Island Travel

  When it comes to getting around on this sunny, little island, I usually have three options. One of the options is walking. I love to walk and am thankful for grocery stores within walking distance. Going for walks is a wonderful way to get some fresh ocean air, meet people and try not to get run over by crazy drivers. I think I put more miles on my legs these last two years than I did the last ten.
  My second option is getting Chris to take me where I need to go. That is all fine and dandy IF....
1. It fits his schedule
2. You don't mind languishing in the hot truck while he stops here to drop a check off and there to pick up a part. My simple errand may end up taking all morning. (A good book in the vehicle is a must) Or he may drop me off at the grocery store and run to do "a few quick errands"....(which somehow never happens to be quick)
I always loved driving and the independence it gave me, and going from being able to go somewhere on a whim, to being dependent on someone else, has taken some getting used to. It does help though that my options are limited on things to do and places to go around here. 
 My third option is public bus. This is a vehicle similar in size to a van back home, but down here we call it a bus and it can hold over 20 people or on a few record breaking instances, 30 or more.
 So how do you catch a public bus in Grenada? Well, you don't really catch the bus, the bus catches you. Similar to bidding at an auction, all you need to do is wiggle your ears, raise your eyebrow or twitch your nose and the bus will stop. Nothing will make you look more like a tourist than putting on a big show, jumping, waving and shouting, trying to get the bus to stop. Save your breathe. Save your energy. The conductor, who rides along with the bus driver, has eyes like a hawk and will spot you from a mile away. To them you look like money, and they want you bad. At the bus terminal in town, be prepared to be "fought" over. They all want you in their bus. Don't let it be an ego boost, they just want your $2.50. If the bus is full, get in anyway. They will find room to squeeze you in somewhere. If it looks like you will be sitting on someone's lap, slowly make your descent and the microscopic crack you were supposed to sit in will miraculously part like the Red Sea. However, there was one time that my faith was just not strong enough. Headed to town one morning, I flagged down a bus and worked my way to the back seat where I was instructed to sit and slowly began my careful descent. This time though, there was no miracle. Faith as small as a mustard seed can move mountains, but apparently it doesn't move two stubborn men sitting on the back seat of the bus. Halfway down I realized I have two options. Ride to town sitting on the laps of an Indian man and a Grenadian man, or refuse to sit there. I have nothing against either culture, I just felt the latter option would be more appropriate and awkwardly backed out of the packed bus and informed the conductor, "I don't fit there." Slightly embarrassing.
  There is an unspoken rule that you don't talk in a public bus and most communication is through nods, gestures or whispers. A wrap with your knuckles on the bus window is all it takes to get the bus to stop. If the music is blaring too loudly (which it usually is) and the driver doesn't hear the knock, a snap of the fingers by the conductor will the get the bus driver's attention.
And now, since I described what it's like to bus in Grenada, come along for a ride with me! Enjoy the scenery!

                                 This video doesn't do justice to the typical loud pounding music

     Most buses are privately owned, and are embellished with a

name, and sometimes with slogans, front, rear, or both.

Buses lined up at the bus terminal in town. Depends where you want to go, you have 

to bus to town first and then get on another bus that is headed to your destination 

St. Georges...capital town in Grenada

                                    Grenada is full of rugged hills and picturesque scenery

                                                 Is this the place you go after you drink

                               This is one of the few flat stretches in Grenada. While driving,
                                  you are usually either going right or left or up and down.

                  And what do you do if the road is too narrow for two vehicles to pass? Either
                   you back up till you find a spot to pull off the road or the other driver does.

                                                  LaBorie School 2015 Christmas Program

                                             Enthusiastic singing and mischievous shepherds:)

             The child is born!...and nervous "Joseph" forgets that postpartum Mary couldn't
          move so fast and left her in the dust as he made haste to the microphone to say his part

                                       Collin was so nervous about this, but he did just fine!

                            They did an amazing job at bringing the Christmas story to life!

                                                Joseph & Mary and the giggly shepherds
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                                    And this was the next thing to do on our December list....
we couldn't be there for all the classes but really enjoyed the ones we did get to sit in on!

  Packing up for GBI...It is a 45 minute drive over bumpy roads that lead you up into the              mountains to the camp facilities. It takes alot planning, packing & preparation to feed
 over 30 people for a week! Scott & Yvonne did a wonderful job at figuring out all the little details!

                                            GBI teacher Ken Gehman and his wife Sue.
                                         We enjoyed getting to know this friendly couple!

                                                        Eugene & Ruth Sommers from Ohio...
            his love for God was evident in the enthusiastic and passionate way he taught his classes.        

                                        A class being taught by Ken Gehman. He taught on the
                                      work of the Holy Spirit and various aspects of worship.
                          

                                          Kaylah stayed for the whole week and loved it! 

                                                               GBI students and teachers

The one evening the week of GBI the youth  held a one night crusade in Willis. A crusade is basically a service held out in the open somewhere, consisting of singing, testimonies and 

a message. Chris was in charge of the sound system this evening.

