saturday morning, to go with our “jam day” (since we only have jam once a week). I still have cake and icecream from last night (I was WAY too full to eat it!), so I just have that for breakfast. There are four girls in the kitchen (three SGA, one FGA) and we have a five-minute “grammar chat” while we're mak ing pancakes or eating, about common mistakes we make when editing.

       1:30. Lunch is leftovers from the feast last night, as well as leftover lentils and rice and veggies from the other day.

       4:45. Just made milkshake for people with some fruit I froze yesterday, and yogurt. It's thick! There's much more than I expected too, so I advertise to others that there are two pitchers in the kitchen. People are out of their cubbyholes, doing their weekly house-cleaning jobs. Peter's out in the exer cise area in his work overalls, painting again.

       7:45. It's Parent Time and I spy Colette out my window, helpfully pulling up little weeds that have grown through the cracks in the courtyard, with her chubby hands.

       8:15. While walking to my room, Mama opened her upstairs window and said “Hi.” We chatted for a couple of minutes about some work I sent to her to approve. She also commented on a video snack I'd made before (called muesli crunch bars) that she liked it but since she can't eat real sweet things, maybe next time I can try to cut the honey/sugar amounts yet still make it chewy.

Day Four. Sunday.

       Today was uneventful, except a little crowd of us got together for a “potluck” meal--where everyone brings their own little dish to contribute to the main meal of the day. This is a fun change from the usual “just make your own food” we do on Sunday. King Peter even showed up, deciding to come at the last minute, and as usual when he joins Home activities, we all felt com fortable chatting and fellowshipping with him.

Day Five. Monday.

       10:50 AM. I'm well into my work morning, consolidating my to-do list for the week. Our weekly grammar class (a recent development, for the beginner writers/editors) is being switched from Saturday to Tuesday evening.

       3:30 PM. I walk with Rebecca around the neighborhood for an hour of exercise.

       6 PM. Scurrying around, trying to find where all the food and spices are kept for the Indian meal (Chicken Vindaloo--without the hot spices), I want to prepare for tonight. Peter comes into the house and asks what is for dinner (a regular habit, so he knows what to look forward to, I assume). I assure him that the exotic-sounding meal is a favorite of the people back home.
       Due to the unique architecture of this house (it has a labyrinth of hallways that stumps any newcomer trying to find his or her way around), I'm able to play loud music during my dinner prep, and it doesn't disturb any of the desk workers in the h ouse! There are speakers in the kitchen, connected to the tape deck in the living room next door, for this purpose. (Swinging doors separate the two rooms.) The speakers are covered in garbage bags (I'm guessing it's to protect them from kitchen grease) and when the bass is heavy on a song, they vibrate with a unique percussion kind of sound. Tap a thin, taut garbage bag with the end of a metal spoon and you'll know what I'm talking about.

       8:00 PM. Some of the guys are out playing basketball again, so the remainder of the Home watches ice-skating highlights over dinner. There is a particularly charming couple, and all the girls go on about the man's long hair, to the playful frustration of one of our male Home shepherds. We assure him that he can safely drool over the female skating partner.
       One overall trait of Home members here: They're heavy on the appreciation for a good dinner! Since around sixty percent of the Home comment that they like the food, I can safely gather it was a success.

       11:40 PM. I finally turn off my computer and fall into bed, even as I am positive some of the hardworking residents are still tapping away at their keyboards, or putting files on the reader for Mama.

Day Six. Tuesday.

       Misty leads devotions. It's our communion morning, and after praying a blanket prayer for all the healing requests, Misty offers that anyone can present a prayer request for their work or spiritual lives. There's no advance warning on this, yet the response i s overwhelming. People ask for prayer for more quality Word time, against discouragement, for anointing for their work this next week, for more prayerfulness, to use the New Weapons more faithfully, and so on. At least 85 percent of the Home responds. We then popcorn one-word prayers to sum up all these requests, while the wine is passed.
       Praise time is unique. Misty passes a plastic bag around for people to reach in and pull out an item. Then everyone must praise the Lord for the person on hi s or her left. The catch is that the praise must be something to do with the item we have each pulled out of the bag! A few examples are:
       Little figurine of a green elephant: “This reminds me of India and then I think how our dear resident artist has such a heart for the missionaries on the field.'
       Yellow hi-lighter pen: “This reminds me of how faithful [one of our shepherds] is to highlight areas of my life that need work.”
       Hook: “when you attach this hook to the wall it can take a lot of weight, and I'm thankful for [my wife] because she can take a lot too!”
       Flashlight: “This flashlight reminds me of [our computer technician], because when you have a problem with your computer, he doesn't just tell you how to fix it, but he comes and he shines a light on the problem and really helps you with it.”

