Yesterday was supposed to be one of the days we would go out on a hike for youth group. However, the guy who usually leads that had been busy all week with a group of high school students that had come up from Virginia and he was in charge of planning the week for them, so he didn't have much time to plan for youth group. He ended up deciding just to invite the youth over to their house and order pizza and tell about the group that had come from Virginia. He said any of the youth could come, but it was only me, Roxy, his two kids and his daughter's friend. But, we had a nice time. Mostly we just played games and ate pizza. There was a video of the group from Virginia's trip playing so I saw little bits and pieces of it, but it was muted.
~Olivia
Olivia and I only have one more full week of school! Actually, it will be the only full week we'll have gone this term! The last 2 weeks we were only there for 3 days, and next week Tuesday Olivia will be taking the CXC exam. In some ways it will be nice not to be in school, because sometimes we get really frustrated with the school. But we'll also miss seeing our friends. We will figure out some homeschooling stuff to do until we get back to the States.
~Roxy
It is interesting to see how God works through events in our lives. A few weeks ago one of the church leaders contacted me to ask for some help finding a piece of equipment for a disabled person in one of the churches. She was hoping to order in the U.S. and have it sent here with some of our guests. As it turned out, the timing did not work to send it with some of our guests, but I agreed to help locate and arrange for the item. I decided to begin by exploring local options to see if I could find a local connection through whom to purchase it. I didn't, but through a series of calls I got to talking with a man who taught special education classes at a local university. The fact that I am visually impaired came up and he asked if I could speak to a class of educators about teaching people with that exceptionality. So, this week on Tuesday I went to speak to his class. I began by introducing myself and explaining that my husband and myself are missionaries here. I went on to discuss the subject at hand. After class a young woman came to speak with me. She had been feeling a strong sense of call to missions and wanted to discuss the process of discernment of call. When I agreed to help look for a way to get this equipment, who knew all the places it would lead.
~Barb
This past week turned out to be one of our busier ones here in Trinidad. In addition to our regular duties of preparing for class at West Indies Theological College and for worship at Diego Martin Mennonite Church, we ended up with some responsibilities every evening of the week. On Monday, we had our monthly get-together with David Yoder, the overseer of the Mennonite Church of Trinidad & Tobago. On Tuesday, we went to a cell group from the Mennonite Church of Chaguanas where Barb led the Bible study. Wednesday was our regular class night at WITC. Thursday was our monthly meeting with the Leadership Team at Diego Martin. And Saturday was Diego Martin youth group. Friday could have been a free evening at home, but we were invited to go to a cricket game where the brother of one of the girls' school friends was to be playing. Since we had recently identified seeing a live organized cricket match as one of the things we wanted to try to do before we leave Trinidad, we couldn't pass up the opportunity. All of the activities were good ones to be a part of, but we'd prefer to have some of them spread out a bit more. Soon, however, we know that many of our responsibilities will be winding down. We only have one more week of classes at WITC before finals, and only seven more Sundays at Diego Martin.
~Richard
Sunday, April 25, 2010
Sunday, April 18, 2010
Changing Seasons
It's finally raining again in Trinidad! When we arrived last August, it was the middle of the wet season. For the first several months, we saw rain almost every day. Since the dry season began in January, however, we have seen very little rain. In fact, it has been the driest dry season the island has seen in more than 60 years. As a result, the capacity of the reservoirs that supply most of the nation's water has dipped down to about 35% of what it should be. The government has imposed a ban on using hoses for watering lawns or washing cars, and has been encouraging various water conservation measures. In addition, there have been many bush fires burning all over Trinidad. Most days in the past month or two, we have smelled smoke and have often seen it rising on the mountainsides. The air has grown increasingly hazy. At times, there have even been fires along roads where we've been traveling that have made visibility quite low.
In the past few days, however, the pattern has begun to change. We had a couple of days this week when there was a nice rain for significant parts of the day. We haven't smelled smoke in our apartment; and the air has been noticeably clearer. In some parts of the island, there have even been issues with flooding. It's still over a month until the wet season actually begins. It will also take quite a bit more rain to replenish the water supply, stop all the fires and cause the government to ease water restrictions. In the meantime, we are at least enjoying the "April showers" and looking forward to more rain in the next few months.
