Holiday

We started last week with a holiday. The third Monday in October is Heroes' Day in Jamaica, celebrating 7 national heroes from history. Most businesses are closed except for those having to do with tourism. There was no school for our children on Monday or Tuesday because of the holiday break. It seemed to be a prime opportunity for a staff day, so we made a trip to Negril. Our first stop was 7 mile beach. We spent several hours there enjoying the beautiful day. The sand on this beach is fine white powder (similar to Siesta Key, FL), as opposed to the coarse brown sand we have at Doctor's Cave Beach in Montego Bay.

In the early afternoon, we went over to Rick's Cafe where we watched the cliff divers for a little bit before heading back to Mobay.

It is about 35ft. to the top of the cliffs, so the platform up in the air is maybe about double that height.

We were all exhausted by the time we got home. We finished the night with dinner from Domino's Pizza.

I had several meetings to attend on Tuesday and Wednesday, so it felt like I was getting nothing else done most of the week.

We had quite the exciting day on Friday. Carrie and I went to Mt. Pelier, and I locked my keys in the bus. It didn't take long for a crowd to gather, and one of the guys took charge of coming to my rescue. He took a pick ax apart and used that to pry open the door. There was so much pressure on the door, that the automatic lock would not unlock, so they fished the keys out instead.

I'm sure the marijuana he was smoking helped him. You can see how far the door was pried open. I think the bus will need a little body work to get the door to seal up again.

On the way back, we came to where a car was stopped in the road. A crowd was gathering, so we asked what was up. A man had just fallen out of a tree onto a concrete driveway, and they were getting him into a sheet to lift him into the car.

The Shugart family from Plain City, OH was here to visit this week. On Friday evening they stayed with our girls while we attended a praise and worship service at YWAM (Youth with a Mission). Thanks for the gifts and goodies many of you sent along with them!

Carrie and the girls spent the day at the beach on Saturday with the Shugart children while I caught up on some things around here.

Jessica Kuhns, one of the aunties, reached hero status with our girls when she spent a day braiding their hair.

Last week I mentioned that we had two new aunties, and this week I have pictures.

Nicki Beachy is from Amanda, Ohio.

Becca Graber is from Sugarcreek, Ohio.

Recently, we had a major storm that did some special things to electronics, hence we have the sign of the week:

We have been watching some training DVDs as a staff, so pray for us that we could find the best ways to help each child in our care.

Also pray for health. Floyd has the chikungunya virus, the same thing Sierra had a little while ago. It is very painful.

We think of our supporters often, and we thank God for you! Whether you are supporting us financially or through prayer, we need you.
Have a blessed week!
Kevin

Highlights

Rather than trying to write about everything, I will try to cover some highlights from the past few weeks.

Someone dropped off some puppies one afternoon, but the guys working on the addition took them home, much to our girls disappointment.

 

While we were in Ohio, one of the children went to the hospital to have adenoids removed and tubes put in the ears. Going to the hospital here is not quite the same as in the states. After we had the surgery scheduled we needed to visit the hospital to get registered and do some bloodwork. This meant getting to the hospital around 9am. At the door, you were searched and your bags were checked before you were let inside. Then it was like stepping back in time. The nurses all wore little caps pinned in their hair, and I didn't see any computers anywhere (notice the stack of files on the desk in the picture below). The floor we were on consisted of a large waiting area/courtyard surrounded by "clinics."

The clinics were things like ENT, orthopedic, radiology, ob/gyn, etc. The first step was to go to the registration area where they would review your paperwork and give you a number. When your number was called, you gave them your information/paperwork and they would create a paper file and give you a little slip of paper. You would take the slip of paper back to your clinic and wait there. Then, when it was your turn, you were called into the clinic, where of course, you sat in the waiting area until it was your turn to see the doctor. After the blood draw was done, we had to take it to the lab ourselves. There they told us that it was wrong and they had missed one sample. We went back up to the clinic where they proceeded to stick the child again. We took the sample back to the lab, and they said the doctor put the sample in the wrong color tube and they couldn't use it. They agreed it would be cruel to take another draw and said they would just do two tests instead of three. We finally left the hospital around 12:30pm having our registration completed. We were in Ohio over the time of the surgery and hospital stay, but the reports were that things went well. The surgery has been a tremendous blessing for the child. Hearing and speech are noticeably improved, which leads to more overall happiness.

We recently said goodbye to Andrea Troyer. She served at JRM for 19 months and will be missed. Her parents, Wayne and Betty, were here for several days and traveled home with her.

Someone dropped off some puppies one afternoon, but the guys working on the addition took them home, much to our girls disappointment.

 

We welcomed two new aunties to our team as well. Nicki Beachy of Circleville, OH and Becca Graber of Sugarcreek, OH joined us (picture coming soon). We are slowly moving the Buckeye State to Jamaica. :)

This past weekend, Sierra came down with what we think was chikungunya. It is a virus that is spread by mosquitoes. Symptoms include fever, nausea, achy joints, and rash. Since it is a virus, there is not much to do until it has run its course. There are recommended medicines to help deal with the fever and pain, but nothing to stop the virus. She had fever for only several days, but she has remained weakened and sore for almost a week. Those who have had it say they don't wish it on their worst enemies.