       7:50 PM. The cook sends a note around that dinner is early. We watch a nature video while we eat. Peter walks through and pats me on the shoulder, since I'm sitting in an aisle s eat. I do dishes with Matthew.

       9:15 PM. After dishes, Tamar shows me photos of her grandson. We talk for half an hour about our boyfriends and various “girl-talk” things.

Day Seven. Wednesday.

       For devotions we watch part of the video of the Book of Acts, dramatized.

       10:19 AM. Listened to a work tape from Mama.

       4:50 PM. Mama has someone ask me to call her. I go in the house and borrow the intercom phone on Louise's desk. In the course of the conversation I mention that I'm goin g to be sending something timely to approve on Saturday, then quickly add that she doesn't have to go over it on Sunday. She replies with a chuckle, “That's okay, I work most every day. It's my joy!” (Mama clarifies to me later that she does take time off regularly--and that she takes time with the Lord daily without fail.)

WEEK TWO

Day Eight. Thursday.

       1:30 PM. Lunch isn't quite ready, so the few of us who have shown up early help set out plates and utensils. Lunch consists of an interesting dish of leftover rice mixed with cold tuna salad, plus a green salad.

       4:10. I hear Peter's nice voice outside my room, talking to one of the SGA men. A few minutes later I step out and mention that I can't hear every word, but they might not want to discuss anything ultra-personal since the sound carries. Peter replies, “Thank you, that's very thoughtful.” Then he adds with a grin, “I guess that means we can't talk about you!” I call back over my shoulder, “Unless it's good!” with a laugh. I grab a fruit snack and come back to my room.

       5:30. I get an e-pop (a small electronic pop-up message) from one of the SGA girls who lives upstairs in the house: “U busy?” When I reply that I'm working but not having PNP (prayer and prophecy) time, she responds…

       (Her:) Wanna pop 'n' praise?-Just phrases of things Jesus does and is for us type of thing, for a minute?
       (Me:) Sure, sounds fun. You lead the way.
       (Her:) Jesus, You're the best Lover I've ever loved with.
       (Me:) Thank You Jesus that the sun is shining today.
       (Her:) Jesus, I love how You understand every detail of my heart.
       (Me:) Thank You Lord for giving us fulfilling work and for how we can be a part of feeding the Family.
       (Her:) Thank You for how gently and tenderly You treat me, Lord.
       (Me:) Thank You Jesus for being so creative in Your love for us.
       (Her:) You have such a warm and welcoming nature. I feel so comfy around You.
       (Me:) Thank You for Your sense of humor and for Your interesting personality.
       (Her:) Your words wow me. They describe just the way I am. You know me so well.
       (Me:) Thank You for being so intelligent and wise, for being so up on the things we go through.
       (Her:) Amen and amen! XXX! Thanks, that was fun! ILY!

       Later in the evening the Home shepherd drops by and we chat about the mistakes that can be made when we go too fast.-Since I recently did just that, by editing something wrong and having to go back and re-do it.

       7:30. I chat with Jenna in the exercise area. June brings me a printout of something she's asked me to read aloud at the prayer morning meeting, Friday.

       8:00. Dinner is beans and cornbread. At announcement s time Colette wants to give an announcement and her caretaker suggests she quotes her verse, “Fight the good fight of faith!” which she does with great enthusiasm. After everyone claps and praises her, she decides she wants to quote another verse, and does so, to the chuckles of everyone.-She loves performing.

       9:15. Since I haven't had get-out today, I play some MP3 music from my computer and take some in the exercise area (which is right by my room).

       10 PM. I ask Jenna if I can jump in her shower (I rotate between bathrooms in the house.) When I go upstairs to her room, I find that Colette is going to sleep on her bed, listening to a kids' tape, while Jenna continues working at her desk, a couple inches away.

       11:40. I've sent off some personal email and crawl into bed.

Day Nine. Friday.

       It's prayer morning. June and our in-house computer tech man lead it. June announces new ways to pray with the intro that “if they don't work, just pretend that they do.” We do a “w ave prayer” where everyone goes around the room doing the wave, as they pray for various aspects of a short business trip one of our Home members is going on. Then we do a “Catholic prayer” for personal prayer requests, and all kneel on the floor. The floor is cold and hard. Afterward someone comments, “Thank God we're not Catholics!”

       1:30. At lunch time, our Home shepherd announces that Mama and Peter are going away for a few days so they can concentrate on some work. Peter has had mild hea rt pains, yesterday and today. We pray for him at lunch.

