Resting in God's goodness

     So much good news with the mission - thought I should share with all.  So, one year ago at this time when we were back sharing with churches we were in a tough spot.  In fact, at one church we could not share all the god things happening at the missions meeting, because we felt so disheartened and just started crying.  We even talked to several mentors about moving back.  First time to ever think that way as we have always felt like not all want to go and for now we can and God was using us.  But last summer we felt defeated.  Immigration for us and for our students was blocking us, properties were not selling, we were struggling with not having a full teaching staff in place, etc.  And discouragement set in.

     Someone said.....there are seasons and I will pray for a season of rest and joy for you.  That season is here - thank you, Lord!  We have students who applied from 9 DIFFERENT Caribbean countries!  Several we have never had a student from!  We are thrilled, as our prayer has been for WISE to be a school reaching out to train leaders from all over the Caribbean and it is even more now.

     We also are excited for our teaching team.  Local teacher Andrew Best joins our staff as well as the Termeer family of 4 this Aug!  And then we have other teammates joining a few months later.

     We also received and discovered how to get staff permits here and also we have discovered how to get students here.  We would ask your prayers, though as student visas are quite a process and praying they can all be granted in time for the fall semester term.

     And we sold one of the properties in St. Vincent, which helps us purchase the new property here!

     We are so thankful for God's continual provision in the hard, growing times and the joyous times of growth.  Thanks for your encouragement and prayers and support too!

Growing Again

Our video from March when we told the kids we were growing!

A Much Better Day

     Ha!  So today was much better of just being a new day!  There is a yearly retreat for women serving overseas called "Velvet Ashes".  Two other women, one who is Bajan but been a missionary in China the last 2 years and another lady from England got together to retreat.  Brice kept the kids, and he discovered having all them without me all day is harder than he thought, I think.  Or they just really missed me :)  

     The three of us ladies have so much in common, serving in a foreign culture and feeling like outsiders often and messing up often.  All three of us have young children and run them around in various activities and church outings.  And we also all 3 homeschool our kids, which we realize we love but also often times feel inadequate.  So, it was the best time getting away together this year and talking together.  God knew it was just what I needed.  With all the moves, I rarely connect with other women and more just talk to my best friend, Brice, and hang with the kids.  So, this was such a special time to just be with them.

     All in all to say - God knows what we can bear and gives us what He knows is best for us.

A yucky day

     I can usually find joy in everyday, but today is one of those days I just got down.  Living overseas life is at a different pace - a trip to the bank can involve waiting in line several hours or more.  In dealing with the sell of one of the St. Vincent properties (Praise God!) the bank needed Brice and I to get some certified signatures here.  Have I mentioned we don't have anyone to ever babysit for us here?  And we have 4 little ones.  Two very active boys.  And an almost one year old wanting to crawl everywhere.  So, we took a day that took 2 hours to get it done and sent back.  Well, it was done wrong we found out.  And needs to go to one of the few places that will take an hour and half to get there driving, both of us going to sign where we will wait in line minimum of 3 hours to all day, with all 4 kids in tow.  And then drive an hour and half home.  Yes, I was not thrilled that we have this day to look forward to:)

     And then, we have been having an infestation of rats on campus since the cane fields were cut down all around where we live.  They are everywhere!  So I sat down to fold laundry, I kept smelling something. very. bad.  But laundry is always a longer process- getting it washed, hung to dry, praying it does not rain, and taking it off the line.  At the very bottom of my now folded pile - there was a dead rat!  And since that basket has sat for the last 2 days, the rat smelled like it was 2 days gone.  After rewashing 3 times, the clothes still stink.

     I sat down and had a good old cry.  Realized things could be way worse.  Really they could.  And if anyone has a good suggestion for getting rat death out of clothes, I would welcome it.

     Cherish. Each. Day. God. Gives. Us.

Happy Easter

Admidst the group craziness, I got behind.  So a quick catch up- we loved meeting new friends and seeing old friends and all the ways they partnered with WISE! 

Here was our Easter photo....the 3 oldest just trying to keep the baby in the picture- ha!

