Sunday, May 24, 2015

May Musings

  
   Come on in! Sit down and have a cup of tea while I ramble about our month of May! It was a month of clear blue skies, bucket showers and brownness. 
  Yup, you guessed it, dry season is here! We really can't complain though, because we have been having sporadic showers up until a few weeks ago, and only within the last few weeks they have been turning off the water for a good portion of the day. Our water supply comes from reservoirs which, over this time of year, are quite low. The water we do get is from the bottom. As you can well imagine, water that comes from the bottom of a pond isn't the cleanest water around. Some people are boiling their water for drinking but so far we didn't have any stomach issues, so we are skipping that step. I just can hardly stand the taste of water after it has been boiled.
  They say you really don't appreciate something till it's gone, and I find that true when it comes to a steady stream of water! It's usually on for a few hours in the morning and then, bloop!...just like that it's gone and you're left with a cold trickle, not real conducive to washing dishes, clothes or a good shower, especially if you're trying to wash your hair! Buckets to the rescue! A filled bucket setting on the wall beside the shower works perfect...or at least better than a trickle! I've learned the world will not come to an end if it takes 2 hours or more to do a load of laundry and it really doesn't matter if all the clothes don't get washed in one day. And then when the water is turned back on, it is a cause for rejoicing!
  As I was thinking about this whole 'taking things for granted till they're gone' philosophy, I had to think that goes for a whole lot more than just water. I was recently having some longings for home, family and friends. I had to think how I really just took it for granted that I could just stop in and see them whenever I jolly well pleased! In retrospect I think, why didn't I appreciate that opportunity more? I hope that I remember how it is to miss them and long for them and remember to appreciate them even when the time comes that I can see them whenever I want. 
  On the other hand, I also want to appreciate the "water" we do have right now! I want to be thankful for all we do enjoy in Grenada, which is alot, if my perspective is right. I was having a touch of "greener grass" syndrome the other week, when I happened to come across an article about the abuse of children in Nepal and then one on the horrific abuse of little girls that are under ISIS control. Wow! How is that for putting my focus right back where it belongs! It was a good reminder for me to be thankful for the 'water' I do have instead of wishing for more.





 This dilapidated house provided work for the LaBorie
 men and some visitors. It was in bad need of repairs.



                                      They tore off the existing wood and put on new.

             The almost completed house...looks much better and the owners were very thankful!

A love note from Christi:)

We enjoyed a busy, but fun week with the Terre Hill Senior Class April 29-May 6 . I know there were many prayers send this way over that week and we felt and appreciated them very much. We, of course, thought of last years events quite a bit, especially when out swimming, but we still had an enjoyable time. One of the first work projects they did was paint two sheds on our property.

 Mary Kate Rotelle & Alissa Sensenig getting ready to dive into the painting

There was not enough work for them all to paint, so some stamped tracts.
We stamp all the tracts with our church's name and contact number.

                                     Three thousand tracts, stamped and ready to deliver

                             Handing out tracts in the capital town of St. Georges. People are usually
                              very receptive of them. This is the town where the cruise ships dock
                              so these tracts end up in hands of people from many different countries.

                                                        Street ministry in St. Georges, Grenada

                                                                   A snapshot of town

                                      This is the group that stayed at Laborie. We had so much fun
                                         with them! Life seemed to be quite boring after they left!
               L-R-Damien Good, Kerry Martin, Josiah Martin, Alissa Sensenig, Jansen Burkholder
                           Front row-Sheila & Dan Rutt, Jessica, Mary Kate Rotelle, Alexia Martin,
                                Danika Martin, Simone Weaver, Nevin & Donna Martin
                       This is not the best picture but the only one I have of the entire senior class

                                                                   Nevin & Donna Martin
      If you want to know how to make cooking for a crowd look effortless, talk to this lady!
      She did an amazing job serving the group with delicious meals and making it look like
      no big deal. We loved her (and her food) so much we even made up a song in honor of her:))

                                                                   Dan & Sheila Rutt
                           It was a privilege to host these fine folks for a week. We had known
                           them before as fellow patrons at Shalom Mennonite School, but after
                           living with someone for a week, you get to know them much better!

 Another work project....digging new post holes and fixing the fence behind Scott & Yvonne's house

    No, Jansen....the majority of the ground is not level in Grenada....but thanks for checking anyway:)

                                               You never know what you'll be doing from one
                                         minute to the next...maybe pulling a van out of a ditch..

                                               Playing football with the community children

                                               Playing dodge ball with the smaller children

                                 Celina, Mary Kate Rotelle, Alissa Sensenig & Simone Weaver

                                  Kaylah putting her Connect 4 skills to good use with Dan Rutt

                          The one afternoon we went out to the spot where Jared drowned.

                                                             He will never be forgotten!

                                                          Heaven's Really Gonna Shine!
                               We sang this song with Jared's class shortly after he drowned
                                and every time we sing it now, I have to think of him.

