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!

Compare and Contrast

Then vs. Now

Remember when you were in elementary school and your teachers would ask you to make to compare and contrast by making a list? Well I thought I would retreat back to my younger years and do the same with SVG and the USA!

Many people ask us how St. Vincent is different from the United States.  Here is a short list…along with some similarities!

United States	St. Vincent and the Grenadines
Drive on the right side of the road	Drive on the left side of the road (or in the middle because many of the roads are very narrow and curvy)
Missouri-lots of flat areas to ride bike or go on long walks	Lots of places to walk but almost all are HILLY!
Electricity is reasonably priced-we run AC all day long, have dishwashers, dryers etc.	Electricity of very expensive here, therefore there is no central AC, but only units, we have a switch that turns on our hot water heater so we only have hot water if we turn on the switch, and no dyers-we hang all our cloths out to dry.
110 watt outlets	220 watt outlets
In Missouri we were days away from a beach	In SVG we can see the beach from our house and its about a 20 min walk/5 min drive!
Wal-Mart, Starbucks, McDonalds on every corner	3 KFCs on the island, 1 Subway, and 1 Pizza Hut, oh and 2 Ace Hardware stores. There are lots of local stores that sell various items, but no one stop shops.
Cable TV	Cable TV-we thought we were going to miss all of the presidential election adds, we were wrong, they show them here too!
US Dollar	Eastern Caribbean ($EC) for every $1 US there is $2.65 EC
Hunt deer and turkey	Hunt Iguanas (season is October 1 through January) and lots of fishing!
Drove everywhere in our own cars	We walk a lot to the grocery stores and also take public transportation. We use the school van sometimes as well.  There are vans everywhere for public transportation and it costs between $1 EC and $1.50 EC (so about 30₵ to 50₵)
May see some loose dogs or cats from time to time outside	Goats are everywhere! Along with dogs and a few cows here and there.
Squirrels everywhere	No squirrels
Primary language is English	Primary language is English!
Four season (cold and warm)	2 seasons (rainy and dry) but always warm, since we have been her it usually always gets to around 85 or 90 degrees.
Few fruit trees	Almost every tree is a fruit tree: avocado, golden apple, sugar apple, breadfruit, mango, papaya, banana, and lots more.

 

Weekend Events-Independence Day!

This week we had a fun filled weekend all around here at WISE! On Saturday, October 27, St. Vincent celebrated its Independence Day.  For those of you asking who are they independent from? They gained their independence for Great Britain 33 years ago; however GB still produces all of SVG’s money so you still see the Queen every day when you pull out your coins or dollar bills!

On Thursday we celebrated the holiday with the preschoolers since school was closed on Friday for the holiday. The kids enjoyed eating cupcakes and making decorations like flags and hats. We even did a little parade around the preschool.

How most of the kids ate their cupcakes

marching in the parade with their flags

sporting their blue, yellow, and green hats

Since we had Friday off EK and I enjoyed a 3 day weekend which was nice, we were able to go to the beach for a couple hours on Friday afternoon and we had beautiful weather.

Saturday we got up bright and early and headed downtown with the Wurdeman family and the visiting adjunct teacher to check out the Independence Day Military Parade. It was a different parade then we were used to. It was in a large outdoor stadium, and the military stood out on the field and marched around, along with a marching band. So there was no parade in the streets.  There were lots of snow cone stands, popcorn stands and even cotton candy! We decided not to get anything since it was 8 am but we enjoyed watching all of the kids get their goodies.

Later that day Amanda Wurdeman and I planned a Harvest Festival for the students.  Because there is no fall season here there is no tradition like this so we thought the students would enjoy it and we were right! They went bobbing for apples…which by the way was the best entertainment of the night…had a 3 legged race, played limbo, and pinned the nose on the pumpkin.  We made some rice crispy treats for snacks.  I figured everyone has had at least 1 (or 100 like myself) rice crispy treat in their lifetime but many of the students had never had one before—they ate them all up!

