Saturday, March 22, 2014

For the love of SAMS

If nothing else down here, at least we are good for the business of the local medical center, Saint Augustine Medical Services. (Since this name is used so frequently in our vocabulary, we resort to calling it SAMS). Our first visit there was about a month ago with Kaylah. After running a fever for 5 days straight and not hardly eating or drinking anything, we made our first trek there. A memorable one it was. For Kaylah, at least. Chris had taken the truck to make a delivery so we had the wonderful privilege to walk there. Getting there wasn't so bad...it was nearly all down hill and really only about a half mile away. Even so, she cried about the whole way. The way home was the same, only worse, all uphill, with her hanging onto me for support, thinking we would never actually make it home.     Anyway, when we arrived at the hospital, they took us in almost immediately, thankfully, (you never know) and it wasn't long till we were sitting in the cool of the doctor's office.
"So what seems to be the problem?" he asked my tear stained, pale faced daughter. I figured I'd let her do the explaining...fever, nauseous, pain so bad it was giving her nightmares at night when she did manage to doze off, all this even after 3 adult strength Tylenol.
  Yes, it's always better to hear it from the victim's very own mouth. She looked at me, I looked at her, hoping my raised eyebrows were communicating to her to open up and tell this man of tremendous medical knowledge all of her misery. She opened her mouth to speak and we sat waiting expectantly...."I have a little earache," said she. "What? Why do children do that?" They moan and they groan , they cry and they complain, BUT, when you finally give in and take them to the doctor they report "a little earache?" (Confession: I remember doing the same thing as a child. I didn't want the doctor to think I was a complaining weakling so I down played my ailments, much to my mother's dismay) Anyway, her eardrum was blazing red and after throwing up her antibiotics and steroids the first day it ended up bursting. After that it relieved the pressure and felt better. 
                                My poor daughter waiting for the doctor...I did pity her...


 Next up, Collin. About two weeks ago, I was awakened out of my sleep by a tremendous thud that shook the whole house. My very first thoughts were, whose trying to break in now, and how?? After I regained full consciousness, I realized someone must have fallen out of bed. Sure enough, the boys had decided to sleep on the top bunk and being unaccustomed to the smaller size, Collin rolled out. He had a lot of pain and swelling in his arm and, after a visit to SAMS, he was diagnosed with a broken arm. He now has to wear a cast for 5 weeks, after which they will x ray it again and see how well it healed. As dirty as the cast is already after 1 week, I can't imagine how it will look in 4 more!
Waiting for the doctor

Waiting for his permanent cast...we had to wait 2 hours...could have been worse, they say
Taking X-rays
 
                        He had a temporary cast for almost a week till the orthopedic
                        doctor was in and here he is getting his permanent one

                                   All fixed up and ready to go!

                      Let brotherly love continue...I wish I could store up some of
                     Carter's loving kindness toward his brother....he pities him and
                     caters to his every whim....it's not always this way! (unfortunately:))
                     (Update: this wore off in about a day...)
                     (Another update...2 weeks later...he still has occasional pain in his
                      arm...it really flairs up when there is a bed to make or dishes to dry,
                      but when there is a kite to fly or a ball to throw, the pain disappears...)


             And this is where I spend most Wednesdays...I thoroughly enjoy
             my volunteer job at SAMS! I work on the outpatient floor, getting
             the patient's vital signs when they first come in. I also help with wound
            care & dressing changes and other odds and ends. Wednesday the
             gynecologist is in too, so there are ladies that come in for prenatals so
             I get to help with that. It is a great way to get to meet lots of people
             and the day is usually quite interesting.
                               
                              
               Another visit to SAMS...this time it was me! Another little bundle to love
               and cherish!...ok, so I can't claim her as my own, but she sure is a doll! I met
               the mother when she came in for her prenatal visits and she said I may
                come see her baby after she is born.

                                                                 Sport's Day
                       Loading up for Sport's Day...for those that follow anyone else's
                       blog that lives in Grenada, you've probably seen lots of Sport's
                        Day pictures! Bear with me as I post a few of my own:)

                        I was a little concerned the day would turn into a shocking
                        experience with Chris being so close to those electric lines!
                        He assured me he's watching out for them...

