Dear Followers (aka Loving Family and Friends),
I do apologize for not keeping you posted in this way. Consistency in communication in such a way is not my strength. I can point you to another more thorough and consistent blog, that does often include me:
http://emilysevidence.blogspot.com/
(This is Emily's blog)
However, I do believe that I can summarize much of the last month that you have missed through the events of today:
Today was full of things that I was supposed to do and even more that I could attend, but didn't think that I had time for.
Today, Ryan and I awoke to the sound of harsh rain outside around 6 AM only to snuggle back to sleep amidst our weariness. Ryan, who has been studying non-stop as is his calling, and is weary in his mind and eyes, was glad for the excuse to miss his morning run. And I simply love sleeping to the sound of rain! The only unfortunate thing about this re-sleep was that I was supposed to wake up at 6:30, but instead drifted through the alarm being lulled by the rain until 8...and I was supposed to be out the door at 8:30!
Alas, I still needed to make lunch for my dear husband and myself, and have coffee and take a shower and look presentable. SO! I went to work making an Alfredo, and coffee and jumped in the shower. But, before you think that I'm patting myself on the back, I didn't make my deadline, and had to call off my plans! I was supposed to meet with my new co-workers at Grensave to attend a meeting on Grenada's environment. I was excited to attend, but luckily it was not imperative that I was there.
I started volunteering at Grensave a few weeks ago. I'll be testing out how it goes there before I make a definite commitment to them. The purposes of Grensave excite me, as it is a former satellite of Save the Children, and they work in the area of Child Development. I have been able to peek into their day-to-day orchestration and fundraising as well as dabbling at writing project proposals to the UN! That's exciting to me.
So, instead of making my way into St. George's this morning, I took advantage of the time to pack up and get ready to go home! I'm so excited to go home: to see my wonderful family and friends and get to rest with them during Christmas. I'm also excited to notice that I'm a little sad to leave Grenada. I've been learning so much here, growing in my friendships and in the LORD. I've become somewhat accustomed and comfortable in my tiny little apartment and to sweating all the time. I know also that I don't handle change too well and all the transitioning will take a little debriefing. God is sovereign over all!
I was happy in a sense to miss my meeting time with Grensave for a number of reasons: I got to be with my husband a little bit more in the day even if he was studying ;) But I also was able to attend the art exhibition at the school of some of the girls that I'm now tutoring. I've been tutoring at the Bel Aire home on Tuesdays, and working with some of the older girls in hopes of helping them transition into the real world. We've been working on reading, math and just general life skills. I was able to get some fun Christmas presents there!
But also, I was able to meet up with Emily, my new found kindred spirit and answer to prayer in developing this new life. And we were then able to record some Christmas music before heading over to the Bel Aire home to sing Christmas songs with the kids there. (I will upload the music if I find a way to). Any suggestions anyone?
Singing with the kids brought joy to my soul. Watching their faces light up when they recognized a song, and just the ability to belt out their little 5-year-old hearts made them smile, which made me smile too. I left with quite the headache from singing and being serenaded by a little too eager bunch of kids only a half foot away from me.
When I got home I made some Pad Thai, and sulked a little that I'm not asian and don't know how to make asian noodles well.
Once I settled down a little, I read my e-mail only to find that my Thursday night class was cancelled, hence this blog post!
Although this time here in Grenada has been very hard for me personally, I'm so grateful for the time I've been here, for what I've learned, for being with my husband, for growing in the LORD and making wonderful friends. I know that each lesson and day here has been a part of that greater tapestry of life that my LORD is weaving together for me. I only pray that this tapestry will glorify Him.
