Twas the week before Christmas...

Last week started off cool and rainy. We had five days of cloudy, rainy weather. It is very unusual for it to be cloudy for more than about half a day at a time, so this was quite unusual. We were very ready to see the sun again! It seemed cool, and we wore sweatshirts in the evenings and sat around wrapped in blankets although the temperatures were still in the 70's. I think it is safe to say that we have adapted to the tropical climate when 70's feels cool. :)

We took a day off on Monday and our family traveled to Ocho Rios to meet a family friend that was arriving on a cruise. Our plans were dampened by the weather (see what I did there), but we still had a good time eating jerk chicken and shopping at the craft market.

While in Ocho Rios, we were driving down a one way street when we came upon an on-site car repair. It is not unusual to see people working on their broken down vehicles in the street, but usually they move it to the side.

Tuesday afternoon we had the privilege to attend a Christmas banquet at Blossom Gardens Childcare Facility. Every Tuesday and Wednesday, two of our aunties spend the day there as volunteers, so they get to know the staff quite well. The Blossom staff did some skits, readings, etc. to make it an entertaining time. It was not enough for one of the children though, as he fell asleep soon after it started.

We released our two parrots, and the girls have spent more time with them now than they did when they were in the cage. They still hang around our house quite a bit.

We have been getting ready for Christmas, and so have many others. This is a "tree" on display downtown.

...and our living room

We were finally at the beach again on Saturday. It seemed like a long time since we had all been there. The weather was fantastic!

Emma enjoyed climbing up the steps and running on the pier.

Since it is Christmas time, we made the obligatory sand man. It turned out to be more of a snow monster.

 

We also caught a crab.

On Sunday evening everyone attended a Christmas Cantata at Hillview Baptist Church.

We wish all of you a very merry Christmas!

the Stutzmans

Sign of the week:

Banquet time!

Our big event of the holidays is a banquet that we host for the staff of CDA and Blossom Gardens Childcare Facility. That banquet was on Tuesday, so Monday was filled with getting ready for the event.

Duane & Verba Cross spent the week here and helped us tremendously!

We also found time to go to the airport on Monday. Clarissa Orendorf came from Grantsville, Maryland. She will be joining our team as an auntie for a few months.

The banquet turned out to be quite nice, and was enjoyed by all.

After dinner the children sang, then our friend Brian Burke led us in some Christmas carols.

We took some pictures on Thursday before Aunties night out.

For every one good picture, there are twenty duds.

Carrie & I enjoyed a date night on Friday evening. Tammie graciously consented to watch the girls. We also spent several evenings decorating our house for Christmas. Everything looks cheery and festive. The only thing missing is snow. Actually, it has been rainy and chilly the last several days. We have been wearing sweatshirts and sitting around in blankets in the mornings and evenings. The temperature is still 75º but when the sun doesn't shine, it feels cool.

Saturday afternoon we joined Duane & Verba, Brittany & Brielle (daughter & grandaughter) and went to Mt. Pelier. It was enjoyable to hear them speak in Patwa and visit with old friends. We stopped in Hopewell at a little "hole in the wall" food joint for some fried chicken.

They came over to our house afterwards to visit and do some singing. We really enjoyed having them around. They were such an encouragement to us!

It is beginning to look a lot like Christmas in town too!

Funny pictures of the week: Pickup trucks are so unnecessary!

Keep us in your prayers as we celebrate Jesus's birthday here in Jamaica. All of us would like to be with family, but this will be a special Christmas with our JRM family.

Thank you for your prayers and finances you have shared on our behalf! We really appreciate the support you give! It is reassuring to know that we are not alone.

May God bless you in this Christmas season!
the Stutzmans

Welcome Home Mom!

We were all excited to have Carrie & Emma return to Jamaica on Monday! She had a wonderful time in Virginia, but I think she was glad to see us as well.

Floyd & Ellen came back to Jamaica on Wednesday, then Sam & Lydia returned to the US on Thursday. We certainly have been doing our part to keep the airlines in business.

On Wednesday afternoon we enjoyed visiting Cynthia & Leslie. Cynthia works at JRM two days per week, and cooks a wonderful Jamaican meal for our Wednesday evening staff night. When we took her home on Wednesday afternoon, we made the hike back to her house to visit them. The girls enjoyed playing with her two kittens.

Leslie suffers from diabetes. The disease has taken both of his legs and his eyesight. He spends his days sitting in his wheelchair, listening to the radio. He is still upbeat and cheerful in spite of his situation. We really enjoyed the time we spent there.

