What's going on

 We have been very busy the last few weeks. Last night I spent the night with my grandparents, it has been a lot of fun. This morning my Grandma took us to see
Alvin and the Chipmunks-Chiprecked, we also ate breakfast there. It was a cute movie. Then we made apple fritters as our lunch. YUM!! My grandma gave me the recipe,now i can make them in Jamaica.
   So what exactly have I been doing? We have mostly been meeting up with people who support us, friends, and family. But our days get crazy, so crazy that I don't plan what we are going to do. I just go and ask mom.I'll ask at night before I go to bed, and ask the next day. But I realy enjoy seeing people who I haven't see in the last year.
 I have also been busy Christmas shopping with family. We are all so excited about Christmas beeing in 8 days. But it is not only the presents we are excited about, it is about celbrating Jesus'  birth. And in my family we celebrate with both my Mom's family and my Dad's family. Christmas Eve we are with my Dad's family. Then on Christmas Day we are with my Mom's family.
  Anyways I gotto go ,so MERRY CHRISTMAS!! And Don't Forget He (Jesus) is the Reason for the Season.

Back to Texas

Now we are back in Texas!! We are all excited to be back,but we have been VERY busy. And this week is also busy. It's cool because sooooooo many people are inviting us to come over, have dinner, or just wanting to hand out. I have been busy too. Friday I had a sleepover with one of my friends, we did not go to bed till 2:00am Saturday morning!!! Then we went to my/also my sibling's birthday party. It was a lot of fun, but by the end we were both tiered:) Then we (both families) went to Chick-fil-a for dinner. That was a lot of fun.

Please pray for my grandma and my Dad's aunt.....They have both been in the hospital last week,and this weekend. Thank God they are both out now (today my Grandma got out).

Right now we are watching TV and YEH the Dallas Cowboys WON!!!!!!!! They did a good job as far as I'm concerned. (I don't understand all of the rules) But they did do good-Romo said so.

                      Some Pics
                                                            Our plane taking us to Miami

                                           arriving in Miami

                                  Our beautiful view of the leaves (they get prettyer every day)

Yummy Turkey!! lol

                                                         having fun with friends

                           Sorry my hair is crazy... I had just taken my braids out.

Yeah Ducks and Yuck ducks

It has been a while since I last blogged, I have had some Yeah Ducks and some Yuck Ducks.  What are Yeah Ducks and Yuck Ducks?  Well Yeah Ducks are yeah things (good things), Yuck Ducks are the yuck things (bad things).  We call this a Pair-of-Ducks (aka paradox)

So...My Yeah Ducks are Allison's 6th birthday was on Oct.23.  We had a work team with GIRLS my age, twins to be exact. Also we have a new work team, some of the people are from last year:)  Another Yeah Duck is my Birthday was 3 days ago

My Yuck Duck is...We went to our first Jamaican funeral, it was for our driver Lipton. It was very sad:(  Also the twins from the last team had to leave:( 

                 ....See life is a Pair-of-Ducks or a parodox.  

"But in everything praise the Lord for He is good"  Psalm 135:3

Awesome

Today we have had an awesome day. This is how it started out....We found out that we were going to visit with some other missionaries (they will start a church in Sandy Bay), not only visit with them but (they have a boat) go on a boat ride with them. The boat did not want to continue running, so we were toed in, and decided to go to the beach/pool across the street. It started to rain, but we still swam (we are not afraid of the flu as some Jamaicans are). When we got back we did not have any water but it was raining.....so..... we went out (still in our swim suits) and showered/played. It was AWESOME!!!!!!   It was the best/quickest shower I have ever had.     You might be wondering if it is unusual to go without water, no. We are used to turning the knob and no water coming out. Same thing with the electricity. When you go without water/electricity, you will soon learn to appreciate it while you have it.

 The rain has now stopped and I hope it is going to the places where they need rain (like Texas, were I am from. Laterally they say that all the grass is brown).

We have been here 1 whole year as of October 3. All of the work teams we have now, we have had before. So last week we had a team of 7/9. Two left early.(We had them last year as our first team)  We really enjoyed seeing our old friends from last year and also it is cool meeting new people. The team did a LOT of painting.

On Friday all of the students left because today is Hero's Day. Tomorrow or Wednesday they will come back.(Some of them said Tuesday and some said Wednesday) It is so quiet. You might think that because they are deaf that they are quiet, Nope. I think it is because they try to express themselves. But to tell you the truth it does not bother me for 2 reasons. 1 is because I would be the same if I was deaf. 2 because I have been around the deaf since I was 7. At that age (a lot of my friends now) were my age when I first started coming. so some of them I have grown up with.....They are all (no matter the age) my friends, more like 45 brothers and sisters (not including my real bros. and sis.) Everyone here is like family... It will be hard to leave them...
                                                                                                                -Bye 
  PS. I totally forgot the best part of today. (Can't believe I forgot) My Dad found Root Beer... not only that, but my all time fav  Mug!!!! I was sooooo excited. Thank You Jesus!

Last Week

Last Week we hosted our first team in a while, actually since July. The team was from Florida and North Carolina. They came to wash feet, and give the students new shoes. They also gave all of the staff (including my family) new shoes. The team went to all three campuses. They brought about 300 shoes and there were a few left over. The kids were very excited....including me. I want to say thanks but I don't think I can say it enough.... I love it when teams come and getting to know them is fun.

