Update

Hello,
If you have been following this blog, you may notice that there has not been an update in quite some time. We have changed our updates to more of a newsletter that gets sent out via email rather than updating this blog.

Our latest newsletter went out on January 13, so if you did not receive an update from us, you are not on the mailing list.

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Springtime!

Spring is here! In Jamaica that only means that it is hot, and the rains have started falling each afternoon. The daily rains to cool things down overnight. Everything grows at a record pace, and looks lush and beautiful!

Joe & Andrea Miller joined the JRM team as Outreach Directors in late March. We have enjoyed getting to know them and working side by side.

Our house is still under construction, so we are in the area typically used for guests. Our current living space is 833 sq. ft. to share among 8 people. It is a good lesson in being grateful, since we realize many people across the world don't even have that much space. We are planning to start painting this week, but there is still lots of work to do. We are hoping to move back in by the end of June.

A group from South Carolina came to help with the roofing project. Thank you for your help!

During Easter break, all of JRM took a trip to Kingston to visit the Hope Zoo. We had a picnic lunch first at Hope Gardens, then went to see the animals at the zoo. It was a full day, but everyone enjoyed it!

Another fun thing over Easter was an egg hunt with the children.

It is always hard to say goodbye to staff. It is like saying goodbye to family. Kenetra had been our teacher for 2 school years, and Abbi was an auntie for 18 months. We wish them the best as they serve God elsewhere. Thank you for serving at JRM!

Here is an idea when you just need some space to yourself. Grab a book and a pillowcase, and you have your own private reading area.

Sierra, Jasmine, and Chloe are excited about the opportunity to attend Choral Camp in Ohio this summer!

Thank you for your interest in our lives, and for your support. Keep us in your prayers as we serve in Jamaica!

A few prayer items:
-Working together and getting along as we are displaced from our house, then also as we move back.

-Discernment in knowing who to help.

-That we could fulfill the vision of JRM.

We are starting a newsletter with similar content that you have seen in the past on this blog. The content on future blogs with have less pictures and information. If you would like to subscribe to the newsletter, submit the form below.

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Kevin for the Stutzmans

Back in Jamaica

We arrived back in Jamaica on January 15, and life has been a blur ever since!  We had a wonderful time in Ohio over the holidays, and enjoyed spending time with family and friends. We got to play in the snow, and experience freezing temperatures, but knowing the our "winter" would be short made it more enjoyable. Thank you for all of you who were so generous during our time there, and a special thanks to Ervin & Wilma Yoder for letting us live in their house while we were in Ohio.

Joe & Ellen Shetler moved back to Indiana in January, finishing their 2 1/2 year term as Outreach Directors. They led many projects and groups during their time here, and impacted many families in Jamaica.

Haven of Hope (Michigan) hosted a marriage seminar at JRM in late January. It was a good weekend of getting to know new friends, and learning about relationships.

The annual associates board meeting was the first weekend in February, bringing more friends to JRM.

We had a ground-breaking for the new Outreach Center, where we will be able to better house work teams who come to Jamaica.

It was also painfully obvious that Floyd Yoder was missing from the group. We thought of him many times during the weekend. We had a memorial event during the weekend as well, inviting his many Jamaican friends to share their memories. We were so thankful to have Ellen here, and some of their family.

We discovered that the termite damage in our roofing system was worse than we first thought, so plans were made to do an extensive renovation. This means that we are "homeless." We have been living in other parts of the property during this time. We expect the project to take a total of 3 months. The new roof will be concrete.

Carrie and the aunties made a special dinner for Valentine's Day.

We said goodbye to Auntie Sharon. She was serving at JRM for several months, and it went by way too quickly!

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We have been blessed with other great short term helpers. Hannah Shugert is helping with public relations projects, and Julianna Miller is cooking for several months.

Kayla Hershberger of Indiana joined our team of aunties, and has quickly adapted to "auntie" life.

For the month of March, we have had some help in the maintenance department. Three brave men have staked out their corner at JRM, as they help us catch up on our "to-do" list. Two of my nephews, Josh Yoder and Ryan Mast are here, along with Conrad Miller, a cousin of one of the staff. It has been great to have them here helping out.