~Richard
Last week, I mentioned a teacher that was going to take me to get my ears pierced but did not show up. She has not been back at school this week and from what I've heard is not planning on coming back. She taught 3 out of my 8 classes, so this leaves me without a teacher for those 3 classes. However, there are these big tests coming up in a few weeks in one of the other subjects and so we're spending a lot of the extra time preparing for that. Meanwhile, one of my friends from school offered to take me to get my ears pierced, so we went and did that yesterday! We picked up her and another girl at her house and then went to the mall. We stopped at the ear piercing place first and then while my parents did some grocery shopping, the four of us girls walked around the mall. Afterwards, we went back to my friend's house and her mom was cooking us roti!
~Olivia
This week, school has also begun for all four of us. I'm not exactly sure how my parents' school is going, but I can at least tell about Olivia and my school. As Olivia mentioned, we know of 2 teachers who don't seem to be coming back this term. However, this week the attendance of the other teachers has been much better. We hope this continues! We are planning on being at this school for 2 more weeks until Olivia takes a CXC exam (the big test she mentioned) and then just doing some home-school stuff. Tomorrow and Tuesday are the Parents' Days. That's basically parent-teacher conferences, just they call it something different. We had heard a lot of people say they might not come back to PAWI this term, but so far this term has been better than the one before. Hopefully we'll still be able to say that in a few weeks!
~Roxy
It was good to have a week of play with our friends (although we continued at the church also during that time), followed by a more relaxed week without classes. It was also nice this week to get back into the routine of school for all of us. Roxy noted that they only have two more weeks of classes at their school. The same is true for us in our teaching. Classes go through April and then we will need to give and grade finals in the first part of May. Since I am also supervising a thesis, this will probably continue for the rest of the time we are here depending on how quickly the student gets it done.
As we note this part of our assignment winding down and also have a firm date for departure, we find ourselves beginning to feel the pull between our two worlds. On the one hand, we still have work here that we enjoy and are committed to. On the other hand, we are beginning to think ahead to the work in Manhattan that we also enjoy and are committed to. On the one hand, we have been hearing about how particularly glorious spring there is and we wish we could see our daffodils and smell our lilacs. On the other hand, the mangoes here are really beginning to ripen again after several months of being absent from the markets, and mangoes have become one of our very favorite things about Trinidad. On the one hand, dealing with all the car headaches here is getting pretty old. On the other hand, when we go home, we will have to buy a new car since we sold ours to come here, and car lots have never been our favorite place to spend time. There is much beauty and much struggle in the world, and it does not all exist in only one place.
~Barb
In the past few days, however, the pattern has begun to change. We had a couple of days this week when there was a nice rain for significant parts of the day. We haven't smelled smoke in our apartment; and the air has been noticeably clearer. In some parts of the island, there have even been issues with flooding. It's still over a month until the wet season actually begins. It will also take quite a bit more rain to replenish the water supply, stop all the fires and cause the government to ease water restrictions. In the meantime, we are at least enjoying the "April showers" and looking forward to more rain in the next few months.
~Richard
Last week, I mentioned a teacher that was going to take me to get my ears pierced but did not show up. She has not been back at school this week and from what I've heard is not planning on coming back. She taught 3 out of my 8 classes, so this leaves me without a teacher for those 3 classes. However, there are these big tests coming up in a few weeks in one of the other subjects and so we're spending a lot of the extra time preparing for that. Meanwhile, one of my friends from school offered to take me to get my ears pierced, so we went and did that yesterday! We picked up her and another girl at her house and then went to the mall. We stopped at the ear piercing place first and then while my parents did some grocery shopping, the four of us girls walked around the mall. Afterwards, we went back to my friend's house and her mom was cooking us roti!
~Olivia
This week, school has also begun for all four of us. I'm not exactly sure how my parents' school is going, but I can at least tell about Olivia and my school. As Olivia mentioned, we know of 2 teachers who don't seem to be coming back this term. However, this week the attendance of the other teachers has been much better. We hope this continues! We are planning on being at this school for 2 more weeks until Olivia takes a CXC exam (the big test she mentioned) and then just doing some home-school stuff. Tomorrow and Tuesday are the Parents' Days. That's basically parent-teacher conferences, just they call it something different. We had heard a lot of people say they might not come back to PAWI this term, but so far this term has been better than the one before. Hopefully we'll still be able to say that in a few weeks!