Below are some pictures of these fun events!

The military at the parade

Someone selling flags, USA and SVG together!

The kids lining up for snow cones, oh and it wasn't raining, people are using umbrellas to
stay out of the sun

Bobbing for apples

EK getting ready for the 3 legged race...he lost

Limbo time

Limbo winner celebrating his victory, all the students were really happy for him :)

Here Comes the Rain!

First I have to apologize it has been so long since my last post. We have officially entered the rainy season here in St. Vincent and I think due to that our Internet has worked off and on for the past two weeks and it conveniently would not work every time I sat down to write on the blog.

Today, however, is a bright sunny day with clear blue skies! When it rains here it usually doesn't rain all day long but it does rain hard. Our apartment has a tin roof; EK and I laugh whenever it starts to rain because we know that means we have to yell if we want to speak to each other and if we are watching a movie we know it's no use because the rain is so loud we can't hear it.

In St. Vincent many people walk everywhere or use public transportation...and people do not like walking in the rain. Just like in the U.S. if it’s cold, people here say you will get sick if you go out in the rain, even if it’s 80 degrees outside. Whenever it starts to rain you see people quickly retreating under store fronts or seeking refuge under neighboring houses. I teach dance every Thursday to girls in the community and this Thursday was another rainy day. I assumed no girls would show up for dance because of the rain but when I arrived there were about 10 girls waiting under the carport...I guess that means they are enjoying dance class :).

We like to go on walks a lot and on Friday I had some girl time with the other missionary, Amanda Wurdeman, we went for a walk around the area we live. We got some funny looks because it had been raining off and on that day...like I said people here don't go for walks in the rain, even if you have umbrellas.

One good thing about the rainy days is the "cooler" temperatures...I think it is the closest we will ever get to fall! This is our first time not experiencing a change in seasons, we have to remind ourselves it is almost November and not still June.

We are so thankful to be here and serving in SVG and continue to feel the love and support from all of our supporters! Hope everyone back at home enjoys the cool fall days and colorful leaves while we enjoy the cool rain and luscious green surroundings!

A Closing Fun Fact: EK and I usually eat lunch everyday with the students which is a great time for us to fellowship with them. They have shown us new ways to eat things, specifically spaghetti. The students LOVE to put ketchup and mayonnaise....yes I said mayonnaise, on their spaghetti. I have tired one small bite, it wasn't too bad but I will stick to the "traditional" spaghetti. EK has not been brave enough to try it yet...

A picture for proof!

 

Little Ones

I wanted to introduce you to the WISE preparatory students today! If anyone did not know I not only teach the college students at WISE, but I also teach Monday through Friday to three and four-year-olds.  This preschool was started by WISE to serve the children and families in the community; and most of all to share Jesus to the little children. It is a half-day preschool from 8:30 to 11:30.  Amanda Wurdeman is a head teacher along with myself and we have an assistant, Mrs. Marshall, who is from  St. Vincent.

While God teaches us patience everyday with the kids, particularly those who like to climb and crawl on the tables...we are also filled with joy being able to watch them learn.  They love to sing and Amanda has taught them songs like "Jesus Loves Me" and "He's Got the Whole World in His Hands."  It's a blessing to hear them sing these songs throughout the day to themselves.  We say a prayer before snack time everyday and their favorite part is to shout "AMEN!" 

We are working on teaching them letters (ABCs), numbers, colors, shapes and more. Some of their favorite things are playing with play dough, stacking/sorting blocks, playing with toy trucks, and playing outside. As of now we have 7 boys and 3 girls.

We ask that you will be praying for the preschool, for the children and their families. In St. Vincent preschools have to be certified by the Ministry of Education.  One of my earlier posts discussed our first meeting with the Ministry.  At that time she did not certify us and gave us some suggestions on things to change in our preschool.  However, she said we could still open but we would need to contact her later for her to come by and finish the certification process. Last week we contacted the Ministry of Education to set up another appointment. They explained they will perform a "surprise" visit.  Therefore we do not know when the investigator will come.  We are ready to complete the certification process so we do not have to worry about it any longer.  We ask that you pray the investigator will treat us fairly even though we are an "American run" preschool.  That she will see we are teaching the children daily and providing them with appropriate learning and play materials.

