Impressions

It's hard to believe that June and July have come and gone so quickly. In only 18 days, our time here will be over and we'll return to life in the States. That life, however, will not be what it once was. So much has happened here, and we've experienced so much as a family, that we will never be the same. At least, I hope not. Hopefully, we have grown as a family because of our time here at My Father's House.
I know this time will leave a lasting impression on the lives of our children. They will never forget spending the summer in a beautiful land, surrounded by the Caribbean Sea. They have learned about new cultures, new foods, new animals, new ways of doing things, new people, new challenges, new answers. Hopefully, we have taught them to trust God in the middle of new surroundings and circumstances. They've had their up times, getting along with new friends, doing exciting things. But they've also had their down times, feeling different from everyone else, fighting with new friends and having to learn how to make things right again.
For us (mom and dad), we've learned a lot too. We've learned that full time missions is much harder than we ever imagined.(We never thought it would be easy.) We've learned to give a little more of ourselves, to figure out what to deal with and what to let go (sometimes!). That there is more to life than our little world in Ohio. We've had to trust God a lot more than ever before. To believe that He knows what He's doing, even when we don't think He does, or that He is listening when it feels like our prayers are hitting the ceiling. We've learned that we have to keep doing what He's asked of us even when we're tired and don't want to. We've also learned that He blesses abundantly when we do His will, and that He rewards us for our faithfulness to Him; that there are wonderful blessings that come when we pick up our cross and deny ourselves (even in the pain of doing so). We've bonded together as a family, and appreciate each other more than before. We've served as a family...ministered as a family...worshipped God as a family. We've even fought as a family and reconciled as a family should.
Hopefully, we've left an impression on the 25 children in this home, too. Oh, I'm sure they'll remember some of the harder times, but our prayer is that they'll remember the love we've shown them. The times they were hurt, and we comforted them and fixed the injury. The times we sat and played cards when they were bored (even when we were really tired of playing cards!) The times we tried to teach them to talk or act in a way that would make Jesus proud. The times we reached out to them when they were upset by someone (maybe one of us) or something. I hope they'll remember the tickling sessions, the fun in the pool, the walks around the neighborhood and the days at the beach. Mostly, I hope they remember Jesus in us.
All in all, we are grateful for the time we've spent here, and we look forward to the next few weeks. A team from our church arrives on August 4th, so seeing some familiar faces will be great! I know that will be an awesome time. We don't know what the future holds for us or what God will have us do, but we do know He's brought us here this summer for a reason. I just pray we've accomplished that goal.

Still Alive

Well, we find ourselves still alive and well after a week of being "in charge". We had quite the eventful week. (No the kids didn't tie us up, thanx for your prayers there!) :) We did have a few kids challenge us, but that's to be expected. The week started off with the commercial size freezer not working before Jim and Penie left. The repair man came the day they left, Tuesday. He told us not to use the freezer and that he'd be back the next day. He still hasn't come back! The next day, it seemed to be working, so we used it...After all, there are over 30 people here; we need a freezer! Since we weren't sure it would stay working, I had to go to the store every day for chicken and chicken back. (yes, they eat the back...the bone) Anyway, going to "Paul's Market" is not one of my favorite tasks. It's no problem doing the shopping, it's parking the bus. (their 15 passenger Toyota van is called a bus here) The local taxis like to park forwards and backwards and sideways, keeping you from getting in or from getting out sometimes. I started parking in the lot across the street. It's just less complicated.

On Saturday, the electricity went out about 4:30 p.m. over the entire island. It came back on around 1:30 a.m. We were concerned about all the food in the refrigerator and freezer, so we tried to start the generator up. For some reason, it wouldn't keep running (no, it wasn't out of fuel...we checked) so we went without lights. Now it gets dark around here between 7 and 7:30, so imagine keeping 30 kids occupied until bed time. After the little ones went to bed around 8:30, the older kids conned us into playing "Murder in the Dark". That was fun...for a while. I got murdered everytime! So, the lights came back on at 1:30 AM, nice wake up call. I had to get up, wake up Adrian, the handyman, and find all the breaker boxes to turn everything back on. (No fans at night make for a LONG night!)

So around comes Sunday...off to church, that was good. I had to make two trips to get everyone there and back. On my second trip home from church a woman I've never seen and her child climb in...okay, I guess I'm dropping her off at home. It was like 2 blocks away, but sure, not a problem. After lunch, we get this killer rain storm...Miniature hurricane if you ask me...the garage floods. Yep. Floods. Remember we just had a container arrive and the garage is full. The main worry was all the bags of cement and chemicals for the pool. Sure they were sitting on a pallet, but the water is rising to almost the top of the pallet. Yep. 60-100 lb bags. Guess who got to lift all those - Me and Adrian. After about half way, I had one of the teenage boys help me as I lifted the bags UP to where Adrian was standing. Dulcie and the rest of the kids were running around sweeping water and getting boxes up off the ground. Finally, I plopped myself down in the middle of the garage and went for a little swim. Why not? I was already wet. Then it turned into a water fight and playing in the rain. It really was quite the ending to a rather "busy" weekend.

Tuesday found us cleaning, as Jim and Penie were to come home that day. The afternoon was spent...at the beach! There were stressful times, and there were a few really unpleasant times, but we made it. We survived.

It's really hard to believe that we only have about 3 1/2 weeks left. Part of me is ready, part is not. It will be hard to leave these kids after all we've been through with them this summer...the games, the fights, the discipline, the tickling, the loving, the walks, the talks, the laughter, the crying, the screaming, the chores, the pranks, and yes, even the floods and power shortages.

Keepin' on

Well, it's been a while since I've posted anything, as you can imagine we've been soooooo busy. The container finally arrived from America after being tied up in Jamaican customs for quite some time. Although we weren't here when it arrived, (we were in Negril on a family day) we have been helping to put things away. The day the team from Texas left, a group of 28 from Cincinnati came. The first day they were here we set up a tent in town for a 3 day VBS. Since the van only holds 15, we had to make multiple trips into town taking the team and the kids here to VBS and back. One day it rained like crazy and while the team was trying to keep the tent from falling down, Dulcie, Penie and I (along with a few teens) were trying to unload the boxes in the garage that was flooding! Luckily we were able to move everything onto crates and nothing was majorly damaged.
On Wednesday evening we set up a projector and screen at the tent. The projector was just donated to KBM and really blessed them. The screen was a sheet. Since we'd been having VBS there all week, everyone was told about the movie night with popcorn and kool-aid. The main feature was Narnia: The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe. They loved the movie, but I learned something I never knew...Narnia is a comedy. They laughed at things I never would have, but found myself enjoying their sense of humor. It was fun to see them reacting with enthusiasm.
The team leaves tomorrow and on Tuesday, Jim and Penie leave for the states for a week, so Dulcie and I will be in charge. Please pray that the kids don't tie us up and feed us crackers! No, really, they are great kids who are just that...kids. It gets a little nerve-racking once in a while, but we grow to love them more and more everyday.
It's hard to believe that our summer is half gone and we'll be returning home in just a few weeks. We are really looking forward to a team from our church coming down the first week of August, but we also know that a week after they leave, we go home. We're still praying that God will show us just how we fit in to the grand scheme of things here. We want to do His will for our lives, and are willing to follow Him where ever He leads us. Until next time...God Bless us every one!