sailing, sailing...and a new "friend"

So today was another third termer weekend adventure.  It has been so nice to be able to have J around more, and for him to experience a lot of the what the island has to offer while he can.  Our friend Andrea had a lifelong dream to go out on a sailboat, and found a pretty good deal to make it come to fruition here in Grenada if she could gather 10-12 people to tag along for a 2+ hour charter.  

J and I were among them.  

I am prone to motion sickness and I had heard that sailboats were the worst offenders, and so I popped a WHOLE dramamine pill before take-off.  Alas, it did not work as well as I was hoping [or did it really work and I just didn't know that I was saved from some serious cookie tossing? I don't know...] but I felt relatively sick the whole time and wasn't able to engage in much conversation. However, when I was laying down with a cool drink in hand, feeling the cool breeze travel across my face while listening to the conversation around me, it was pretty relaxing.  I just couldn't sit up very long :)  I did manage to get some pictures because it really was very pretty.  J loved every minute of it, and didn't feel motion sickness at all...of course :)  But I am glad we were able to do this together, even if I am a novice at these types of adventurous things :)

We were able to watch the sunset and come back to Port Louis with the moon glowing above us and the city of St. George's glittering around us.  These are the moments I remember how beautiful this little island is truly, even though it is difficult living here at times. 

 

There she is!

 The planner herself! She was VERY excited :)

This was before I just gave up my attempt to hang out and laid down :) [photo courtesy of Andrea]

 Look! Haircut and clean-shaven! WIN!!!

 Friends with a mast.

 St. George's.

Another sailboat that would have been thousands of dollars to charter, ha!

Unfortunately, the awe was short lived as we got home to discover the HUGEST roach I've EVER seen [and I've seen quite enough for my lifetime, thank you] skittering over our stove where I had left some leftover PLAIN rice in our one pot [that has no lid] in my hurry to get out the door.  A dumb move on my part considering my knowledge of the bugs here, but I was hoping the stove [which is not attached to anything else in the kitchen] would have prevented any little food-snoopers. WRONG. I will never do that again.  And the worst part is that my fearless husband was unable to kill the sucker.  So it is still alive and well, probably waiting for us to go to bed to come out and search our house.  Ug, I just got some chills thinking about it...I also think I spotted some poop?? Not sure, but it sure did look like a goodie of some kind, and J said it was possible.  Gross.  Everything is currently soaking in a lot of water and tiny bit of bleach, just for our peace of mind. Well folks, sorry to end that story on such an awful note, but I gotta present the good and the bad, you know? :)  We're fine, really!  

Tomorrow night is the second installment of Batman back on campus in a lecture hall...then we will just wait until Grenada decides to buy and ship in the new movie reel so we can all see the third one :)  I hope everyones' weekends are going well!  

Much love from your sailing roach hunters here in Grenada :)

first post-midterm weekend of the "fall" term.

So J had his first midterm this Friday which means that he had absolutely NOTHING to do this weekend except spend time with his wife :):) - which he did!  

Friday afternoon we headed straight to a new restaurant for both of us: "Umbrellas."  We got fries AND sweet potato fries [we were really hungry, and I was craving some "USA food"] and he got a pulled pork sandwich while I got a basil mayo chicken one.  We were both pretty impressed and glad to be in the shade of the restaurant, although Friday continued to be a pretty brutal day heat-wise.  

To continue our health kick, we then visited the ice cream factory that is literally a two minute walk from our apartment!! [Good thing we have a budget, is all I gotta say ;) ]  

We came home, took a nap [hey! it's hot and he took a test!] and then we walked to Lance Aux Epines beach [the now-closest beach to our place which isn't so typical as its filled mostly with sailboats, but its still very pretty and relaxing].  The rest of the night was filled with reading and watching a movie - it was very fun to have a whole day devoted to hanging out.  I am cherishing these times for when 4th term sucks the life out of everything... :(

Saturday J got up and played basketball [crazy man] and I slept in :)  Then when he got back we drove over to a place called "The Merry Bakery" and it was merry, indeed.  J had been wanting to try that place since last term when we found out about it, but it seemed to be closed every time we tried to swing by.  However, it was open when we got there and J finally got his long-anticipated cinnamon roll - straight out of the oven!!! It was very good, and definitely enough to fill the both of us up for breakfast, so then we headed home where I prepared lunch for the day before we went to campus to hang out with the Cappas before we went ...on a hash!

