T.I.A.

There has been lots of activity at the center the last two weeks so I have been busier than usual, which I am happy about. A team of 18 people from Des Moines has been here on a mission trip and they leave tomorrow. There has also been a funeral for the Center Director's son, which was an all day event last Friday. On Sunday ChildVoice had a huge celebration and invited past students to come back for a reunion. The present group of girls is the third class to be at the center so the first two classes of girls, and their children, all came for the celebration, which was again all day long.

Last night I went to eat with the team in town at a restaurant. It was a pretty nice restaurant and I had heard very good things about it, so I was very excited to eat there. I had my heart set on the pizza because the team was talking about getting Papa John's when they get home. I was pretty let down to hear they did not have any more pizza (it is common for restaurants to not carry what they have on their menu), but I decided on the pasta with mushrooms. We waited an hour and a half before people started getting their food. Half an hour later, I was the only one who still did not have my food. The waiter then told me that they are out of the mushroom pasta and asked if I would have the spaghetti. I said sure, though I was a bit disappointed. Ten minutes later, I was brought a plate of plain, overcooked spaghetti noodles with bits of scrambled egg on top. The rest of the team looked at me sympathetically. I smiled at the waiter and said thank you. After I finished 1/3 of my plate and the waiter came to clear my spot, he asked how my food was. I smiled and said it was good. When he left, one of the guys on the team said I almost said that with a straight face. One of the team members then told me, "T.I.A.". I asked what that meant. She said, "That is Africa". So now, whenever situations like this occur, which is really quite frequent, I just shrug and say T.I.A.