If you have enjoyed keeping up with us, the new blog address is:
http://www.theselersstateside.blogspot.com/
Friday, August 31, 2012
Monday, July 2, 2012
Goodbye Jamaica....we love you.
Today I am thinking about the last four years and how to conclude this blog site. When we left America in 2008 for the island, we had no idea how deep the Jamaican people would root themselves into our hearts. A beautiful people. Relationships we guard closely.
We arrived on Jamaican soil in August of 2008, the night before Tropical Storm Gustaf! We stayed in a hotel for 3 nights with no electricity, water and little food! It was a blast! We were running on sheer adrenalin!
After those 3 nights, we realized we wouldn't be able to afford much more so we went in search of "free housing"!! The Bible College where we were assigned to work didn't have a place for us so we contacted the A/G children's home in the same town as the Bible College. Thankfully, they let us stay in a room alongside a Missionary Associate couple and during this time, Renee's school and the Bible College classes had both started. We were working on visas, our shipping container, having Renee's uniforms made, eating out where ever we could find. Crazy days for sure!!
I will never forget the day our shipping container arrived! We were so excited to set up house in Spaldings, the town next door to Christiana. The freshmen class came over and helped us deal with boxes and paper so we could store them for the departure which at that time seemed so very far away!
We traveled to the A/G churches on Sundays. We got acquainted with the pastors, preached and did music in the churches, fellowshipped with the congregations. In our travels we got to know the layout of the land, traveling from north to south, and east to west. We taught in the Bible College, attended faculty meetings, Board of Administration meetings, missions meetings, participated in devotions, had the students to the house hundreds of times! made lots of American goodies, preached in chapels, prayer meetings and anything we could do to be connected. We attended National conferences, conventions, General meetings. We conducted Children's Ministries Seminars across the island, taught clowning, ballooning, face paintings, how to conduct kids crusades and the like. We also led the way for the refurbishing of a church building and restarting it through the momentum of several different teams. We fell in love with the people of Bath, Jamaica.
Both homes in which we lived served as a Bed and Breakfast for many people! Evangelists, guests and friends. We were blessed in so many ways as we opened our lives and our home.
We got to know people in both towns in which we lived. Spaldings and Mandeville. We found different ways to love on people. That is what we were there for. Our assignment was the Bible College but a missionary can't become so one-tracked that they teach and then go home and do nothing else. Everything we do is to connect people to the God that has sent us there.
Renee's busy life was another point of contact. From dance to art to violin! From her school days at Belair to PTA. We met so many wonderful friends along the way. She played her violin for the Governor General, the Japanese Ambassador and gave her Valedictorian Speech in front of the Minister of Education who was so very complimentary.
Our four years of ministry in Jamaica are over although friendships and memories will last a life time! 2012 brings us to a new ministry, that of Den being a lecturer in Valley Forge Christian College and Renee being a student at the same college. During the next two years we will be itinerating to raise and secure the budget to go on to the next field. We don't know yet where that will be but stay tuned! We will be in touch!
One of my favorite sayings is "It is bettter to have loved and lost than to never have loved at all." Maybe the reason I love the saying is because as missionaries we are always moving on to another situation or place. It would be easy to say, "I won't be here long so I am not going to make friends" or to say " It is too painful to think about the goodbye so I won't build a relationship in the first place."
I am going to continue to choose to love, knowing how painful goodbyes really are.
We arrived on Jamaican soil in August of 2008, the night before Tropical Storm Gustaf! We stayed in a hotel for 3 nights with no electricity, water and little food! It was a blast! We were running on sheer adrenalin!
After those 3 nights, we realized we wouldn't be able to afford much more so we went in search of "free housing"!! The Bible College where we were assigned to work didn't have a place for us so we contacted the A/G children's home in the same town as the Bible College. Thankfully, they let us stay in a room alongside a Missionary Associate couple and during this time, Renee's school and the Bible College classes had both started. We were working on visas, our shipping container, having Renee's uniforms made, eating out where ever we could find. Crazy days for sure!!
