Preschool Revelation!

For any moms or teachers out there....I found this idea on Pinterest on an easy way for little ones to glue and thought I would give it a try today during craft time in preschool. I am pleased to say it was a success!  I was not running around like a chicken with its head cut off like I usually do; trying to put glue on kids papers or trying to stop their little hands from wasting an entire glue stick. Instead I was able to sit back and enjoy watching them create all on their own, it was lots of fun and the preschoolers were very proud of their collage creations!

To see what I did you can visit http://tjartroom.blogspot.com.au/2012/11/introducing-glue-sponge.html?showComment=1351801425340

Hello Again!

Well hello everyone I have been missing you in the blogisphere! Please excuse my month long hiatus. I will be the first to admit this blogging thing is still new to me and it seems like if there is lots going on I tend to leave it to last (I am trying to break this routine). This past month has been very busy, full of fun, blessings and new friends. So this post will probably feel more like a newsletter than a post.

We ended our first semester at WISE with a bang! Our WISE students, preschoolers and my dance class did a fabulous job preforming in a Christmas program for our church and community. I felt like a proud mamma to all of them J.  You can see some video of the program under our video tab.

EK and I celebrated Christmas early with each other. Neither one of us felt we needed much as far as Christmas presents go so we were able to spend a few days at a local resort for some rest, we were so blessed to get a great deal at a local price. It was nice to experience a different part of the island and it was a relaxing Christmas present to us.

 

It was our first Christmas ever away from home with friends and family so we were worried that we might not get the usual Christmas spirit, but boy were we wrong! The WISE Student Council coordinated with all of the WISE students and faculty to go caroling around the community on Christmas Eve. This was my first time ever caroling. The students are all blessed with musical talent so they all had a blast finding people on the streets and in their homes to entertain. Please look under our video tab to see some of their songs. Later, one of the women we sang to told the director of WISE that our caroling “made her Christmas.”  It is so heartwarming to know that God can use all of us in simple ways to impact others.

We had a fun filled Christmas day too. We enjoyed a deliciously catered meal along with presents and games with our students.  We introduced them to the white elephant gift exchange (or gag gifts) they sure had fun stealing presents from each other!

My (Maddie) mom and sister flew down to visit us the day after Christmas. It was so so so nice to have family around and for them to see the work we are doing here.

We were able to see a lot of the island while they were here. We went to the Owai Salt Ponds with all of the WISE students, I think it was the most breathtaking view of the ocean I have ever seen. It is on the Atlantic side of the island where the waves crash angrily against the shore. However, there is a circle of rocks that God seemed to strategically place so the water creates a calm crystal pool which was perfect for swimming.

My family, EK and myself also travels to Dark View Falls which is a serene place with two waterfalls. We were surrounded by jungle and the constant sound of the flowing water, my mom felt it was necessary to sing “How Great Thou Art” which was very fitting for our surroundings.

My mom and sister were able to take part in their own ministry while they were here; clowning! You heard me right, they have their own clown act as Pip (Callie) and Squeak (Mom). They were a hit everywhere they went. We went into the community one day to pass out suckers, or “sweeties” as the kids here like to call them, and they also make a variety of balloons. We didn’t have to walk far because the word quickly spread and soon they were surrounded by children on the street; all in unison saying“Miss, Miss, Miss, I want a balloon!” They also performed for our WISE New Year’s Eve Party. They made the students laugh with their skits and puzzled them with their magic tricks. It was sad to see them go but we definitely made a lot of great memories!

We have had TWO HUGE BLESSINGS, I MEAN HUGE, already in 2013. The first is our college was able to buy a truck. WISE was first blessed by churches and individuals who donated so WISE was able to have funds to buy a truck. Then the challenge became finding a nice used truck on the island, not as easy as you would think. However, God provided as He always does. WISE now has a truck that should last for many many years. This will help to transport plenty of people at a time (because it is legal for people to sit in the back here) and it will help with transporting materials needed for construction that always seems to be going on as the school grows and makes needed improvements.

The second blessing came in the University of Missouri Christian Campus House. A group of 20 people came from Columbia, Missouri to help serve at WISE for almost two weeks, and they have been mighty busy. They replaced the entire ceiling and repainted the preschool in about 5 days and they continue to work hard every day with no complaints but with a servant’s heart and joyful attitude, again what a blessing! I have enjoyed getting to know the MU students and it’s nice to have people from my school (MU) makes it feel like a piece of home. The group also treated all of the WISE students and faculty by making us homemade lasagna, salad, garlic bread and even brownies and ice cream for dinner. All of our tummies were full and happy! You can visit their blog and follow their journey in SVG at http://cchmissions.tumblr.com/

We appreciate everyone’s continued prayers for us, we feel them all. We pray that your 2013 is getting off to a great start and that you feel the love of God surrounding you every day!

* sorry there are no pics in this post, for some reason I could not get them to upload...but will post some soon!

