Welcoming.Touring. Bazaaring. Socialing.

I haven't been the best blogger lately.  The one thing people who I have met who have read my blog have all said is "I like how often you post" or something to that effect...... and then they all get to Grenada and I'm MIA!  Well here is a whirlwind of the past 2 weeks!

I will blame it partially on my frustration with my camera.... or lack there of. My underwater camera is broken & my cannon is on it's last leg (and after our hike to Concord Falls debacle it may never work again) so I haven't been taking many pictures, but luckily all my friends are new to the island and are picture happy!!
So I will be sharing their images from facebook :)

Last week I took a group of girls downtown St. George's to the market and to a couple other stores that have been helpful to me.  It was a fun, but super hot and sweaty day.

playing tour guide downtown and explaining the Cocoa pod

with some new SOs Myra and Laura

Natalie, Laura, Me, and Adriana in the fish market

We also had our Welcome Back Bazaar on campus last Sunday.  So many new SOs came by to talk and pay dues!  The Bazaar is always a fun time because there is food and music and lots of people buzzing around.

my goal for the term is to make a new SO poster! ha!

our new SO t-shirts designed by the lovely former SO Jackie

Lee and I were BOTH spot on with our weight and won free movie tickets!! Date night soon!

Then I took some new girls over to the conch shell graveyard as I like to call it... and my friend Cat and I had a field day with the tiles!! score!!

totally BFFs... who else would ever drag such a thing home?!  it is now a beautiful door stop

 Then on Saturday we had the first Beach Day of the term with the kids from Bel Air Home!

Lee dumping water on a child... and they love it!

 On Sunday we had our CSA (Christian Student Association) welcome back BBQ!  It was a huge success and we had over 215 people in attendance!!  God is really moving in CSA and it is growing and will hopefully continue to work in the lives of students at SGU!  Lee and I are feeling so blessed and so happy that this term there are a ton of new students and SOs who want to get involved with CSA to move it forward!!

Also on Sunday we had our SO Opening Social!  2 free meals in 1 day! yay! haha
We also had a great turn out of the social - about 110 people!  We even ran out of pizza!  I think everyone had a great time & got to mix & mingle.  I am so happy with the new SO board & the term to come!  I think my last term in Grenada is going to great because of all these wonderful people.... although they may make me really sad to leave.....

we ate as many pizzas as Stephanie is tall!!

As you can see we have been keeping ourselves quite busy and Limes, my art class, and my baby sitting job hasn't even started yet!  And there is still more to come! I must blog about our visit to Queen Elizabeth Home & our adventurous/terrifying hike to Concord Falls. 
soon. pinky promise!

Happy Easter!!

I'll get back to posting more about my trip soon... but I wanted to make sure I told everyone to have a very happy Easter!!
We celebrated this glorious holiday with CSA (Christian Student Association) starting out with an awesome choir, followed by service with communion, a baptism on the black sand beach, and an international potluck lunch!!
It was a great morning!!

I am so thankful to be living in such a beautiful place this Easter (even though I nearly passed out earlier due to extreme heat)
I look around at the beauty of Grenada and the awesomeness of the sea and I know that I serve a mighty God and a risen savior!
How fortunate we are that God took the time to make such a beautiful, diverse earth!!

LIMES SHOE GIVEAWAY!!!

I have been so busy I've let my blog get away from me!! ah! I have so much to write about...
I think I'll start with the LIMES SHOE GIVEAWAY!!!

It was a huge success and actually tomorrow we will be having sort of a shoe giveaway take 2!  Several kids came out of the woodwork that I recognized but didn't have on our roster for class.... and we had money left over from the donation from CSA so I went and bought some more shoes!!
We gave away about 80 pair on Wednesday and probably have another 20 pair to giveaway this week!!

Each child got two pairs of shoes, school shoes and a flip flop or croc!!

I fortunately met the extremely nice owner of Suchi Enterprises downtown who gave me 12 pairs of shoes for free!!! I was buying so many and he wanted to give me a discount.  It was so nice.  The store is on Gore street just to the right of the market, so go there if you need any shoes :)

Also! Lee was able to get pizza donated to us!! FREE pizza for all the kids!! It was awesome!  They were so happy!  (There was a huge pizza fiasco with our Limes beach day, which I just realized I never wrote about either! I'm so behind!)  So thank you to Glovers for the free pizza!!

ok so now for pictures of the happiest kids ever!

so much to blog about so little time!

note to self:
do not plan the following events all with in the course of a week

1. Limes Beach Day
2. Buying 80 pairs of shoes
3. kickball playoffs
4. Having a huge shoe giveaway
5. organizing a donation drive for unwanted items and collecting said items and storing them at your 300sq ft apartment
6. a Macy's Day Parade watching/ Christmas Craft Party at your house
7. cooking a ridiculous amount of stuff I don't normally make.
8. THANKSGIVING
9. a Bake Sale
10. an end of term sale/donation collecting
11. End of term social event for all SOs
12.  PAM BBQ Fundraiser
13. LEE'S BIRTHDAY
14. all while continuing to run an after school program and visiting the orphanage
15. and while maintaining normal duties such as dishes, grocery shopping, cleaning, laundry, and cooking.
16. oh and an SO board meeting and a meeting with REACH Grenada!

