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05/17/2012

A Week of Ministry, Date Night, Bible Study and Holding Monkeys

We were a little worried about how we would adjust back to “normal” life in St. Kitts after our brief trip to Florida. We have been back for a little more than a week but it feels as if we never left! We basically came back and picked up right where we left off… Sean even says it felt like he was home. Obviously this is our home, but living here hasn’t always felt like “home” if you know what I mean. But I think it’s safe to say all three of us have adjusted nicely.

Fig Tree Good News Club

Last Monday Sean had to teach the entire club by himself but this Monday we were able to be more organized. The two locals we are teaching with not only came this Monday but did most of the teaching! It was the first time we had seen them in action and they were superb! They had energy, excitement and almost flawless lessons! It gives us GREAT confidence to see teachers here do such a wonderful job because it’s a glimpse at what could happen all over the island!

Fig Tree Collage

Preparing for Mission Teams

We have two confirmed teams coming this summer, one from Alabama and the other from Seattle! We have started the process to find the right housing for both teams… it’s so fun to look at different places on the island. Sometimes it feels like we are on House Hunters International! We are so excited these teams are coming. We have a lot of ministry planned for them including 5 Day Clubs and some service projects. Mission teams don’t typically come to St. Kitts and Nevis so their work here will make a huge impact.

Bible Studies

Outside of CEF ministry, Sean and I both started back in our Bible studies last week. (They were on break for a few weeks while the new semesters at Ross and the Medical School began). Sean is attending a mens study on Tuesday evenings as they learn about David. The ladies study is on Sunday nights and for the summer semester I will be leading it! We are doing 12 Extraordinary Women by John McArthur and I will be hosting the study at our house every other week. I haven’t led a Bible study in years so I’m nervous and excited all at the same time!

Mother’s Day

We had a fun and low-key Mother’s Day on Sunday. Sean and Maddy had a handmade card waiting for me when I woke up with lots of hugs and kisses and “You’re the best mom in the whole world” sayings from Maddy! In the afternoon the Graysons came over so the girls could play together. Maddy really missed Audri while we were gone! The best part of the day? I got to take a nap… which is probably the best present ever. 😉

Date Night

Sean and I realized we hadn’t been on a date since Valentine’s Day! Going on dates in St. Kitts is a lot more difficult because there really isn’t much to do and dinner is expensive even at the “normal” restaurants. However, the movie theater here is the nicest place on the island! And it’s really cheap too! We decided to go on Tuesday night, which is half price night, and got our tickets, two fountain cokes (haven’t seen fountain drinks ANYWHERE here), an extra large popcorn, a bag of Skittles and a bag of M&M’s for about $24 U.S. dollars! The theater was super clean and I even had to put a sweater on because it was so cold! Even the bathrooms were nice… they had automatic flush toilets and automatic hand dryers! For two hours we literally forgot we were in St. Kitts… it felt just like America! A trip to the movies will be our regular date night from now on!

More Repairs

We made pizza one night this week and heard strange noises coming from the oven while the pizza baked. Luckily we got to it in time, but the oven was trying to catch on fire! The wires were fried and a repairman came to fix it. Apparently, the wires somehow started touching each other and… well… boom. Unfortunately, something is wrong with the gas so now we have to wait for someone else to fix that problem before the repairman can fix the oven.

Coming Up

Sean has been working like crazy to finalize mission team plans, catch up on work from when we were gone, start on summer ministry and get ready for the National Board meeting. Next weekend (the 26th) Sean’s family will be coming to stay with us for a few weeks! We have already scheduled two speaking events at churches for June and then the team from Alabama will be here soon after! It feels like the summer is about to take off and it will be September before we know it!

And just for fun… we went to the port last week to buy gifts for my mother and Maddy found a guy with pet monkeys trying to make a few bucks. She insisted on holding the monkeys for nearly an hour. So we tracked the guy down but of course, when he put the monkeys on her she started screaming. So guess who ended up holding them instead?

Holding Monkeys in St. Kitts

So glad they had diapers on!

That about sums up our week! Thank you so much for your prayers and support!

Also, we got word this week that a dear friend and supporter from Montgomery had a heart attack and passed away today. We are very torn up about this and sad that we cannot be there during this time. Please keep this family (the Kemps) in your prayers. Thank you.

Click Here to view our recent prayer requests.