       4:30. I don't go out with the team to play soccer. They come back and tell me they missed me. There's a lot of activity in the driveway today. Peter is talking in the driveway with an SGA girl. He passes by and comments, “It's like grand central station here for you!” to which I respond that compared to where I usually work back at my Home (in a centralized office situation) it's not bad, and that I have good concentration when there a re people around.

       6:50. I'm going stir-crazy in my little room, since I missed get-out, so I go for a praise time break on the back step of the house (overlooking the backyard.) As I'm sitting there, three different people pass by and say hello, and two of those people check “Are you okay?” and I have to reassure them that I'm fine, just taking a break.

       7:19. Mama walks by (she's getting things ready for her and Peter's departure). She pokes her head in and says “Hi!” She also comments o n the noise factor of my location, and says I'm in the “center of action,” and I reassure her too that I have good concentration, and that I actually like to hear and see people passing by, that it helps diminish my sense of isolation. When she hears this she comments, “You probably miss your boyfriend,” and I quickly reassure her that he writes me regular notes, so I don't miss him too badly. She finishes with “I'm so happy you're here, even though I don't get to see you much.-You're practicall y outside our door! I love you!” She smiles and walks on down the driveway and around the front of the house.
       Oh, by the way, she's wearing her light gray-tinted sunglasses but her eyes are wide open! I try not to look at her face constantly so that she'll feel comfortable closing them now and then. It's tricky though, because I don't want to look away just as she's opened her eyes to look at me!
       I've been reflecting on how thankful I am that my room is located right here. Surely, if I had a room inside the big house, I wouldn't see Mama even a tenth as much as I do out here, because walking by my room and down the driveway is the only way to get out the front gate without actually walking through the whole house. Actually, I just calculated that I would only have seen her on three occasions since being here, if I lived in the house. Hurrah for this little room!

       7:23. Mama walks back around the corner of the front with Rose. As Mama passes, she chuckles in mid-sentence and smil es and waves at me when she realizes I'm smiling at her.

       7:44. Peter walks past. “Love you.”

       7:55. Peter passes by again and blows a kiss.

       8:02. Peter walks by again, holding a bunch of paraphernalia for their trip. Mama also follows behind him. Since they're about to leave, she gives me a hug. Our conversation is interrupted twice as she says goodbye to some of the other girls who pass by on their way to dinner.

       9:00. Chat after dinner with Rebecca and Tamar. We “girl-talk” for 15 minutes.

Day Ten. Saturday.

       After checking my email and writing a couple of work notes first thing, I run inside to get something and squeeze through three young people-two girls and a guy-vigorously doing a new workout video in our narrow living room.

Day Eleven. Sunday.

       It's hard to remember to do this diary! Especially when the Folks are gone. Most Sundays are quiet, and this is no exception. One outstanding thing I did was eat a nice dinner with four others in the evening (S unday is cook-your-own-food day).

Day Twelve. Monday.

       Work! At night I watched a movie with a few others.

Day Thirteen. Tuesday.

       I led devotions and weekly communion.

       11:30 AM. I typed a work tape from Mama; she's commenting on some editing work I did. In the course of the tape, she says. “This is another message, dash, message eight, dash. I don't have to put the dashes in. I get so used to dictating and having someone else type my approvals and pubs corrections. Ha, ha. It's funny that I forget that I'm just talking to you, and since you're hearing my voice, it's clear what I'm talking about.”-A little Mama-work trivia.

       4:30. Played volleyball for get-out.

Day Fourteen. Wednesday.

       We watched the Acts Visual Bible again for devotions. Quite interesting.

       11 AM. Mama and Peter are back. Mama passes by and we chat for a minute about some work I'm doing. Colette appears with her mom, and the little girl says hi to Mama. They chat for a couple minutes about how Colette helped wash the vehicle and had gotten wet doing it. Then Colette said “You can come into my house!” and Mama replied, “Yes, maybe later, 'cause right now I'm going into this house” (Mama and Peter's place).

WEEK THREE

Day Fifteen. Thursday.
       10:10 AM: Just finished washing a small mattress that Mama saw yesterday in the carport and wanted to use for something.
       Colette was at devotions this morning, and while we're praying she wants to cross the room. Her little shoes are quite loud on our dining room floor, so her mother instructs her she must tiptoe across. This for Colette means bending down and carefully watching each foot as she walks across the floor quietly. When she gets to the other side she bursts out in a high-pitched voice “I want to draw!” Ha!

