Wednesday, May 25, 2016

Good-bye is Not Forever

  We parted ways that hot summer night, anticipating a few weeks down the road when our paths would cross again. We had met with Shannon & Janelle Martin during our visit home this past summer to spend some time with them and answer any questions they had regarding their upcoming move to Grenada. Bags were packed and many of the last minute details were already taken care of in anticipation of their joining the Olive Branch Mennonite Mission team on this island. 
 However, there was one little detail that needed taken care of yet. There is no top-notch medical care on the island and they wanted to confirm that the lump in her abdomen was nothing to worry about. Appointments were made, tests were done, biopsy taken...and then, two weeks before their projected departure date, they received the devastating news. Liver cancer. 
  She fought hard. Her husband stood by her, faithfully fighting with her. In the end, the cancer won. Or shall we say, "God won." Since that was His original plan in the first place. It seems to us poor mortals that the cancer intruded on some well-laid plans, plans to leave their comfort zone and spread the Gospel in far off places. Cancer ruined all that. Or did it? Monday evening, at our weekly ladies Bible study, we discussed their incredible testimony in the middle of suffering and the thought came to me, "They are touching people in Grenada without ever having stepped a foot on the island." And not only this island, but  many other places. I have a feeling they have touched people in ways never possible if their original plans were not altered by the Master's hand. God had a plan for their lives that far exceeded whatever we imagined.
 And even though it is with sadness that I think back to that hot summer evening, when we said our goodbyes, which were more like "see-ya later", I realize that, for the Christian, goodbyes are never final. Yes, I said my final good-bye to Janelle here on earth, but someday I will see her again. And I look forward to that day.

                                            Please keep Shannon and Dylan in your prayers....

The children keep very close track of whose turn it is to go with Chris when 
he drives ambulance. Collin was the lucky one to get to go along to the airport.

The men have been working at building a house for a community family.

                                             We ladies took the hard workers some snack

              After many years and many miles, the mission truck has been sold and another one bought.
              No more seeing the road whiz by underfoot through the rusted out patches on the floor
              and no more whipping out that trusty screwdriver to get it started! The framed sitting
               area was cut down and made smaller to accommodate a smaller sized truck.

As hot sunny day after hot sunny day passed, our water supply got lower and lower. During dry season the water company frequently turns off the water in order to conserve the little that is left. Weeks passed with the water only being turned on for alittle during the night...just enough to put a few inches of water in our tank. The children were allotted one ice-cream bucket of water for their "showers". Toilets were flushed only when people passing on the road complained about the smell...(JK, but you get the point:) Some of the staff went to the river to fill buckets for their supply. The staff that still had some water did laundry for those that had none. It brought a whole new meaning to working together!!:)
Through it all there was always one of the households that had alittle water. Shortly after Scott's ran completely out of water, the water truck arrived at our house, after we had waited 3 days for them to come. We send them to Scott's and what a good feeling to have full tanks of water again!! Our tanks are big enough that they can last for 2 days if we are careful. One thing that weighed on our mind is that rainy season typically doesn't start till July and we had a group of high-school seniors coming the next week. God heard our prayers though and send a few days of rain!!!!

                             Hurray for the water truck! Even Frisky was glad to see it!!

                                                RAIN!! Finally! Celebrating by running in it!

           Here's a step by step picture tutorial on how to make fresh orange juice....
gather some friends and get the orange picker thingy out of the shed to knock the oranges down.....

            Don goggles to protect your eyes from stray sprays of citric acid...(not a necessary step)
 Try to be at least alittle careful that you don't sit in the puddle of juice that you slopped on the counter...

     Add as much sugar as you can before mom catches you and then tell your friends to line up!

                   Yeah for fresh orange juice!! Clean up the mess to the best of your ability...

                   Talent night at church....we did a skit on being content on how God made us
                   and not feeling like we need to have lots of talents to serve God in a "big" way,
                    but using what we have to serve Him whenever opportunity arises...

                                             We have some talented singers among us!

