In early May, Carrie & I made a trip to Kingston. One of the children needed a hearing test that is only administered in Kingston. We enjoyed a treat of eating some "Jamexican" food, but the best news of the day was that the baby passed the hearing test.
We had lots of staff changes with two more aunties leaving, and two new aunties arriving. Mandy Sauder returned to Ontario, and Erin Miller moved to Ohio. Arriving to replace them were Emma Yoder of Pennsylvania, and Leann Kuhns of Indiana.
Another big event was our family's trip to Ohio for 3 weeks in May and June. A big thanks to Joe & Ellen Shetler, and Wesley & Sandra Hershberger for taking care of things in Jamaica and making it possible for us to go.
We left a few days earlier that we originally planned to since Carrie's grandmother passed away. We were glad to be able to attend the funeral. During our time in Ohio we also attended 2 weddings and 2 graduation parties, so we were able to see lots of family and friends.
A new family member was born before we left, so the girls got to see their new cousin.
We also attended a celebration party for Carrie's brother Marcus. He had his last chemo treatment, and that was an event worth celebrating!
We returned to Jamaica on June 6, and it was good to see everyone again, and to be "home."
The Logos Hope book ship was docked in Montego Bay for 3 weeks. This is a ship that travels all over the world, selling discounted books and doing outreach in the countries that they visit. We visited the ship several times, both as a family, and then with the aunties and children.
We also had 4 more children come to JRM, to give us a total of 12 children in our care.
The "farm" has some new faces as well, with 2 rabbits, and 50 laying hens.
The girls enjoyed "cupcake wars" with their friends recently. They spent the day creating unique cupcakes, then the parents got to be the judges.
We have had several groups at JRM recently. We had a group from Ohio, and a group from Michigan here at the same time. They worked together well, and we enjoyed getting to know them.
Currently, we have a youth group here from Christian Life in Beach City, Ohio.
Two of the children graduated from kindergarten this year.
It was good to see many of you when we were in Ohio! We are hoping to come back for Christmas this year. We have spent the past 3 Christmases in Jamaica, so we are hoping that it will work for us to be in Ohio this Christmas. Keep praying for us!
JRM staff and children July 2017:
I recently needed to bring a bed home, so I transported it Jamaican style.
Thank you again for your support!
Kevin for the Stutzmans
