The School Trip

School field trips....something the children usually look forward to. Here in Grenada there are not as many options of massive museums, real-life science labs or historical homes to tour, as it was back home. Some field trips may not be quite as "exciting" as the children were used to, however  sometimes they turn out to be a bit more adventurous! Come along with us for our last school trip...a place of wonder, excitement and adventure! (no imagination station needed....)
 It was a hike. A hot dusty hike to Hog Island. Hog Island is a speck of an island located just off of Grenada's shoreline. So close, in fact, that there is a bridge connecting the two islands. The plan was...hike to the island, have a picnic lunch and a few games and hike back. The hike over went down-right splendidly as the children spied scrawny horses, rare birds and an old dilapidated well. Lunch was equally as delightful, complete with cracking and devouring almonds straight from the tree, exploring and escaped hermit crab episodes.
 After some fun-in-the-sun games, it was time to head back. Chris and I led the pack with a few teachers interspersed among the group to keep law and order. All is going well, on plan to make it back to school by our projected 2:00 time. Uphill and down we trudged as the lazy Caribbean sun beat down on us relentlessly. Miniature dust devils swirled around our feet as we plodded on. The water we are guzzling is quickly converted into beads of perspiration that formed little trickling streams down our dusty faces.
  And then we came to a fork in the road.
 "A short-cut", Chris announced. "Kaylah and I are going to take the shortcut, if you want to come with us."
I opted to stay with the pack, that, by now, was lagging a bit behind. I waited till they caught up and then informed Mr. Horst about the shortcut, which was, ahhh-mazingly....shaded.
 "If you take the short-cut be sure to stay with Mr. Chris!" Mr. Horst called to the rapidly retreating backs of a few older boys, who had already disappeared into the beckoning foliage.
 However, his intentions of guiding the rest of the pack on the tried and true route, evaporated as his gaze flickered betwixt the dry dusty path and the shaded green short-cut path.
 So without further ado, the rest of LaBorie Mennonite School decided to follow Chris on this heaven-sent shortcut. By this time Chris & Kaylah were a good bit ahead. I was following along ahead of the pack, but a little distance behind Chris.
 Plodding along, lost in thought, I was brought back to my senses by a rustling of leaves and the snapping of dry twigs above me. I looked up to see two figures attempting to scale the steep hillside beside me. This was all part of the short-cut....or so Chris thought. After realizing though that there was no through-way at the top of the hill and heeding my well-meaning advice that I saw the trail continue on at the bottom of the hill, they backed down and so we continued on to our destination.
 On and on we trudged, over moss-covered rocks, over dry crackly bamboo leaves, over tree roots so large we could have gotten a foot stuck between the tangled mess of roots. This scenic route led us to a beautiful small private beach area, surrounded by a jagged rock ledge. In theory, this would have all been good and well....except that same beautiful rugged rock formation that provided such stunning beauty, also formed a barrier that had us trapped on that little patch of sand. And a few paces behind us marched 30 tired, hot dusty students.
 Upon arriving on that little strip of sand and immediately assessing the hopeless situation, they promptly set into survival mode. SOS's were quickly scrawled into the sand, in hopes that a search and rescue helicopter would spot the universal sign of help. Screams of "Help! Help! We're lost!!" were shouted to a nearby island.  Miss Drama Queen, sensing a prime opportunity to display her well-honed talent, set about to screeching, "We're lost! We're dying! We're lost and we're dying! Oh help us!! Oh somebody! Please save us!!"
 As we gazed at the brilliant blue sea softly lapping the shore beside us, the solid wall of rock in front of us, in all it's beauty and majesty, it slowly starting to sink in that we have one and only choice. No more denial, no more looking for loopholes, no more scaling steep heights in search of a non-existent path. We are going to have to retrace each and every footstep, all the way back to the hot dusty path, the tried and true route that will lead us to our destination.
  This short-cut was not actually a confirmed short-cut....a fact Chris later informed me of. He thought it was a short-cut but didn't realize the whole school would be following in his steps. Me, standing there at the fork in the road, didn't realize that little crucial tidbit of information, so I unwittingly let on to the rest that this is the shorter, more desirable way.
 So, back over the mangled mess of tree roots we went, back over the dry crunchy bamboo leaves, back over the moss covered rocks we trudged...till we again came to the fork in the road and this time we chose the tried and true, hot and dusty path, which eventually led to our destination.....

                             Headed out on the Hog Island hike....they adore their teacher, Mr. Horst!

                                          On and on we walk together....Stacy & students....

                                                   We must stop to pet the horse, of course!

                                         The group stands in awe of the great hairy beasts...

                                                    The bridge connecting the two islands

                                                     Beautiful scenery from the bridge

                        Little sailboats bobbing in the great blue sea, not a care in the world....

                                                    Stunning rock formation on Hog Island

                                                      He thought he would whittle alittle

                                                               Christi, the tree climber

                       Headed back, blissfully unaware how long the hike would actually be

                               The dead-ended short cut....hastily scrawled SOS messages in the sand

 

                                      Back through the briers, the bushes and the brambles....

                                                        On and on we walk together.....

                                               A solitary figure hikes on the blazing sun...


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                                        Our church held a song service at Quarantine Point

                       Cleaning the LaBorie court in preparation for Vacation Bible School.

