With no classes on Fridays I chose to sleep in until 10 and have a quiet morning with God praying at the kitchen table. Having an open schedule I decided to turn on the television and see what’s on in the morning. I am not much of a t.v. watcher, but there are some pretty odd shows over here, so I thought I would experiment with their morning programming. Anyway after a few minutes of watching the telephone rang. This is a rare occurrence; in fact it only happens when Aurelie’s parents call from France. Expecting to face a large language barrier I hesitantly answered the phone and was surprised to hear an Irish gentleman tell me I have a package and that he’d meet me at the reception desk. Mom and dad were sending a few much needed supplies, but they sent their package yesterday afternoon, this couldn’t possibly be theirs. I didn’t know of anyone sending me a package. I thought it must be an oversized envelope or something from the university that didn’t fit in my mailbox, so they’re calling it a package. The delivery man heard me open the door from the third floor and began to sing. “Ohhhh Abby! You’ve got a package, oh you Abby Jamison, you have a package just for yoouuuu!” In a sweet old man Irish accent he sang to me all the way down the stairs. When I got to the bottom he nearly tossed me the package, but decided against it not knowing it’s contents.
Ms. Anna Burchett sent me a package. Shocked and delighted I received my gift and began my way back up the stairs. Then came the tears, the overwhelming feeling of love and appreciation hit as I walked back to my apartment. I composed myself and excitedly showed Abby C my new delivery. Opening it in the living room I found two square shapes neatly wrapped in white tissue paper tied with a yellow ribbon, my favorite color. The tears were now steady and not stopping anytime soon. Beginning with the smaller of the two I unwrapped a small leather book titled “Jesus Calling: Enjoying Peace In His Presence” by Sarah Young. Each day there is a devotional message written from Jesus’ point of view to the reader. Jordyn owns this devotional and has been sending a few of them through e-mail. Each have been powerful and really spoken to my heart. I was tempted to ask her to type out each days and send them to me, but I knew this would be a burden. Besides the fact I have my Bible and other books to do devotions with. I was so excited to see Anna had purchased the book for me. I look forward to going through the devotional with both Anna and Jordyn as we share what’s on our hearts and see how God is using the book in different ways to reach us.
The second box was quite a bit larger than the first, as I unwrapped it I found a beautifully painted wooden box. Maroon in color adorned with gold-stenciled words of encouragement. Inside I found headbands, I had contemplated bringing along my own from home, but was afraid they would be crushed in my suitcase. Problem solved! Beneath the headbands I found letters from both Anna and her mother “Mama Caron.” Of course both made me sob even harder. Next I came across two CD’s Anna created compiling a variety of fun, inspirational, nostalgic and just plain good music. Each song has it’s own significance and great memories attached. I cannot wait to listen to them on my long walks to school. Folded in half, the next present was a picture Anna colored for me. I’m not sure she even knows how much I love Winnie the Pooh. A colored picture + Winnie the Pooh = fantastic. Not to mention the caption is “Best friends hold hands” of course I miss my strolls around campus holding Anna’s hand especially as we would walk to and from Cru (Campus Crusade for Christ) in the frigid cold. Up next was a variety of pictures of great memories. Most of which came from our fun weekend at the farm. Anna included pictures of grandpa and grandpa so I now have even more pictures of family to decorate my room with. Lastly were beautifully decorated scrapbook paper with uplifting words on each. Thank you Anna.
What a feeling of love and blessing. I am so thankful and spoiled by my friends and family both here and back in the states. Thank you for all of the encouragement, love and support.
Besides Anna's package my day was pretty low key. Aurelie did not come home from the club until 6 am so she stayed in all day lounging and catching up on sleep. She greeted us in this morning telling us about the fight that broke out in the club, as if it was everyday news. Not quite the norm for Abby C. and I. We spent most of the day around the apartment with the exception of a trip to the post office to mail a letter for Aurelie and a trip to Villy's (a leader of CU) house this evening. CU-Christian Union holds a movie night every other Friday. A dinner is made and a movie and tea to follow. Unfortunately the projector didn't work, but I was glad. Those who know me well know that I don't particularly enjoy watching movies, but I did enjoy our night of playing games and getting to know one another.
At the movie night several different countries were represented, Adamine & Francois are from France, Villy from South Africa, Lukas from Germany and Josh & Joy from Canada. During our games we learned a few quirks about each country. For example rock paper scissors in South Africa is called Ching Chow Chung. So I asked Villy "What do ching chow & chung stand for?" "Well they stand for rock, paper, scissors...hmmm I don't know why we don't just call it rock, paper, scissors" we all had a good laugh. Villy also explained to us that traffic lights in South Africa are called Robots...why? he is not sure, but he agrees it's quite odd.
Aurelie, Abby C. and I are taking a trip to Clifden in the morning so I better get to bed!
With Love from Galway
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