Little Deanna

My friends and I in Grenada have gotten to know this sweet little family - the Coutains through the Limes After School program.  You've probably seen lots of pictures of them on this blog.
Deanna is a 1 year old (2yrs in May) who was born without an eye and is in need of an operation to fill the exposed space and soft tissue.
You can read all about the situation and what this little girl needs on this website my friend Amber has set up.
http://deannacoutain.blogspot.com
She has a FAQ section with lots of great information.

Amber has also set up a donation site for anyone who would be interesting in helping this little girl travel to America for the operation.  Any amount would help drastically change this little one's life.
https://wepay.com/donations/deannacoutain
Please search your heart and check out these websites and pray for this family.
Thank you to everyone who has already donated and has this little girl on your heart!

I'll be doing an update on my life soon, promise :)

thanks for writing on the bus seat

Yesterday I had sort of a rough night... thinking about leaving Grenada and all the kids.
I'm sad to think about what these kids' futures.
I see the creepy Grenadian men who say atrocious things to women and I pray that my sweet little ones don't turn out this way... but if that's all the see the men in their lives doing, then they will.
A lot of the girls will end up single teen mothers...
They'll having drinking problems and spend their lives living dollar to dollar. not even paycheck to paycheck.
How will we ever know if what we do at the after school program even makes a difference at all?  The kids will stop coming when they go to secondary school, just like some I've already known.

I cry thinking about all the kids in the orphanages who don't get held nearly enough.  When they are sick they don't have a mommy to hold them and rock them to sleep.  They are alone in their bed every single night.
The sweet boy with special needs will be shunned by society and end up begging for money.
The one with sickle cell won't live very long.
The little ones who already sell fruits on the street corner at the ages of 5 & 6 will continue to earn a living that way for the rest of their lives.

I have such a burden on my heart for this kids and yet there isn't really anything I can do.  I pray for them and trying to give them as much love as I can while I'm here.

Lee says that it isn't as bad for them as I think it is because I was raised in America... and things are different.  He says maybe the kids selling fruit aren't unhappy... maybe the people who sell things on the beach are ok because they don't know a different way of life.
But I know.  I know the guilty feeling I have when I drive past people riding in an air-conditioned SGU bus or when I'm carrying sacks full of groceries from IGA past a lady trying to sell fruit and vegetables at a road side stand.

I was feeling a little down but got a great surprise today when I went over to the Limes to pick up a paper from my friend and some of the kids' mother Jill today.  The Limes field is set in the middle of several schools.  The Grand Anse school is over the hill a few blocks away, but the Special Education school, the pre-school, and the Mennonite school are all set around the field.
Today was field day for the Grand Anse school so they were all in the field running around today!  And it happened to be lunch time so all the other schools were outside too!

I walked around the corner and saw 100s of kids and they started yelling my name.  First at the Special Ed school I saw 3 girls from Bel Air Home, 3 kids from Queen Elizabeth, and Orian from Limes!   Then I saw some little ones at the pre-school.  Another SO friend of mine has 2 kids who attend the Mennonite school and they came running over along with some of the other Limes kids... and then the Grand Anse school is FULL of Limes kid so there were dozens of them!  It was so much fun.  I felt like a celebrity.  It was so fun.  I never wanted to leave.  But the teachers were kinda looking at me like "who the heck are you?"  :)

I then walked back across the way and caught a bus to campus and sat down in a seat thinking about the kids and saw this:

 Tupac is a legend, but Jesus is alive and he saves.

Not only is it a great quote but it is the same seat Amber and I sat in on the trip we took to Belmont Estates my first term... it made me miss her so much!  and then I cried again.

Thankful

I'm trying really hard to be thankful this holiday season for all the blessings in my life but I find myself feeling guilty.
I'm getting ready to head back to America, land of plenty and excess, and leave behind all these people in Grenada that I love.  My kids at Limes and the orphanages will still be here, living their lives exactly the same, while I'm off getting a job, furnishing a house, buying a car, eating out at restaurants, and basically being able to afford anything that I need in the future.
I am so thankful for my experience in Grenada and that I have seen how other people live.  No more keeping up with the Jones', not that Lee and I ever lived our lives like that, but even more so now we know what is important... and it's not things.