                                  My lovely daughter and her embarrassing mother....



                                          Run, Kaylah, run! 400 meter dash

                                 Alot of these children lack a father figure in their lives

                       Each school wore a different color....LaBorie was red...in case you
                       were wondering....we dug high and low and managed to find
                       something red for everyone, even if some shirts had holes in:)

                              Yea, for Christi! She won a silver medal for the high jump!....
                              If you know how athletic this girl is, it will make more
                               sense to you to know that 4 people tied for 1rst:) but, hey,
                               a medal is a medal!
              
                                Dan, Chris & Justin helping with the high jump

                           Pull! PuuuLL!!! PUULL!! LaBorie School staff pulling against
                           Limes staff...they worked incredibly hard and they......
                                             ....WON!!!!!!!! CHEERS!! What rejoicing!:)

                                And then, a foot race for the fathers...

                        We went bananas over these bananas....well, technically they
                         are rock figs. Fruit has been quite scarce lately so it makes
                         these extra special. They taste almost like a banana with a
                         hint of apple. We cut this hang when it was green yet and
                         hung it in the shed till they ripened so the birds wouldn't beat
                         us to it....(or other humans)

                     Kite season is almost upon us and the boys are having alot of
                     fun trying to make and fly their own kites. Sammy Mapson was
                     here the one evening that they were attempting to make one on their
                     own. He gave them some helpful tips and then a few days later
                     dropped one off for them that he made. They were thrilled and
                     guard it very carefully!


                                                Attempting to fly a kite

                     I had the teachers for supper Friday evening and, instead of
                     having to walk to junior youth night, Collin got a ride with his
                     teacher. He really looks up to Mr. (Ryan) Horst and this just
                     made his night!

                    Chris gets many opportunities to exercise his handy man skills
                   down here! Here he is making a grate to be used over top a drain
                   outside the church. Tomorrow we are planning to have our first
                   service back in the church since they build on. We only got here
                   after the building project was started so it will be our very first
                   service there.

                               May God bless you as you serve Him wherever you are!

           

Wednesday, March 12, 2014

Blessed, Stretched & Challenged!