~Roxy
It was good to have a week of play with our friends (although we continued at the church also during that time), followed by a more relaxed week without classes. It was also nice this week to get back into the routine of school for all of us. Roxy noted that they only have two more weeks of classes at their school. The same is true for us in our teaching. Classes go through April and then we will need to give and grade finals in the first part of May. Since I am also supervising a thesis, this will probably continue for the rest of the time we are here depending on how quickly the student gets it done.
As we note this part of our assignment winding down and also have a firm date for departure, we find ourselves beginning to feel the pull between our two worlds. On the one hand, we still have work here that we enjoy and are committed to. On the other hand, we are beginning to think ahead to the work in Manhattan that we also enjoy and are committed to. On the one hand, we have been hearing about how particularly glorious spring there is and we wish we could see our daffodils and smell our lilacs. On the other hand, the mangoes here are really beginning to ripen again after several months of being absent from the markets, and mangoes have become one of our very favorite things about Trinidad. On the one hand, dealing with all the car headaches here is getting pretty old. On the other hand, when we go home, we will have to buy a new car since we sold ours to come here, and car lots have never been our favorite place to spend time. There is much beauty and much struggle in the world, and it does not all exist in only one place.
~Barb
Sunday, April 11, 2010
The last week of Easter Break
Yesterday, one of my teachers was going to take me to get my ears pierced. She has been very disturbed by the fact that my ears are not pierced all year. Most people here just get them pierced when they are babies. So, we were going to just take the day and go to the mall and and then also get my ears pierced while we were there. Then, we got there and called her and it turned out she wasn't coming. Apparently, she still hasn't gotten her salary and so she didn't have money to get there. It is a lot more common here not to drive and just to use public transportation. So, this also means that although school begins again tomorrow, the teachers aren't going back until they get paid, so there seems no point in us going back until there are teachers!
~Olivia
We have decided that we very much like a 2-week break in Spring. The first week, we had guests, and we just kind of played all week. Then this week, we spent a lot of lazy time and also got some work (cleaning) done. We borrowed a really awesome vacuum cleaner from a friend to vacuum our curtains with! And it has a little miniature vacuum in it too! And we washed windows. We have enjoyed our time playing, resting, and (well, we didn't exactly enjoy cleaning, but it was good to get done) cleaning.
~Roxy
One of the tasks we set for ourselves this week was to make some decisions. The first was to figure out when we would leave. While our intention had been to give a year to serve in Trinidad, when we received our visas, they were until July 17. We began looking at plane tickets home for sometime that week. While we would like to stay as long as possible to help with the summer Bible school or other projects in the churches, we found that by leaving on July 13, we could pay a fraction of what it would cost to stay till the end of the week. We considered stewardship of time, money and responsibilities and decided to get the tickets for the 13th of July. We acknowledge that it will be both hard to leave and good to return.
The other decision we had to make was whether or not the girls would return for the final term of school. Since the school is financially struggling, there have often not been teachers there. We were happy to be able to speak to a counselor from Manhattan and be assured that the girls will have the credits they need whether or not they do their final trimester in school or at home. Olivia has been signed up to take the CXC exam in one subject on May 4. So our decision is to return to school until then and finish up at home assuming there are no major changes in the situation. However, after the conversation with the teacher Olivia reported, we will wait and see if the teachers are returning at all this trimester before sending the kids.
In terms of the car, Richard spent most of 2 mornings in and out of various offices getting the insurance paperwork taken care of. Now we wait for the adjuster to come out. We are grateful that we had a spacious week in which to give that time to this ongoing issue. We are also grateful that the car has remained drivable while we wait for the slow wheels of bureaucracy to turn.
~Barbara
One interesting aspect of living in a different country has been getting to know a different political system. Trinidad and Tobago has a parliamentary form of government very similar to that of Great Britain. It has been quite educational for us to compare this system to the one that we have been familiar with in the United States. While both are founded on the same basic democratic principles, the ways in which the government actually works are quite different. A key difference in the two systems was illustrated this past week.