AND! while my husband has a medical school final!! and is in charge of organizing a farewell dinner for 5th term members of CSA on this Saturday!!

but no complaints... everything so far is going great!!!  just a little busy.

and I'm getting ready to go to the movies with some friends and take a break!  I don't even know what the movie is playing.... I just want to sit in the air-conditioning (I forgot to mention that for the past month Lee and I haven't once used the AC and we currently only have 1 working fan) and eat popcorn and drink some orange fountain pop :)

but I'm already starting to feel guilty about Lee's birthday kind of being pushed to the way side... it's on Saturday..... and I have to work at the SO closing social and go to the PAM BBQ.... while he goes to the CSA farewell dinner :( we won't even get to spend much time together!!  we are planning on watching the first half of the Ohio State game together.. and maybe Sunday we can do something nice.

$10 covers 10 little toes

I've been talking about Limes on here a lot lately... but that is pretty much my life here in Grenada, so that is what I have to talk about.

I am SO excited about this!

$10 covers 10 little toes is a slogan I came up with for CSA (Christian Student Association)
the church agreed to buy all my Limes kids a pair of shoes  (!!!) but we wanted to get the church involved more & not just give away a chunk of money and no one knowing what was going on.

So Lee came up with the idea to ask the members to give $10 towards a pair of shoes & say that every $10 they give the church will make up the difference for a pair of shoes for a needy kid in the community. 

I should note that it's $10EC so it's only about $4 US

I announced this yesterday morning & the response was incredible!! everyone was happy and willing to donate to the cause and most much more than $10!  We already beat our goal and we will be collecting next week as well (because this week none of the 5th term students were at church b/c they were busy taking an 8hour exam)

I passed out little cards to remind people to pray for the kids as well, which they need even more than they need shoes.
We are planning to have the big shoe give away next Wednesday the 24th, right before Thanksgiving and we may even have enough money to buy the kids a pair of school shoes and a pair of flip flops!  I am so excited!!

left behind

Amber left.  She's off in America shopping and eating delicious food. but she's cold.
In Grenada the only shopping you get to do is for groceries and if you want delicious food you have to make it yourself!!
On the Today Show yesterday they were talking about traveling for the holidays & they said 'keep in mind that the Caribbean isn't known for it's great food!" haha. that was an understatement.
unless it's seafood I guess...

Anyway.  I am sad Amber is gone.  She was my co-volunteer coordinator so now I am left to my lonesome.  (I guess more importantly than volunteer coordinator she is my friend. lol.)
This term has certainly been a struggle in terms of volunteering.... not only does no one want to volunteer, but Limes has been challenging because of the lack of a building. 
I'm looking forward to January.  a new batch of people and hopefully a building for Limes!!

We had at least had a steady group of people going to the orphanage but this past week there were only 3 of us.  3 girls vs 22 children needing help with their homework and undivided attention. not so good.  But then again, we only had 2 of us at Limes the other day and there were almost 40 kids!

I feel like I haven't done as much fun stuff this term... If I'm lucky I make it to the beach about once a week and I haven't been to the pool in a month.  But it's my own fault.  I should just wake up and go!

I'm getting ready to go to a CSA meeting.  I'm going to be on the board for that too... as events coordinator!  I didn't know if I would be able to since Lee is the president, but they needed someone & I figured I'll end up doing a ton of  the stuff anyway since other people usually flake out.
It's it frustrating that you just can't depend on people.
If the only person I ever had to depend on was Lee I would never be disappointed.  Honest.  He always follows through.  He's the guy you want on your team.  and he's on mine!

1st lady.

I'm so ridiculously proud of my husband.
not only did he do incredible on his midterms, he was also was selected to be the next President of the Christian Student Association!
only this means he will be even busier than ever.
but it's ok. 
I've noticed this weekend (having him home a lot more) that I kind of like being in my own routine and not having input from someone else. hahaha.
not that I love him any less, I just don't mind when he's too busy to notice dishes, laundry, or my computer usage. 

But I will enjoy today... my last day until Christmas break of having his full undivided attention :)

Easter in Grenada

Easter morning we went to a sunrise service at the point on campus.  It was my first sunrise service... I think. probably because my family had 5 kids & we would have never made it on time & once I was older.... yea right....... so. here we are in Grenada & I asked Lee if he would get up and watch the sunrise with me & then he was called and asked to play the guitar and sing for a service.
It was beautiful and peaceful and it made me appreciate the beauty around me that I take for granted.  What an amazing way to start your day, especially Easter.  The way the sun was coming through the clouds looked as if Jesus was just gonna walk out and join us..... and I think he did. Where 2 or more are gathered right.

Afterward we came home and went back to sleep... it was only 6:45!  and church isn't until 11.  I slept until 10 and Lee made us iced coffee  and it was delicious!
After church we had a baptismal service at the black sand beach and an international potluck lunch!  I missed the end of church because I was helping with food for the potluck.... all the people getting baptized spoke and I wish I had been there to hear them!  2 of Lee's friends got baptized!  and there was a girl who converted from Islam and a guy from Buddhism! amazing.... I love living amongst such a diverse group of people, our church is especially diverse.

