Team Building Retreat

I am so sorry this is such a long post. I am very much looking forward to having internet in our homes =)

Off to West Wales we go! The team graciously let me have the front seat so as to avoid getting car sick. I was very grateful.

 
 
 
 

Isn't it gorgeous?! I hate that the pictures just don't do it justice.

 
 
This was the girl's room. Ives and Kat shared a bed- it was a bunk bed, but double beds. Crazy! Inside the hallways looked like an igloo!

 
Had dinner at a pub that night. Ives, Sarah, and I all drank Mike's Guiness =)
We went back to the place we were staying and had a fire and attempted s'mores (they don't have them here- they don't sell gram crackers and their marshmallows are PINK!)

 

Omlets in the morning it was!

 
Kat made us coffee with a tea strainer! This girl is great at improvising!
 
Group effort clean up =)
 
We went to Pete Greasely's cottage (the senior pastor here) to talk about child care protection laws and then went to a VERY cold beach. It pretty much rained and was windy the whole time. I brought two sweatshirts to switch out so it didn't look like I was wearing the same thing the whole time-- but I ended up wearing BOTH, so it still looks like I didn't change my clothes for three days. But I did.
 

Oh fish and chips! Here we are running in the rain to get lunch. What a let down. We were all so excited. Dan stayed in the minibus and apparently not only were we completely wripped off, but he was APPALLED at how horrible the fish looked, and that they gave us "crinkly chips." He couldn't believe they didn't do it "properly." I have his reaction on video. It's pretty hilarious. Needless to say, we all were grossed out, and only ate the chips (fries) and I don't know if some of us will want to try "proper fish and chips" after that experience. Kat's was grossest. It was like black and you could see the spine and the meat wasn't even in it. Yuck.

 
 
 
 

We went to go see St. David's Cathedral. Amazing choir practicing- beautiful voices. I would've taken pictures inside of it, but it was a pound 50p to take pictures inside. Taige got the group photo, so check out his facebook once's he's posted them. It was FREEZING! My blood became Floridian very quickly...

 
 
 
 

Sat Nav (which is David...aka Toms or Tomo- [explanation: they call a GPS here a Sat Nav-- like Satellite Navigation...I actually am not sure why we call him that...but it's sticking])was LEANING into the wind. It was crazy cold. This beach was GORGEOUS. Taige has some really good pics. I actually was behind the bus most of the time (because it blocked the wind) and I went to the little shop nearby and got a hot chocolate while everyone else went to the top of the mountain. I joined them at the end for a few pictures before heading off to...where else? Another PUB!

 
 
 

This is my half pint next to Mike's full. Sarah and Ives helped me drink it. Kat had her first drink in a pub! Wahoo! So fun. We talked a lot at dinner about what we'll be doing in the schools. I'm STOKED. I ordered Gammon steak. Had no idea it was pig- totally expecting beef. Peter was kind enough to share some of his bbq chicken. TWO meal let downs in one day. Ah, all for my sanctification. =)
 

 
 

This is how windy it is- The trees GROW the direction the wind blows! Just a few more pictures of the countryside.

 
 

 

Came home and had spaghetti, meatballs, Ceasar salad, and garlic bread. YUM! Then we played cards. Taige wasn't feeling well, so he stayed home. (But is feeling better today!) The guys' washer is broken, so they came over for dinner and to do laundry. We had a blast playing big booty and spoons. (If you haven't heard of big booty, don't be concerned by the name- its just a rhythm game with clapping and calling out numbers. Nothing to do with actual big booties.)

 
 
 

We just set up for VJ (Vintage Jesus) which is one of the 11-16 yr old outreach's. It's tonight. We'll grab lunch soon (hopefully) and then go to Bettws (Bet-us) high school to meet the teachers we'll be working with. Please pray for favor, and a great connection with the teacher I have. We're going on a field trip for four days starting on Sunday with our classes. We are literally DIVING straight in from here on out. Not skipping a beat!

Thanks for reading!!!