On Friday, the parliament was scheduled to debate a motion of no confidence in Prime Minister Patrick Manning, who has held that post for 12 of the last 18 years. If he had lost the vote, Mr. Manning would have been forced to resign and call for new elections. Given that his party held 26 of the 41 seats in parliament, however, no one really expected him to lose. But the debate could have been quite embarrassing to him as the opposition had the opportunity to highlight the many political scandals that have taken place under his rule.
Ultimately, though, the debate never took place. Instead, Prime Minister Manning announced on Thursday that he was dissolving parliament as of midnight. He now has 30 days in which to set a date for new elections. The election must take place in no more than 90 days, which means that we will still be here to see it. Right now, the political parties are busy choosing the candidates who will run parliament. One particularly interesting aspect of these elections is that, for the first time, one of the major party leaders is a woman. So if her party gains the most seats in parliament, she will become the next Prime Minister. Meanwhile, candidates in the U.S. are jockeying for position in a presidential election that is still more than 2 1/2 years away.
~Richard
~Olivia
We have decided that we very much like a 2-week break in Spring. The first week, we had guests, and we just kind of played all week. Then this week, we spent a lot of lazy time and also got some work (cleaning) done. We borrowed a really awesome vacuum cleaner from a friend to vacuum our curtains with! And it has a little miniature vacuum in it too! And we washed windows. We have enjoyed our time playing, resting, and (well, we didn't exactly enjoy cleaning, but it was good to get done) cleaning.
~Roxy
One of the tasks we set for ourselves this week was to make some decisions. The first was to figure out when we would leave. While our intention had been to give a year to serve in Trinidad, when we received our visas, they were until July 17. We began looking at plane tickets home for sometime that week. While we would like to stay as long as possible to help with the summer Bible school or other projects in the churches, we found that by leaving on July 13, we could pay a fraction of what it would cost to stay till the end of the week. We considered stewardship of time, money and responsibilities and decided to get the tickets for the 13th of July. We acknowledge that it will be both hard to leave and good to return.
The other decision we had to make was whether or not the girls would return for the final term of school. Since the school is financially struggling, there have often not been teachers there. We were happy to be able to speak to a counselor from Manhattan and be assured that the girls will have the credits they need whether or not they do their final trimester in school or at home. Olivia has been signed up to take the CXC exam in one subject on May 4. So our decision is to return to school until then and finish up at home assuming there are no major changes in the situation. However, after the conversation with the teacher Olivia reported, we will wait and see if the teachers are returning at all this trimester before sending the kids.
In terms of the car, Richard spent most of 2 mornings in and out of various offices getting the insurance paperwork taken care of. Now we wait for the adjuster to come out. We are grateful that we had a spacious week in which to give that time to this ongoing issue. We are also grateful that the car has remained drivable while we wait for the slow wheels of bureaucracy to turn.
~Barbara
One interesting aspect of living in a different country has been getting to know a different political system. Trinidad and Tobago has a parliamentary form of government very similar to that of Great Britain. It has been quite educational for us to compare this system to the one that we have been familiar with in the United States. While both are founded on the same basic democratic principles, the ways in which the government actually works are quite different. A key difference in the two systems was illustrated this past week.
On Friday, the parliament was scheduled to debate a motion of no confidence in Prime Minister Patrick Manning, who has held that post for 12 of the last 18 years. If he had lost the vote, Mr. Manning would have been forced to resign and call for new elections. Given that his party held 26 of the 41 seats in parliament, however, no one really expected him to lose. But the debate could have been quite embarrassing to him as the opposition had the opportunity to highlight the many political scandals that have taken place under his rule.
Ultimately, though, the debate never took place. Instead, Prime Minister Manning announced on Thursday that he was dissolving parliament as of midnight. He now has 30 days in which to set a date for new elections. The election must take place in no more than 90 days, which means that we will still be here to see it. Right now, the political parties are busy choosing the candidates who will run parliament. One particularly interesting aspect of these elections is that, for the first time, one of the major party leaders is a woman. So if her party gains the most seats in parliament, she will become the next Prime Minister. Meanwhile, candidates in the U.S. are jockeying for position in a presidential election that is still more than 2 1/2 years away.
