We Made It!

Sorry we have not posted anything for several weeks we have been traveling and preparing for our move so this will be a lengthy post to catch everyone up. We said goodbye to my family (Maddie's) in Columbia, MO on August 6th and then went to Chicago to visit EK's family for a week before we flew to St. Vincent (SVG). It was difficult saying goodbye to our families and to our dog Rufio who will be staying with my mom. We had a great time with EK's family. His sister, brother-in-law and their daughter came to visit that week as well so we were able to see the whole family. EK's younger brother also left for college that week so there were a lot of big changes going on in the Keller's house.


Here is our dog, Rufio, we found him on the kitchen table pouting
as we pack all of our stuff

EK's Family

EK and I celebrated our 4 year anniversary while we were in Chicago which was a lot of fun. We rode the train into downtown Chicago and ate at a nice restaurant and took some Bollywood (Indian) dance lessons in Grant Park...but it started lightning and pouring down rain so we headed back to Union Station, luckily EK brought an umbrella so we werent totally soaked.



Here is the view from our bedroom and balcony! You can see
the ocean and the island Bequia, the largest of the Grenadines
islands

We flew out of Chicago to SVG on Monday the 13th at 5:30am! It was really early but we were able to stay awake on excitement! We had to check 7 bags and we had 2 carry-on bags, a laptop case and backpack. Lets say it was interesting wheeling all our stuff through the line. We flew to Barbados and had to pick up all of our checked bags there, go through customs and then re-check them with the airline LIAT, which is the only airline that flies to SVG. There was a Bajan (a Barbados native) who assisted us with our luggage which was very helpful, however we felt bad because we couldn't understand him at all...we will have to get use to the different accents. However, we noticed Bajans speak differently than the people from SVG. Locals have told us you can tell which island someone is from based on their accent, we will have to see if we can acquire that skill before we leave :).

Here is a picture of WISE. Our apartment is on the right on the
2nd floor, you can see our balcony above the van.

The grocery store, there is another one close by as well.

After we checked our bags in Barbados we had a 5 hour layover. Our flight was delayed for about an hour, which I guess is fairly common for LIAT flights. When we got on the last plane for the day it was a surreal feeling. The flight from Barbados to SVG was only 30 minutes. When we arrived in SVG the airport was very small and we had no problems getting through customs. We were so pleased we received all of our luggage and none of it was delayed. We went to our apartment after leaving the airport which is less than a minute away, we can actually see the airport runway from our bedroom window and hear the planes too! Our apartment is on campus which is nice and convenient. Oh, and we can see the ocean from our window!
Our first full day in SVG we were able to get a tour of the school and meet some of the students. Brice Wurdeman, the Director of WISE, showed us around the island which is breathtaking everywhere you look. The roads are extremely hilly, curvy and narrow which makes driving interesting/very different from the U.S. They drive on the left-hand side of the road. EK will most likely get a SVG drivers license. I don't know if I will because I may be too chicken to drive, its intense :). We went to the grocery store, which looks very similar to a grocery store in the USA just smaller, but it was comforting to see familiar foods! We are excited to see all the fruit trees around us and there is an avocado tree right outside our apartment and we LOVE avocados! We had dinner at the Wurdeman's house and enjoyed fellowship with their family and some of their friends. We cannot express how excited we are to work with the students and staff this year at WISE. We feel blessed to be able to partner with WISE and help in many ways. We are thankful that the Wurdeman family is here so we have familiar faces, and thankful for their hearts of service. We can see God working everyday and how He has orchestrated everything for us to be here.