I know what you're thinking "but Kelsey you love things and your house is full of things"
yes....I may shop at Goodwill and yard sales.... I may still go through other people's trash and dumpster dive.... ok actually scratch the may, I will do these things.
But but I will never again lust over something in a store or feel envious of my friend's cool cell phone or designer purse.
That's crazy.
And remind me to re-read this post over and over again.

Keeping in touch with these kids is my #1 goal.  I can't let them forget me! haha. and not just for selfish reasons, I really want to help them.  I want to be apart of their lives.  I want to send them to college.  I want to know when they get their first job and start families.  I want to come visit in a couple years and be able to pick right back up where we left off. 

I am thankful that Lee and I came to Grenada rather than getting jobs right out of college and buying a house and starting a family and getting complacent with our lives.  I sort of like that we're up to our eyeballs in debt and are homeless.  It's shaping our character, softening our hearts, and making us lean on God all the more.
I want a baby so badly.... but I know that this waiting period is only increasing the love that I will have for a child.  I think that by knowing what it is like to want a baby and not have one will make me love and appreciate that baby when I finally get it all the more.  And I don't even mean a biological child... I don't have that crazy urge for my own baby even.  My "uterus isn't doing flip flops" as a friend once asked me. haha.  But my heart is squeezed every time I get a hug from one of the precious babies at Limes.

Happy Thanksgiving!

a small glimpse...

I think I may have the teensiest bit of an idea what a mother's love for her child is.... and in turn how great God's love for us is - how huge, powerful, and unending.
I never could have imagined loving someone more than Lee, and being as though I don't have children Lee is still #1.... but when I look at these kids my heart swells and I get this feeling that I can't describe.
And seeing Lee interact with the kids is sometimes more than my heart can stand.  I need to take them home with me.  All of them.

Caribs Leap

As part of the island tour we stopped by Caribs Leap in Sauteurs for a few minutes.  It doesn't take long to see the sites here, so it was a nice break from the crazy bus ride and a chance to stretch for those of us squeezed in the back seat of the bus!
I've blogged about Caribs Leap before when I made Lee go with me as part of our reggae bus island tour.  I have the best memories from that trip, it was so fun to just be out without actually knowing where we were going or where we'd end up.  I highly recommend such an adventure to others!  No matter where you are in Grenada, eventually a reggae bus will drive by and pick you up so you won't be left stranded :)

This day at Caribs Leap was pretty hazy and it was difficult to see the other island to the north, which in my opinion is one of the best parts.
I did get the chance to meet a couple of cuties that crawled under the fence to come see the mass of white girls taking pictures by their house.  They didn't have pants on and their teeth were almost completely rotten, but they were full of smiles and as usual loved my sunglasses and camera :)

All Dem Chilren of the World

These sweet little kids make my heart overflow with gladness.

they are precious in his sight

I finally have some pictures of Limes from this term!  I got my camera yesterday and have been snapping pictures like crazy.
Limes has been going amazingly well!  Yesterday we had 15 volunteers!
With this many people we are able to break the kids into stations, things run smoothly, and everyone has fun!
On Tuesday we had a music/singing station and yesterday we had a special dancing station!  The kids learned the cha-cha and it was so cute/hilarious!  I will post a video soon!
I'm happy to report that all the children were well behaved, engaged, and no one got sent home without snack!
Success!

This after school program has really made me love my time here in Grenada... I don't know what I would have done without it or these precious little kids.
Please remember them in your prayers because once they leave our program at 5oclock they go back into rough home lives and are exposed to all sorts of things that children never should be.
I am thankful for the 2 hours a day that we get with them and a chance to make them smile.

Reading Station

Games Station

Dancing Station

Worksheets/coloring Station.

If you would like to join us the Limes After School Program meets every Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday from 3-5!