Filed Under: Family Life, St. Kitts 1 Comment
05/09/2012

Our First Trip Back to America… and More Ministry

Well… in the last two weeks we have spent time in St. Kitts, Florida and The Bahamas! We are all experiencing “travel whiplash”. It’s hard to believe last week at this time we were only on day two of the CEF Regional Conference cruise… somewhere between Florida and the Bahamas. And yet, it feels like we’ve been “home” (in St. Kitts) for a while… it’s been two days.

The week before we left St. Kitts was one of the fullest and most stressful weeks yet. I don’t know if we really had more going on than usual or if knowing we would be in America at the end of the week made things feel crazier.

Nevis Informational Meeting

Sean was up early that Saturday morning to catch the ferry to Nevis. They held a very productive informational meeting. Lots of people attended… pastors, teachers, TCE trained workers, volunteers and others who wanted to know more about CEF. From the meeting there will be three schools adopted, Good News Clubs in two different community centers and another in a church! It is so exciting to see people “get it” and feel a burden to reach the children in their community!

On the ferry ride back Sean sat next to a Hindu doctor, in fact they were the only ones on the ferry! She was very interested in what Sean was doing in St. Kitts as a missionary and she had a lot of questions about Christianity. Sean was able to share his faith with her and she seemed very open. Pray for the Lord to continue revealing Himself to her!

Fig Tree Good News Club

So far we’ve had four weeks of Good News Club at Fig Tree! The second week went great! We had about 25 kids show up and we were able to share the teaching with two local TCE graduates! We had to miss the third week because we were in America but Sean was able to teach this week. We flew in on the same day of Good News Club so Maddy and I stayed home (our day started at 5am) thinking there would be two other teachers to help Sean. There are two things in St. Kitts that will cancel events, rain and holidays. If either one is happening you can guarantee nobody will show up to an event. Monday was rainy AND a holiday. However, 19 kids showed up! Unfortunately, the teachers didn’t… Sean had to teach by himself. We will need to get a little more organized in leading this club. 🙂

We Got our Visas!

After trying for two months we finally received our visas the day before we left! Talk about waiting until the last minute! We were not allowed to be here with CEF but were told we need a church to cover us. Thankfully, getting a church to endorse was not an issue. Our visas say we are here with Cayon Church of God but what’s important is that we are here legally for the next two years! When we came back into the country on Monday we went through the “Residents” line, our passports were stamped, no questions were asked and we went through without any issues. It was the smoothest entry we’ve had yet!

Our Trip to America

We left on a Friday afternoon and had a smooth flight into Miami. By the time we made it through passport control, customs and got our rental we were wiped. However, that didn’t stop us from going to the first Chick-Fil-A we could find! It tastes even better when you haven’t had it for so long… trust me.

We spent the weekend in Ft. Pierce, Florida… we ate a lot of food we can’t get in St. Kitts… in fact we ate Mexican food three times! (You can’t even find tacos in St. Kitts!) And of course McDonald’s, Taco Bell, Dunkin Donuts and Starbucks. We went to Target, the Mall and Publix! It was amazing! And so clean! The Pennell’s made us dinner one night and we got to stay in their sister’s condo! Maddy enjoyed watching Nick Jr (we don’t have it here) and we enjoyed the central air conditioning! It was such a blessing to stay there!

CEF Regional Conference

The next Monday we drove to Cape Canaveral, Florida and boarded the Monarch of the Seas (Royal Caribbean) to attend the CEF Regional Conference. A cruise may seem a little extravagant but it’s was actually cheaper than having the conference at a center in the States somewhere. We were able to meet and spend time with missionaries all over the Caribbean… national workers AND people like us! It was refreshing! Being on an island can make us feel isolated sometimes, so it was encouraging to spend time with others who are working in the region, hearing about their ministries and just relating to each other’s hardships.

Monarch of the Seas Royal Caribbean

It was a four night cruise with only two stops, one in Nassau, Bahamas and the other in Cocoa Cay, Bahamas. In Nassau we split up into groups and went to different primary schools to teach mini Good News Clubs! Nassau reminded us of St. Kitts just on a much bigger scale. (They have over 250,000 people). Because we were doing ministry in Nassau we didn’t get a chance to see much of the city but CEF of the Bahamas did make us a fabulous lunch full of local food including conch fritters! One thing Nassau has that St. Kitts doesn’t is a Starbucks which we of course, stopped at before getting back on the ship. 🙂

Classrom in Nassau

Sean Teaching in Nassau

Cocoa Cay was our beach day… it is Royal Caribbean’s private island. It was gorgeous… white sand, crystal clear water, cool breezes. But to be honest, Sean and I left thinking St. Kitts was way better. To us, the sand was too “rocky” and hurt our feet, there were so many people in the water that the sand was all churned up so you couldn’t see anything and the water was C-O-L-D! It was nice, but I think we are a little spoiled when it comes to nice beaches!

