Get up, pack it in, let me begin

jump jump jump!

You know how when you get a group of friends together and the only logical next idea for a picture is to jump? that happened to Amber and I about every single day she was here.

Only problem is... I legitimately cannot jump. Ask Lee.
Stephanie may have said something like "is that really the best you can do?!" hahaha coming from the gymnast who can still do a perfect toe touch a million knee surgeries later!

Limes T-shirts!

I haven't posted pictures of Limes in forever. what is wrong with me?

We had one of the BEST afternoons a couple weeks ago! We gave all of our Limes kids a bright lime green t-shirt that says Limes After School Program!!
I had the idea for ever that I'd love to get shirts or make shirts with the kids... so Stephanie and I just went for it, googled a company, found an awesome one - Custom Ink. and Steph designed an adorable little shirt!!
We had them shipped to Amber's house and she thankfully brought down 80 shirts in her suitcase!!

All of the volunteers wore one and we handed them out to the kids according to age groups.
One of the sweet little girls asked for "a baby jersey" it was sooooooooo stinking cute. (here)

I'll let the pictures do the talking.
Love these kids so much!  Lee and I even got a little family portrait done :)

 Thank you Thank you Thank you to everyone who helped!!!  I am so thankful we were able to do this while I was still in Grenada to see all these sweet smiles :)

chasing waterfalls

I'm suddenly so sad that Lisa Lefteye Lopez died.
It was in the Caribbean wasn't it??
anyway. enough sadness around here.

I went with Amber and Stephanie to Annandale Falls last week.  Amber had never been! crazy!
It is so beautiful.  I wish I had taken my mom there now... (ugh regrets)
This was the day we hated played with the monkey too.

We were hanging out swimming in the water when one of the guys starts throwing some food in and we see like 100 fairly large fish popping up eating it. gross.  I did NOT know there were fish in that water. haha.
But I still continued to swim.
It was a beautiful day and I'm so happy I got to spend with my two beautiful bestest Grenada friends.

I like this picture because it was freezing and Stephanie is so short!!! haha.  This picture exaggerated it I'm sure... but why are ALL my friends so short?  

no love for the monkeys

I've found out that I really don't like monkeys.
Every time I've been around them here in Grenada I'm squirming. 
They are freaking weird.
I decided that since this is my last few weeks in Grenada I'd let one climb on my head... and he was a teeny tiny baby named Jack.  How bad could it be?

 This bad.

I managed to force out a smile for the camera... but I may have said something like "I'm going to puke!! get it off of me!"

But check out Amber & Stephanie:

They LOVED him!
eesh. thankfully this one thing I can check off the bucket list and never re-live.

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.

nonstop fun

Let me just quickly update you about all the things that I'll have to update about when I find time to sit down and breathe.
Amber and I (and Stephanie!) have been doing EVERYTHING.

Grand Anse Beach
Magazine Beach
Downtown/shopping
Movies
Crab Races
Fireworks!
Prickly Bay
Sunsets
Anandale Waterfalls
Monkeys crawling on our heads (aahhhhhhhhhhh)

 AND
Queen Elizabeth Home
Limes
Limes t-shirt giveaway extravaganza
Limes Birthday party disasterpoluza

AND
photography/videoing every single move. so many pictures to update.



And she still has a whole nother week!!!
eeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee!!
I am leaving Grenada with a bang.

As soon as Amber leaves I must pack and sell or giveaway all our belongings asap. esh.

better late than never...

anyone who has been reading this blog for the past year has heard about my frustration with the lack of volunteers from the SOs.  I have begged people to help to no avail.... but last Monday afternoon my prayers were answered. 
We had our first visit to Queen Elizabeth Home for the semester & as I approached Charter Hall I was welcomed by a massive group of volunteers.... 19 in total!
NINETEEN!
We had 3 returning volunteers from last term and 16 new SOs!
It was incredible. 

There are only 14 kids at QE right now so we had more than one adult per child and I was amazed at just how smoothly things went.  The kids were engaged and having fun and no one was acting up.

I realize that 19 people each week probably isn't realistic... but if at least half of that group remain faithful to visiting QE each week it will be awesome!

I am getting ahead of myself and daydreaming about how awesome Limes will be this term if we can get that many volunteers.... 

I heard this quote this week "Delays do not weaken the promise of God"

This past year was a bit of a struggle and wouldn't have been possible without the dedication of Amber Gazo, Michelle Nanney, Adriana Pardo, and Jessi Steinz. 
When people were bitter and doubted that we should continue Limes and other volunteer activities we said no.  These programs are way to important to these kids to just toss it aside.
And look what is happening!  So many people want to get involved and help out and I believe that God has sent the right people for the job and I am optimistic about the future.

Miss Ambers

I am so happy that I was fortunate enough that Amber & I's time in Grenada overlapped.
but sadly, all good things must come to and end.
and now she's back in America and I'm still here.

It's ok though. there's always skype, and facebook, and blogging, and the hope that we will be re-united in New York City next year!! along with several of our other friends.

so I'm sad, but I am thankful that we had so much fun together while she was here.
and our adventures are to be continued...

prepared for picture overload? we have 204 together on facebook... and so I went through and picked like.... 50 of the past year and half :)

and way back when - the first time I ever hung out with Amber and Sarah at the pool!

Miss you Miss Ambers!!!!!

hi Lee!

I'm sitting in the library on campus waiting on Lee to get out of his Bible study. 
I decided to come to campus with him at the last minute because he said we could eat out! haha yes!
and now I'm waiting on him to ride the bus home together. 
We had Subway!  yes there is a Subway in Grenada!! 3 actually.
It was not as good as home. but really, really good when you're thousands of miles away.
and not nearly as cheap. no $5 footlongs here!

Lee said earlier today that I was slacking on this blog.
humph.  I'll show him!
update. every. single. day.
or not. whatever.
I have nothing to prove.
but I do love him and love that he actually reads my blog! haha

Here are some pictures Amber and I did last week (before she left me. entire post dedicated to Amber tomorrow. check)
I found this old VW Van on the side of the road near town and so we went and did a vintagy little shoot. 
and Lee LOVES these pictures. haha so hi to Lee again.
except he said and I quote "That's YOU?? It looks really good..." as if it couldn't have possibly of been me. 
thanks dear.

I made one of these my new header on my other blog Kelsey Inspired where I have 49 followers! and 52 on this one!! I am so happy and shocked! Thank you for reading :)