June 28th, 2008 - Day 8

2:39pm
Last night was awesome. No bugs, great weather, a clear sky so I could see every star...it was so wide and open that I felt like I was in a snowglobe. I was really the only one who slept on the grass instead of in a tent, except for Beau, who slept beside me. I woke up a couple times during the night cuz he snores and sighs and groans when he's sleeping, but I always went back to sleep right afterward. This morning the clouds, sunrise, everything was so beautiful. It was really refreshing. My sleeping bag and pillow got soaked with dew, though, but oh well.
We had some tearful goodbyes with the kids. Hugs and pictures galore. We ate a big pancake breakfast with them, watched a DVD about the week (our team got a copy), and our entire team got individual envelopes from Jeff and Trisha. I opened mine and it was a good pic of me doing the trivia shish-kabobs with the kids, a letter saying thank you, some post-it notes, and my go-kart license. XD
We are going to deepclean the house, then at 7:00pm we're going to a Lincoln Saltdogs baseball game (they're an independent league). From there we will travel about an hour to our hotel and spend the night.
My rash is no better. In fact, I think it's worse. It's itching and burning like crazy and nothing will help it for more than a couple minutes, not even anti-itch creme. It's so ugly. I wish I could get online or find a book to see what's going on. PJ, Deb, and Carmen all think it's sun-related, but I've never had a reaction to the sun like that, even on days that I've spent longer in the sun than I did that day, without sunscreen. I think Deb or Carmen asked if my family has a history of lupus, which my Mom has it. So I really wanna look up lupus symptoms now.
I'm very uncomfortable. I've never gotten rash like this before (the very few past times I've gotten one, it went away within hours). I don't know what it means.

11:25pm
Earlier today we deepcleaned the house. The house looks great now.
We all went to the Saltdogs game at 7:00pm. They were playing the Grand Prairie Airhogs (intimidating team name, I know). The game had thrilling moments. I witness a one-man double play, and a double steal. But the Saltdogs...well, they lost 13-2. The game was still fun though.
Then we made our way to the hotel, tired as ever. Neil, Beau, Porsha, and I were all crammed in the very back of the van and we all fell asleep. I woke up to people giggling. I looked and saw our back row was leaning against each each. Porsha was leaning against Beau, Beau against me, me against Neil, and Neil against the window. A little crowded, but otherwise we were soft, comfortable, and made decent pillows.
Now I am sitting in a hotel in Beatrice, Nebraska. Of all the places we've had to sleep on this mission trip, this hotel is the worst (it's $40 a night, what do you expect). First off, we were greeted by a huge sign on the front door saying, "Do not drink the water - has very harmful bacteria." So we have no ice and no way to brush our teeth, save with a water bottle, which is what we're doing. Then we noticed the non-smoking section smelled like smoke. We are crammed into 3 rooms (5 per room, and only 2 beds). Ves's bathroom door has a big hole in it from where someone punched it. Plus, mites have already been spotted in the beds. It's...not ideal, but I'm thankful for it. Jamaica was much worse.
So we're here. Tomorrow we're going to an amusement park in Missouri called Worlds Of Fun. Can't wait to hit the coasters!
P.S. Rash is still as bad as ever.