School Starts...again!

This is our first week of homeschool for Sierra, Jasmine, and Chloe. They have been waiting (somewhat) patiently, and begging to "just do a lesson or two" ever since the JRM children started school. I made sure to get those statements on video for future use. This past Monday (yesterday) was their first day, and they are loving it so far. They do miss Plainview and all their friends there, but they think it is so great to do homeschooling.

"Miss Tammie" Weaver arrived last Wednesday. She is from Apple Creek, Ohio, and will be the teacher, as well as a helper for whatever Carrie needs.

Carrie got some preschool books for Olivia, so she continues to think that she is just as old as her sisters, if not a little more mature (her opinion).

 Emma keeps getting more teeth, and is still constantly smiling. She is starting to take steps, and can walk several feet (no pun intended) at a time.

We delayed the start of school since Tammie's sister was married just the weekend before she arrived here. She had a surprise on Friday when the newly married couple came to JRM on a scooter. They were honeymooning on the island, and took time to stop in to see her.

She was able to spend several hours with them. The afternoon rain didn't seem to dampen their spirits even if they got a little wet.

We spent some time with the Brown family again last week. On Tuesday we met them for a game night at the place they are staying. On Saturday, they joined us at the beach in the afternoon, then this evening (Tuesday), we did another game night. This adoption was approved 9 weeks ago, but they are still waiting on US approval so they can go home. Join us in praying that they would all be able to home this week.

On Sunday we had another visit from our monitoring officer. Supposedly she visits only once per month, but it was only a little over 2 weeks since she was here last. It was not the ideal way to spend a Sunday afternoon, although her list of items for us to remedy was short.

We have also started sending some volunteers to Blossom Gardens. This is a childrens' home that is run by CDA. We are only going with two volunteers, two days per week at this point.

The room addition is progressing nicely. They are currently covering the outside, and it should be ready for paint soon.

I continue to spend lots of time on the road. On Monday - Friday, I spend a minimum of 3-4 hours of each day on the road. It does give me more opportunities to take pictures of signs...

Sign(s) of the week:
This one is my personal favorite. The taxi drivers who are asked what it means say that they don't know. My interpretation is: Merge, then yield emphatically!!!

Keep praying for us. It seems each day brings something different (sometimes challenges). We need lots of wisdom, and we realize how little we have on our own. Thanks for taking the time to be interested in what is happening here.
Thanks also for your financial support, we couldn't be here without it.
As they say here, "All di bes!"
Kevin

Rainy Season

The first week of school (JRM children) went well. There were tears several days when I dropped off the children, but by the end of the week they were doing fine.

I thought this might be a good week to tell you about our "normal schedule."

Every weekday morning we have staff devotions with the aunties at 7am. Three days a week the yard man comes to work, so I get him started before I take the JRM children to school. I am usually leaving around 7:30 with the school children, then return home anytime from 8:30-? depending on traffic and how many errands/stops I have after I drop them off. On Tuesday & Wednesday I pick up Ms. Cynthia, who does some cleaning and cooks up a fabulous Jamaican meal for our Wednesday evening dinner.

I am usually back on the road soon after lunch. The pickup time for the school children is 1:30-2:30, so sometimes I will do some errands before that. What errands? Today I stopped at 3 hardware stores (before one of them had what I was looking for), CDA twice to pick up paperwork, and the post office. It seems there is always something to buy, pick up, drop off, someone to talk to, etc.

Our evening schedules varies as well. Monday, Tuesday, and Friday evenings are usually open, meaning our family is eating separately and we are doing our own thing. Wednesday evening we have a staff night. We enjoy an authentic Jamaican meal, then we usually have a Bible study type of activity together.

Thursday evening is "Auntie's Night Out." Starting at 5:30, we take care of the children, giving them supper, as well as putting them to bed.

We have been taking a day off on Saturday, and usually that means some kind of family activity for us.

We meet at 9:45am on Sunday morning to have a prayer, then go to church. We eat lunch together, and we meet again in the evening for a meal and another staff night. We have been trying to have more "family night" type of activities on Sunday evening. Once the staff changeover is complete, we will do some training sessions in the evenings.

Every other week, we make a 45 minute trip up the mountain to Mt. Pelier to pay the teachers at the school that JRM supports. Besides being a taxi and errand boy, other things I do during the day include (but are not limited to) office work (bookkeeping, CDA paperwork, monthly records), maintenance/repairs (plumbing, pool maintenance, trim bushes, fix fans, etc.), and whatever else comes up during the day.

