January and February 2025

Happy New Year! The new year started off on a good note for us. We had some visitors come! Jodi's parents, Terrill and Cindy, came for 10 days. It was a very good time of connecting and spending quality time together with them. They flew in on Dec. 31st and that night we had an Old Year's Night service at church. The night consisted of a time of bible reading, group games, and a snack afterwards. It was a fun evening. Jodi and I made a piñata for the children. That turned out to be a big highlight. It took quite a bit of effort for them to break it open and get the candy. It only lasted until about 8:15, then we cleaned up and took people home. The older I get the less often I'm still awake to see the New Year in. Somehow staying up till midnight doesn't seem as enjoyable as it once did.

The next day we spent hanging out at our house, playing games and opening a few Christmas presents they had brought down. It was such a relaxing day! It was fun to catch up. It had almost been a year since we had seen them. The children loved having them around. There were lots of games played and many storied read during their time here. One of the things that Terrill did was build a play kitchen out of pallet wood for Natasha. It turned out really nice and Natasha enjoys playing with it. We enjoyed showing them different aspects of our lives here. They did some visiting with me, came along to our weekly Bible Club, and Terrill shared the Sunday morning message for us. Leonard's family was gone over that time so it was nice to have him preach one Sunday. We made so many good memories together and it was especially hard for the children to see them leave. There were a few tears shed as we dropped them off at the airport.

Jodi also had a friend come and visit for a few days. They had fun spending time together and catching up on each other's lives.

At the end of January we had a fundraiser for the youth. We sold BBQ chicken meals which included a roll and a salad. There was also bars, cookies, and juice for sale. The chicken didn't sell very fast but eventually we did get it all sold, thanks to the help of the whole group!

February started out with a birthday in our family. Derrik turned 5 this year. It's amazing how fast time goes! His birthday was on a Sunday so for lunch we had his cake and some ice cream for dessert. He wanted a camping cake this year. Jodi does a great job at decorating their cakes. Derrik enjoys "helping" me when I'm working outside, cleaning the fans, or anything else I'm doing! He has the biggest smile and loves to sing. We are so thankful for all he adds to our family!

February 7th, was Independence Day. As a church we went to a little spot by a river. We cooked a pot of Oil Down for lunch and the children enjoyed playing in the river. In the evening there was a drone show and fireworks at the stadium. We didn't actually go to the stadium but we found a little side road up on the side of the mountain that we were able to see the drone show. It was late enough after the drone show that we didn't stay for the fireworks.

The children's imaginations have been put to good use, which I love to see! One day they made some horses out of some scrap wood and buckets! They used markers to draw faces on the pieces they used for the horse's head. They spent a lot of time "riding" the horses around the front yard. They also enjoy having Ginger (the dog) here at our place. She gets lots of love and attention. They enjoy helping to give her a bath as well.

Jodi's cousin and her family came to visit in February. They spent a week here with us. We had them help us with our school room project. They got it all painted, plus a dresser painted. Matt helped me cut the wood out for the school desks and we got the one assembled. Many hands make the work disappear quickly. It was a big boost to the project to have them come and help and they were such a blessing to us!

This month we got Natasha moved into her new room! She was so excited to be able to have her own room now. There are times that she wants to play on her own so she goes in her room and closes the door for some quiet time. The mornings find her sleeping in a bit more since she doesn't have her brothers to wake her up at 6:30. There are still things to do in the room, but it's nice to have her sleeping over there now.

January and February were pretty normal months for church events. We had family nights, Sunday evening point services, Wednesday evening prayer meetings, and Bible Clubs with the children.

Thank you for your interest in our lives here in Grenada. Continue to pray for us and the church here as we live for the Lord and show others His love!

Brian for the Kauffmans