I will never forget the day our shipping container arrived! We were so excited to set up house in Spaldings, the town next door to Christiana. The freshmen class came over and helped us deal with boxes and paper so we could store them for the departure which at that time seemed so very far away!
We traveled to the A/G churches on Sundays. We got acquainted with the pastors, preached and did music in the churches, fellowshipped with the congregations. In our travels we got to know the layout of the land, traveling from north to south, and east to west. We taught in the Bible College, attended faculty meetings, Board of Administration meetings, missions meetings, participated in devotions, had the students to the house hundreds of times! made lots of American goodies, preached in chapels, prayer meetings and anything we could do to be connected. We attended National conferences, conventions, General meetings. We conducted Children's Ministries Seminars across the island, taught clowning, ballooning, face paintings, how to conduct kids crusades and the like. We also led the way for the refurbishing of a church building and restarting it through the momentum of several different teams. We fell in love with the people of Bath, Jamaica.
Both homes in which we lived served as a Bed and Breakfast for many people! Evangelists, guests and friends. We were blessed in so many ways as we opened our lives and our home.
We got to know people in both towns in which we lived. Spaldings and Mandeville. We found different ways to love on people. That is what we were there for. Our assignment was the Bible College but a missionary can't become so one-tracked that they teach and then go home and do nothing else. Everything we do is to connect people to the God that has sent us there.
Renee's busy life was another point of contact. From dance to art to violin! From her school days at Belair to PTA. We met so many wonderful friends along the way. She played her violin for the Governor General, the Japanese Ambassador and gave her Valedictorian Speech in front of the Minister of Education who was so very complimentary.
Our four years of ministry in Jamaica are over although friendships and memories will last a life time! 2012 brings us to a new ministry, that of Den being a lecturer in Valley Forge Christian College and Renee being a student at the same college. During the next two years we will be itinerating to raise and secure the budget to go on to the next field. We don't know yet where that will be but stay tuned! We will be in touch!
One of my favorite sayings is "It is bettter to have loved and lost than to never have loved at all." Maybe the reason I love the saying is because as missionaries we are always moving on to another situation or place. It would be easy to say, "I won't be here long so I am not going to make friends" or to say " It is too painful to think about the goodbye so I won't build a relationship in the first place."
I am going to continue to choose to love, knowing how painful goodbyes really are.
Leaving Jamaica.....Arriving Stateside!
We arrived at the airport Wednesday morning, June 27 at 5:30. An early start. A tough day. Safe flights. Melancholy. Sadness. Homesick for what was. Missing school. Missing our students. Missing Jamaica. Everything hit at once.
When we arrived at the Newark airport, there was something wrong with Ryan's car that he had left there when he flew to Jamaica for Renee's graduation. The car went in the shop. We went to a hotel. We were so praying that the car would be repaired quickly but it wasn't so we had to stay in the hotel another night.
We left Newark on Friday the 29th and drove to Valley Forge Christian College. Our next place to lay our heads!
The college is so gracious to let us stay in the dorm rooms until our shipment arrives. So the four of us are college kids together!
We have no idea how long it will be till we get our belongings from Jamaica. The container was held extra time. One hangup was our lock box. They wanted it opened because the officials thought we were shipping a weapon. Denny had to give approval for that box to be broken into. It is simply a document safe, where our passports usually reside! Lesson learned! Next time we need to tape the key to the box so they don't have to destroy it!!
I was really anxious to go to church yesterday, thought we would enjoy some Fourth of July flavor or celebration. Unfortunately we chose one that just lost its pastor so there was no celebrating! Renee and Ryan went to a church where Ryan was on the worship team while he was a student here at VFCC. We met up at a Mexican restaurant and enjoyed our day together.
A really special thing happened at church though. The first persons to greet us are from Jamaica. Yup, I cried.
At this point we are looking for some bottles to hold all these tears.....
When we arrived at the Newark airport, there was something wrong with Ryan's car that he had left there when he flew to Jamaica for Renee's graduation. The car went in the shop. We went to a hotel. We were so praying that the car would be repaired quickly but it wasn't so we had to stay in the hotel another night.