Here are some pics of out little ones!

Having fun during craft time!

 Here is a video of some of the students at snack time.

 

We charge a minimal fee for the preschool (approximately $11/month) because many of their families do not have a lot of money and are living in homes without electricity or indoor plumbing.  If you would like to help sponsor one of our preschoolers please contact me at ekandmaddie@yahoo.com and I will be happy to answer any questions you may have! Your sponsorship would help go towards the daily cost of the preschool, children's uniforms, snacks, school supplies, etc. 

Beep Beep...

The current WISE van

If I have not mentioned it before St. Vincent is notably hilly. WISE has a school van that gets from point A to point B (but does squeak down the road and it is collecting problems), it sits 8 people comfortably, though we are not afraid to get uncomfortable an squeeze in more.  However, with a growing student population it is impossible to fit all of the students into to school van.  WISE is currently in the process of raising money to buy a used truck. 

A Used Truck in St. Vincent costs about $10,000.  This will help transport groups, the growing number of students, building materials, and help replace the van.  Check out our website for a current amount of funds raised at http://windwardislandsschoolofevangelism.org/support.html.  Any extra support raised will be used for repair on the existing van.

If you would like to donate to our truck fund please send your payment to
WISE
c/o Andrew and Jenna Stout
P.O. Box 1741
Pittsburg, KS 66762
*Please put "truck" in the memo line.

If your church would like to help you could simply put out a gas can as ask members to help "fill the tank!"  Thank you so much for everyone's support!

A Pirate's Life for Me!

EK and I had a great time this weekend. We went out on our first "date night" since we moved to St. Vincent. We went to a quaint restaurant that overlooked the ocean. It was very peaceful as we were able to watch the sunset over the water with reflections of vibrant orange and pink.  We felt rejuvenated getting to spend time alone together off of campus since most of our days are surrounded by the students.

We were also thankful that we made it to and from the restaurant safely because EK is still getting used to driving on the opposite side of the road! He does a great job, I don't think I could do it; I would probably have a panic attack.

On Saturday we went to Wallilabou Bay with all the students and staff, which is a beach here where parts of  Pirates of the Caribbean were filmed.  It was cool to see the buildings and the landscape that were in the film, it made me feel closer to Johnny Depp, Orlando Bloom and Keira Knightley :).

The students had fun swimming and dressing up in pirate clothes and taking lots of pictures.  I think all of them were destined to be models because they LOVE getting their picture taken. Some of us went on a little boat ride through the cove which was gorgeous. The vibrant blue waters were crystal clear and match beautifully with the lush mountainous backdrop. We went out on a small motor boat with our guide, Speedy.  He was a very nice gentleman who provided a lot of information about the area.  He told us about himself as well.  He was a fisherman; he told us he fished every morning in his ore boat.  He said he paddles about 2-3 miles off the coast every morning.  Sometimes he said he will only catch one fish but other times he will catch numerous, which he will sell in his village.

On our way back into the cove the motor of the boat became flooded and stopped working.  Good thing we had two ores so we got back safe and sound. 

Later in the day I reflected on how far Speedy paddles out to sea knowing that he might only catch one fish or even none, but he still does it every morning.  I was encouraged by his dedication. 

I thought about the disciples who were fishermen just as dedicated as Speedy, and after meeting Jesus they became "fishers of men."