Limes Stories

Last week I tried to encourage the kids to develop a love of reading and writing.  Not sure if they got it.... but I got to read some pretty great stories as a result!

this one is from a 14 year old boy...

one of my favorites 

42 kiddos!

today for class we had 42 kids! 
I love that we keep growing & the kids are enjoying themselves! 
everyday I learn something new about teaching/running an after school program.

if you didn't know, they still have corporal punishment in Grenada. 
spanking, hands whacked with a ruler, etc.
so they are pretty strict at the school.
and they come to us right after school. right after several hours of sitting in a classroom & being forced (threatened?) to behave
it's probably pretty tough to come to an after school program and be expected to sit still again!

lets cut the kids some slack shall we?

today was a great day! no major behavior issues, I never raised my voice, and I only blew my whistle once!

we gathered all the kids up & went over the rules (which we do allllll the time. they need reminded)
Limes Rules
1. no fighting, cuffing (hitting in grenada lingo) or even play wrestling
2. no pelting stones - kids lingo again
3. no cussing
4. no picking up broken glass
5. and no talking when Miss Kelsey or another teacher is talking to the group

after a very successful review session I handed out some worksheets I made with questions about them, their favorites, what they do daily, wishes, etc.
the kids were so well behaved & answered the questions very thoughtfully
after about 15-20 minutes of working on their papers & discussing their answers I turned them loose in the field with 3 soccer balls & let the girls have blank paper and crayons to draw.

and they were so good & I got to enjoy their company and cuteness without feeling stressed out


another thing we tried out this week (which we need multiple volunteers to do, today we only had 4) was stations.  a talking/question circle time station, homework/worksheets station, craft/drawing station, and a games station.  we split the kids up by their ages & rotated them through the 4 different groups every 15-20 minutes.  It worked great when we had 8 people!  1-2 people per group, plus a couple floaters to walk around and make sure everything is going smoothly. 
stations is my goal. please volunteer at limes with us!!!!

& while we did "get" the building back. we have not actually gained access. the owner hasn't left a key with anyone & is never there..... but maybe next week! say a prayer for us!

here are some pictures from this week!

doin a little disco dance

Today was our first day back to our Limes After School Program for the term!

Frustrated by busing complications, my spirits were instantly lifted when I came into view of the field and had about a dozen children swarm me.  I literally almost fell over and crushed a few. 
of course we had our bumps along the way...
2 time outs, 3 sent home, and no cookies for good behavior handed out... not too out of the ordinary.
but I'd say it was a pretty successful day.  we had 8 volunteers. EIGHT! ah it was so great to have that much help!

we tested out my new idea of stations.  crafts, games, homework, and circle time.
it went pretty well, and I got to use my new whistle when it was time to rotate. 

but the most amazing thing was......... drum roll please.
we got our building back!!!

Limes is no longer homeless!!!
We can start having classes in the Dynamite Disco tomorrow!!!!

It will be so amazing to have a roof, and chairs, and tables.

A few of us are going over early to clean out the space and organize our supplies. 
I have never been so happy to clean. for real.

Can you believe I am so happy about this building??  a dirty, concrete room with no window screens/bars... and a naked lady painted on the wall? (will have to make sure she's covered up before class)  yep. 

teaching

I have realized the just because you love children and enjoy spending time with them, helping and having fun .... you do not have to want to be a teacher.
ugh. teaching
no thank-you!

I do an after school program but I do not enjoy the ''teaching''

I do not poses the skills to make a large group of children behave and want to learn (although I doubt they're sticking teachers in a classroom with 40kids at a time) and the majority of my experience is with Grenadian children, which anyone who has been here can attest that it's a whole different game.

I also have no patience.  There is a girl at Queen Elizabeth Home that I help with her writing every single week.... bless this little child's heart. she cannot write. she doesn't want to try. and the thought of having a pencil in her hand and writing the number 2 literally makes her cry and flop around in her chair.
I am not the person to deal with this.  I'll admit it makes me extremely frustrated to watch an almost  7 year old cry about writing.  I don't think that she has a learning disability exactly... she is fully capable and usually after about a half hour of persuading and threatening to go get "miss" (the ladies who work at the home) she will write a perfect number 2.

I'd rather play games, eat cookies, and draw pictures any day.

I always enjoyed teaching my nieces things (especially how to walk, lol) but I think that is because they were eager learners (most of them)  it's so much easier to teach a kid who is curious and wants to learn.. 

so yea.  I don't really know how it came about that I am the "leader" of this after school program and supposedly capable of having patience and teaching kids.