     Singing at the Poor House, a government run facility for the mentally and physically handicapped

                                                                    The residents love the singing!

                                                                          Oh Come, Angel Band!

                                     I was high up on the cliff....they were way down yonder on a rock.
                                                 The one morning they got done with their work projects
                                                   in short order so we took them to the natural bridge.

                        Chopping, cutting, cooking...all the necessary prep for a good pot of oil down!

                  The one morning we went to the Dorothy Hopkin's Children's Home. Some of the
                  group played games with the children and some of them did work projects. It took
                  the students alittle out of their comfort zone to interact with the residents but in the
                  end they were glad they did and had a really good time. The residents loved them as well!

                                They cleaned lots of windows, which the staff greatly appreciated!

                                  They also did a few small painting projects at the children's home

                                        Alexia and Danika having fun painting at the children's home

                                      Collin was so happy with the cards from his former classmates!
                                                   (Christi was too, I just don't have a picture of her:))

                Yes, a magnifying glass, brilliant sunshine and a tissue are all that's needed to start a fire

       Work on the boy's clubhouse is ongoing...providing many wonderful hours of entertainment

                                                                           King of the Mountain

                                     "DON'T sleep on the bottom or you will get a sore head!"
        The boys were getting so irritated because they kept bumping their head on the bottom of
        the top bunk. They thought their dad just had to take the top part off! I would think after awhile
        they would just learn to exercise some caution...and maybe stop clowning around in bed!

          Our bedroom companion for a few days...I finally had enough of cleaning up its huge
         droppings, so a search ensued. After completely tearing up the bedroom, a few high-pitched
         screeches, and acrobatic lunges worthy of an Olympic reward, the culprit was caught!

                                        Examining the highly sought after and finally captured prey

                                                    My blonde haired, blue eyed daughter...let's just
                                                    say there is more than one use for stickers.

                                                              Another late night visitor

                                          His male ego was so badly bruised, he couldn't face his
                                        female canine friends for weeks after this humiliating ride!

               The children were happily pitching ball.....and I was happily taking pictures.....until...

                           ......I got struck in the stomach by a fly away ball. I'm not sure why they
                                  didn't warn me! I snapped this picture a millisecond before getting
                                  thunked. By their expressions, I believe they were feeling my pain:)

         Need an ambulance? One moment please, just gotta get it cleaned up and we'll be right there!

                 This was our excitement one Friday evening...an accident right in front of our house

                             It provided some excitement and entertainment for awhile anyway.

 Chain of events...all of the chaos makes no sense....hook chain from car to truck....truck puts
 the pedal to the metal in a sincere effort to help the straggling car....driver fails to look in
 rear-view mirror....almost runs into ambulance that is desperately trying to wheedle its way in      somewhere, in an effort to help the injured man lying on the drive....ambulance emits a squeal
and then lets the truck go first...truck successfully pulls car out of ditch....a geyser of water ensues from broken water pipes that are laying exposed...oops, someone's going to be out of water tonight!

 We had the privilege to listen to the Grenada Mennonite Churches Youth Choir. They did a great job!

                                  They sang at a Baptist Church one Sunday evening and some
                                   of the Baptist youth joined them in singing their last song

                                           They had all the children come up to sing a few songs

                                                                            Children's song

The Baptist youth sang a few songs for us. Different styles of worship...all praising the same God!

      James brought his students up for a shop class at our house. They are doing wood burning.

                                            By the expressions on their faces, you could tell
                                        they were thrilled to be working with such big tools!:)

                               Carter and his paddle boat he made (and Frisky photo-bombing)

                         A "how to" video tutorial in case you ever want to make one of your own:)

                                                                 Good night, folks!

Prayer Requests...
1. Still the need for teachers. As far as I know they didn't have any yet and we need five. (guys & girls needed!)  Yes, it does test our faith to trust that God will provide for that need.

2. VBS...we had quite a few gifts left over from VBS this spring and since Laura is not holding one this year, we started looking for an opportunity to hold one at a new location. We are planning to hold one in the little town of Willis. Pray for good attendance, good weather and that the seeds sown could take root in their young lives.

3. Crusades in Limes...June 7-14

4. Pray that we could keep our focus on why we're here

Thank you so much for faithfully standing behind us in prayer. It means more than you will ever know. I recently read this on Asher Witmer's blog and thought how true it is!

  1. Missionaries are normal people
  2. Being on the “foreign field” does not make you holier
  3. Just because you’re “at home” doesn’t mean you’re disobeying God. Senders are incredibly needed. People who take seriously the work others are doing and support them are valuable in spreading the Gospel! 
  4. Maybe on another blog post I'll elaborate on how true the 1-3 quotes are! For right now, I'm getting annoyed because every time I go to start another paragraph it puts a number in front of it and I can't get it to stop:(
  5. So, for number five, good night (or morning:)) and have a wonderful night! (or day:))