Collin "helping" Elaine Weaver make popcorn at GBI.  Eugene and Elaine Weaver

 spend 3 weeks in Grenada filling in wherever needed. Was so good to have them around!

Our boys found these neighbor boys to play with while we

  were in class at GBI. They loved all the space to ride bike!

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                                            I guess instead of a car wash, it's a dog wash

                                           I think she may have been playing her Leapster too 
                                        long if the cat had time to crawl on her and fall asleep

                                   Probably the only snowman they'll get to see this winter!

         It's the most wonder(fully messy) time of the year!! Celina likes to help wherever she can!

                                            Christmas with my family....kinda, sorta. Thankful 
                                              for Skype, but it can't replace real life interaction

                             We had church Christmas morning and caroling in the evening,
                                  and fun, food and games at our house in between:)

                        Nick and Ryan  making their secret blend of cocoa tea and now-famous tea balls!:)

                                                 Being serenaded by a steel band Christmas morning

                                         We trekked uphill and down to go Christmas caroling

                                            Christmas caroling in the hot afternoon sunshine

              We had the fun of delivering some Christmas bundles from our church to a few people....

And gone was the sunshine from the previous week! It rained and rained the week of Christmas. So instead of dashing through the snow to deliver Christmas bundles, we dashed through rain and more rain! And unfortunately, it wasn't raining when we left, so we took the truck and then had to crowd our whole family into the front, on one seat, after it started to downpour. Oh the memories we make!:)

                              A house the guys worked on in November when Ken Horsts were here

                                                  The owner surveying the progress

                        And alittle Christmas carol for you, courtesy of a Grenadian steel band....:)

That concludes our month of December. Thank you for taking an interest in the work here in Grenada.

Prayer Requests & Praise
Thankfulness for a pastor couple that committed to serving in Grenada...Dervin & Lydia Seibel from South Carolina. Pray for them as they make all the necessary preparations needed for a cross-country move.

 Pray for Shannon & Janelle Martin as they continue her cancer treatments in Mexico.

 Pray for peace and unity in the church. The devil would love to tear down what God has build up.

 Pray for our family.... December has been a challenging month in various aspects, but God is faithful and has shown Himself real in many ways!

Island Happenings in November

 There is a phrase of a song that is  going through my head these days, in addition to all the Christmas carols we've been hearing. "Time is flying like the shuttle of a weaver".....
 I thought I updated my blog, oh maybe about 2 weeks ago, and was surprised to realize it was over a month already. Another event that made me realize how fast the passage of time goes, is that today is the twins' 11'th birthday.
 Eleven! Sounds so cliqueish, but, for real, where does time go? Wasn't it just yesterday we dropped Kaylah off at my mom and headed out the door on our way to the hospital to get this thing called "labor" started. Feeling fine and dandy, (well, as fine and dandy as a 9 month pregnant lady with twins can feel) I remember thinking ahead to the pain that awaited me, and that feeling of being led like a lamb to the slaughter house. (It actually wasn't as bad as I anticipated:))
  How well I remember those newborn days, with not just one, but two colicky babies that had us pacing the floor and on the verge of pulling out our hair. Simple questions were met with blank stares as lack-of-sleep induced brain fog took over our normally functioning brains.
 But we survived...and then, just like that, we were celebrating their first birthdays. First birthdays should always be special, with cake-smashing, party-bashing fun. We decided to go all out and give them a really special cake with a message announcing their gift to come.....You're gonna be big brother and sister!!!
Oh my. To be honest, not exactly what we had planned. Nevertheless, how can you help not getting excited over a new life?! And before we knew what happened, Carter joined our family. Four precious children in four years...what more could we want? Well, besides sleep and our sanity back again.
  Those were the days...the days where the neighbor lady calls and wonders in a high pitch screech if those are OUR children on the road? Nine chances out of ten they probably are, so I grabbed Carter and ran out the door to investigate. There are times where I wonder if the term "dying from embarrassment" could actually be medically correct, and this was one of those times where I thought it just might be the cause of my death. The first thing I noticed was the string of stopped traffic in either direction. Then I noticed a miniature Adam & Eve on the road, minus the fig leaves, who looked eerily like my twins. Not being able to deny any longer that they actually were my children, I deposited Carter in the corner of the yard and went to claim my children and the run-away dog that had led them astray. As I headed back to the house with a stark- naked child on each hip, trying to get the dog to follow, and wondering how I'm gonna scoop up the third child, I tried to not think of what all the observers were thinking. Never before was I so grateful for the privacy the four walls of my house afforded me. However, it wasn't long before the doorbell rang and a blue-suited police officer stood at my door. In vain, he tried to keep the smirk off his face as he shared how he received a "strange call." With trembling and fear and humiliation I shared with him how our back yard is fenced in, therefore I trusted them playing out there, not knowing they are going to decide to strip, let the dog out and then when the hyper thing jumped at the gate and unlatched it, they felt it was their duty to go bring the dog back.
 Or the time when the twins dumped an entire box of laundry detergent all over the floor, the dryer caught fire, one child threw an ice cream scoop down the steps, striking another child who was at the bottom of the stairs, who bled all over the place from the deep head wound and the third child fell over in a dead faint at the sight of all the blood, and while I cleaned up the bloody mess, the twins decided to decorate the furniture with Desatin and the washer sprung a leak emptying the entire load of water on the laundry floor. All in one day.
 One thing that used to really annoy me when I was in the thick of crying babies, dirty diapers and messes of great magnitude, is when these dear older ladies would look at me and say, "Oh just enjoy these years! These years are the best of your life!" Really???!! You're telling me it gets WORSE? So not encouraging!