Now, I know I haven't talked about hashing on here before mostly because I had no desire to do one...ever.  But since J really wanted to go, and I didn't want to spend so long without him on our big weekend, I decided to toughen up and brave the experience.
Just a quick note on hashes:  It's usually a muddy, muddy hike through some densely forested area in Grenada with trails marked with little piles of paper.  There can be false trails, etc, and then there is a big party at the end with local food and drink for sale.  If you admit you're a newbie, you get a certificate after being hosed down with beer.  Yup.  Luckily, we knew this ahead of time, so we pretended like our hashing experience was old news.   

I mostly walked with my friend Angela while J walked a little ahead with our friend Phil, but it was still fun for us to do "together" and I think J appreciated that I tried it out :)  I got pretty muddy, and it was difficult to hike in Chacos [which, correct me if I'm wrong, but isn't that what they're for??] but it was a better experience that I thought it was going to be.  I also think I was lucky in getting the kind of hike we did that day.  I have heard of many other hashes that included rock scaling in the rain, etc., and others that last for hours and hours, and so I was grateful for our simple, muddy, yet beautiful one-hour hike :)  

Unfortunately, we were at the mercy of the bus driver for when we could leave, and apparently the bus driver likes to party.  Just to show you: we got done with the hash probably around 5:30, but we didn't leave until almost 8pm, and we were definitely all ready to go no later than 6:15pm.  That alone would probably keep me from going again.  Oh well.  I told Jonathan I would be willing to go on one or two more if he really wanted to...and preferably in the spring term when its "cooler"...but either way, it was nice to be able to say that we've "been there, done that"...I'm good with experiencing everything at least once so that I don't leave with regrets :)  

Here are some pictures that my friend Chloe took of us/for us...I know, I know, J needs a haircut...he's getting one tonight...or tomorrow.  Promise.

 See? MUDDY!!

 Angela and I

Chloe, Angela, me, my gigantic arm, Marieke...successful hash!

This morning we went back to a local church that some friends of friends found [long story, beginning in the states! It's crazy how small is the world!] and invited us to.  We were no longer "new visitors" so we didn't have to stand up and introduce ourselves again, but we were still addressed from the pulpit.  I don't know if that's the best way to make people feel welcome, but maybe its standard for people in Grenada :)  Anyway, its been encouraging to go there and hear solid teaching and to know that there is a church here in Grenada that is concerned with the gospel!  We also found out today that there are "sister" churches that may be closer to us, so we might check out those [right now its about a 15 minute drive, but in our car its a little scary ;) ]  We will see... :)

Tonight we are having a showing of "Batman Begins" in prep for the [hopeful] release of the movie in Grenada...sometime soon.  There have been phone calls made to the theatre, but no definite answers on when it will actually show.  But we are doing our best to end the weekend on a fun note, so we are showing it on the "big screen" in one of the lecture halls.  Should be a good time :)  So that wraps up our weekend!  I'm looking forward to the last three or so before J gets turned into med school zombie again :(  Be praying for him!

Much love from Grenada.

back in the saddle again.

So this is my first official day back in Grenada and I've made at least one new friend...the handy-man's dog.  Seriously.  This dog follows me everywhere, tries to walk into the apartment when I come home, and then chills outside my door in the meantime.  The sketchy little dude even pawed on my screen trying to get in...I threatened that he would pay for a broken screen if he tore it...he stopped.

Oh! And I also made an enemy.  Namely, the roach that was IN MY FRIDGE and I killed in cold blood [and cold surroundings]...it makes me sick to even think about it. 