~Richard
Sunday, April 4, 2010
Happy Easter
We find ourselves enjoying Easter with a leisurely afternoon at home. We've had another fun and full week with guests. We got to spend time with family this week for the first time since last summer. My niece Rhonda and her son Robbie joined us a week ago today and were here until yesterday. Fortunately their spring break corresponded with our Easter break from school (both the girls' school and our teaching). That meant we could enjoy a little vacation time together. It seems the beach is always a good way to spend vacation. So we went to two different beaches on two different days. After over six months with only a few visits, this month our family has been to the beach nearly once a week. I suspect as our visitors diminish and we return to life and work as usual, it will be a while before we make it back again. But it has been a fun month in the sun.
Another fun thing we did was to participate in a cricket game this week. When I say we, I mean that Robbie, Richard, Roxy and Olivia got to play while Rhonda and I participated by cheering them on. The Carlson Field community was going to get a team together and play the Mennonite church there. However, after standing around for a while it became evident that the community team was not going to materialize. So, we all got to divide up into two teams and play a game. It was nice for our group because otherwise we Americans might not have had the opportunity. We had a good time even if they still are laughing about how we dropped the bat before running. What, did we think we were playing baseball or something?
~Barb
One of my favorite things we did while they were here was going to see the turtles. You see, around this time of year, these huge turtles come and lay their eggs on certain beaches. We know someone who goes out there a lot, so he took us one of the nights Rhonda and Robbie were here. We got there probably around 8:00 p.m. We didn't have to wait too long for the turtle to come out. These turtles are one of the oldest creatures still alive, and they've been doing this for thousands of years. They'll come out of the water and then dig a hole in the sand. They'll go into a sort of trance and then start laying eggs. While they're in this trance, they don't notice you, so our guide went and held up its flippers so we could see the eggs drop out and into the hole in the sand. There was a pretty big pile of eggs before the turtle covered the hole and went back into the ocean. It was pretty amazing! The turtles look kind of prehistoric, so it's really cool to watch!
~Olivia
Another highlight for all of us this week was going to Asa Wright. Asa Wright is a good place to see a lot of neat birds. We took a tour there, which was a nice little walk through the trees. On that little walk, I didn't see as many of the birds that the guide pointed out as I would have liked to, but I still enjoyed the walk and the birds that I did see. Also, I learned about these type of ants there. It's kind of weird, but that was one of the best parts of the walk, because it was just different, and the things I learned about the ants were things that I didn't know. But my favourite part of Asa Wright was when we were just on the veranda. The veranda was basically a huge porch where you could see lots of birds. They put out food for the birds and there were bird feeders for the hummingbirds. The hummingbirds were the best part! They would fly up right near the veranda and just hang in mid-air without moving at all! It was amazing, especially having them so close! We saw about 8 types of birds by the food right near the veranda, a few more on the hike, and I also saw some toucans flying when we were on the veranda. It was really neat there, and we stayed sitting on the veranda for a few hours after our tour was over; until Asa Wright closed! That was one of the best 'tourist' things we've done here, and if we have more guests we just might have to go back!
~Roxy
In the midst of all the fun tourist activities of the past week, we did also have some work to do. Diego Martin Mennonite Church has a tradition of a Holy Thursday service and an Easter sunrise service. We had the major responsibility for planning and leading each of these. On Thursday evening, we gathered at the Diego Martin church building for a light fellowship meal, communion service and footwashing. These activities have all been part of the church tradition for some time. We introduced something new this year, however, as we incorporated a Tenebrae service, or Service of Shadows. This tradition of reading through the entire passion narrative in sections and extinguishing candles after each reading has been a tradition we have often followed on Good Friday at home. But it was a new experience for our our Trinidadian friends. We received a number of very positive and appreciative comments from them after the service.
This morning, we gathered with church members at 6:00 am at Fort George on a mountainside overlooking Port of Spain and Diego Martin. The church has been gathering there for Easter for a number of years. This year, we were joined by members of the Mennonite churches in Charlieville, Chaguanas and Carlsen Field as well. Barb wrote an Easter drama that opened with the women heading to the tomb on Easter morning and ended with a group of modern day youth discussing their own experience of resurrection. The Diego Martin worship team performed the drama, interspersed with quite a bit of singing. In the midst of the service, Pastor Ramesh Jaimani from Carlsen Field Mennonite Church also brought an Easter devotion. Afterward, we all shared breakfast items that we'd brought. We were back home by shortly after 9:00, with the rest of the day to ourselves. Compared to our customary schedule for Holy Week (Thursday & Friday evening services, sometimes a Saturday evening or Sunday sunrise service and a regular service on Sunday morning that includes communion and often baptism), we found this year's schedule more relaxing.
