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.
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
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