Summer fun!

The pictures of the past 6 weeks can pretty well be summed up in these 3 major events.  Not that nothing else happened, but hey, who takes pictures of washing dishes, going to church, and all the other "normal" things?

1. Five WATER (World Awareness Training in Evangelistic Responsibility) students were here for a month.  

2. Our church had a week of camp to get away from the events of Carnival. (like Mardi Gras)  

3. Our family took a much needed break - nearly 5 days away from home on a family vacation.

The Saturday after VBS, our family moved into the "hole"(every little area has its own name here, the "hole" is just a few minutes walk from our house).  Our house was in need of a floor stripping and rewaxing so we moved out and the WATER girls started stripping Mon. morning.  We moved into this pink and blue house that Pastor Nelson's lived in and it was a fun change for a couple days.  The children enjoyed the yard and dirt, but we were happy to move back home that Wednesday to shiny clean  floors and a bigger house.

 

Since school is out, we have a back yard for the children to play in.  Marv & the children picked up some pallets and the children had a blast building some playhouses.

Look who had a birthday!

This little girlie....gives a Grenadian "bounce" (fist to fist), looks at people real smart-like when talked to, nods her head at appropriate times, laughs at odd times, is starting to 'sing',  and has an attitude a mile long.  Grenadians have nick-names and her's is Attitudy.  Everyone loves her to bits!

Shawn's favorite friends: Sophia and Monique.

Cleaning, cleaning, cleaning.  It's incredible what some hard-working girls can get done in a day.

It doesn't have to be cold or December to make candy cane cookies. 



In spite of a busy month, Marvin still had time to check his bees.  Here Sammy & Caleb are joining in on the fun.

There are a lot of holidays that come and go here in Grenada.  Sometimes we would be happy to let them pass without much ado but that is just not how it's done here.  The businesses shut down, people get together for fellowship, and a pot is made.  This was Emancipation Day.

Top: making a pot called oil down          Bottom:  water balloon toss

Sammy and Jana are raising rabbits so we bought one from them.  We let Thumper loose in our back yard now and then and one day he discovered a hole behind a bush and through the concrete wall to 'greener grass' on the other side. Marvin was in a meeting so we recruited 3 neighbor boys to climb the fence and rescue him.  He/she is very tame and shows us he really likes to be let out of his cage by running really fast, jumping, and 'clacking his heals' before he comes back down. 

Church Camp

This is a camp our church plans every year right over Carnival time in August.  Our goal is to get children away from the intense evilness that takes place over this time.  We were blessed with a quiet place in the country, thanks to a church family that rented their facility to us.  There was a beautiful creek in the back yard and a nice yard for the children to run around.

8 square (instead of 4 square)

This is where we had our morning and evening devotions/chapel times/talent shows etc. and a nice place for crafts and games.  It was a bit rainy so we were thankful for a shelter to keep dry under.

Wilma had craft with the younger children while the older ones went crabbing.  Can you guess what these creatures are suppose to be?

God's beautiful creation!



The creek behind the church

This is the church house where the girls slept. They pushed 2 benches together and had nice beds off the ground.  Can you spot more bumble bees and lady bugs?

Our camera got soaked in oil during church camp so we are having a hard time getting clear pictures (at least all the gears are running smoothly:).  So, sorry about the blur but this was the staff for our church camp.  Camp went really well and we give credit to God and our church family.

Family vacation

We stayed at a house not too far from Limes.  Some visitors had stayed here before and left a very good impression on the owner, (thanks!) so when we asked about coming for a few days, the owner begged us to come and stay there.  He was very friendly and accommodating - and we enjoyed spending lots of time together just as a family.  The highlight of the facility was definitely the pool - the children spent many hours splashing and swimming.

Pool time........



Simple meals..............

Softball................

Life in the Limes!!

Sunday evening get together.

Pretzel art

And now, this completes our staff in the Limes!  Weldon & Anna Heading's and 5 of their 6 children came August 25th and are filling in as house parents/asst. pastor for 5 weeks.  If you want names of our new teacher's they are: Matt Orendorf, Austin Weaver, Lynette Bauman, and Andrea Yoder.  Wilma Schrock is staying 'til Chrismas as Nanny/personal worker, Austin Smoker is staying to help Matt and Austin W. get started teaching, Jalane Miller is the far right and is our 1st grade teacher...and our family is very grateful for each one!

July events

June 26 was a big day at school. Quiz Day!   The students (from the Limes and Laborie Schools) memorized James 1 from top to bottom,  bottom to top, and inside out:) It was fun watching our children enjoy the day after being unsure and nervous about it all.

 Quiz Day

Nicki's team came 1st place in her division.

Here are the finals in the older division. It was too long for the younger ones to sit and wait.  It was loud, and hard to control everyone.

Giving the awards 

Last Day of School

 The WATER team came July 1st and school ended July 3rd.  They planned a morning of games with the school children for the last day of school.

 This is a game to learn to know names quickly. 

VBS in Willis

Mrs. Carmel John is our Kindergarten teacher at school and was a guide for the 5 year olds at VBS.

Here is general assembly.  The highest attendance was 107.

We had 4 stations....Bible lesson, games/snack, lesson reinforcement, memory verse and singing, and craft. 

And at the end of every day, you collect the name tags.

This is where you hang them when you have so many:)

VBS week was encouraging.  It was held in a small community where the youth had had a 1-day children's day and where our Mennonite Churches had a 1-night crusade.  The attendance for both occasions was small so we started Monday morning VBS not knowing what to expect.  By the end of the 1st day, the attendance was 85 and by the end of the week we had averaged 99 students/day!

Join us in prayer for the children & community of Willis.

Last things...

When someone is in the last month or so of terminating at a place like this, you will often hear them say,"Well, that was the last time we'll do that".  Here are a few last things from the last month or so...

 

 

The last time Ginger and Rhoda (the 2 ladies on the front left) were at a ladies Bible study/monthly gathering...

The last time Miss Leann had clubs...

The last time Nelson's children enjoyed the green blanket and friends in the pasture/playing field...

The last time the Limes missionary staff (minus Ms Jalane) were all together...

The last "teacher's supper" before Nelson's left...

 

The last time Marv and I went on a date while Miss Kendra took care of our children...  Our children LOVE when we go on dates!

 

Making personal pizzas with Miss Kendra.

 

 

 

The last Chorus program...

 

The last sermon Nelson preached...

The last fellowship meal before Nelson's left...

The last time Mr. Sammy tried on Andea's glasses...

Last Sad, Sad, goodbye's to our dear friends!

And they're off!!!!