The JRM children did not have school on Friday due to a fundraiser meal that the school was doing. In the early evening we all packed up and headed to the dinner. They had quite a choice of food: curry goat, brown stew pork, jerk chicken, jerk pork, and fish along with rice & peas (red beans) and cabbage. I also tried mannish water. This is a soup that is made by cooking goat head, intestines, and feet, along with seasonings and spices to make it palatable. We convinced some of the aunties to try it, but we didn't tell them exactly what it was until later. "Goat soup" was a close enough description. It actually had a good flavor, although it is not something I would get hungry for. 

Duane and Verba Cross (Indiana) arrived Friday and joined us at the dinner as well. They were house parents a number of years ago, and come back to Jamaica several times per year. We will be welcoming their help here as we get ready to host a Christmas banquet.

On our way home, we drove through downtown. For some reason, especially on weekend evenings, downtown gets crowded with swarms of people out walking on the street.

We had more opportunity to try some cultural dishes at a fellowship dinner at church on Saturday evening. Pastor Andrew and Tanisha are leaving for several weeks in the States, so it doubled as a farewell for them. We had an enjoyable evening of singing and sharing about how Christmas was for us growing up. It was very interesting with the variety of people and cultures that were present.

Many of you have asked about the language here. The official language is English, and a person can get by fine with only English, however, the mother tongue is a Jamaican Patwa (think English Creole). It is not a written language, although there is now a Patwa Bible. The way it is learned orally without learning to write it reminds me a lot of how it is with the Pennsylvania Dutch language. If a person tries to write in Dutch, it can vary from how another person would write it. It is the same with Patwa. Below is what Luke 2:1-7 looks like in Patwa. It looks impossible to read, but as you sound out the letters, you can kind of understand it.

LUUK 2
1Iina dem die de, di Ruoman ruula, Siiza Agostos, gi aada fi rait dong di niem a evribadi iina im kindom. 2(Dis a di fos taim niem a rait dong sins di taim wen Kiriniyos did a ruul uova Siriya.) 3Aal im piipl dem did afi go a di toun we dem baan fi get dem niem rait dong, so di govament kyan taks dem. 4So kaaz Juozif did kom fram Dievid fambili an Dievid did baan iina Judiya, im did afi lef fram Nazaret iina Gyalalii an go a Betliyem iina Judiya. 5Juozif go de wid Mieri fi get dem niem rait dong. Di tuu a dem did ingiej fi marid dem wan aneda an shi did av biebi iina beli. 6Wen dem de de, Mieri tek iin fi av biebi, 7an shi av ar fos pikni, wan bwai. Shi rap im op iina biebi blangkit an put im iina di baks we di animal dem nyam outa, kaaz no spies neva iina di ges ous fi dem.

Speaking of Patwa, here is the sign of the week:

We have a full week upcoming. We will be hosting a banquet on Tuesday evening for our friends at CDA as well as Blossom Gardens. It is a lot of work, but we are looking forward to it.

Blessing to you and yours as you celebrate this season, and the best gift ever!

Kevin

Thanksgiving

It seemed different to celebrate Thanksgiving in a warm climate. We enjoyed a beautiful sunny day. Jamaica does not officially celebrate Thanksgiving although most people are aware of the holiday. We kept the school children home and we had a feast for lunch.

After lunch, we took Carrie to the airport. Her family surprised her earlier in the week by buying a ticket to fly her and Emma to Virginia for the weekend. Most of her family was gathered there for Thanksgiving. We were sad to see her leave, but we were happy that she got to go.

In the afternoon, the aunties did a craft with some of the children.

Towards evening we built a fire, then after dark we sat around it and sang while Sam played the guitar. It was a wonderful way to end a memorable day.

Earlier in the week we had some last minute guests. On Tuesday afternoon a local pastor called about bringing a group up to JRM in the evening. It was a group from the Dallas, TX area. They sang some songs with the children, then brought in a clown/balloon artist. She was the best balloon artist I have ever seen, and the children loved it.

Also on Tuesday we said goodbye to Jen Martin. She volunteered here at JRM for the past 3 months, helping as an auntie. She returned to her home in Waterloo, Ontario. Thanks Jen for being part of the team!

We had another farewell on Wednesday. A little child in our care was placed with a family for adoption. We will miss the little guy, but we are grateful for a good Christian home for him.

The rain started on Friday. It was rainy and cloudy for 4 straight days. This was not just drizzle rain, it was downpour after thunderstorm after downpour. It was even worse on the eastern part of Jamaica, where they had quite a bit of flooding. We are happy to back to sunny weather again.

We had another unexpected guest on Friday when the CDA Monitoring Officer stopped by for her monthly visit. It turned out to be uneventful. Around dusk the power went out for a while, so we had a candle light dinner.

Justin Smith arrived on Saturday to visit for a week. He is from Pennsylvania and seems to be here mostly to visit Rose. :)

Sign of the week:
A meat shop called "Every Little Thing"
I think I will pass, thank you very much!

May your week be filled with the peace of Christ, especially as you go through this Christmas season!
Kevin