    Close to the equator, where the tranquil waters of the Caribbean Sea meet the angry waves of the Atlantic Ocean, lies the little island of Trinidad.
  One hot, sultry night, on this particular island, a young mother wiped her sweat-filled brow and heaved a sigh of relief as another screaming bundle of humanity entered this world. A cute, dark-haired, dark-skinned newborn, this tiny baby had no idea of the pain and trauma he would endure, neither did he know how he would use his pain-filled past to bring glory to God and lead others to Christ.
  The mother was from East Indian descendants, as well as the man assumed to be the father of this child. As the child grew though, distinctive African American features emerged. After being questioned, the mother relented and admitted to an affair with the local shoemaker, an African American man. Enraged, the man, previously assumed to be the father, gave the mother an ultimatum. "I will stay, but the baby must go. If the baby stays, I go."
  There is something about the mother/child bond that is stronger than life itself and most mothers, if given the choice, will choose their own flesh and blood over their lover. Sadly, in the life of Daniel Pollard, this was not the case. At the tender age of 3 months, this mother not only chose her lover over her baby, she selfishly wanted this child out of her life for good. Nestling the small child on her lap, she fed little Daniel bitter poisoning, hoping to kill the baby and be rid of him forever. Praise God, in a moment of clarity, she realized the awfulness of her deed and rushed the dying child to the nearest hospital where doctors worked frantically to save his life. God had an amazing plan for this unwanted, unloved child and he spared the wee child for a purpose.
   As Daniel grew from a little baby to a young child, he bounced from home to home, many of them abusive. A root of bitterness took hold and as he heard more details of how his mother tried to kill him, it grew till it filled his very soul with hatred and rage.
  Around 10 years of age, he saw his mother one day at market and just the very sight of her filled him with such rage it threatened to consume the young lad. Desperate for something to numb the pain, he turned to alcohol and drugs at a very young age. After a night of partying and drinking, he would wake up to throbbing headaches with the void in his aching heart deeper than it had ever been.
   At 14 years old, trying to eke out a meager living, he sold mosquito coils and nets and other accessories at the local market. One day, he turned to a lady and said, "Ma'am, would you like to buy a mosquito coil?" The lady turned, and only then, to his shock, did he realize it was his mother he was speaking to. The lady looked at him and replied, "No, son." Devastated by another rejection, he firmly vowed to never speak to his mother again. Not only had she refused to clothe and feed him, she refused to even help him support himself.
  Time went on and, through lots of hard work and determination, he managed to secure a well paying job at a hospital. One day, someone came to Daniel with the news  that, due to septic poison from an attempted abortion, his mother had died. His heart hardened as he relived how his mother had tried to kill him and now she herself had died from having tried to kill one of his siblings. Again he felt intense hatred for her and, instead of mourning her passing, he went out that very evening to another party.
 One evening, at the age of 18, he stood on the curb waiting for a taxi. As he stood there, in the pouring rain, along came a group of girls from the local convent. There was one in particular that stood out to him and, in an effort to meet this sweet, young women again, he made sure he was at the same place, at the same time again the next day. It worked, and he tried inconspicuously to make it happen again a few evenings in a row before he got the nerve to ask this pretty young girl out for a date. She accepted, but because of his poor background the girl's mother did her best to stop the budding relationship. One thing Daniel had vowed in his heart, because of his sad growing up years, was that he would never father a child out of wed lock. Unfortunately, his resolve was not enough to keep this young lady from becoming pregnant, but, now that he knew a child was on the way, a wedding was planned so the child would not grow up as an illegitimate child. The day of the wedding arrived but Daniel was so busy smoking weed that, until a friend reminded him, he forgot this was the day he was planning to get married. In Trinidad, the tradition is that the bride doesn't go into the church before the groom. Anxiously, the young bride paced in circles before, finally, in a cloud of dust and smoke, a wildly careening taxi delivered Daniel Pollard at the doorstep. And so, began the wedded life of Daniel and June Pollard.

 We were honored and blessed to have Daniel & June Pollard and their son Joziah with us for our week of crusades. Above is part of the story that Daniel shared with us bit by bit each night of crusades. He shared just enough to keep us all in suspense, wondering what was going to happen next. And when he said, "and then something happened", we all groaned because we knew that was the end of what he was planning to share that evening on his life story. Somehow he always managed to stop at an exciting place that had everyone wondering what was going to happen next. Now don't get me wrong, we certainly weren't bored the rest of the evening. Daniel has a way of presenting the Word of God in a clear, easy to understand way, that left many hearts encouraged and convicted, including mine.

 Above is only some of the story he shared. Unfortunately, I stopped taking notes the last few evenings and I don't remember enough of details to make it into a story. I did take the liberty to add a few small details to make it into story form, but all characters, events and locations are nonfiction and actually happened. The rest of the story, as well as I remember it, goes like this.
  Their first child, a daughter, lived only 6 short months. Sometime during their early years Daniel visited New York City and loved it so much he decided to stay there and only go home to Trinidad for occasional visits. The main reason he loved New York City so much was that drugs, women and booze were cheaper and more easily accessible there.
   Somewhere around this time, June became a Christian. I don't remember the details of her conversion but she thought she will move to New York City to be closer to her husband. Loving him in a way that could have only been God through her, she catered to him, even laying out his clothes and getting everything ready for him before he left to party the night away. Later on she admitted she kissed him and waved goodbye till the taxi took him out of view, all the while quietly praying, "God, I hope he has an awful night."
   Even through the haze of sin, smoke and adultery, God was doing a work on Daniel's life. Through the faithful love of his wife and a series of events, with the final one being a visit from 2 men that witnessed to him, he finally committed his life to God. God blessed them with 6 children and the children are blessed to have wonderful parents.