Hopefully, that gives you a rough idea of my days, although the schedule is treated like a rough draft, it can change from week to week, day to day.

This week we received another child, a baby boy. Since I cannot give many details of age, etc., I will say that he is sitting by himself, but not yet crawling. He seems to be very happy and contented.

We had a lazy day on Saturday, then met the Brown family for dinner at a Chinese restaurant. Carrie took some coloring books and activities for the kids, so we could sit and chat for a while after dinner.

Our church here has started AWANA on Sundays from 4-6pm, so I took our girls and some neighbor children this week. AWANA is a program where they earn points for memorizing verses, bringing a friend, being on time, playing games, bringing their Bible, etc. They loved it, so I am sure we will be taking them some more.

It seems that rainy season has started. We still have sunny days, but it is not unusual for it to be cloudy for half the day. We have some rain most days; some days it will rain for several hours at a time. Usually the rain will start early afternoon and be done by late afternoon/early evening. We have been getting some gorgeous sunsets after the rain stops. It also helps cool things down. We are chilly this evening with the breeze (although it is still 75º).

I don't have many pictures of our week, but I did take some pictures when we were grocery shopping.

Pickled Pig's Tail

Goat head and belly

Chicken feet

Anyone hungry?

The room addition is moving along nicely. The roof is being poured and is almost done. The workers were here for 14 hours on Saturday trying to get it done. The concrete is all mixed by hand and bucketed up to the top to be poured.

Sign of the week:

Thanks for being interested in our journey, and being part of our lives!
We love you and miss you!
Kevin

Surprise!

It was the last week before school starts in Jamaica, so that kept us from getting bored last week. On Monday we had orientation with the three JRM school children at their new school. They are attending a Christian preschool in MoBay. In Jamaica it seems they send children to school as soon as possible. The first age group they call 2+. It it typically 3 year olds, but I have heard of children as young as 1 1/2 going to school. We (JRM) are only sending the older children this year. We do "school" here with the younger ones. Sierra, Jasmine, and Chloe are wishing for their school to start soon. We will probably start our homeschool on September 15.

Carrie & Ellen did some shopping for school uniforms, and Ellen sewed the skirts for the girls. There were also doctors visits and shoe shopping to do. I went to several stores to gather all the school books. The school gives a list for each student, then they need to buy and bring the school books (workbooks) along.

On Wednesday we had an airport run. Jen Martin from the Kitchener area of Ontario joined us on a short term basis. She will be helping out with childcare or wherever needed most. We are excited to have her join our team! (I don't have a picture yet)

The surprise came on Thursday late afternoon when the Monitoring Officer (think inspector) from CDA made an un-announced visit. She makes visits as often as once per month; some are announced and some are un-announced. Since we have nothing to hide and do things the right way, things went smoothly, and it was a good visit. We did change our plans last minute, and had Aunties' night out on Friday instead of Thursday.

Our family spent Saturday in Ocho Rios with the Brown family. They are still on the island waiting for a US visa for their new daughter, so we try to meet up with them regularly. The weather was unusual in that it was cloudy all day. It is the first day since we are here that we didn't see the sun all day. It did make it very pleasant to be outside. It is amazing that 85º and cloudy can feel chilly! We started the day in the craft market. After lunch we found a park with a playground and some fish ponds. The kids really enjoyed that and we let them play for quite a while. We then stopped at a small water falls that Dustin knew about. We just parked beside the road and hiked down about 50 steps. It was amazing! It is a very miniature version of Dunns River Falls.

About halfway back home we stopped at the Ultimate Jerk Center for some great jerk chicken. We had a great time connecting with the Browns, and it was a very relaxing day for us.

On Sunday after lunch, we said goodbye to a long time resident of JRM. We "graduated" one of the boys to another group home. It was sad to say goodbye, but we are excited about what his new home has to offer him.

Yesterday (Sept. 1) was the first day of school for the JRM children, and everyone was excited! Sierra, Jasmine, and Chloe were up before 6am asking if it was time to go yet.

The sign of the week comes from the park we visited on Saturday. I must say that it is the first park I have ever visited where hair braiding is strictly forbidden.

Have a blessed week!
Kevin