                 Twas a mystery!...supper, that is. For the youth. We went with a song theme and they
                  ordered from a menu that had song titles that gave hints to what they were getting.

                            We probably had as much fun planning it as they did eating it:)
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                     It's hard to believe, but we are doing some things for the last time....last time
                     for school chapel. These kids are so hyper and sometimes you wonder if they are
                     hearing anything you're saying but I think they are catching more than we realize.
                         (updated to add...not the last time after all, we have one more in July:))

                                                   They love to sing and they love hugs!

                                                               This girl is such a dear!!

                 I told him he is NOT allowed to stand on that precarious stack of books to hang
                the fly hanger. He insisted he wouldn't fall, so I said, "Ok, I'm going to let you do it,
                  but on your way down, just remember what I told you!" (he didn't fall):(

                                                                Best buds...(usually)

                                                         She is growing up so fast!

Picnicking with Arlen & Sharon's daughter Phoebe & husband Lyndon. They came to visit for a week.

A beautiful eucalyptus tree

                             The Mennonite Headquarters....not just anywhere that you could
                        address an envelope like this and it would get to where it needs to go:)
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                   Terre Hill 2016 Senior class...they spend a week in Grenada for their senior trip 

                    There are some groups of visitors that are outstanding...this was one of them. They
                       came with a heart to serve and energy to work! We appreciated them so much!

                    The chaperones/cooks...we had the privilege to host  Daryl & Gerrene Musser.
                      Duane & Suzette Weber were also in LaBorie and Bryan & Margaret Martin
                       were at Limes. We enjoyed our week with them very much!

                                    Joanna Zimmerman painting at Rapheal & Lillian's house.
                                    Lillian was tickled pink and couldn't get done thanking them!

                                                 A giddy painter:) (Scott's sister, Cheryl)

                                   Duane Weber contemplates on where to paint next....

                        Remembering Jared Gehman with Terre Hill senior class 2016...
                           2 years ago he drowned at this area of Grand Anses Beach

                                               Preschool chapel with the help of the seniors

                                               Singing and handing out tracts in St. Georges
 
                                                   Valerie Musser & Reginae....and Christi:)

                                          Damian & Reginae....she steals everyone's hearts!

 The guys painted the outside of our house and the girls helped with cleaning inside. With an open air house, it gets very dirty and I'm quite sure they were properly horrified at all the spiderwebs and filth!

                       Surprising Jerrell Martin with passion fruit smoothies for his 18th birthday

                                                          Cheryl Martin & Kaylah

                     One of the work projects for the guys was to tear down a house and rebuild it at
                     a different location...or at least that was the plan. Until some extended family of
                    the man that wanted the house moved, got upset and stopped the process. So the one
                    day they spend tearing it down and the next day they spend putting it right back up at
                    the same spot! I hope these guys know we didn't do this just to keep them busy!:)



                                            Blake and Chris working at (re)building the house

               Blake and Jerrell enjoying some oildown. Chris & I were in charge of making the pot.
                  It made me kinda nervous to be making it for 70 people but it turned out alright.


May has been a whirl-wind month with alot happening. Last evening we welcomed Josh and Barb High and their 5 children to Grenada. Please pray for them as they adjust...so much to learn in those first few weeks! It was a good feeling to hand over "our" house to them. We moved Monday of this week and it was a busy few days trying to clean out one place and set up the next one. There is also a board member here for deputation so that always means more meetings/events. I'd rather it this way though, than have nothing to do! We are adjusting to a smaller house/closer neighbors but are thankful our "new" house is within walking distance for the church/school. Although the children don't think so:) They still have energy till they get home though, so I'm not too worried that it's too far for them to walk.
We now have about 6 weeks left in Grenada which definitely brings some mixed feelings! So hard to believe that 2 1/2 years could go so fast.  Although there were times when I didn't feel that way:) Anyway, enough of rambling, we have prayer meeting tonight so I need to keep moving. Thank-you for taking an interest in our lives and the work on Grenada.