 Wouldn't you know though, now that my "baby" is nine years old and the twins are 11, I do sometimes wax nostalgic about those days of cuddly newborns, innocent toddlers and the cute curiosity of small children. It's crazy how it's so easy to remember the good and forget the hard times. Which is a good thing:)
 Anyway, I wasn't really intending on writing all this about bygone days, but I guess that's what happens when I don't know what else to write about:)
 So, without further ado...here is a glimpse into our past month...

                                                   Things that go bump in the night

 Three children, one bike...where there's a will, there's a way to make it work

                                       Did you know weed-eating can kick up massive-size
                                       boulders capable of causing head injuries? (Or not:))

                           Not only do I have to deal with Legos embedded in my foot, I now
                           have to dodge power lines strung   through the room....more than
                            once I was the reason for a complete power outage in Lego land

                                   Escape. It's now or never! I think those "delicious snack tips"
                                  scared him into action! Maybe he'll stay out of my sink now!

                                          Apparently we can concentrate on home work better
                                         laying on the table with our legs stuck out the window

                           Tea...it's the beverage of choice around here. So much so that we have
                           to make a chart to make sure no one gets an extra cup than the other one.

By the sound of their conversations while doing dishes, you would think the kitchen is a torture chamber and the dishes are the pain-inflicting instruments...
A recent conversation...
 "Mom, you know you said if we want to eat we need to work. If we don't eat, does that mean we don't have to do dishes?"
 Me, "Sure! Go ahead, try it!"
 Collin & Carter, "Yes!! Let's fast on the days we need to do dishes, then really eat on the days when it's the girl's turn! That way we never have to do dishes!"
 I think they changed their mind somewhere between the time they woke up and breakfast.....

                                        Helping some neighborhood boys build a tree house

                                                      The shed roof is the playground for the day

                       Bible Clubs in "the hole"....most places in Grenada are not marked with
                      actual names but are identified by names given to them by the local people.

                                                                      Beautiful scenery!

                    

                      Our church had an evening of fun, food and fellowship while Ben & Jess
                      Martin were here. They served in Grenada for three years, so there were
                     lots of people that wanted to see them. Sheldon & Ashley Martin were also here

                                              The children had fun playing in the sand...
                                         Olivia, Christian, Celena holding Ellen, Christi & Kade,

                              Collin & Christi's 5th grade class and their teacher, Miss Stacy:)

                              I had the fun of substituting in the 3rd grade classroom while their
                               teacher went home for a wedding. I enjoyed it but I always raise
                             my hat a little higher to teachers after spending time in the classroom!

                              "Good Morning, Mommy!" Another day in the classroom and this
                             time I got to have the twins for my students...really enjoyed this day!

            Kaylah goes down to LaBorie School three afternoons a week to help tutor...she loves it!

                                         Carter, with his classmate and friend, Jamone

                                                           Carter in his classroom...4rth grade

                                                                   Serving hot lunch at school

        One of the benefits of having a teacher here from our home church, is that we get to enjoy her     visitors too!:) Stacy Horst's family came down to see her and her brothers stayed with us.
         So good to see these folks from home!   Ken & Marlene Horst...Kenton, Sheldon & Josh

                                                                            Fishing in the dark

                                      I wonder if Kenton regretted showing something on his
                                       phone to the children...after that they were like leaches!

                                       Chris enjoyed having some Rook playing buddies

                     I hope these fine folks don't mind being forced to carry the title Grandpa &
                    Grandma down here...cause that's the role they've automatically fallen into:)
                  We are enjoying having Arlen & Sharon Krabill as part of the staff in Grenada!

             We spend a day at Yvonne making food for GBI...Grenada Bible Institute. It is a week
              of intense Bible training for Grenadian youth and teachers, starting on Monday

                                     This is as close as we'll get to being with family
                                 over the holidays...our annual staff Christmas banquet

                                                          Singing in the evening

                           These two pictures, plus lots more, are what shows up on your
                             camera card after you give Celina free range of your camera:)

                                                                       Carter & Trey

                                   Christmas caroling at a retirement home with our church

                                                Christmas caroling at 'the poor house'....oh the fun of
                                    tropical Christmas caroling while sweat runs down your back!

                                          Visiting with the folks after Christmas caroling

And that's all for this month!

Prayer Requests:
Grenada Bible Institute....December 13-18

GBI Speakers....Ken Gehman & Eugene Sommers

Our family...pray that we can keep our focus here, especially over the holidays

Unity and commitment in our church

As a prayer warrior, you are a very important part of the work here in Grenada...
thank you so much and may God bless you much this Christmas season!