                                   

                                                          LaBorie worship team
          Amanda Eberly, Natalie Martin, Janisa Nolt, James Brubaker & Ryan Horst


                                      Daniel sharing at the children's meeting


                                    Now I'm resting, sweetly resting....
                                church 8 evening in a row did these little people in


                    Daniel & June love to make food for large crowds and offered to
                    make the hot food for the fellowship meal on Sunday. Collin &
                    Carter are helping them cut the speck of the chicken. We hosted
                    the Pollards at our house the week they were in Grenada and I
                    learned some good cooking tips from them!


                             We shelled alot of pigeon peas for the fellowship meal.
                              Here we are working at it one night after crusades


                          Kendall & Ginger brought their guests and food up to make a pot
                          of oil down, a Grenadian dish. It was very tasty.


                                           Yea, it's what it looks like, a pig snout.
                                            If only I could get past the thought of
                                            what all the nose rooted through in it's life
                                            it wouldn't be so bad. It does give it good
                                            flavor though!


                          Fellowship meal, I'm not sure exactly how many
                           people we served  but it was alot! Strewed chicken & rice and
                            peas were the main dishes
                             


                               To maintain portion control, we serve the food


                            With the boys having to wear white dress shirts to school,
                             it seems there is always ironing to do. The week of crusades
                             I ironed 22 shirts for one week.




                                 We laugh at the monkey's strange antics.....
                                  and they probably laugh at our strange antics...


                                 Paper airplanes fly better from heights


                              The High family band....we will let
                              you know when our CD will be released


                                Lynford & Erma Rutt were visiting Geneva the same
                                time Jeremy & Sheri Martin were visiting
                                 Kendalls so I had the clan here for supper


                                
                                  Church picnic for Limes, LaBories & Laura churches
                       
                                  Beautiful sunset after an afternoon hymn sing


                                Kaylah's class is one of the lucky few that
                                 are back in their original classroom
                                 due to the remodeling project
                                  All school chapel....Chris is responsible for them every
                                  Monday morning the month of March.
                                  Kaylah's class and teacher are on the back bench
                               (she's trying to duck but was a few seconds too late:))

                                      Kaylah's classroom


                      For those of you that were familiar with our children's
                      mild taste buds before, you will be shocked to know this hot sauce
                      has become a staple on the table...
                      (still didn't get their momma convinced  yet, though)

                   The children keep very close track of who's turn it is to get
                  a ride to school the mornings that Chris is working down there

                                              Practicing for sport's day, the American
                                                     equivalent of track and field

                                       Bag races...if I had to do this
                                       the distance they do, I'd croak!
                                                400 meter dash
                                  Since Chris had the honors of busing students to the
                                  playing field, he stayed to help supervise the games
                                  L-R: Austin Smoker, Sammy Mapson, Chris,
                                   Kaylah, Justin Zimmerman & Ryan Horst

                                          

 


                        I took a snack down to the men working at the school...
                        the school had break over this time so the teachers got
                        lucky too:)             L-R: Mark Brubaker, (from Canada) Chris,
                         Mr Moses, (Kaylah's teacher) Mr. Conhi (pastor from Laura),
                         Johnny (from Canada) and Mr. Bill Coutain (principal &
                         teacher at LaBorie School)


                              Trying to figure out something.....


                                  Moving the scaffolding....Chris, James & Mark
                                  (brothers from Canada) & Johnny


                              This picture shows the height of it and the reason
                               for the grimacing on the picture before....
                               also they were hoping the paint bucket
                               on it wouldn't fall off and land on their heads:)


                                Senior youth night...we play games, then
                                 have devotions and a snack


 
                                If nothing else, being down here should make
                                professional dishwashers out of the children
                                (maybe in my dreams, they have a long way to go!)


                                This is what we do for fun on week ends; the poor animals
                                   get the brunt of our children's bored minds
                                              "Low riding pants...I think I'm in style!"


                                                 "I affirm if I get out of here alive
                                                 I'll never chase another mouse!"


                   Thank you for your prayers and support! We appreciate you all so much!