^"18 Now as Jesus was walking by the Sea of Galilee, He saw two brothers, Simon who was called Peter, and Andrew his brother, casting a net into the sea; for they were fishermen. ¹⁹ And He *said to them, “^[h]Follow Me, and I will make you fishers of men.” ²⁰ Immediately they left their nets and followed Him. ²¹ Going on from there He saw two other brothers, ^[i]James the son of Zebedee, and ^[j]John his brother, in the boat with Zebedee their father, mending their nets; and He called them. ²² Immediately they left the boat and their father, and followed Him." ~Matthew 4:18-22

Our prayer is that we can become more and more dedicated to be like Christ and to show other's Christ's love.

Below are some pictures of our time with the students!

All of the students arriving at Wallilabou Bay

Behind me is the pole that Jack Black swung from while he was trying to escape!

EK was being a pirate...Arrrr

The students playing dress up



This was on our boat ride, here is the rock from the beginning of the first film where there were 3 pirates hanging...

First Week, Complete!

Well we made it through our first week of classes! EK is teaching Old Testament History and Personal Evangelism I and II. I am working in the preschool Monday through Friday in the mornings and teaching English I.  During the week there were several times I thought... I don't think I would have believed it if someone told me a year ago that I would be living in another country and teaching an English class to all Haitian students, (some which are not completely fluent) and working with 3-year-olds in a preschool.  My thoughts were I would graduate with my Master's of Social Work and get a "social work" job somewhere in Columbia, MO or maybe in another state.  EK was working at State Farm and planned to continue working there and advance in his career.  However, God had different plans for us.


I am reminded of the verses "Trust in the LORD with all your heart, And do not lean on your own understanding. In all your ways acknowledge Him, And He will make your paths straight." Proverbs 3:5-6.  While we may not always know what God's plans are for us or understand everything, we are thankful we have leaned on His understandings and not our own.  We do know that God is using our gifts here and that He is allowing us daily opportunities to grow closer to Him and  build relationships.  We have really enjoyed spending time with the students and getting to know them.  Here are some pictures of the staff and students below.



Here is all of the WISE staff

Here are the students at orientation
 

We continue to ask for prayers for our transition to a new country and culture. Please pray for both of us to make an impact on the students and community.  Please pray for EK and myself and that we can continue to support one another and confide in each other.

Getting to Know You

Wow, it has been a great couple of weeks as we have transitions to SVG! We feel so blessed to have everyone praying for us, we have definitely felt all of them so thank you.

We are still adjusting to a new culture and getting into a routine. We are learning as missionaries you have to be very flexible and whatever we may have had planned for that day may not get done.  The school needed all of its electrical wiring updated so over the past week there have been several times when we did not have electricity, which puts a damper on your plans when you are preparing for classes and need a computer. However, we are thankful the school is getting what it needs and that we wont have electrical problems in the future.

We have nine new students coming on Thursday, eight are from Haiti and one is from SVG. We are excited that our student population will double this term and to have new faces on campus. Please be praying that they have safe travels and pray as they adjust to a new culture and new chapter of their life.

We have had a wonderful time getting to know the 2nd year students that are already on campus. EK and I are considered the "campus coordinators" since we live on campus and we are more or less in charge of student life. We enjoying eating lunch with them everyday, which almost always consists of rice. The students were shocked when we told them we are not use to eating rice everyday and that back at home we might only eat it once a month :).  They are pros at cooking rice though and it always tastes delicious.

I (Maddie) have been preparing for the preschool that opens on September 3rd, which is the same day classes start at the college. I am very excited to be working with Amanda Wurdeman, she has awesome ideas for all the kids and really has a heart to make sure they are learning about Jesus and also getting prepared for school. I think I will enjoy working with the students at the college and also working with the 3 and 4-year-olds at the preschool, I will have a great variety! 

 

I will also start teaching dance classes to girls in the community on September 6th.  I am so excited to do this because I love teaching dance!  I think God is so Great to allow us to use our gifts everywhere to serve Him and others. It seems like the girls are very excited about the dance classes because they don't offer anything like that here so hopefully it will be a hit!

