One more day!

Tomorrow is the camp crew’s last day with the kids. I honestly dread getting on the plane to come home on Saturday. The bonds we have formed with these kids is unimaginable. My shadow, a 13/14 year old boy named Tyrone, and many other children tell us daily they don’t want us to leave. Two little girls told Christina and I today that we could buy them for free and they would sleep on our floors. I can’t count how many times Tyrone and Ajhanie and Judda and others have told me today that they would miss us. It breaks my heart to have to leave these faces. Sometimes I want to pull my hair out because they are being a little wilder than I’m used to or louder, but then the next second they are doing something equally as sweet and I just want to hug on their little necks. I thank God for this opportunity. I will be back next summer. There is no way I could not.

Fun and Fellowship on the Fourth!!

We finally got out of the door to drive to the beach to fellowship with church members from Frederikstad Baptist church. It is a beautiful day and we can see where we are going this morning since it was dark when we drove to the house last night.

Pastor John has been at the beach saving us a spot since 6am. He is there to greet us with several of the young people from the church. We are here to have a fun and relaxing day as their guest. The beach is beautiful and the water is refreshing. The local folks are setting up and having picnics all around. It is the fourth of July and a day to celebrate.

Mark brought along nerf finger darts that had a rubber band attached that you could shoot at each other and the local kids had a ball shooting them and diving in the surf to catch them. The older folks sat around the table and played dominos. That was quite a sport to watch!! The intensity with which they played was amazing t o watch. We were speel bound watching them play.

The church women were busy preparing a wonderful meal. It was not hamburgers and hotdogs and apple pie, but it was delicious. We had salad, potato salad, rice and beans, several fish dishes, mac and cheese and goat. Yes, goat! It fell right off the bone and tasted great. The friut punch of papaya and grapefriut was refreshing on a hot summer day.

Then there was the music….some traditional church songs set to reggae music with steel drums. The singing, the dancing and the praising of God through song was wonderful!! We are all excited about the worship service on Sunday…..It is sure to be enthusiastic.

This was a unique and special Fourth of July that I’m sure many of us will never forget. I am excited about working with some of the special people we met. The church people are warm, friendly and outgoing. It’s going to be a fun week.

Judy

We have Arrived!

Good Morning! Good Morning! Most of us arrived yesterday, despite a missed plane and an overbooked plane in San Juan, Puerto Rico, by 3:30pm, the remaining 3 arrived a short time after. We were treated to a divine lunch/dinner of chicken wings, johnny cakes, rice, macaroni and cheese, and salad at Frederiksted Baptist Church. An exhausted group then went and saw the work that laid ahead of us at Eagle’s Nest, the men’s home that is in desperate need of repair, and then braved the K-Mart on the way to the house. A flat tire and a stop for milk, and to turn around (on a gravel mountain one-lane road), we FINALLY arrived at our “home” for the week. We settled in and spent some time in the pool before crashing. We woke up this morning, well-rested, to beautiful views of the Caribbean Sea and Buck Island. Most of the women are behind us in our table nook enjoying breakfast while we sit at our bar and write. Soon we will depart for a 4th of July picnic hosted by the church. Spirits are lifted and bellies are fed.

Time to get dressed! We miss you, but are truly excited to be here to work.

Megan and Christina

Ready or not, here we come!

Today is the day! Dad is upstairs eating a bowl of cereal and I am about to go up and join him. The quicker we eat, the quicker we get to meet our team at the airport. The excitement level, at least on my part, is high. I cannot wait to get on that plane and truly embark on our journey. For as long as I’ve been alive its always been me putting family on a plane for a mission trip, normally Katy, but today… Today it is my turn. My first, outside the continental United States, mission trip. Its safe to say I’ve waited 20 years for this. I hope Frederiksted is ready for us, because, ready or not, HERE WE COME!

Megan