August Activities

And just like that, it's over and gone. Nothing remains except sweet, precious memories. Our visit home was everything we anticipated it to be...a wonderful time of reconnecting with friends and family, refreshing, and of course, over way too fast! It is good to be back on this little island, but it always takes me some time till I can get in the swing of things again. However, living out of a suitcase at your parents house is not ideal for long term either. Mom wouldn't admit it, but I still wonder if a little sigh of relief sneaked along out with tears at the farewells:) Anyway, I will blog more on that later, for now I want to get this one finished that I started before we left. This is alittle of what our August consisted of.

John Brubaker, Scott Martin, Daryl Hursh and Joel Hoover, (2 WATER students) and Chris helped build a house for Shivoni's family this summer. We loved having John & Rachel Brubaker here for a few weeks in August to help cover over the time the teachers are home for the summer. 

                                           The green house is the one they previously lived in.
                                         There were at least 9 people living in the small house.

              The grateful family in front of their new home. I'm sure Shivoni would appreciate 
            your prayers. As the only Christian in her family she faces many challenges in her day to day
            living. She has blessed, encouraged and humbled me many times with her selfless attitude!

          Mr. Shawn proudly sports Pastor John's hat and Thaddeus's sunglasses atop dad's shoulders.
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August is Carnival month here in Grenada. The actual events only last a few days but there are alot of pre-Carnival parties that include obnoxious dancing, loud music and lots of rum. In many ways, it is similar to America's Mardi Gra. It is a time when anything goes, even stuff that would normally land you in jail. Needless to say, I am always hugely relieved when this time is over. In an effort to lessen the temptation to attend the many Carnival events, the men from church take the youth boys camping to a remote area on the island. During this time the ladies and girls come to our house. It takes some planning to keep them entertained the whole time. It went well and I enjoyed it for the most part, but to be completely honest, I also enjoyed having my house back to myself again:)

                                                   Playing cards...a favorite past-time

                            Story-time with Grandma....actually Rachel was sharing some words
                            of wisdom from the Bible for our evening devotions. She is such a
                         dear soul, if I can be half as sweet as her when I'm that age, I'll be happy!:)

              Rachel entertaining Bryce and Christi with a game, or should I say gameS, of UNO.

       Shivoni was up bright and early making us a wonderful breakfast! She is an amazing cook!

 

                                 We had bakes, (a flour, salt, water mixture fried in oil),
                            eggs and strewed hotdogs. (hotdogs fried in oil and ketchup)

                This was a super-easy fun craft. You take an old T-shirt and cut the neck wider and
                 the sleeves out. Cut vertical slits in the bottom of the shirt about 1 inch apart and
             about 4" up, then knot the front and back pieces together. You end up with a useful bag!

                                        A cookie contest for the best decorated cookie.

                           We also made wallets and water bottle carriers out of duct tape.
                               Here's the clan, proudly sporting their clever concoctions!

                While we ladies slept in cozy beds and had fun indoors, the men were roughing it in the
                wild. The morning before they left it was pouring rain and Chris was rather dreading
                 the thought of camping in the deluge, very similar to what they did last year. Thankfully
                 it cleared off when they were setting up and only gave a few brief rain showers.

                                                       Washing their dishes in the creek.

                     Enjoying some guy time around a pot of porridge. They also cooked a pot of
                     green bananas, bread fruit and dumplings served with a side of smoked herring.
                     Collin is such a sneaky eater and had a hard time getting some of the food down.

                          Sunbeams dance through the trees as a pot of porridge simmers away.

                                                          Playing games at a nearby field.

It is a sad day when you have to push around a roasted pig head in a baby stroller for a thrill. This picture gives you a peak into some of the insane Carnival festivities. (Don't worry, I wasn't there, I got the picture off the news) Some other 'cool' things to do is walk around with drain oil covered bodies, dragging chains behind you. Or maybe you want to push around an old toilet in an old wheelchair...or really, anything weird and crazy will do! It is a very devilish time:(
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Enough of Carnival...on to better things....

     We enjoyed a delicious meal and birthday treat at Conhi & Andrea Mohon for Kenyon's birthday.

                                    I don't think the birthday boy's smile could be any bigger!:)
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  I doubt the bride's dream of a perfect beach-front wedding included three Mennonite
     children  gawking over the fence at all the festivities. (Not to mention the mom that
     tripped over a tree root and did a face plant in the sand right after she snapped a picture.)

         Someone must think a lame excuse is better than no excuse for not putting all the dishes away!

                                        My twinners...as I like to call them. Fast approaching
                                            their 11th birthday...time, slow down please!

 Collin and a kid

So there's your quick glimpse into our August. I typed this up rather fast, so

 hopefully everything made sense and I won't cringe with embarrassment

 over something dumb I wrote. (That's why I rarely go back and read my published posts)

 I  feel rather vulnerable after I hit publish and all my ramblings are out there for

 the world to see.  Thank you for taking the time to care about the work down here 

and for your prayers. Here are a few specific prayer requests:

1. One night crusade on Wednesday, September 16, held in Atice.

2. For the students as they head into another school term

3. Strength, wisdom and patience for the teachers

4. Pastors...the load is quite heavy as there is a shortage right now

5. Shannon & Janelle Martin...they were planning to come October 7 to serve as a pastor couple,

 but due to a health issue the future is uncertain. Pray for peace, wisdom and healing for that situation