A. How did it get there in the first place?

B. How LONG had it been in there??? [it's COLD!]

C. WHY was it in there?? I mean, what was it doing?? 

Luckily, a friend and neighbor [Amber] was over and came to the rescue by sacrificing her shoe to be the weapon.  Sucker was gone quick, but not after a bit of squealing and "Ew! Gross! Seriously!?!?"s...it was disgusting.

HOWEVER, on a better note, I have thoroughly cleaned the place, and I am currently drying our sheets and other newly cleaned items in our FREE dryers downstairs [after being escorted by fore-mentioned neighbor watch dog...who, by the way, is the most ridiculous looking "guard dog" I've ever seen...who is scared of a mini bear-faced, puffy haired, 25 pound dog? I will try to take a picture soon...]  I went grocery shopping [with Amber] and bought enough food for this week and stocked up on some things for the term.  

Surprisingly, it feels very normal to be back here again.  I even drove to the store and didn't have to think TOO hard about driving on the "wrong" side of the road.  Being back in the grocery store felt very normal - it is great to know where everything is already and the lack of adjustment is very refreshing.  I still hate the heat, but our apartment is very breezy so its actually bearable and even cool at night!  Of course, I really miss home, but its been so nice to be back in a home-place with my J and get settled back in and mentally prepare for the year to come.  He was very sweet when I came home, by the way.  He came to the airport prepared with a dark chocolate bar in the car, white wine in the fridge at home, and surprised me this morning with a goat cheese omelet breakfast in bed [which really is our only option...we only have one chair...] but needless to say, very sweet and I am so grateful for him - he really did a great job setting up the place as best he could before I came :)

So tonight I think I will be making some beef and potatoes since he's been missing out...plus, that can be well-paired with white wine, right?  :)  I miss everyone, always...but know that for now, we are doing well in Grenada.  

Much love.

less than two weeks!

Well, quick update before I run downtown with a few friends [Marieke, Becca and Nicole] and get the supplies for the orphanages [as well as some souvenirs of my own to bring home :) ]...but its been a pretty chill past two weeks or so.  I had my final bake sale, so all my duties as Fundraising Coordinator are officially over.  I decided not to do the SO Board next term for a variety of reasons, but J also asked me to really consider not doing it, so I am glad about my decision :)  Plus, it will be nice not to be obligated to go to everything next term and kind of just enjoy what is planned without being a part of it all - it may sound lazy, but I am looking forward to that again, haha :)  It was good while it lasted, and I really did love our board this term!

Tomorrow night the SOs are hosting a turtle watching trip to the north of the island.  Right now is egg-laying time, so these huge 100 year old turtles are coming in the middle of the night to lay their eggs on the beach and conservationists are making sure the eggs are not harmed, etc.  We are hoping to be able to spot one if we can, although its not guaranteed.  I wish the men were able to come with us, but unfortunately, only SOs were allowed for space reasons. The trip will be from 6pm-2am!!!! Its going to be a looonnnggg night, and probably even longer [or shorter, I guess...depending] because you know me & my dramamine :)  A two hour bus ride in Grenada would never fly without it ;)

I will try to update after that trip, hopefully with pictures [although we can't use flash, so I don't know what will turn out...]
Anyway, I have LESS than two weeks left now!!!! I am so excited, and even though I started packing last week, this week will be in full swing as Marieke and I try to get some stuff to our friend's house so its not a big rush at the end.  Please be praying for my husband as he studies for his finals - its easy to forget in the excitement of coming home, but he is still in much need of prayer and perseverance and reliance on the Lord.  I am so proud of him, he is such a hard worker and still so intentional with me as well :)  Praise the Lord for allowing him to make the grades he does, study the way he does, etc.  J always reminds me that He enables him to do all those things whenever I tell him I'm proud of him - and I know that, but I'm still proud :)  and grateful, of course :)

Sorry for the sparse updates...really nothing too terribly exciting is going on except preparing to come home to all th people who read this blog anyway :)  Much love from Grenada...and Lord-willing, soon face-to-face!!!