JRM along with Embracing Orphans led a work team from Reality Church in building two homes recently.

Carrie & I attended the funeral of Leslie Cleghorn. Leslie's wife Cynthia has cooked for JRM for many years. She faithfully cared for Leslie as he battled diabetes. He had lost both feet, and his sight in both eyes to the disease, yet he was one of the most grateful people I knew.

Olivia celebrated her 7th birthday!

One thing that Jamaica has taught us is to "make do" with what you have on hand. So when you go to pull a concrete mixer, and you don't have the right pin, you use what you have. It made it to its destination just fine!

Thank you again for your prayers and support. We really appreciate it! We have recently been made aware of several heart-breaking situations. Often it is hard to know how to help, so please join us in prayer for Rachel* and Portia* and the difficult circumstances they and their children are facing.
A few other specific things to pray about:
-Our family being displaced while the house is repaired.
-Staff changes in the next few months.

Blessings to you,
Kevin

Home for Christmas

The end of another year is almost here. Although the seconds, minutes, hours, days, weeks, months, and years are still the same length, it seems that time is moving faster and faster.

Our week has been overshadowed with the loss of Floyd Yoder. He was one of the founders of JRM, and his vision has touched many lives here in Jamaica. He had a huge heart, especially for children. We had the privilege of living here at JRM with Floyd & Ellen during the first year that we were here. He will be greatly missed, but we are happy that he is no longer in pain. He was looking forward to being with Jesus. We will be traveling to South Carolina to attend the memorial service.

Lots of things have happened since we last updated you, so this will be a summary of our lives over the past several months.

Last weekend, Carrie and I had the privilege of attending a marriage retreat put on by His Glory Ministries (Daniel & June Pollard). It was a wonderful time, and we enjoyed being able to relax at a resort for several days.

We enjoyed having family visit over Thanksgiving. Some of Carrie's family came to visit us here in Jamaica. It was special to spend the holiday with them.

We invited some friends from church to join us for Thanksgiving dinner.

Jasmine, Chloe, and Sierra were able to travel back to Ohio with Eric & Monica and spend a couple of extra weeks with cousins. The rest of our family will then be traveling from Jamaica and spending a month in the States over Christmas and New Years. We are very excited about that! The girls have been dreaming about seeing snow again. We have had 3 Christmases in Jamaica, so it is time for us to experience the cold of winter again.

The weekend before Thanksgiving, we had a "staff retreat." Some former staff came, along with some cooks, and we had a guest speaker for the weekend. The theme was "Caring From the Heart." Sam & Cathie Gingerich from Life Ministries in Pennsylvania were our guest speakers. We had a wonderful weekend with a good combination of thought provoking sessions, connecting with good friends, and fun. One day we took a boat ride into Montego Bay and did some snorkeling.

We are enjoying some extra living space. The front porch has been screened in, and we use it as a dining room and living room.

Sharon Troyer has returned to JRM and is helping out short term as a cook. She had served at JRM for over 9 years previously. She has been a great blessing to us!

We recently had a local farmer start some gardening on the property here. If everything produces, in a few months we will have more vegetables than we will know what to do with. For example, he started over 200 tomato plants.

The girls are still participating in ballet classes. They had a performance at our summer church picnic, then participated in a competition recently. One of their routines got them first place. They have really enjoyed being part of it.

We also enjoyed going to a local high school football (soccer) match. It was an exciting game, and the crowd showed their enthusiasm by blowing horns and stomping their feet on the metal bleachers.

Here are some other highlights of the last few months:
VBS for the community around JRM

Beach outing before the start of school

A relaxing weekend in the Blue Mountains

Carrie spent a weekend in Virginia visiting her niece in the hospital.

Thunderstorm rolling in

A new roof was installed

And new tile flooring...

Start of a new school year

Loaded for church

Please keep praying for us. We appreciate you support and interest in our work here at Jamaica Relief Ministries. Have a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year!

Kevin for the Stutzman family

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