Limes Beach Day

I never told you about beach day.
and what a disaster it nearly was.
eeesssssshhhh

It is really fun to take the kids to the beach because even though they live so close they don't really get to go to the beach to swim and play very often.  They were soooo excited when I announced beach day & were on their best behaviors leading up :)

so the day started out raining buckets

We walked to the beach from the Limes field mostly successfully.... only a little rain and black clouds looming over.

Once we arrived to our destination we found that they were tearing down the structure we wanted to use for lunch.... marvelous.  It was an old restaurant on the Grand Anse campus, but instead there was caution tape and sledge hammers.

We only have 5 people show up to help... 5 adults and 36 kids swimming in the ocean. not ideal... especially since none of us are teachers or trained to handle children, but it was ok.  We had Lee, our lifeguard to watch the kids in the water.. which thankfully we did because a STING RAY swam up on shore really close to the kids and Lee saved the day!!  I looked up and saw people running and Lee tossing kids out of the way.  It was scary.

and in other animal issues.... we had one of the kids bring their dog with them to the beach and it was a BAD DOG. he actually bit a woman on the beach!!  I told the boy he had to take the dog home and he started crying and didn't want to miss out on the beach or lunch... and he saddly walked away... but apparently somewhere along the way he got the idea to tie the dog up instead and produced this:

it was so funny and creative that I had to let him stay :)

and then it was lunch time... dun dun dun
I had gone to a restaurant in the Spiceland Mall a couple days before to ask about ordering pizza for the kids because I knew they didn't get it very often.  I verified how much it would cost & how many slices were in each pizza.  Saturday morning I went back to Grand Cafe and placed the order and paid.  Well... when I went back at noon to pick up the pizza it wasn't there.  The girls who work there looked funny when I walked up & said "Our boss came and told us not to make it"
What?!
He said not to make it because you didn't order a topping for the pizza....
What? I ordered 7 pizzas
yea... but you didn't order a topping
I asked you two days in advance.  I've already paid you!
yea....but our boss said...
I have 40 hungry kids waiting for lunch!!  If I had known I had to order a topping I would have!!!
.........
can you make them now??
uh. no.
GIVE ME MY MONEY BACK!

and I went crying to IGA and bought bread and peanut butter to feed the kids...
I was so sad and disappointed I didn't get them pizza.  (But Lee has since made up for that by getting Glovers to donate pizza for the Limes giveaway & he actually went and tried to talk to the Grand Cafe manager and he was a huge jerk to him!)

So as you can tell we had lots and lots of issues with beach day... but in the end it turned out ok.  The kids were happy and that's all that matters.

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!

why I love Limes

as frustrating as Limes can be at times because of a lack of help or supplies or a building...
the kids make up for it 10 fold.  everyday I am greeted by a plethora of hugs and the endless sound of miss miss miss miss miss.
I love these kids so much.  If I could I would take every single one of them home with me as my own. ok almost every one of them.

the past few days they have been behaving really well and have made me laugh so much!

On Wednesday we talked about what we want to be when we grow up and we got typical answers, policeman, teacher, doctor, soccer player.... but when it came time to be Montel's (one of my favorite boys) turn he said "When I grow up I want to be a husband!!"

typical Montel

On Thursday Veronika brought the kids chocolate cake that she had left from her birthday & they were so good and patient waiting to get a slice.  I was so proud.  Afterward Montel begged to take the plastic container the cake came in (just a disposable one from the grocery)  He said my mother NEEDS that!!!  I had to give it to him... he wanted it for his mom so badly. so when all the other kids left I let him take it.

Also on Thursday Women in Medicine came to have a special session with just the girls and we had to keep the boys occupied separately... so we made paper airplanes and had a competition to see who's could go the furthest.  They can make a mean air plane.  I however sucked.

The girls were busy making friendship bracelets.  It was such a great idea that Bridget and MaryAnne from WIM had.  They had each other girls write down on a strip of paper something nice about each other and then they linked them together into a bracelet or necklace.
I was lucky enough to get a few nice words to me and so did Miss Amber!!
Amber the kids miss you so much!

When I read the one to Miss Amber I almost fell over from laughing so hard.  The kids say things in such funny ways... I'm sure this was meant as a great compliment :
"Miss Ambur you look short but in the inside you are tall"

hahahaha :)  and of course Miss Amber is beautiful!

My words of encouragement :)  Thank you girls!!!