The black sand beach is soooo cool!
Unfortunately it is closed most of the time because of a strong undertow
It was cool to walk on though... it's HOT. and you sink in it.

It was a good day :)

We also colored Easter eggs with the kids at Limes this week.... it was so fun. they are so cute!  

Fish Friday!

Last Friday we went to Gouyave, Grenada with CSA (Christian Student Association) for Fish Friday.  It's a street fair they have ever Friday night where they sell food and drinks... mostly the fresh fish they caught that week, but they also have other stuff lots of different breads, fried plantain, friend breadfruit, desserts, and lots of seafood!
We took a bus up with CSA for $20EC a person... the Flamboyant Hotel was taking people for $60EC a person! so it was a good deal! It takes about 50min-an hour to get there... and we only traveled 14 miles! It was a very scenic route though and I'm sad it got dark before we got there because I didn't get to see too much towards the end.... but we did see a landfill on fire! and burning is banned right now! and burning a landfill is double bad! I had wondered where all our garbage had been going though.... hm.
So we finally made it & it just a tiny town that is the "Fishing Capital of Grenada" not a major accomplishment when the island only has like 10 towns, but they do have a lot of fish there!  The food vendors were set up along two streets barely leaving enough room to walk through and there were a ton of people crowding in.... and it was HOT.  I wore jeans because it usually gets a little cooler a night........ not that night.
I had fried breadfruit (because I don't eat fish.... well except the Marlin I had tonight, but that's another story) and a garlic bun and LLB!  Lee had a fishcake on a coconut bake bun... it sounds good.. and he LOVED it! and it was only $2EC! and later he and his Dad had lobster! whole tails! for $50EC... I tasted it but I can't make myself like lobster.... yuck.
They also have live music.... drums and people dancing.  It was fun, but in my opinion not worth the drive more than once or  twice.  A great thing for a person visiting to do and see & everyone should go at least once! but I'll save the money it takes to get there & eat elsewhere. but this is also coming from a non-fish eater. so....

fried breadfruit and garlic bun

food food food

♥ picnik

church

I'm really happy with the church Lee and I are going to here.  It's on campus & is a non-denominational church for students and faculty.  It's actually more of a club I suppose CSA -Christian Student Association.  It only lasts about an hour and 15 minutes so students can get back to studying... compared to some of the local churches that go on for hours.
Lee is going to be singing and playing guitar and drums on the praise team!  He's so happy... he got to bring the church's guitar home with him for the next 2 weeks!  next Sunday he'll be playing the guitar and in 2 weeks he'll be leading the singing and playing, and then another week he'll be playing drums. 

I'm pretty excited... I prefer for him to be singing in church, I'm biased. and I'm happy he'll be playing and singing more around the apartment the next couple weeks :)

I recently realized this is the first time in my life that I haven't gone to a Nazarene church consistently.
I was raised in the Nazarene church since birth and even attended a Nazarene University, where I met Lee, the grandson of a Nazarene preacher, and after we were married we attended a Nazarene church in West Virginia for a few months before coming here... 

There is a Nazarene Church in Grenada.  It's on the other side of St. George's... sometime before we leave here I want to go to it.

But I'm really happy with the non-denominational thing for now.  It's not like a non-denominational church at home, which really is it's own denomination in it's self.  The people are always changing and there are lots of different speakers so we hear a lot of different points of view.

Last week they said "We're in church in Grenada, the praise team is from Africa, the speaker is from Venezuela, and the congregation is from all corners of the world"
cool, huh?

I am so thankful for a nice, contemporary church that is a two minute walk from our apartment.... and serves cookies and juice after service! 

Today the speaker talked about giving and made some really good points.  She said you can't be a future giver - thinking that you'll give money later on once you're a doctor or you'll give more of your time after school.... who you are right now is who you are.  If you can't take an hour to visit with the orphans or to go to church then you aren't going to make that kind of time 10 years down the road. 
It's tough to be a med student (or their wife) and think about giving..... it's not like any of the money we have is actually our money. we're all living on loans.
they should do a class about stewardship dealing with loans....I think some people forget that they actually do have to pay that back someday..... lol

I am so happy that right now I have the wealth of time... 

I have time to be the best wife I can be 

In Deuteronomy 24:5 it says
"If a man has recently married he must not be sent to war or have any other duty laid on him.  For one year he is to be free to stay at home and bring happiness to the wife he has married."

A year! Isn't that incredible... can you imagine if every newly married couple got a year to just spend with each other and nurture their marriage?  I wonder how that'd affect the divorce rate...
I feel very fortunate to have this time to spend with Lee helping him through medical school, because it's tough. and the first 4 months of our marriage Lee was able to stay home while I worked.  We haven't yet had to deal with both of us working at the same time.......... who will wash the dishes then?

and I have time to spend my time playing with kids.
I love the kids here so much... I'm so thankful to have the time to play! :)