Unfortunately, Sierra missed a birthday party some of our family attended on Saturday. It was for a child of one of our missionary friends. We have really enjoyed connecting with several other missionary families who are serving with other organizations here in Jamaica. Since this family will be in the USA for Christmas, their daughter wanted to have a Christmas themed birthday party.

One of these mothers has started a ballet class for this group of girls on Tuesday evenings. Our girls have absolutely loved it, and also enjoy being with their new friends.

Chloe enjoys finding and playing with slugs, snails, frogs, lizards, or any other creature she can catch.

Sign of the week:

 These signs were posted all over our porch one day. We were all on edge...

Thank you so much for the notes, cards, and prayers you have sent our way over the past few weeks. It has been such an encouragement for us to know that so many people care.

Some things to pray for:
-Teamwork as we complete the staff changeover
-Helping the children feel secure during all the staff changes
-Our family as we continue to grieve the loss of a Dad and Grandpa

Thanks for caring!
Kevin

Unexpected Changes

It has been a few weeks since we have updated this blog. Much has happened since then, to say the least.

On Saturday September 20, we were awakened around 5:45AM to a ringing phone. It was Carrie's family calling to say that her father was in the hospital and things were not looking good. As the news was sinking in, we received a call around 6:15 saying that he had passed away. It was quite shocking. He was seemingly healthy and active; and only 60 years old. This was the statement from the family:
On Saturday morning, September 20, Dad woke up around 4:00 AM feeling weak, dizzy, and short of breath. Mom and Josh called the ambulance which took Dad to Dublin Methodist Hospital. Shortly after arriving at the hospital, Dad went into cardiac arrest and was not able to breathe on his own or sustain his pulse. The doctors worked on him for over 2 hours, doing all they could to revive him. Soon after 7:00, Dad passed into eternity.

(Below is the obituary as well as a link to watch the funeral service)

Side note: 7AM in Ohio is 6AM in Jamaica. Jamaica does not change for daylight savings time, so in the winter, we will be same as Eastern Time.

We quickly started making plans to leave for Ohio. We tried to call a travel agent but it was too early on a Saturday morning. I went online and found 6 tickets for 3:30PM that day for a reasonable price so we bought them. We made arrangements here for our absence and left for the airport around 1PM. It is such a blessing to have Floyd and Ellen here. We were able to leave at such short notice and knew that things here would be taken care of. It also speaks to the team of staff we have here as well.

We had 2+ hours in Atlanta, so we had a good American dinner.

Around 12:30AM Sunday morning, we arrived back at the farmhouse we vacated just 2 months ago. Never did we dream that we would be back so soon.

The next few days were a blur of family, friends, visitation, funeral, tears, and hugs.

The funeral was on Tuesday. We spent some time singing in the evening after the funeral. We had precious family time the rest of the week. It was simply amazing how the community supported us not only emotionally, but also physically with food, gifts, and anything we needed (even a few things we didn't need-like doughnuts).

The weather was absolutely perfect all week, and we spent a lot of time outside.

Der Dutchman hosted the family one evening for dinner.

It was a hard week, but it was a week filled with family memories that we will always remember. It was hard to say goodbye again, but early Sunday morning (Sept. 28), we were at the airport again.

A failed selfie during our layover in Orlando.

We arrived home in time for a late lunch. We walked into our house to this display.

Although it has been hard, we realize how many friends we are blessed with. We know that God's grace is sufficient, even when it doesn't seem like it. You have all been so caring and supportive of us! Within 2 days of us being in Ohio, our airline tickets were covered - Thank you so much! It did feel like we were coming home when we walked into the house here in Jamaica. The first week felt like we were starting over here in some ways, but we made it through. We really appreciate all the cards, notes, prayers, gifts, food, and support you have poured out to us over the past few weeks. Please continue to keep us in your prayers as we grieve and heal.
God bless!
Kevin


OBITUARY
MARK O. GINGERICH, age 60 of Plain City, OH and more recently residing in Manassas, VA, passed away unexpectedly on Saturday, September 20, 2014. Mark was born January 23, 1954 to Verna Gingerich and the late Ora J. Gingerich. He was married for 37 years to Rhoda (Yoder) Gingerich. Mark and Rhoda served with Choice Books in Virginia for the past two years. Mark had a wide diversity of interests and things he enjoyed, including farming, history, helping and serving others, socializing with people, following sports, cracking jokes and line-liners, holding his grandchildren, giving bear hugs and singing a song for any occasion. In addition to his wife and mother, Mark is survived by seven children: Eric (Monica) Gingerich and children Justin, Angel, MaKayla and Lailaa of Plain City; Emily (Phil) Mast and children Sandra, Sara, Ariana and Taiten of Manassas, VA; Carrie (Kevin) Stutzman and children, Sierra, Jasmine, Chloe, Olivia and Emma of Montego Bay, Jamaica; Marcus (Andrea) Gingerich and son Bennett of Plain City; Zachary (Allison) Gingerich of Plain City; Joshua Gingerich of Plain City; Audrey Gingerich of Manassas, VA. He is also survived by three brothers, Paul, Marvin and Sam (Kathy) and four sisters, Emma (Monroe) Miller, Betty (Mark) Hostetler, Becky (Ron) Headings, and Veronica (Randy) Mast.

Link to watch the funeral service: http://havenfellowship.sermon.net/sermons/main/20196251