November & December 2024

Greetings from Grenada! Life has been busy for us, but it's now time to sit down and write another update. Time continues to move faster then we would like it to. The children grow up and come to different stages in life, and as parents we observe this and sometimes wish that we could freeze time for awhile. Speaking of children, November started out with Quinton's birthday. He turned three on November 1! When we asked him what he wanted to do for his birthday, his response was "Go to the beach", so that's what we did. We had a good time together playing in the sand and swimming. Quinton is full of energy and life. He seems to always be running and jumping around! He enjoys the water, but even with a floaty on he still insists on someone holding on to him. Since he has turned three, he has learned how to hold three fingers up and he is so proud of that! We love his energy and goofy faces and we are so glad he is part of our family!

The school here in LaBorie had a field trip to the fire station in November. The three oldest children and I went along. It was a lot of fun to see the fire trucks up close and see how the work. They even let us use the fire hose to spray some water. After the fire station the children and I rode public bus into town. We got some lunch and then bused back up to LaBorie.

Also, in November, we had a church picnic with the churches in Limes and Laura. We had to change the location due to the playing field being to wet because of the rain. We were able to go to Quarantine point and have our picnic there. I was introduced to the game of cricket. It took a little bit to get used to how it's played, but it was a lot of fun once I figured it out. Towards evening we gathered for the meal. There was lots of delicious food and plenty of it as well! Everyone left with full stomachs and heart's full from the good fellowship!

During the day the sun can be intense and it can be pretty warm outside. The children don't always enjoy playing outside when it's so hot. One evening they took all their farm toys outside and set up a farm in the sandbox and on the picnic table. They enjoyed playing in the cool of the evening. It's great to see them use their imaginations like that!

The last Saturday in November, the youth had an evening of playing games. We went to the golf course and played human Dutch blitz, kick-ball, and frisbee football (after dark with everyone wearing a glow stick). The golf course was wet from the rain so it made playing games a little interesting, but we still had fun. We just got a little wet in the process. Then we went back to LaBorie church and had some snacks and played a few games to end the evening.

Games have been a highlight for the children lately. A favorite for Jaymison and Natasha has been Ticket to Ride. Derrik and Quinton don't want to be left out of the games so they quickly grab the memory game, and with a little help to set it up they are soon playing together.

Our back yard continues to be a fun place for the children to play. They have the dollhouse back there and now they have a play kitchen set in the doll house thanks to Grandpa Yoder's hard work while they were visiting. They have found a new climbing tree and are working on clearing some trails for the nature land they are making. They often come in from playing back there rather dirty, but that's part of having fun at that age!

We celebrated my birthday by going up the island a bit to a play ground. We took along our ball gloves and jump rope. The boys enjoyed playing pitch and catch and Natasha enjoyed jumping rope. It was a good time as a family. We ate our packed lunch out by the ocean.

Right before Christmas vacation at school, we took the Bible Club children to a playground for the evening. It was a reward trip for those who had good attendance. We had a good time of playing together. After a little snack we took the children back home.

A few church highlights included a baptism in Limes, school Christmas programs, and Christmas caroling.

On Christmas Day, the staff went out to a point to spend some time together. We took stuff along to cook lunch over the fire. The children enjoyed playing in the water and us adults enjoyed some time relaxing and talking. For lunch we made mountain pies and for desert we made cookies in the mountain pie makers. That was a highlight for me!

December 26th, is Boxing Day in Grenada. We had a meal together as a church family in the evening, followed by playing games. For the main part of the meal we grilled chicken. It was a new experience for me to grill chicken over charcoal but it turned out pretty good and we had an enjoyable evening together.

The back room project is getting closer to completed. Natasha's bedroom is done except the door needs painted. The school room part has the tile laid and the walls are ready to paint. I need to start moving Natasha's things over to her room so she can get settled in.

Thanks for your interest in our lives! Continue to pray for us as a family as we serve God in Grenada. Satan is busy trying to distracting people from having an eternal focus. Our prayer is that people would be drawn to a personal relationship with God!

Brian, for the Kauffmans