Christmas in Jamaica

Well, a very Merry Christmas and Happy New Year to you all! I hope you've had a very blessed time with friends and family. Here at New Vision we have had a wonderful time. Busy, but wonderful. Thankfully, we had many donations this year to provide Christmas for 25 children. We are very grateful for that! We did our best to make sure every child got at least one thing they asked for...Not an easy task. But, we did our best. In the end, they were all very happy.

The children have been out of school since Dec. 17th, and will return on Jan. 5th, so keeping them busy has been a task. We were invited to a local Christian Retreat Center for a Happy Birthday Jesus Party. There were games, bounce-a-bouts, and gifts for all the kids...not to mention CAKE! We also went to the beach, and then for a visit to the City of Refuge in the Kingston area. The kids had so much fun! On the way home, Dulcie and I picked up pizza from Domino's for a pizza party. That was a great treat...thank you Mr. & Mrs. Brown! The kids have taken turns going to town with us to run errands and prepare for Christmas. It's hard to keep track of who's turn it is to go!

On Christmas Eve, the Children all went into town for "Grand Market". That's when all the stores and all the vendors line the street for a night on the town. There are literally thousands of people who come out! (We stayed home and made cookies!) The kids went early as to avoid the "party" scene that comes later in the night. They were given money to spend on their name exchange and had fun shopping for each other! Most of the teens spent their allowance on snacks! (typical teenagers!)

Christmas morning the kids opened their stockings. We had lunch in our new dining room for the first time and then opened Christmas presents! What a sight! 25 kids opening presents all at the same time! Our home church, Freedom House in Trenton, Ohio, sent blankets for all of the kids. They each got a different design and all of them LOVED them! Thank you Freedom House! It does actually get cold enough here to cover up with a blanket or two at night!

After lunch clean up, we watched Kung Fu Panda on the "big screen". A missionary friend lent us his video projector and we used the wall in the new dining area. Later that night we watched the Nativity Story and the next night we watched Prince Caspian. It was a real treat to be at the "movie theatre", without the trip to the actual theatre...and the cost! Thank you Denny & Debbie Seler!

We still have one more week of Christmas break, but we are planning a Sports Day on New Years Day, so that should be fun! For now they are enjoying their new toys and gifts. Thank you to all who sent gifts or money to help us out! God has been good to us and we look forward to what He has for 2009. God bless you all. Have a very Happy New Year!

Digicel Fun Day

Here are some pics of a fun day the local cell phone company held for kids ages 6-13 in children's homes. It was totally free and a lot of food! We also got to meet a Jamaican Hero...Usain Bolt, Olympic Gold Medalist and World's fastest man. It was a great time and the kids had a blast. The also received a Christmas gift from Santa and a bag of goodies from Digicel.







 
 
 
 

New Baby in the House!

Well, we have some great news! We have a new baby in our house. You may be saying, "Aw, more kids!?" But alas, not a new kid...a new PUPPY! Yes, we have finally given in to our children after 2 years of hounding us for a dog. One of our staff members knew of someone who had puppies and volunteered to get us one. Since it was Thanksgiving week and I knew we'd be gone both Thursday and Friday, I asked that the dog be delievered on Saturday. That would give us plenty of time to prepare for her arrival. Well, as Dulcie and I were driving home from Kingston on Thursday, Jaycee called to tell us the dog had come. Of course she (and the other 3) were so excited all we could hear was screaming and excitement. Once we got home we found a very adorable little black and white puppy that looked like she was only 5-6 weeks old. YIKES! But, thankfully, she had already been weaned and was drinking from a bowl.

Since we were not at all prepared, we scrambled around to find her a "bed"...she sleeps in a RubberMaid bin. The first night was very hard on her...and us. She cried ALL night long. So, the next night we found 2 small stuffed dogs to put in with her, and she slept all night! Thank you, Lord!

Because her head is black with a white stripe down her face, we named her Oreo. The Jamaican kids thought that was hysterical, and no name for a dog, but we like it. It suits her. Some of them are having a hard time with us having a dog in the apartment and loving on her so much. For a lot of them, dogs are only for protection, not playmates. So, we're trying to explain American pets to them.

Oreo is doing well. The vet came and checked her out and gave her a set of immunizations. She's as cute as can be and we are falling in love! If you know our kids at all, you know she is being "loved" to death! It's challenging having a "baby" again, but the kids are getting a good sense of responsibility...and some parenting. (Alyssa has dubbed herself "Oreo's mommy"!) All in all, we're glad for the addition.