Grenada Wrap-up

Memories of Grenada

(video credits: Kaylah/editing: Katrina

                                                 

                                              A pistol being brought to life through blackcats

                    Bible quizzing was held the beginning of July. LaBorie and Limes Mennonite
                      Schools compete together for this event. This year they memorized John 4.

                                         Bible Quizzing was held at the Limes Church

                                                   Eagerly waiting for that first cue word

                                                      And then it was the teacher's turn

                                                           Kaylah and her friend Celina

                 Kaylah and Nicki...Kaylah helped her almost every day take hot lunch into school

                              Collin and some of his school buddies on his last day there

                          Gleeful giddy faces over a farewell gift from Arlen & Sharon...
               tea time cookies and Glup, (Grenadian "Kool-Aid)...they know our children well:)

          The night before we left Grenada was the school's Award Night and closing program.

                                          Carter receives a reward/recognition from Mr. Ryan

    Nicki, the lady Kaylah helped with hot lunch, wrote a poem for Kaylah and gave her a gift basket

                                     And an appreciation gift for Mr. Mapson for his many
                                       years of dedicated service as school administrator


.....and after the school's program, complete with so many good-byes that I didn't think I could handle another one, plus a few final moments with dear friends, we headed home. It was a strange feeling going to bed for the "last" time in Grenada. Kinda like reading the last chapter in a book and knowing after this, there will be a different book....and wondering what for adventures that book will hold:)

    Good-bye Grenada....so many times I wondered and pondered what this moment would feel like.        Leaving life as we knew it for the last 2 1/2 years and stepping into an unfamiliar familiar.
Sometimes this day seemed light years away and the next time it seemed to be coming so fast I could almost panic. The last few weeks seemed to go very fast as we were kept busy wrapping things up and handing the torch on to the next people. All of a sudden "this day" was upon us. I can only think of one word to explain how I felt...surreal. Well, and sad...the reality hit as we took off. So many dear friends made on this island. Well, and excited....to see friends and family back home:)

       Arlen, Collin wanted to make sure you see this picture:) He felt very proud to be sitting up there
        and the pilots were so nice and explained all kinds of stuff about the control panel to him.

                                                           Good-bye, beautiful Grenada

      And just like that, Grenada disappears from view and a new chapter of our lives begins....


So how is the adjusting going? I never quite know how to answer this question. For the most part it is going well. However, it is a process and I don't feel we're quite "there" yet. We are back in our same house which we had rented out while we were gone. I think that helps with things seeming more normal than if we had to adjust to a new home and area.
  On the downside, right before we left Grenada alot of people around us were getting Zika and we were quite happy we managed to make our escape before it hit our household. Or so we thought. We weren't home long before we realized we brought home more than our luggage. Everyone ended up getting it except for Carter & I. There were also some challenging days for Chris as he worked out the glitches in his "new" (old) truck while his body had some zika-related "glitches." Seems to be going better now, PTL!
 It's been really good to reconnect with friends and family again. Makes me appreciate and treasure them like I never did before:) God is good! All the time!