When I grow up, I want to be just like them.

Mark doing grading while we enjoy a thank you box of chocolates. In my opinion, there is no better way to say thank you than with Austrian chocolate. Or really, no better way to say just about anything!

We have one more full day at the Haus. As we sit in our apartment this evening, Mark is grading papers and tests, and I'm dealing with laundry and responding to a few emails. I can hear the voices outside of other short term works laughing about experiences and trading stories - what a great group of people we have been here with. Christ Church at Mason, Ohio and Villages Christian Church in Florida each brought groups to this session and what fun it has been to work with them. Everyone has had a great sense of humor and laughter has kept us going on many days.

It is such a small world. Several of the retirees from Florida have Indianapolis ties, an Ohio volunteer is a race fan with a son in the racing business, and all of us have that unique bit in common of attending similar churches. They are passionate and compassionate. They look you in the eye and smile. Even with the people we have met from other countries, there is still that commonality. A spark of fellowship that lets you know right away that if you had the time, you would really get along with these people. And you wish you did have the time. 

We said goodbye today to many of the students as they hopped in cars or got on planes to travel home, back to their day jobs (mostly leading churches). Often, these folks are already highly educated, many on a second master's degree here at TCM. Mark has been impressed with the level of their work as he grades tests and papers. The students all seem to be very eager for education. In the graduate courses Mark has taught in the States, students have more often been entitled and impatient. Here they want all the education they can get. They soak it up. Many speak more than two languages and may be accomplished in other fields. They are inspiring.  

It has been heart-rending to hear some of the student's stories. All of them face challenges we do not in the west. One country represented has passed a law that churches cannot hold meetings until they have 50 members. Not even in homes. Unfortunately, it's a pretty effective way to stop the formation of congregations. Others have been personally touched by wars, including having refugee status at times in their lives. So many stories, and so many reasons to be grateful every day for what we have, and so many reasons to pray every day for these bright leaders as they go back to work. 

Tomorrow we clean and clean and clean - the whole campus must be cleaned from top to bottom and readied for the next session. And then everyone will leave. In truth it feels a little bit like the end of camp is coming - except that this camp was full of truly fascinating people, willing to travel 4,000 miles in order to serve in the most menial ways. These are retired teachers, CEO's, counselors, pilots, and philanthropists. I know some will say - why travel 4,000 miles? There are needs right here! Very true - and I was not surprised to find out how much each of these folks are already involved in serving in neighborhoods and making a difference. It's a way of life for them, and coming to the Haus to serve is just one more expression of it. 

For the last few years I've witnessed the volunteers in the city of Greenwood and talked a lot about how impressed I am by them, and here I am again inspired by volunteers. Giving is contagious. When I go home, I will have some new role models. People who are courageous and faithful in the face of opposition. People who are authentic and transparent. People who have suffered and yet love deeply again and again. When I grow up, I want to be like them.