Sad Times

Here at CCCD we are grieving. Our driver Lipton died on Saturday. We all miss him, but I am glad some of the students were able to see him before he died. About 30 min. after they got back, our principal got a call saying he had just died.  Word got around quickly. A man said he was sorry about what  happened. Amazing how word travels.

Recently

Well again we have had an unusual week, again. Our week started with eggs. Oh yes, eggs. I tried to get the egg out of the tray and i cracked it. My mom for some reason tried to pour the egg in a bowl, and the outher eggs came out and cracked...... it was a mess!!  And well we have had a wierd week, and Today Allison my little sister, is getting Baptized!!! I'll try to get  some pics later. 

Been a While

Sorry it has been a while... But I have had an exciting weekend.... Saturday evening we watched the Texas A&M football game. It was a very good game until after halftime... well actually until after the 3rd quarter. We'll just say OSU won by only  7 points.... Sunday was a usual go to Church,come home, evening AWANA, Wendy's, go to bed.....But at Wendy's, we had just gotten our food and the power went out!! Here in Jamaica though, that is not unusual. Anyways we had ate dinner in the dark except for the phone lights or passing cars. But it was my first experience Eating in the dark at Wendy's. It was..WEIRD!! No joke:) Luckily we had power but no water.... Yesterday was another day of boring schoolwork. But today we hung-out with our friends from Sandy Bay. Also today is their son's birthday. Tonight my parents have Bible study at the church. Then tomorrow will be a regular school day.... well with my family it might not be a "regular day" We are always doing something, like preparing for our work team that will be coming Saturday.. Please pray that it will go well and there will be no injuries.

Labels

Well, you might be able to tell where this is going, but....Yesterday evening I made dinner. My grandpa's Mac'n Cheese. Well the recipe calls for Evaporated Milk. So I reached for the milk but instead of it I accidentally grabbed Sweetened Condensed Milk..... It is very thick!  I put it in the mixture of cheese. OH No, Oh Yes. It got very thick.....something was wrong, I just could feel it. So I tried it,Yuck!!! So sweet! I felt soooooo bad, a whole box of  Velveta Cheese, Wasted! I felt so bad that when I talked to mom, I cried.  So we wound-up useing it in Caso, it was sweet but better.   You know how parents are always telling you to read the labels? Well I have learned my lesson.
1. Read labels!!!
2. Listen to parent's advice
3. Always double check what your doing
4. If something does not seem right, check yourself,  No Joke! 
5. Tast it!!!  There is nothing wrong with that.

   The majior lesson for me is......it's ok taking advice..

Monday

Today has been a beautiful day. We have had rain, but school was, well not my favorite.
Also at the school that the deaf attend, is going well. We are enjoying it here in Jamaica, but I miss my friends and family. Its is sometimes hard being away from them,but at the same time I like meeting new people. And we all thank God for them. And it is not like we will not ever see them. Infact we will be seeing them in about a month.We will be going back at the begining of Nov. Yeah!! Well got to go :)  

Friends Back

This was the first week of school here at  CCCD. It has been awsome having my friends back.  And now its not very quiet (in a good way) I love being abel to use my sign language. At first I was scared or shaky,because its been a while sence I have used my sign,but now I'm getting used to it:)

How do you 'See' God?

How do you see God? We can not actually see Him with our eyes, but we can see Him and learn about Him through his creation. For me, my 'God sightings' are sunsets. And here in Jamaica we have some beautiful sunsets. I mean how can someone see this and not think there is a God??

 This is at a beach called Doctors Cave.... Those black things in the water are trampolines

                                Wow right?

Today

Today, We went to our church here in Montego Bay. This afternoon We will go to Awana. What is that? Awana stands for Approved Workmen Are Not Ashamed, its a VBS type club. I am a group leader, I also help with the younger club. Sometimes it is challenging, but it has tought me a thing or two about patience. I am praying that tonight is not as crazy as last week. I'm also hoping that only the first week is crazy and not the second:)

What is Laba Laba?

Some of you may be wondering "What is Laba Laba?"  Here in Jamaica the native language is Patwa. And in Patwa, when you call someone a Laba Laba in means they talk a lot.  Some call me the mouth from the south and others call me Laba Laba.   

Being a MK

Being an MK, what is that? MK stands for Missionary Kid. That's what I am. 
  You might be wondering, What is it like being in a  foreign country? It is all a paradox. It can be hard, but at the same time it's an awesome experience. I will not forget that day we left, everyone was sad. But at the same time I was happy to be a MK. Happy that I get to do things that not a lot of kids get to do.  How many kids can say
" I'm a MK" ?    We do miss our family in "The States", but it helps to have family visit. (which mine has done)  

 Another hard thing is the weather. Right now it is 88 degrees. Not bad? Wrong 88 is not bad but add a ton of humidity, and it feels miserable. But the good thing is we are close to the ocean. So every once in a while we go to beach:) 

So how does ministry fit in? We (my family) are at the Caribbean  Christian Center for the Deaf aka CCCD.   Here we teach the deaf sign language and many other things.  School will be starting next Monday, the 12th of Sept.

 Some people ask " Do you like it here?"  Well, its  another paradox. I do miss my family and friends but some, well a lot of my friends are deaf here. Yes I do know a LOT of sign language.  Even some of my friends are the same age as me.  

Thanks be to God for this wonderful place