Day Sixteen. Friday.
       Missed filling in this day, so sorry!

Day Seventeen. Saturday.
       Missed filling in this day, so sorry again!

Day Eighteen. Sunday.
       The young people went on a one-day outing together, which was fun. (Stay t uned for “Now It Can Be Told” in ten years or so, ha.)

Day Nineteen. Monday.
       Missed filling in this day too, sorry!

Day Twenty. Tuesday.
       12:30: Rose came to my door and said Mama asked if I could beep her. I go to Louise's room and use her intercom. There's a busy tone the first time I try. I retry a minute later and Mama picks up right away. She asked me if I'd written an account of our outing on Sunday yet (something she had asked me to do). I said I hadn't because I made up a movie Monday night, but I'd do it today.
       She mentioned that she and Peter were going Wednesday at 6:30 pm, not on a vacation but just to get away with a bunch of work (they've always taken work on vacations anyway). She mentioned Peter would take a bunch of GNs to look over and that way he'd get a break from the constant meetings he's had here at home the last week or so.
       Then she asked me how long it'd take for me to make muesli crunch bars like I'd made before. I told her I could probably do it after I did dinner dishes in the evening, and asked her how much I should make. She said Peter would probably like some too. Then she told me to ask the Lord before I began, if it was going to be too sweet for Mama anyway, then if He said yes, it'd save me time making it.
       Just before hanging up she said to give her love to my boyfriend.

Day Twenty-one. Wednesday.
       12:40 PM: Mama calls while I'm working in the kitchen, and asks me if I could get a timely prophecy before she and Peter leave (this happens regularly, no matter who you are, when you stay in Mama and Peter's Home)! I tell her that I've burnt my first attempt at muesli crunch, and right away she mentions that she and Peter both like to eat burnt things. (She's serious! Rose actually packs some of the burnt slice for them to take on their getaway trip.) I tell her I'm going to make the slice again, anyway. (It turned out great the second time, whew.)
       5 PM: On his way out, Peter said “Hi,” and I thanked him for the litt le mail note he'd sent me earlier in the day. He said “Thank you for your sweet note.” (Late last night I was reading the GN about his birthday celebration, which I just missed attending in person, and so I wrote him a note that said I wholeheartedly agreed with all the compliments people gave, and was sorry I didn't get a chance to write a personal birthday note. I told him I was happy to be here and that if I could ever do anything to make his and Mama's busy lives more comfortable, to not hes itate to ask. I gave the paper note to Rose, their caretaker, and I was pleasantly surprised when I received a note from Peter in my computer mail. It said (I'm including it just as it appeared):
       Thank you for your sweet note. I really appreciate it. You're a very precious girl and I love you lots.
       Love, Peter
       It was a touching ack­now­ledgement of my note-especially as I wasn't expecting a written reply.
       6:40 PM: I took some printouts to Mama's room. I knocked, then poked my head in and called out my name. Mama replied that she was in the back room. I didn't look around much in my last visit to their room. Mama and Peter's room consists of a small living room with couches, then a narrow hallway leads to the back room, which is where their bed is. They have a very high bed.-It's about chest level for me anyway. I think they have drawers or cupboards or something underneath it, because the room itself is not that big. The temperature was very warm. There are lots of dark green a rtificial plants around the place. Mama was sitting on a chair in the back room, with Rebecca drying and combing her beautiful, long hair.
       Poor Mama was squinting and asked me if I could turn off the overhead light as it was hurting her eyes. (We heard at devotions that her eyes are very sore today and we prayed she wouldn't get a headache.)
       I gave her the printouts she had asked for (they're for Peter), and briefly explained them, and she thanked me and put out her arms to give me a hug. I said goodbye and left, not wishing to make her keep opening her eyes more than she needed to.
       7 PM: Peter walked by with a laptop and some other things in his arms, on his way out. He said goodbye to me and gave me a kiss. I asked if I could help carry anything and he said that everything was loaded up already.
       7:25 PM: Mama walked by, and as always, she says goodbye and a few personal words to people who happen to be outside. She says goodbye to me too. She's dressed in a deep red sweater. Her pretty hair is in a red scrunchy, and she's wearing black slacks. She's holding a few last-minute tapes that people have given her. Her eyes must be feeling a little bit better, as she's not squinting at the moment, thank the Lord. (She's wearing her gray-tinted sunglasses.)
       Peter has already started the vehicle they're going in, so she quickly walks to the front of the house. It's going to be a bit more quiet for people with Mama and Peter gone.-They're expecting to be gone for a week or so, to get caught up on work and also rest up some more before some upcoming meetings.

