Final Preparations

We had our final preparation meeting last night (Sunday, June 28) of the CCUM 2009 Nicaragua Seeds of Learning work team.

Troy Wilmsen, our youngest participant, delighted us with his balloon creations, which he will do in Nicaragua. He put a hat on our host's head (John Davenport.) His grandmother, Deanie Wilmsen, made his balloon apron, and created the t-shirts we will all wear during our trip.

We made a ritual out of taking our malaria pills together, and will continue that ritual once a week during and after the trip.

Bob Smith played the square dance music on his i-pod that we will be dancing to as our "entertainment gift" while in Nicaragua. But it was too hot (in the upper 90's in Santa Rosa) to practice afterall, although it would have been good preparation for the heat of Nicaragua!

We practiced singing some hymns in Spanish and English, and shared some of the things we're looking forward to, and things we're concerned about as we travel next week. We used a meditation from the booklet Larry Trent created for us, and closed with the prayer that has become a tradition (started by Larry) as a benediction on the CCUM work trips:

The One who calls you
always walks beside you
giving you bread for the journey
and direction for your feet.