We left Newark on Friday the 29th and drove to Valley Forge Christian College. Our next place to lay our heads!
The college is so gracious to let us stay in the dorm rooms until our shipment arrives. So the four of us are college kids together!
We have no idea how long it will be till we get our belongings from Jamaica. The container was held extra time. One hangup was our lock box. They wanted it opened because the officials thought we were shipping a weapon. Denny had to give approval for that box to be broken into. It is simply a document safe, where our passports usually reside! Lesson learned! Next time we need to tape the key to the box so they don't have to destroy it!!
I was really anxious to go to church yesterday, thought we would enjoy some Fourth of July flavor or celebration. Unfortunately we chose one that just lost its pastor so there was no celebrating! Renee and Ryan went to a church where Ryan was on the worship team while he was a student here at VFCC. We met up at a Mexican restaurant and enjoyed our day together.
A really special thing happened at church though. The first persons to greet us are from Jamaica. Yup, I cried.
At this point we are looking for some bottles to hold all these tears.....
The Last Sunday in Jamaica....
Sunday, June 24 was very very difficult. The dreaded day had arrived. When we first opened our eyes that morning it was a feeling of, "Do we have to do this?"
Jamaica had gotten into our hearts and we knew we had to let go, and it was proving to be very heart-wrenching. Seeing Renee go through this phase was tearing our guts out as well as our own personal feelings. We had tried to keep our emotions at bay for a couple of months but Sunday, June 24 everything broke loose.
First it was the goodbyes at the church. They honored the graduates so that was really special for Renee, they prayed over our family, they loved and loved.
We picked up a pizza to have at the house since our driver was to arrive at 3 in the afternoon. Little did we realize we would have a busy house once again! One of Renee's closest girl friends and her mom came by, some people from church came by. I was busy tending to the last minute things in the house, Den had to return the van to First Assembly that we had borrowed since the selling of the car we used took place on Friday. Ryan was running with Dad, Renee was entertaining guests, Mom was going crazy tending to last minute giveaways and such! It was a crazy and wonderful day.
Then the inevitable had to happen. Rowan, one of our students, came in with the bus to take us to Montego Bay. That dreaded moment had arrived. Tears galore as we pulled out of the driveway, tears galore the farther we went from Mandeville, tears galore....little did we realize there were still more in there to come out.
A few months back, Den in his fatherly wisdom, knew that this was not going to be an easy move for Renee, booked a resort for us to debrief before hitting the ground running in the states. We were there from Sunday evening till Wednesday morning. Although at the beginning of our stay we didn't know if Renee was going to be able to enjoy it, ultimately it was the best thing we could have ever done.
It was a good thing we had Ryan with us. He was able to distract her broken heart and try to make lemonade out of lemons. To say this was easy would be a lie! But I am so glad we were able to make Renee smile while being at the beach rather than in a makeshift place here in the States. God is so good!
Jamaica had gotten into our hearts and we knew we had to let go, and it was proving to be very heart-wrenching. Seeing Renee go through this phase was tearing our guts out as well as our own personal feelings. We had tried to keep our emotions at bay for a couple of months but Sunday, June 24 everything broke loose.
First it was the goodbyes at the church. They honored the graduates so that was really special for Renee, they prayed over our family, they loved and loved.
We picked up a pizza to have at the house since our driver was to arrive at 3 in the afternoon. Little did we realize we would have a busy house once again! One of Renee's closest girl friends and her mom came by, some people from church came by. I was busy tending to the last minute things in the house, Den had to return the van to First Assembly that we had borrowed since the selling of the car we used took place on Friday. Ryan was running with Dad, Renee was entertaining guests, Mom was going crazy tending to last minute giveaways and such! It was a crazy and wonderful day.
Then the inevitable had to happen. Rowan, one of our students, came in with the bus to take us to Montego Bay. That dreaded moment had arrived. Tears galore as we pulled out of the driveway, tears galore the farther we went from Mandeville, tears galore....little did we realize there were still more in there to come out.
