January 2016

     Our month in pictures....                             

These children entertained themselves with many card games during Christmas vacation

                Kaylah and Kassidy doing their school work together....twice as much fun, half
                the amount of work done:) We are enjoying having Keith & Kendra Zimmerman
                  around for 2 months! Kaylah is loving having a girl around her age.

                           "Mom, I chained myself to the cupboard so I don't leave while I'm
                        supposed to be doing dishes."...after 101 reminders to stick at the dishes....

                       "Mom! Come watch this!"..... and I promptly sprouted a few more gray hairs....

                           Little boys dreaming of big explosions with their tin foil ammunition,
                          perfect for "Amish bombs"....where did that name come from anyway?!

                                           It's a love affair....unless there's food involved

                                             An eel meal on a reel that made him squeal

                     Whenever I'm tempted to think my laundry pile is daunting, I remind myself to
                       be thankful I don't have to drag it to the creek and scrub it by hand on rocks...

                         I wonder if there are other people affected by "multiple book syndrome"
                       ....or am I the only one that will have 5 or more books started at one time?
                               Depends on my mood depends what book I will pick up to read

A pic from Chris's phone...construction continues on this house in Limes

         Shivoni had the church family at her house for a delicious meal...playing games afterwards

                                                         Talking men and sleeping dogs

                 The children entertained themselves for a long time playing in the pile of stones
                  at Shivoni's house. It doesn't take expensive toys to keep children happy!

                 For Old Year's Night (New Year's Eve) we had prayer time at church, then played
                   games afterward...a snake behind the church provided alot of entertainment too!

                            Some people brought the New Year in by singing, some
                             by sleeping, and some by endless games of Rook....

                           I had the honors of sitting behind the 5th grade classroom desk while
                            Stacy went home for her sister's wedding. I enjoyed it very much!

                       If only this picture could capture the sound....recess time is always so LOUD!

               A popular source of entertainment at recess time....how they can spin wildly in circles
                  right after lunch is beyond me! Almost makes me nauseous just watching them!

                                     Chris spend some time in the classroom too.....caulking
                                    windows, just another random business administrator job

                      We went with the youth on the annual mission trip to the nearby island of Carriacou.
                     It is about 21 miles away and takes around 2 hours to get there by boat.

                  Boarding the "Osprey". It is a rough ride and I was kinda dreading it since I got
              sea-sick the last time. It wasn't terrible this time but I was more than ready to be there!

                                                               Leaving behind Grenada

         A view from our motel. It was nothing fancy, but was clean and neat. The noise from the party on
          the street out front carried right in to our room making sleep almost impossible half the night.

                                                         Another view from our motel

                                                   An interesting sign at our motel

                                           Wash feet here....no dirty feet inside this restaurant!

                    Looking in on life in Carriacou, the small town, laid-back atmosphere makes
                    it appear like an ideal place to live and raise a family, unbothered by the stress
                    and hurried lifestyle of the outside world. On a deeper level though, immorality
                    and drug use runs rampant and many people are trapped in a vicious lifestyle of sin.

                          The first day we got there, we split up in groups and handed out tracts and
                           invitations for the evening crusade and children's ministry the following day.
                             This is the school where we were assigned to hand out invitations.

                       The children were so eager to take the invitations & tracts! We could hardly
                        get them handed out fast enough. They wanted one for their cousin, one for
                        their brother, a sister, mother, friend...ect. They were so sweet and adorable!

                  Another school we passed...looks like alot of disasters to be prepared for!:)
                  Floods, earthquakes, volcanoes, landslides, tsunamis, hurricanes...

A beautiful graveyard

                                           We held our evening crusade in Mt. Royal

                            The crowd wasn't huge but we had some attentive listeners and
                              if it made a difference in even one persons life it was worth it!

                             Stacy wanted to pet a sheep:) Their wool was so soft and beautiful!

                   Vacation Bible School held at a local community center. Normally the children rotate
                    between 5 stations...Singing & Bible Memory, Bible Story, Lesson Reinforcement, Craft
                   & Snack & games. Since it was a pretty small crowd we combined some of the groups.

                                                                       Playing games with the boys

                                               Snack time...one of their favorite stations:)

             We were in charge of the snack station, along with Ryan's parents, Ron & Sharon Horst

                                                                  Playing games with the girls

                                                                   Bible Memorization

                                                            Games with the younger group

 Some beautiful scenery pics in Carriaccou. I probably shouldn't be posting these now as everyone
 back home is digging themselves out of the blizzard of the decade:) Just FYI...the grass is usually greener on the other side of the fence and I'll admit I thought getting snowed in sounds rather
exciting:) I enjoy this warm weather but it's probably not as special as it would be if I wouldn't
 have it all the time. After awhile it just becomes the norm. Life isn't always sunny on a sunny small island, even if the weather is:) Not that it's all bad, it's just like life back home, you have good days
 and you have bad days....ok, enough of that rambling bunny trail:)

                                              How great is our God, sing with me!
                                              How great is our God, and all will see,
                                              How great, how great is our God!
         Name above all names, Worthy of our praise, My heart will sing, How great is our God

                                      Lord of all creation, Of water, earth and sky
                                    The heavens are your tabernacle, Glory to the Lord on high....

                                   God of wonders beyond our galaxy, You are holy, holy
                                  The universe declares Your Majesty, You are holy, holy....

                                      Some quick snap shots while waiting for the boat to leave

                                                                     Friends forever....

                             Headed home again. The way home was much smoother...PTL!

         From the highest of heights to the depths of the see, Creation's revealing Your majesty....
                All exclaiming, indescribable, uncontainable, you placed the stars in the sky
                              And You know them by name, You are amazing, God!

                              All powerful, untameable, awestruck we fall to our knees
                                  As we humbly proclaim, You are amazing, God!

                       Although we enjoyed our time in Carricou, it sure felt good to be back again

                         Our welcoming committee...a big thank you to Arlen & Sharon for
                         moving in and babysitting the 3 youngest while we were gone! The
                        children loved it and we heard "Arlen" stories for days afterwards:)

January was a month of some really difficult days. I'm afraid I left a pretty long groove as I struggled to accept the way God worked, answering prayers in a way I never would have wanted or expected. At the end of the day though, I am reminded that all things work together for good and God can redeem any ugly situation and bring good out of it. That's my prayer. 

He gives beauty for ashes

Strength for fear,

Gladness for mourning

Peace for despair.....

                                              Be still, my soul, the Lord is on your side.....

Thank you again for your prayers. They are felt and are so appreciated! It challenges me to be more faithful in praying for others.
Prayer Requests....I'll admit, I always struggle when it comes to sharing prayer requests on here. The requests are many but out of respect for others privacy, I don't feel comfortable sharing them on a public blog.
So anyway, here are a few general ones:
Our church...that we could remain focused on God
School...students, that they would remember the many lessons they are taught outside of the academics. For many of them it is the only place they learn the importance of God's Word.
Teachers...they have a huge impact on these young lives! Pray for wisdom & patience for them as they deal with many situations that arise from teaching children from broken homes. Along with that, the need for teachers for next term. It's hard to believe we are already thinking of that, but that will be here before we know it.
Our family...safety & protection and that we wouldn't lose our focus down here