WEEK FOUR

Day Twenty-two. Thursday.

       Oops, I missed this day too, sorry! Now you know why I never kept a diary. I'm doing well to fi ll in as much as I have.

Day Twenty-three. Friday.

       It's prayer morning again. After praise time we break up into small teams of three to pray for our local and worldwide prayer requests. I'm with two other girls, one SGA and one FGA, and after we pray for the Family we each share personal requests regarding our health and respective relationships.
       Afterward I have just a little time for PNP (prayer and prophecy) before it's my half-hour slot with little Colette, from 11 to 11:30. I sear ch the yard and all the empty places in the house (not many) and can't find her or Jenna, who's with Colette on the shift before me. Once I'm on the second floor I look into the courtyard and see them, right outside my room. Colette calls up, “These flowers are for you,” holding two little white flowers. Then after a pause she says, “Come down and be with me!”
       This is the first time I'm actually spending time with her since I came here. She leads me eagerly to the back yard, a part where it's a bit overgrown (which is why I hadn't spied them when I looked into the backyard) with just a pathway through, to show me her special “baby house” which consists of a little plastic dolly surrounded by picked flowers and pebbles. She relishes catching beetles, and laughs excitedly when I put four of them together, and they run around and climb all over each other. Then she has to go pee, but of course, she doesn't want to leave her fun “baby house.” I tell her she can go pee in “the cute little bathroom in my room.” That convinces her to leave her beloved playtime for a few minutes. Once there she decides she wants to draw-perfect for me, as I have a chance to make my bed and tidy up. All too quickly the time passes and it's time for Colette to be with Rebecca. I go back to my desk to finish my PNP assignments.

Day Twenty-four. Saturday.

       The FGAs go out for a special BBQ (this outing for the FGAs, and last week's outing for the SGAs, is Mama and Peter's idea, and a special litt le blessing of fellowship and relaxation). The house is abuzz all morning with FGAs walking around getting things ready. At around 1 pm they all drive out. Mama and Peter will be joining them too. The house is very quiet, with more than half the Home gone (a couple of the young people are away on short trips as well.)

Day Twenty-five. Sunday.

       Our Home Shepherd sent around a note that Mama called and said they're doing fine, and to send their love to us all.

Day Twenty-six. Monday.

       1:28 PM. I'm wrapping up some typing before lunch. The Home Shepherd walks by and asks me if I'm happy here and like it, and if I don't miss my boyfriend too much. He also asks me if I have an idea when I'll be able to return to my Home, work-wise (I'm here temporarily for work purposes). I said I wasn't sure about when I'll be returning home, but that I really like it here.

       8:10 PM. We all just sat down for dinner when someone announced that Mama just called with the news that Peter is havi ng bad chest pains, worse than he's had in a long while. We all pray desperately right then before our dinner documentary.

       8:45. Mama calls again and says that the chest pains haven't let up any, and asks everyone to sign up for prayer vigil, ten minutes each. I sign up for 10:10 PM. Mama also has a short prophecy sent around, with promises from the Lord that the “affliction is not unto death” and will help to get us, His children, praying for Peter and for other timely prayer requests.

       10:30 PM. A trip is going to the place Mama and Peter are staying for a few days, so that someone can help out while Peter's heart is hurting.

Day Twenty-seven. Tuesday.

       We received little updates throughout the whole day, that Peter hasn't had any more heart pains.

       8:20 PM. At dinner (which I made-a chicken-noodle dish) more details of Peter's condition were given. He was able to sleep in until 10:30 in the morning, which was really good. He's been taking it easy all day. His heart i s very tired from the pains the night before, and his skin feels tingly in places, but he's not having any more pains.

Day Twenty-eight. Wednesday.

       4:20 PM. Rebecca, who is assigned to answer the phone in the house right now, sends a note around to everyone about Peter's condition:

       Mama said that Peter is doing very well! He's still tired, but he's resting, and he's doing better. The Lord said that he should take a week of complete rest before getting into anything strenuous, and then he can start exercising little by little. They really, really thank everyone for their prayers, and ask us to please keep praying! xx


       And thus, dear reader, ends my four-week diary. It's only a tiny glimpse-time and space would fail to tell of all the “honey” that was made during those four weeks, in the busy bee-hive that is Mama and Peter's Home. And I can't convey all the smiles, friendly hello's, prayers that were prayed for you, pleasant dinner chit-chat, and laughter that was exchan ged-each person could paint a different picture of that one month from his or her own perspective, no doubt. But I do hope you enjoyed the few bits of trivia that I was able to share. I love you!