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“Hey, Dad.” Gareth approached him and draped his arm over his dad’s shoulder for a quick hug.
His mom joined them a moment later, also wearing an apron. “Gareth! I didn’t hear you come in.”
She greeted him with a tight hug, then pulled him down to kiss his cheek.
“What can I help with?” Gareth asked as she left him to go to the two large crock pots that sat on the counter.
“You can fill the pitchers with water,” she said, gesturing to the glass jugs that sat on the counter next to the water dispenser.
Gareth picked up the first one and began to fill it. “Everything ready for leaving tomorrow?”
“Yep. We’ve got packing for these trips down to a science,” his mom said.
“We received word from Jacques that the order of meds and supplies we had arranged to have shipped over to the clinic arrived safe and sound.”
Gareth glanced up at his dad and straightened with the half-filled jug in his hand. “That’s amazing, and what an answer to prayer.”
“It sure is,” his dad agreed as he put the large bowl he’d been washing onto the dish drainer. “We asked a lot of people to pray for the safety of this shipment since we’ve lost a couple recently.”
“Where do you think they ended up?”
His dad shrugged as he reached back to untie his apron. “Since the shipments never arrived, your guess is as good as mine. When Jacques went to the harbor to check the ships they were supposed to arrive on, the shipments just weren’t there.”
Gareth returned to filling the pitcher he held. “Here’s hoping those supplies at least reached people who needed them.”
His mom scoffed. “I doubt that, but it sure would be nice if they did. We know that there is some corruption, as well as some opposition to us being there, so who knows. We’re just grateful thatthisshipment reached the clinic. They need those supplies and medicines desperately.”
“Everything else okay at the clinic?” he asked. “Or will you be running into issues when you get there?”
“Nothing major,” his dad said, coming over to take the full pitcher from Gareth. “But there are a few personnel issues we need to address.”
“Well, we’ll pray as we always do that God will go before you and smooth the way so that you’re able to work without incident while you’re there.”
“The weather looks good,” his mom said. “We’ll definitely get rain, but it shouldn’t be excessive.”
Gareth was glad to hear that. His parents had been on the island during both an earthquake and a hurricane. It had been nerve-wracking since they’d tried to contact them and hadn’t been able to. After the first incident, Gareth had insisted that they invest in a satellite phone, so even if cell service went down, they’d have a way to stay in touch.
Part of Gareth wished he could travel with them, but it just wasn’t possible. His role for the moment was to be in the clinic in Serenity, so his parents could do this work. None of them had gone with their parents on these trips yet, but hopefully that would change in the years to come.
When the door opened again, Gareth glanced over his shoulder as he finished filling the second pitcher. Hearing Wilder’s voice, he focused back on his job, swapping out the full one for an empty one on the counter. Skylar and Cole appeared from upstairs, greeting both of them before going off to set the table at their mom’s request.
Kayleigh arrived next, with Jay not far behind her. Last to show were Charli, Janessa, and Layla, but no Aria.
Gareth was disappointed not to see her with them. He hadn’t had a chance to talk to her at church because she’d scooted out right after the service was over. He’d thought he’d be able to chat with her at dinner, but apparently not.
“Aria not coming?” Gareth asked as he greeted Janessa.
“Nope. She said that since it was a family dinner, she didn’t want to crash it.”
Gareth frowned. “She would have been welcome. You told her that?”
Janessa gave him an exasperated look. “OfcourseI told her that. But just because she’s living with us doesn’t mean she has to come to every Halverson family event.”
“I know that.” Gareth set the final pitcher on the counter, then crossed his arms. “I just don’t want her to think she’s not welcome.”
This time, she rolled her eyes. “Yeah. I’m sure that’s what you meant.”
Gareth frowned at her. “What are you talking about?”
