1,000 Gifts (851-875)

851. License plates for all 27 vehicles!

852. Hotel Jacaranda breakfasts and the peacefulness of the dining room

853. Ny Sanda, my Tana translator and her bright attitude

854. Our government liaison, Roberto, a beautiful man who makes things happen

855. Working out the details for a cellular plan and the account managers in Tana and meeting the CEO in the elevator

856. After some creative thinking we finally have a bank account

857. Lunch with the Wednesday Morning Women’s Group in Tana and their enthusiasm and desire to support our mission in Madagascar

858. Another safe trip back to Tamatave

859. The kindness of the Custom’s Directeur in Tamatave

860. Finding red lipstick to wear for a day

861. My Tamatave translator, Pastor Fara, and her beautiful heart and smile

862. That in spite of what people have said, Hanna and her HR team received 500 day crew applications to review and have a week full of interviews

863. That if you try hard enough and meet with enough people you will find the one who will help you and work out the authorization you need to create a BSC account without the local tax document. (In short this means we won’t be stuck anymore op with the import process)

864. This text message:

865. Watching as Andrea, Hanna and Erica all experienced a mani pedi for the first time

866. Coming home from a busy morning to find this sweet note from Dianna Cash and how it refreshed my heart

867. Two “device free” dinners and the good conversation and laughs that were had instead of checking e-mails and expanding To Do lists

868. Lisa’s continued support and encouragements at just the right moment

869. Church with Pastor Fara and the refreshment it was

870. Got my airport badge… Guess who all those first arrivals will see waiting for them at Immigrations

871. That Pierre is coming to Madagascar a week fbefore ship’s arrival

872. Quick responses from people on the ship so things can continue moving forward and contracts can get signed

873. That I’ve made the mental switch and am calling Tamatave home.

874. That my days of living out of suitcase are getting smaller!

875. Realizing that we might just actually bring the ship into Port this time and we might just accomplish more than what was ever expected of us.