A few months back, Den in his fatherly wisdom, knew that this was not going to be an easy move for Renee, booked a resort for us to debrief before hitting the ground running in the states. We were there from Sunday evening till Wednesday morning. Although at the beginning of our stay we didn't know if Renee was going to be able to enjoy it, ultimately it was the best thing we could have ever done.
It was a good thing we had Ryan with us. He was able to distract her broken heart and try to make lemonade out of lemons. To say this was easy would be a lie! But I am so glad we were able to make Renee smile while being at the beach rather than in a makeshift place here in the States. God is so good!
Sunday, June 24, 2012
~Belair Graduation Ball~
Here is a pictoral of Renee's Grad Ball. She was Cinderella and her date was Prince Paul! Don't tell anyone that is what I called them! Precious, Precious Kids! Renee was the 5th form Valedictorian and Paul was the 6th form Valedictorian. A very special weekend for both of them!
Graduation Day!
In our line of work we experience many graduations. This year there was a personal graduation that was the highlight. Renee is a graduate. She has been at the top of her class every year here in Jamaica and that is quite a feat.
The language (Patois), the work load (British model), the culture adjustments from the states to Jamaica (Renee has been a missionary kid most of her life, but she experienced 8 years living in the US), the hot temperatures, the differences in every part of her life made her adjustment huge and she did it with grace, perseverance and rose to the top!
When she entered Belair School she was in the 1st Form (7th grade). When that year finished her teacher suggested that we consider moving her to the 3rd Form (9th grade) as she was advancing so rapidly. We prayed about the move and told the administration that we would try it for a couple of months, but with all of the adjustments to missionary living, we just weren't sure she would be able to handle the workload with all of the other challenges. She again was at the top of her class at the end of 9th grade so we realized that we had made the right decision.
In Jamaica you graduate in 5th form (11th grade) and Upper 6th form, (13th grade). So because of her skipping 8th grade she graduated in Jamaica!
She was called to the principle's office a couple of weeks ago and they informed her that she was chosen to be the valedictorian. To say she was honored is an understatement. Last evening she received the outstanding academic award, the faculty award, she played a violin solo, she received beautiful plaques and trophy's and lots of affirmation! God is so good.
I will post the pics to take you through the wonderful ceremony!
The language (Patois), the work load (British model), the culture adjustments from the states to Jamaica (Renee has been a missionary kid most of her life, but she experienced 8 years living in the US), the hot temperatures, the differences in every part of her life made her adjustment huge and she did it with grace, perseverance and rose to the top!
When she entered Belair School she was in the 1st Form (7th grade). When that year finished her teacher suggested that we consider moving her to the 3rd Form (9th grade) as she was advancing so rapidly. We prayed about the move and told the administration that we would try it for a couple of months, but with all of the adjustments to missionary living, we just weren't sure she would be able to handle the workload with all of the other challenges. She again was at the top of her class at the end of 9th grade so we realized that we had made the right decision.
In Jamaica you graduate in 5th form (11th grade) and Upper 6th form, (13th grade). So because of her skipping 8th grade she graduated in Jamaica!
She was called to the principle's office a couple of weeks ago and they informed her that she was chosen to be the valedictorian. To say she was honored is an understatement. Last evening she received the outstanding academic award, the faculty award, she played a violin solo, she received beautiful plaques and trophy's and lots of affirmation! God is so good.
I will post the pics to take you through the wonderful ceremony!
Sunday, June 17, 2012
Father's Day...
Church was so good this morning. Pastor Dwight's message was "Not Many Father's", taken from I Corinthians 4. There were two points, Spiritual Fathers Warn and Don't Shame, and Spiritual Fathers bring life through the Gospel.
It was a beautiful service. We had invited a couple and only the wife came. She so desperately needs to be in a church where she can mature and find relationships. I do pray that she comes back although her contact person (us) won't be there. We introduced her to some of the ladies. May God just keep drawing her back.
The words of the worship songs were meant just for her. I really sensed as though everything was "God-Directed" for her.