Naiyah was busy training to be a ball girl for the Davis Cup here.  The choices in sports in St. Vincent were tennis or cricket- we chose tennis.  And we have loved the very affordable lessons she has gotten the last 5 years.  

This past weekend, Brice was speaking and traveling to St. Lucia to recruit students.  For the first time, our family went along.  Basically all the rooms were sold out, so we were in a 8 by 8 room with all 5 of us.  Cockroaches and centipedes abounded and we were never so happy to arrive at home.sweet.home.  We did go on a really fun hike and pray the connections we met there result in more students to come to study.

Group Time

The past week was literally crazy and amazing!  We ended up having 4 groups here- we thought 2 were canceling and ended up double booking- so it was a huge "WISE" party.  They worked so hard all accomplished so much!

Our students did such a fun night at the campfire of local songs native to their country.

Our forwarding agents were here for the week - and Sarah's b-day was upcoming, so we all got to celebrate her!

Brice's mom came in for 3 weeks to hang with the kids and was the perfect time to be here to help watch them as Brice and I drove all the group around.

Friends from college came and Andrew taught 2 different "Apologetics" Seminars that so many learned from and loved.

Rosita, our cook, was the real hero for keeping everyone so well fed the whole week.

Matt, who will move here with his family in August, was here and their church helped build onto their new house.  

Photographer Jon Cooper was also here and took beautiful pics of the growing kids!

This week we have a group of 15 high schoolers, so a totally different pace.  They are painting the chapel, which had not been done yet and helping to remove the rubble from the condemned house.

And one praise is we sold one of the properties in St. Vincent.  Still praying for the other 2 to close and sell. 

To Read or Not to

     Newsletter Updates - For a missionary this can be equated to an end of semester term paper hanging over your heard, yearly taxes, etc.   Sometimes we are excited to share what is going on and other times dreading the writing, proofing, getting pictures that fit the text to match.

    Besides family and visitors to us, it often happens we don't see our supporters except an every 3 year rotation.  This past year at a church we were introduced as missionaries from Jamaica - wrong country!  And then at another church we were introduced as missionaries from Haiti at an elementary school, yes- that was correct 5 years ago we were!  Both of these churches are faithful monthly givers and have only seen us but a few times over the last 10 years, so we hope that our newsletters are a way to keep them connected to the work. We are so grateful for their help and want them to know how their partnership continues to help.

     So after 10 years of writing them monthly and quarterly here are some thoughts we have discovered from them:

- It takes time, thoughts of trying to prepare something that has not been said in the 540 previous ones we have sent out over the years.  We try and think of something original and interesting.

- There is always another one going to be due:)  Even when you breathe a sigh of relief you just finished one.  The next one is around the corner.

- The balance of figuring out if we put too much family news in a whole mission newsletter as opposed to all the news of the mission- with none of our personal family life.

-Because 400 on our list are still mailed and we have those costs of printing and postage, we went from monthly to quarterly newsletters.  Yet, in between  those times we get about 40 requests asking when our next newsletter is coming out.   It shows our life, successes, prayers, joys- and after sending out over 1,600 copies that people have signed up for and asked for- we typically get about  only 8 responses back.  It is definetly not that we want to guilt people into reading, but also want to send something that people want to read.

- In a group of missionary friends, we talked about this one day.  One said her average response was 1 response a newsletter after sending to over 600 people!  Another said after sending out their newsletter the head elder at their church asked to be taken off their mailing list- here is the guy who helps decide how much support goes to them and yet does not want to receive their updates?  This is the person who should be the main contact encouraging them and instead would rather write a check but not hear of their work and progress and what to pray for!

- After we send out a newsletter we typically $400 extra is given from someone who received it.  When we are back on furlough- so many ask us questions on things we have written about and wanting more updates.  So, in a day and age when so much is going on,  we have found so many are praying- you just may not know that instant!

      We'd love to hear your feedback and thoughts on this topic!  Let us know if you read newsletters, what you like to see in them, or other ways to get communication?  We'd love to know how to encourage others through them.