In Cocoa Cay with our Sunglasses

Maddy Just Relaxing

The conference and cruise was wonderful… the food was great too! Sean ate steak every night because we don’t really have beef in St. Kitts! Maddy enjoyed eating ice cream every night! But our favorite part was being with our CEF Caribbean family.

Back to St. Kitts

We returned from the conference on Friday and headed back to the condo. We rested and went for ice cream with Marshall and Kim Pennell. We spent the weekend stocking up on things for St. Kitts, eating more of the food we have missed and hanging out with our friends. We were up at 5am Monday morning and driving off by 6am for Miami.

Sean was ready to get back, Maddy was excited to ride on an “AA” plane (that’s what she calls American Airlines… she gets a lot of giggles from people) and I wanted to stay! I mean, I was ready to get back because I know this is what the Lord has for us, and I like being here, but I had forgotten how much I love life in America. I think our trip, as good as it was, made me a little more homesick. But it was worth it.

What We Are Doing Now

Sean is doing a lot of work on the computer, expense reports, support raising, emailing… “glamorous” missionary work… but it has to be done. We are starting the process of finding a place for mission teams to stay… our first team will be here in just two months! And Sunday our Ladies Bible Study starts again. We will be doing 12 Extraordinary Women by John McArthur and I’m leading it! Most of the time we will be getting ready for the summer and the 5 Day Club ministry!

So that about sums up the last two weeks for us!

Filed Under: Family Life, In America, St. Kitts Leave a Comment
02/27/2012

A “Mountain Top” Week

Last week was wonderful and very full with lots of “highs” and few “lows”!

Playgroup

We are continuing to settle into life here. Apart from the power outages, internet outages and increasingly hot weather, St. Kitts is starting to really feel like home. Sometimes we even forget we are living in another country! (At least until the next power outage and then we are brought back to reality!) Maddy and I joined a local playgroup and we were able to get together twice last week for a swim day! Maddy loves her new friends, and I am enjoying the “mom” company as well! The group is made up of wives and moms who are in St. Kitts for various reasons… missionaries, Veterinary students, Medical students and other expatriates. All of the Kittian women work during the day… there aren’t any stay-at-home moms around here so it’s nice to have a group of friends for myself and for Maddy!

Seeing Our First Good News Club

On Saturday we drove to Monkey Hill, St. Kitts to “observe” a Good News Club. Be ready in season and out of season right? Sean ended up singing the songs and I told the missions story! We only thought we were going to observe! The GNC is run by a local TCE (Teaching Children Efectively) graduate and her mother… and they do a fantastic job! There were about 10 children in attendance, in a very tiny room barely big enough for the chairs and a desk.

The kids were great, very respectful and genuinely wanted to be taught. After the club was over, Sister Chapman (the leader of the GNC) told us only two of the children on her roll are involved in church. After the first few weeks she had to teach the children basic things about prayer, who God is and who Christ is… because the kids knew nothing about being a Christian.

Sean and I left extremely encouraged! It was a glimpse into what we believe God is going to do in this country!

Visiting Another Church

On Sunday we attended the Wesleyan Holiness Church on Cayon Street in Basseterre with our Board Secretary. The church is very supportive of CEF and everyone was warm and welcoming towards us. Sean was surprised when the Reverend noticed us (although it’s hard not to notice us… we definitely stick out!) and invited Sean to speak to the church from the pulpit! He gave them a brief explanation of who we are and what we are doing here. The leadership seems to be eager to partner with us!

Literally, a Mountain Top

Our power was scheduled to be out from 8:30 – 4:30 on Friday so we loaded up a bag from our fridge and hung out at the Grayson’s home. Sean, Brandon, Luke, and Luke’s father hiked the volcano and were gone most of the day! Sean said it was tough but it was awesome and he wants to do it again… (when his muscles heal!) Here is a picture of Sean at the top of the volcano over-looking the lake in the bottom of the crater.

When we got home we found out that our power never went out. 🙂

It’s hard to believe March is almost here… there is so much work to be done. By April we are to have our visas done, an office secured and a TCE meeting scheduled. We are very excited to see all that God is going to do in St. Kitts!

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02/21/2012

Getting Started

Last week Sean and I picked up a van-load of CEF materials, notebooks, documents, papers and pretty much everything Margaret had from last year. Margaret is a missionary from Guyana who came to St. Kitts last year to put the board together, do some teacher training and get basic ministry started. Her goal was to stay one year and then go onto another Caribbean island to do the same thing. (She is now in Antigua).