                Plenty of dirt and work for all ages! Kade and Carter were the dirt pile cleaner-uppers

            Mopping the entire floor is quite the chore, but much more fun when shared with friends

                                  Setting up for Faith senior class. The cook center is at our
                                   house so we set up a canopy and tables outside for eating

                    Faith High School seniors come to help teach VBS for their senior trip. We are
               very glad for their help! Above: Gathering outside in the morning before VBS starts

                   At 9:00 we head inside the court to sing a few songs together, then they break up into
                   age groups for a series of classes. They spend 20 minutes at each station...Singing &
                    Bible Memory, Lesson Reinforcement, Crafts, Snacks & Games & Story. Having
                    them move from station to station works so much better for their short attention spans.
                     The youth classes stay at one area with 2 different speakers for the morning.

                                                                               Carter's class

                                                     Brittany teaching at the craft station

                                 Jeffery, Ryan Horst's cousin, leading singing and Bible memory

                                              Christi absorbing a story from the Bible

                                          The children's favorite station....games and snacks

                           The youth class...the boys far outnumbered the girls in this class

                                               Hanging out at our house in the evening

                      Sam & Sadie Stoltzfus and Calvin & Barbara Lapp...our amazing cooks
                       I really enjoyed getting to know these ladies! Cooking tips, child training
                        tips and good laughs were all things we shared this week.

        Arlen quickly became Frisky's new best friend after he shared tidbits of his meal with him

                                                Morning devotions with the senior class

                                                   Senior class singing at Charles Retirement Home

                                              Evenings were for coffee drinking and Rook

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                                 School kite day!! Something the children look forward to and the
                                   kite-string-untangling chaperons look forward to when it's over....

             Collin was so disappointed. No sooner did he have his kite flying high, when the wind
           whipped the spool of thread out of his hand and it disappeared into the great blue yonder

                                               Carter gazes in awe at all the high flying kites

                        Kaylah and her big baby. I'm convinced this dog thinks he's part human. I don't
                      know how they're ever going to be able to say good-bye to this much loved mutt

                                           This is how Carter does Sunday afternoon naps

                                             These boys had fun "working" in their clubhouse

                               Cocoa beans fresh from the pod...you don't actually eat them but just
                             suck off the white mushy stuff surrounding them, then spit the bean out

     Carter with a lizard on his ear...it won't be painful unless you try to pull it off, then it will tighten
      it's grip by biting hard. You just have to wait till the lizard decides on its own accord to let go

                                                       A phone call that made me smile....
                                                       "Hello! Is Mr. Oliver available?"
                                                         Me: "Who? Mr. Oliver??"
                                                         Caller: "Yes! Mr. Oliver Branch..."
                     I guess too many times Chris introduces himself as "Chris, with Olive Branch...."

                                                                To Dad, From Kaylah

                                                      Someone is being overly dramatic....

 I took this picture solely for leverage when my children complain about weeding a flat garden plot....

                                 Happy birthday, Kaylah! She thought since she's the ripe
                                    old age of 14 surely she's old enough for a phone....

                              ...however, she didn't clarify that she meant a cell phone....;)
                               She's always playing pranks, this time the joke was on her!

                  14 years ago she made us parents...what a blessing she has been in our family!

                       Another kite day...this time a church kite day. The children have fun trying to
                      fly their kites high while we old ladies huddle under dried up bushes, trying  to
                      find the microscopic bits of shade & a bit of relief from the sticky salty sea-breeze

This is the homemade skeleton of a kite. All you need to do yet is cut up plastic grocery bags and attach them to the frame with glue. To make the frame you gather flex from the bush and tie them together

                                   Christi preferred playing with this cutie over flying a kite
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               Got another thing kicked off my bucket list this Easter vacation. Mt. Saint Katherine's
                 is the highest mountain in Grenada at 2,756'. It is the type of hike that you use your
                 arms as much as your legs. It was great fun....but the next few days were torturous
                  as all my muscles screamed revenge at me for over-working them.

                                                          This was part of the "path".....

                                               Another view of the trail, or lack therof

                                       One of the many muddy slippery slopes...the best part was
                                        on the way down...sometimes we had to just sit and slide

            Some places were so steep you has to use ropes to pull yourself up or let yourself down

                     I was surprised how well the children did! We are falling in love with hiking!

                                   A view from part of the way up...the view from the top
                                       is usually not very good because of the cloud cover

                                         The summit!! We survived!!...although it appears the
                                         high altitude was affecting some people's mental state:)

             It was quite cold at the top! It is so high that the top is in the clouds so it is quite damp and
              windy. Stacy and Christi found alittle shelter...I think they would have enjoyed a fire yet:)

                       The male factors of the group. Ryan had some cousins here over this time

     Our muddy little family....I thank God for the health and strength to do things like this. I know
      there are people that would long to be able to do things like this, but because of health or physical    limitations they are unable to do so. It's something I don't ever want to take for granted

 

                                  What we do Sunday evenings when we're bored at home.....

Prayer requests:
Shannon & Janelle Martin...also strength and wisdom for their families. You can follow her cancer journey at  https://www.caringbridge.org/search?q=janelle+martin

Rain!...its been an exceptionally dry dry season...our water has been off all day for weeks now but they would usually turn it on at night so our tank could fill up. Having water in our tank meant we could at least take bucket showers & have water for washing. These last two days it hasn't been turned on at all so now our tank is empty. You only realize how much you use water when you don't have it! Dry season is typically from January-June, but we're hoping the rains start earlier this year!
 Btw, we are not dying of thirst, Chris filled some buckets at Arlen & Sharon whose tank wasn't empty yet.

Terre Hill seniors....they are planning to arrive next Thursday...prayers for safety.....and ummmm, water:)

Pray for us... We are planning to move alittle over a week after Terre Hill seniors leave so Josh & Barb can move in here. It looks like a busy month, but we're looking forward to it! Pray that we can keep our focus here in the midst of the changes and preparation of moving home