~Richard
Another fun thing we did was to participate in a cricket game this week. When I say we, I mean that Robbie, Richard, Roxy and Olivia got to play while Rhonda and I participated by cheering them on. The Carlson Field community was going to get a team together and play the Mennonite church there. However, after standing around for a while it became evident that the community team was not going to materialize. So, we all got to divide up into two teams and play a game. It was nice for our group because otherwise we Americans might not have had the opportunity. We had a good time even if they still are laughing about how we dropped the bat before running. What, did we think we were playing baseball or something?
~Barb
One of my favorite things we did while they were here was going to see the turtles. You see, around this time of year, these huge turtles come and lay their eggs on certain beaches. We know someone who goes out there a lot, so he took us one of the nights Rhonda and Robbie were here. We got there probably around 8:00 p.m. We didn't have to wait too long for the turtle to come out. These turtles are one of the oldest creatures still alive, and they've been doing this for thousands of years. They'll come out of the water and then dig a hole in the sand. They'll go into a sort of trance and then start laying eggs. While they're in this trance, they don't notice you, so our guide went and held up its flippers so we could see the eggs drop out and into the hole in the sand. There was a pretty big pile of eggs before the turtle covered the hole and went back into the ocean. It was pretty amazing! The turtles look kind of prehistoric, so it's really cool to watch!
~Olivia
Another highlight for all of us this week was going to Asa Wright. Asa Wright is a good place to see a lot of neat birds. We took a tour there, which was a nice little walk through the trees. On that little walk, I didn't see as many of the birds that the guide pointed out as I would have liked to, but I still enjoyed the walk and the birds that I did see. Also, I learned about these type of ants there. It's kind of weird, but that was one of the best parts of the walk, because it was just different, and the things I learned about the ants were things that I didn't know. But my favourite part of Asa Wright was when we were just on the veranda. The veranda was basically a huge porch where you could see lots of birds. They put out food for the birds and there were bird feeders for the hummingbirds. The hummingbirds were the best part! They would fly up right near the veranda and just hang in mid-air without moving at all! It was amazing, especially having them so close! We saw about 8 types of birds by the food right near the veranda, a few more on the hike, and I also saw some toucans flying when we were on the veranda. It was really neat there, and we stayed sitting on the veranda for a few hours after our tour was over; until Asa Wright closed! That was one of the best 'tourist' things we've done here, and if we have more guests we just might have to go back!
~Roxy
In the midst of all the fun tourist activities of the past week, we did also have some work to do. Diego Martin Mennonite Church has a tradition of a Holy Thursday service and an Easter sunrise service. We had the major responsibility for planning and leading each of these. On Thursday evening, we gathered at the Diego Martin church building for a light fellowship meal, communion service and footwashing. These activities have all been part of the church tradition for some time. We introduced something new this year, however, as we incorporated a Tenebrae service, or Service of Shadows. This tradition of reading through the entire passion narrative in sections and extinguishing candles after each reading has been a tradition we have often followed on Good Friday at home. But it was a new experience for our our Trinidadian friends. We received a number of very positive and appreciative comments from them after the service.
This morning, we gathered with church members at 6:00 am at Fort George on a mountainside overlooking Port of Spain and Diego Martin. The church has been gathering there for Easter for a number of years. This year, we were joined by members of the Mennonite churches in Charlieville, Chaguanas and Carlsen Field as well. Barb wrote an Easter drama that opened with the women heading to the tomb on Easter morning and ended with a group of modern day youth discussing their own experience of resurrection. The Diego Martin worship team performed the drama, interspersed with quite a bit of singing. In the midst of the service, Pastor Ramesh Jaimani from Carlsen Field Mennonite Church also brought an Easter devotion. Afterward, we all shared breakfast items that we'd brought. We were back home by shortly after 9:00, with the rest of the day to ourselves. Compared to our customary schedule for Holy Week (Thursday & Friday evening services, sometimes a Saturday evening or Sunday sunrise service and a regular service on Sunday morning that includes communion and often baptism), we found this year's schedule more relaxing.
~Richard
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