 

Student of the Month

Since the beginning of the school year at WISE the faculty appoints a student of the year from both classes. These students all hold qualities of WISE expectations including: Work ethic, Initiative, Selflessness (Christ-like attitude), and Excellence.  When the student of the month is selected they also get to choose prizes such as free toiletries, a trip to KFC or the grocery store, a day off in the kitchen or pick their favorite meal to be cooked. So far all the students have pick a trip to the grocery store and free toiletries. We are keeping our fingers crossed one of these students will pick KFC so we have an excuse to go! :)
We are proud of all of the WISE students and the hard work that they do!

Our 1st year class student of the month: Bro Alix!

Our 2nd year class student of the month: Bro Samuel

To See What God Sees

Sunday evening EK and I were enjoying a run to and from the beach, well EK was enjoying it I was trying to survive the hills, and something caught my attention. There was a group of people across the street from us waiting at a bus stop. There was a middle age man who appeared agitated and was yelling at the woman sitting next to him. Then I saw him rise up his hand and started hitting her. She was holding a little girl, both the woman and the child started screaming and crying. I said to EK "I think that man just hit that woman." We stopped. The angered man repeated his action. There were three other men at the bus stop and a man who was pulled over in a van, all were silent and took no steps to intervene. EK quickly crossed the street to attempt to calm the man down. The man continued to try and harm the woman. I accompanied the scared, crying woman up the street to try and get her away from the situation. EK was eventually able to talk the man into getting into his friend's van and leaving.

The woman and her 4-year-old child, who was tightly held in her arms, were very shaken up. We accompanied them back to the bus stopped. We were able to pray for the woman and her family. We waited with them until a bus picked them up to take them home.

Please know that this is the first time we have ever seen anything like this since our time in SVG. The purpose of sharing this story is not to paint a bad picture in anyone's mind about this country. However, I know there are families ALL around the world that experience this, and there is no one around them who is willing or able to provide support. Please lift this family and other families who are in abusive situation up in prayer and that God would provide safety and hope.

"I tell you the truth, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers of mine, you did for me." Matthew 25:40

Thanksgiving filled with Blessings!

Happy Thanksgiving to everyone! We hope you all have a great Thanksgiving with your family and friends. We were able to spend the afternoon with the Wurdeman family and a visiting adjunct teacher. We had all the fixin’s including: turkey, potatoes and gravy, and pumpkin pie!  It was different having our first Thanksgiving ever away from family, but we couldn’t have asked for better people to spend it with!

We have so much to be thankful for here are some in no particular order:

The health of all of our family

All of our supporters

A blessed marriage

The opportunity to serve in the Caribbean

All of the WISE students and faculty

Skype (to communicate with family and friends)

Coke and Snickers (Maddie), Cherry Sours (EK) It’s nice to have those familiar tasty treats around

Access to a beach (Much different from our lives in Missouri)

Our education

Air conditioning

God’s grace

Electricity

Hot water

God’s provision

Roti and Roasted Breadfruit (local dishes in SVG)

And many many more!

 

Iguana and Games

Well EK and I had a first this week: we cooked and ate iguana! In St. Vincent  iguana season is from October to January.  People hunt iguana by catching them with their hands or using a small spear like weapon. Since the season has opened we often see local hunters standing on main intersections displaying their catch of the day, trying to sell the iguana to the people passing by; most of the time the iguanas are still alive!

I mentioned to our preschool assistant, Mrs. Marshall, that I had never had iguana. Mrs. Marshall likes to spoil me a lot to make sure I have the full St. Vincent experience, so the following week she came with iguana meat for me. Lets say it was one of the most intimidating cooking experience I have ever had, but it was worth it to say we have tried iguana.

Iguana Arm

before cooking

frying up the iguana

 

To prepare the iguana I placed it in hot water then removed the skin (it just peeled off). Then I added it to the pan with oil, garlic, leeks, salt and pepper. Then I squeezed 2 sour oranges over the top. The flavor was really good, the tail was the best part kind of tasted more like fish. The rest of it tasted a lot like chicken.

 

 

Tether ball

 

Our last adjunct teacher, Micheal Brown, brought in a tether ball and the students worked together to dig the hole and pour concrete and poof we have a tether ball.  None of the students have ever played before so we all had fun testing it out!

 

The student council lead our fellowship time this weekend which was a lot of fun. We played blanket volleyball!

 





Field Trip Day!

Today was a good day at WISE Preschool.  We drove to a local bakery so all of the kids could see how bread was made.  They all had a really good time looking at all of the equipment and smelling all of the fresh bread. Last week we learned about our 5 senses so it was a good time to practice our sense of smell, sight, and taste...they were kind and gave us lots of yummy treats to try! We tried to not use our sense of touch, some succeeded at this better than others :).

all the kids looking at the workers mixing dough!

Eying all the bread!

MMMM! They said their bakery makes about 80 to 90 lbs or white bread a day!