I would like to end by saying EK and I continue to be blown away by God's goodness and grace He continues to show to us, we are so thankful for His provision.  We are thankful for all the relationships we are building with the students and faculty.  We are thankful for the Wurdeman family, they have been so helpful with our transition and we are thankful to have friends in a new place. We continue to be thankful for all of our supporters who made all of this possible.

 

This neighborhood is where a lot of the preschool kids will be coming from.

We were able to meet a lot of people in this area with great hearts and loving smiles.

Here are all the 2nd year students. We were celebrating one of their birthdays, Sis Alertha.

They had lots of fun and loved having cake!

We ask for prayers again for the current and incoming students and that they are successful this school year and that we will be able to continue to build relationships with them.  Pray as we continue to adjust to a new culture. We ask for prayers for WISE and all the staff that God will continue to provide for the school and to give all of us discernment when making decisions. Please pray for the preschool children and their families.  Many of the preschoolers will be coming from extreme poverty, please pray that we can be a light in their life. Please pray as we prepare for classes. EK and three classes he is teaching this semester which demands a lot of preparation.  Thanks everyone, we love you!

Meeting with the Ministry

Yesterday morning we were able to see the preschool that I (Maddie) will be working at with Amanda Wurdeman and a local woman named Ms. Matthews. The preschool will be available for children in the community ages 3 to 5, Monday through Friday, from 8:30a to 11:30a.  The goal of the preschool is to be able to help children in the community get a head start on their education and to teach them about Jesus. The preschool looks great, sorry I forgot to take my camera yesterday but I will post some pictures later. There are lots of toys and books for the children and we have curriculum books as well so they will be able to do art, math and science activities daily. The preschool plans to open on September 3rd and there are 19 children "enrolled."  I say "enrolled" because Amanda Wurdeman ran an open house a couple weeks ago and only 3 of there parents were able to fill out registration forms because many of the parents did not know how to read or write very well. Many of these children are coming from a very poor area of the island and the parents are poorly educated.

The main reason I went to the preschool yesterday was because the Minister of Education was visiting to do an inspection of the preschool so it can be certified to open. Lets just say it was an interesting experience. She did not really have anything positive to say about the preschool. She did not complete the inspection because she felt there were many more things we needed to complete such as: getting more blocks, making a math area, creating a schedule board, creating a parent information board, and more. She ended the visit by instructing us to call her after September 10th because she would be out of the office until then. However, she said we could open as planned on September 3rd.  She said when she is back in her office and we call her she will come again to complete the inspection and to observe us with the children to see how we interact with them. You could tell she took her job seriously and she was very formal and professional.  After she left I think we all felt somewhat surprised and overwhelmed by her responses. To us it seemed like the preschool was very well set up for the children and easily allowed for a variety of activities and learning to take place. It was an interesting day to observe two different cultures interacting.  We feel that we can get the things accomplished that she asked and look forward to her second visit so we can be officially certified! We feel that God will bless the preschool because it will be a great service to the community.

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.

Support Update

EK and I were so excited last week when we found out we had reached our goal, actually exceeded our goal. As of last week we have raised 26,960! Words cannot describe how thankful we are for everyones support. We have been blown away by God's power and grace throughout this experience. We spoke with Brice and Amanda Wurdeman this weekend and they are working hard to get our apartment ready for us when we arrive in two weeks. We did find out that they have to furnish a lot of our apartment, such as a bed, refrigerator, etc.  Repairs need to be made as well with our air conditioner, doors, and plumbing.  All of these things were not included in our budget so we are thankful we are continuing to receive support so those things can be covered through our raised support rather than it being taken out of WISE's budget and away from the students. It was important for us to let our supporters know we have reached our goal, but if you feel lead to continue giving the money will go towards our apartment repairs and other necessities.  We were informed that the school needs a lot of repairs as well with plumbing in both of the boys and girls dorms so all support will be put to good use!  We are reminded daily how good our God is.  This experience has helped EK and I trust even more in the Lord and live by faith, we are looking forward to getting to St. Vincent to see what else God has planned for us! Love you all and THANK YOU again for all of the prayers and support!