Then the fathers were recognized through a powerpoint with photos of them and things their children said about them. I think Denny was surprised to see his photos and comments from Renee. It was beautiful. They were each given a notebook journal. It was so nice.
We went to a restaurant for lunch and enjoyed one another. Of course, thinking about our last days in Jamaica and what this week will hold did bring a melancholy feel to our lunch but we will cry through the next week and work the sadness through our emotional system and think about the wonderful times that we have experienced with precious people here on the island.
It was a beautiful service. We had invited a couple and only the wife came. She so desperately needs to be in a church where she can mature and find relationships. I do pray that she comes back although her contact person (us) won't be there. We introduced her to some of the ladies. May God just keep drawing her back.
The words of the worship songs were meant just for her. I really sensed as though everything was "God-Directed" for her.
Then the fathers were recognized through a powerpoint with photos of them and things their children said about them. I think Denny was surprised to see his photos and comments from Renee. It was beautiful. They were each given a notebook journal. It was so nice.
We went to a restaurant for lunch and enjoyed one another. Of course, thinking about our last days in Jamaica and what this week will hold did bring a melancholy feel to our lunch but we will cry through the next week and work the sadness through our emotional system and think about the wonderful times that we have experienced with precious people here on the island.
....I wish I were a dancer...
Renee has been in dance classes since she was two years old. She was born to dance! I have observed a lot of dance classes and recitals over the years. Some children like it, some are pushed to do it, some resent it, some are scared to death of it, and some just plain live to dance. Renee dances in the house, walking along the path, dances all the time!
When I was a kid, there weren't dance studios in town or after school classes. I guess I was deprived. I do think that if there had been I would have asked mommy to let me join. I have this jealousy of Renee when she dances, wishing I had the chance! Now I am too sedentary to make a split or leap across the stage!
Last evening was Renee's last dance recital in Jamaica and for that I am sad. I must admit I only had eyes for my girl last night. Now that she is entering a new stage in her life, I have to wonder when the next time will be that I will see her dance under the stage lights. So I thoroughly enjoyed the evening. As a matter of fact, I have gone to the rehearsals every day for the last two weeks. I became a dance mom I guess I could say!
She danced three dances and they were stunningly beautiful. One was a duet that she actually choreographed, the next was a duet with a male dancer that is from the Bahamas, and the third dance was her entire dance class. Just beautiful.
There were pictures of the dancers at the entrance. Here is Renee between 2 pics of her.
and pics with her friends after the show. Many of her teachers were at the recital as well. A very lovely evening.
When I was a kid, there weren't dance studios in town or after school classes. I guess I was deprived. I do think that if there had been I would have asked mommy to let me join. I have this jealousy of Renee when she dances, wishing I had the chance! Now I am too sedentary to make a split or leap across the stage!
Last evening was Renee's last dance recital in Jamaica and for that I am sad. I must admit I only had eyes for my girl last night. Now that she is entering a new stage in her life, I have to wonder when the next time will be that I will see her dance under the stage lights. So I thoroughly enjoyed the evening. As a matter of fact, I have gone to the rehearsals every day for the last two weeks. I became a dance mom I guess I could say!
and pics with her friends after the show. Many of her teachers were at the recital as well. A very lovely evening.
Wednesday, June 13, 2012
..something else checked from the Bucket List!
Today was Jamaica Zoo Day! And a great day it was! Since the countdown for departure has begun we have been clicking things off the list! I think this might be the last "tourist" day we will have until we leave Mandeville and head to Montego Bay to fly out.
Jamaica Zoo is located in Lacovia, Saint Elizabeth. It was only an hour from the house. It had real animals, haha! and a restaurant.
When you first enter there is a playground and then a place where you are able to handle certain animals. The certain animals that Renee and I really don't want to touch!
The Parrot was more to my liking!
Jamaica Zoo is located in Lacovia, Saint Elizabeth. It was only an hour from the house. It had real animals, haha! and a restaurant.
When you first enter there is a playground and then a place where you are able to handle certain animals. The certain animals that Renee and I really don't want to touch!
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