Op! Knew I Should Have Waited...

Here are some pictures from the 5K that some friends posted on facebook, but I will also share here :)

Glad they thought to bring their cameras!!! :)

 Getting ready to begin!

Another shot of anticipation!

My WONDERFUL friends and helpful volunteers, Natalie and Sarah!

I think this girl was dared to wear this - hilarious!

 Most of the group that showed up to run this morning :)  Some people had left at this point, but this is a pretty good indicator :)  Can you spot me??

Some of my fellow board members: Jessie, Sarah, Stephanie, me, Natalie and Erin.

Poor Natalie and Sarah - we were all so gross!!!

 All the SO's who came out to run!  Love that there was a group of girls so spirited! :)

 There may be more that I will post later, but these are some for now :)  Don't want to get too behind again!!!

5Ks & baptisms, photographs & paintings.

Well today has already been so eventful! I organized and ran my first 5K EVER and besides stopping for some water, and for about 10 feet up the end of a hill, I ran the WHOLE time and came in at 32:43 with a friend of mine:)  Not bad for a person who just started running this term, huh??  I guess the Lord knew I should start running when the SOs weren't allowed in the gym last term and it was my only option for working out :)  I've gotta say - I'm pretty surprised at what my body can do now - there was a time when running two minutes was enough to get me wheezing!!!  And the Lord also provided GREAT running weather today - it has started to get pretty hot again, even in the mornings and at night, but today was perfect!  Of course, I got sweaty, but I was also running for a half hour, so its kind of unavoidable :)  My friend and accountability partner from Bible Study ran with me the whole way, and I was very grateful to have the company - and running accountability, too!  I'm sure I would have stopped running a few other times had I not had her there with me to spur me on - I can see why the Christian life is compared to a race, and how it emphasizes fellowship - its so much easier to keep pressing on when others are around you to encourage you to do so! :)

I also wanted to share some pictures of last weekend on Easter Sunday of most of the girls in our Bible Study.  Our sweet Stacy got baptized along with 4 other people in the ocean on Black Sand Beach.  It was beautiful and glorious, and I am so blessed to have these women in my life here in Grenada :)  It is a JOY to teach them and interact with them throughout the week :) 

 From left to right: Andrea, Stacey, Yunah, Angela [my running buddy!], me, Becca [who designed all the fabulous fundraising posters this term!], Marieke, and Christina.  We were missing about 3 more girls, but I still love this picture :)

And again, a little goofier :) You can also see Ryan in the ocean in the background, ha!

And now FINALLY, I present the Photo Auction pictures :)

 Some of the crowd that came by to check things out throughout the night...

 See someone you know?? :)  He was very supportive and helpful to me when I was somewhat flustered with everything going on...

 J really liked this picture...and he kept bidding until I told him that he could let someone else have it, since Marieke took it...ha!

 SUNDAES!!!

 Enjoying the AMAZING sundaes that really were quite a hit :) I think Mark is making a funny face on purpose - I told them to be "candid"...hmmmm....

 The really cool map of Grenada that one of the SO's painted!

This next picture is also from the photo auction, but I wanted to put it down here because I used it to draw a picture at a social event called "Painting with a Twist" - every 2-3 people who came together brought a bottle of wine and some snacks and proceeded to paint the sunset from a great view point [minus some power lines].  It was a ton of fun and very relaxing and I think they are going to do one more before the end of the term :) 

So I still had this picture on my camera when I decided I didn't want to paint another painting [after I had painted my sunset...which you will see below], but I still wanted to draw.  I tried to draw Natalie, but she was moving around too much, so I decided to draw the daughter of one of the Social Coordinators :)  She is so precious!!!  So here she is at the photo auction...

 And here she is on paper...

 And here she is in real life and with her picture :)  The minute she saw it she said, "Look! That's Abby! That's me!!!"  She was sooo cute about it - she recognized herself right away! :)

And now here are the rest of the photos from the painting night...