Sean has been going through her boxes to familiarize himself with all that took place last year. Margaret has left us a wonderful foundation to build on… more than we previously realized! This week Sean is calling all 39 of the TCE (Teaching Children Effectively) graduates from last year to introduce himself, discover how many Good News Clubs are taking place and figure out how to get more started.

Enjoying Local Food

When we picked up Margaret’s boxes from the house of our Board Secretary we were also generously given LOTS of fresh fruits and vegetables from her family’s garden!

St. Kitts Produce

(Coconuts, Tomatoes, Chives, Broccoli, Lettuce, Sugar Apple, Custard Apple)

Breaking into the coconut takes some serious practice but Sean is getting the hang of it! We used a coconut and the sugar apple to make Caribbean popsicles.  We’ve also used the coconut milk instead of tap water to make our rice! Yum! At some point we are planning to get down to the market on a Saturday morning. We have been told there are fruits there we’ve never seen or heard about!

A Saturday of Fun in the Sun and Awana

Saturday we took over a beach with about four other families! There weren’t any cruise ships in that day so the beaches looked like ghost towns! Maddy had fun playing with her friends and we got to snorkel! Sean has been before but it was my first snorkeling experience! I am here to tell you they didn’t film Finding Nemo in Australia… it was definitely filmed off of South Friars beach in St. Kitts! I can see why people get hooked on snorkeling… it was amazing!

Buried in the Sand

(Maddy and two of her friends having fun getting buried in the sand)

Later in the day Sean helped out with the Awana program the Graysons and Joneses are running. (It’s the first Awana ever in St. Kitts!) While there, Sean got to meet three TCE graduates, make some connections with the church hosting the Awana program and talk about some potential 5 Day Clubs in the area this summer. He had a great time and he is looking forward to helping out with Awana as much as he is able.

Awana in St. Kitts

Coming Up

This Saturday we are visiting a Good News Club in Monkey Hill, St. Kitts! We are so excited to see ministry taking place here and we can’t wait to update you about it!

Thank you again for your prayers and support! We truly do appreciate you!

Filed Under: Family Life, St. Kitts 3 Comments
02/07/2012

Settling In

Last week was our “settling in” week…

Bible Studies

I (Mandi) was able to get plugged into a ladies bible study hosted by Caribbean Christian Fellowship (CCF). This small church is made up of Ross students and their families, medical students and their families and other expatriates living in St. Kitts.

Sean started attending the men’s Bible study on Tuesday evening (another CCF function) and he is really enjoying it! On Wednesday evenings Sean is attending a local Kittian Bible study held at the Grayson’s home (missionaries from Indiana).

Our Van

On Friday we got our vehicle… a 1999 Honda Odyssey! It’s not the prettiest van in the world but it seems to run well and it has lots of room to transport CEF materials and visitors. It even has air conditioning! 🙂

Our 99 Honday Odyssey

The Port

Our belongings arrived at the port on time and we were told we could pick them up on Thursday. So Sean, Brandon Grayson and his brother-in-law Luke (he and his wife are here as missionaries as well) got a truck and headed to the port. However, there were three cruise ships in so they couldn’t get our stuff after all. Thankfully, on Friday, trip #2 was successful! We did end up having to pay VAT (Value Added Tax) on some of our things but praise the Lord, it was only about $200 dollars! By Saturday evening everything had been unpacked and our house finally looked like a home!

Maddy’s First Kittian Church Experience

On Sunday morning we attended the Cayon Church of God with our board chairman, Nigel Browne. We had a great time and were very encouraged by the pastor’s message. It took Maddy a good 15 minutes to warm up to the music though! She isn’t used to such loud and lively worship! She buried her face in her hands and clung tightly to us while we held her. But by the end of service she was clapping and trying to sing along with everyone!

 

This week Sean will be going back to the two Bible studies and we are planning to finally spend an afternoon at the beach! Everyone has been asking how we like the beach and we have to admit we haven’t been yet! We’ve been so busy settling in that there honestly hasn’t been any time for us to go.

On Friday and Saturday Sean will be attending a board retreat for the St. Kitts and Nevis CEF board members. They will be discussing a host of topics related to our goals for the next two years and more. Sean is very ready to start ministry work and after the retreat he and the board will have priorities, strategies and plans in place to get things rolling!

We can’t wait to see what God has in store for St. Kitts and Nevis… and for us as well!

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