April Update

It's hard to imagine that May is here already. I honestly find it difficult to keep track of the months here. I'm used to the change in seasons and that helps me keep track of the months. The seasons do change here just in a different way. I will adjust to that eventually.

The beginning of the month we had a workday here. We are making the back room into another bedroom. The room is part of the house, but it only has an outside entrance. We cut a hole in the wall for a door and found the space was full of dirt and broken cement blocks. For some reason there is about six feet of dead space that we will have to dig out in order to make the room accessible from the inside of the house. I will post some pictures and that should help you understand the project more. With the help from many hands, we were able to get four dump truck loads hauled out. Now, I must inform you that we had to dig the dirt out with a pickaxe and carry it to the dump truck in small buckets. It wasn't a job for the faint of heart. The four dump truck loads got us about halfway done. Hopefully with one more full workday we can get it mostly cleaned out. At this point the house only has two bedrooms. This would make a third bedroom for Natasha to have her own room. There are times she asks for her own room to be able to have some alone time away from her noisy brothers. 😄 Also, as she gets older it will be nice for her to have a room by herself.

This past month I filled in a couple times teaching at school. I enjoy getting to know the students, but I'm not sure that I'm cut out to be a schoolteacher. Despite my feeble attempts at teaching, the children did get most of their lessons completed. I do like getting into the school and it helps me appreciate all the work that the teachers do every day!

The temperature continues to get hotter. Just sitting in the living room on the couch will make you sweat. There isn't really anyway to not sweat, unless you sit right in front of a fan. Speaking of fans, I'm realizing that they need to be maintained just like cars do if you want them to last. Two of our fans quit working. They started smelling hot and then just quit. I realized once I took them apart that one of the bearings just needed some oil. I put a bit of oil on it and they both started working again. I guess that will be part of the monthly cleaning they get. It's crazy to think about how much dirt gets on the fans. The cages around the fan blades soon become clogged with dust bunnies and make the fan inefficient. The fan then gets taken all apart and brushed off.

The water continues to be off more then it's on. We have finally figured out a routine that doesn't use too much water while it's off. It's normally on Mondays and Fridays for part of the day. The days the water is on makes for big laundry days. We try and get three loads or so through before it gets turned off. This makes for a busy morning getting everything through the washer and out on the line to dry. A family of six makes a lot of dirty clothes, especially when it's so hot. We do one load midweek even though the water isn't on. Our storage tank is big enough to allow that. I also try and get the bus washed on Friday when the water is turned on. Some areas have not had their water turned on for over a week and don't have any water. Pray that we would get some rain.

The Bible Club in Belle Plain is going well. The last couple of weeks we have had some new children coming. We are enjoying getting to know everyone. One of the boy's dog had puppies so we have enjoyed seeing them grow. Little puppies can be so cute! Our children love playing with them. Pray that the children and their parents would desire a relationship with Jesus.

The work of preaching, teaching Sunday school, and other speaking responsibilities, can keep me busy in my office studying. My office consists of a desk in our bedroom. Our bedroom is in the back of the house, and it doesn't get a lot of breeze from outside. Even with a fan going it can make studying challenging at times, but I'm getting used to it.

Hannah Hofstetter from our home church moved down to teach for a couple months. It was fun to go to the airport and pick up someone we knew. One of the teachers (my cousin actually) went home early due to her mom battling cancer. We will miss her here!

Thank you for your interest in our lives here in Grenada. Pray for us as a family as we serve the Lord here. There are times of homesickness, and we pray that God will help us through those times. Pray for the church here in Laborie, that we could be a shining light to the world around us.

Keep showing God's love to those you meet wherever He has called you!

"You are the light of the world. A city that is set on a hill cannot be hidden. Nor do they light a lamp and put it under a basket, but on a lampstand, and it gives light to all who are in the house. Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works and glorify your Father in heaven." Matthew 5:14-16

Brian for the Kauffmans