Such a fun idea!!

The sunset we were supposed to paint...I debated adding the beautiful powerlines...

 Sorry you have to turn your head sideways to see this one - I didn't have time to edit any of these pictures, including rotating :)  But this was my sunset...haha

Well, that's about all folks.  Oh!  We DID go see The Hunger Games last night with a big group of friends - someone petitioned to have it released here [usually it takes months and months for "New Releases" to get here!] and it was fun to feel a bit American again - AND see a NEW movie for about $3US a person!!! Can't beat that :)  So far it's been a great weekend, but we are still so ready to be home and see everyone!  

Much love from Grenada.

well, this is embarassing...

I think I will keep apologizing about my lack of blog posts until the cows come home...or more likely, til I get home to the states and there will really be no need to document the life I am living with the friends and family who read this blog ;)  But I DO want to summarize what has been happening on the Grenada side of things for the past two weeks or so...

The Photo Auction turned out well.  Not as well as I had hoped, but we still raised almost $2,000EC, and those who came said they had a really great time.  I will post pictures later because I am currently using the sketchy computer that can choose to shut down on me at any point in time...but I am hoping that if we continue to do the Photo Auction every term that it will become a bigger and better fundraiser eventually :)  Now all we have is the 5K run [next Saturday] and possibly one last bake sale... :)

Some of you know that I also started babysitting a little kiddo down here, and so that has been taking at least 5 hours of my day every day since last week.  However, his mom decided to send him home, and so he is leaving Saturday.  It was a great blessing to have a bit of income for a while, and he was/is a cute kid...

I also attended one of the bi-weekly "Breakfast Clubs" hosted by the Social Coordinators of the SO Board. It was at a little hotel called Le Paplillion [spelling??] and I LOVED it.  It was a perfect, quaint little venue and they had REAL tea cups [Mom - gold lined! Just like the chocolate place in Amstelveen!] for serving tea and specialty coffee drinks [very cute] and some great breakfast dishes.  I ended up getting a Morning Glory muffin, but Natalie got a chocolate croissant and let me try a few bites - it was AWESOME!!! Made me wish my roomies were here and we could venture over there together for our old "breakfast club" get-togethers...ah well...I can imagine ;)  And we can find something similar state-side [or I can bake some muffins for us!!!] and have eachother's company anyway - which is better than any location ;)

I have also been to the doctor's office twice since my last post.  The doc suggested I go on a low dose of hypothyroid meds since my blood levels showed up a little low.  She thought this might help my body release the right amount of hormones again and might sort things out...either way, she suggested trying it for 2 months and then to "let her know, because it's a good clinical test" - ha!!!  Anyway, I am currently finishing up the oral anti-fungal meds since the cream wasn't doing it completely afterall...but alas, I am still itchy.  So I've made an appointment with a dermatologist when I get home in the states.  *Sigh*  I am really wondering if the US will just "fix" all my health problems?? I feel quite ridiculous...

If any of you remember me talking about the art auction for the orphanages here last term, they had another one last night.  I bid on a couple things, but was eventually out-bid, but it was still fun.  I think last semester was better attended, but it was still a good time and I was glad to see a lot of the art work of kids I know from Bel Air :)  I have actually missed the last two Tuesdays of tutoring and going there since I had doctor appointments, and she was only available on Tuesdays, so hopefully all will be well next Tuesday and back to normal...

Two of our sisters [Anna and J's sister, Victoria] turned the big 2-1 this week, one day apart :)  HAPPY BIRTHDAY again, ladies!!! We hope it was great, and miss you all tons! :)

The countdown has officially begun and I have 33 days to go until I am boarding a plane and heading back home!  

Well, this seems to be a rather spastic recount of the two weeks, but I wanted to catch everyone up.  If you could all be praying for me - health wise and mentally-wise [word??] since I feel very antsy and disoriented [maybe disorganized is a better word? Mix the two...] at times...unable to sit down and focus on much at all, and just anxious, I guess.  I don't necessarily feel stressed, but I am still discouraged that the fungus isn't going away, and nervous about the thyroid stuff.  I also feel like I have been lacking good, edifying time in the Word, as well as deep fellowship.  I know that part of this is my own doing as I have been more of a home body this term, and I also feel a bit apathetic since I am coming home so soon...I don't know.  Hopefully that makes sense, but please be praying for us! J is still doing well, but he only has about 5 weeks until finals, too, so he will be busy til the end, and as always, he is in need of just as much encouragement as I am, too.  We are eager to be home and at Immanuel for a bit of a breather - what a blessing our church family is to us!  We are so grateful to know what good, solid teaching looks like, as well as what relationships should be like that spur us on towards godliness.  Pray that I can be an example of that here, and I wouldn't be lazy about it - even though we are leaving soon. 

We have a long weekend this weekend, so J is planning on spending today and tomorrow studying and then having Sunday/Monday to chill out a bit.  We are hoping to have one of our friends over for dinner on Easter as well [it seems weird that it is Easter - again, nothing changes to "mark" it for us, really, haha...] and then I don't really know what he has in mind to do.  He gets to choose, usually...since he is the one with the most limited time :)  

May your Easter Sunday be one that encourages you...

...to see God as holy and perfectly righteous

...to recognize the sin you have committed within and without, and the standing it gives you before Him

...to run to Christ, the perfect Savior who was sent to make propitiation for YOUR sin

...to recognize your need for the forgiveness He has provided through His death on the cross and resurrection three days later

...to turn to Him for full forgiveness, repenting and trusting in His work alone

...to long for His return

This is truth, and it requires a response from each and every one of us - God has provided a way...will you see your need and honor Him as Lord of your life?  

May this be true of us DAILY, and especially a gracious reminder for us this Easter!
Much love to everyone from Grenada! 

finally...some updates!

Again, sorry its taken so long to get another blog post up!!! This one will be complete with [finally!] the Grensave International Food Festival pictures, some photos of our new place [for next term], and some updates on the Photo Auction I am holding on campus on Thursday [also going to Grensave, ironically]...so buckle up...its a picture-ladden ride :)

 The amazing Becca setting up her American creation - our booth!  [She is also the mastermind behind the posters at the end of this slide show of sorts :)]

She made these out of cereal boxes!!!

 Finished product!!!

 One side of the boards that Marieke and Natalie worked so hard on...I helped put it on in the end :)

 The ladies and their Grensave video playing on the wall in the background :)

The amazing Korean table with amazing food...much better than anything we could whip up [aka hot dogs?? Mmmmm, yum...not.]

 My sweaty, happy husband...who literally ran through the rain to get to the event...and be rewarded with Korean and Grenadian foods :)

 "Do you have any brownies??"

 PACKED.

 I don't know if I should technically put these up seeing as it isn't our stuff and all, but I wanted everyone to see our new place for next term!  It's VERY small, but I am so excited none the less...

 And the bathroom is actually quite big, so that's nice...

 And I will make do with this kitchen ;)

 But look!!!! We have our own pool!!!! :):):)  And FREE laundry!!! PTL :):):)

And now - coming soon to a campus near you [if you happen to live on a Caribbean Isle...]

And our last [maybe...we might also try one more bake sale] fundraiser event will be... :) 

So there you have it, folks.  It has been another great weekend with the hus - he has had to study, but not quite as much as usual so we have had some fun time together and right now he is finishing one of "leisure reading" books, so you know HE is feeling good :)

This week will be jammed packed for me as I sort out all the Photo Auction details/pull it off on Thursday :) Please pray that it goes well and we are able to help Grensave a lot as well - they really are a huge resource in the local community, and I am anxious to be able to help them as much as we can!  I will [of course] post a summary after that is over - I will even try to take pictures amidst the chaos that I'm sure will be going on :)  About 7 weeks and I will be state-side.  Can't wait.

Love to all!