The past 4 months!

Well hello again friend! My deepest apologies for this newsletter being so over-do. Time passes too quickly. I wish we could stop it for just an afternoon, meet for a cup of coffee and share all that has happened in the past few months. I will try instead to share as much as I can in a newsletter and trust that God opens your hearts and minds to see how He is working in Abaco. Sit back, relax, and grab a snack if you wish. 

Let’s start in January. My small group of girls celebrated two wonderful people getting married. Stephen and Laura Johnson are both very involved with the youth in Abaco. Many of my small group of girls know Stephan, aka Coach, as most call him. He is the Vice-Principal at Agape Christian school, and he coaches all the sports, which is how most students know him. Laura is a Missionary with the organization Many Hands, that the CYN partners with, to support us in many projects on the island. Laura has a big part in helping her now husband, Stephan. Together they coach volleyball which is a big passion for many kids in Abaco! Also this January we had an exciting development at Agape Christian School.  A play-ground was built for students in the lower grades 1-3. I worked with four other wonderful women on a fundraising team at Agape. We all worked as a team this past fall to help raise money for the school to build a pirate ship for the kids to play on! To be honest my 5th graders love to play on it too for our FUN-FRIDAYS! An amazing team of volunteers came down in January to build this pirate ship for the school. The team was led by two former teachers at Agape. During the week while the men were building the pirate ship, a group of women from the mission team did a vacation Bible school for the Elementary kids in the afternoons! It was a wonderful week of games, Bible lessons, and hands-on activities for the kiddos that brought much joy and laughter.

 (Photos above show the Agape's New Pirate ship for the playground, Laura and Stephan's wedding celebrations, students VBS week at the school, fun science activities done at school, and three of my girl students who did my hair and make up for a fun Friday activity!)

In February, I took my kiddos for a field trip with a non-profit organization on the island called “Friends of the Environment.” They are an amazing resource on Abaco for environment education. We spent the day at the beach doing a scavenger hunt to identify the sea creatures they were able to find and learn about the ecosystem on the beach. Also, we had a Galentine's Event. A big event I organized with the help from many wonderful Bahamian women. I got to speak at this event and shared about how the Amazing Love of the Lord makes waiting for the right man possible. It was such a sweet moment to share about the meaning of love and relationships. I spoke about the story of Jacob, Rachel, and Leah and the struggle of love we witness in Jacob’s and Leah's life. Many Hands organization also partnered with us in this event by having women on their mission team from Iowa bring in decorations and assist for the evening. Thank you to everyone who prayed over this event from home and especially to everyone who sent me encouraging emails. I deeply appreciated your support. 

(Photo's above show the Galentines in February, a couch I found on the beach, Men's team from South Carolina that came for a mission trip and played fun games with the youth in Wednesday night, and one of my favorite flowers on the island)

Next, March was not a very exciting month with any big news to report on. It was a peaceful month of regular routine. One sad thing to update you on, but also good news is I did find my sweet dog Archie a new home. While I loved the little guy this new home is much more suitable for his personality. He is one happy puppy with his new home and very spoiled. Moving on to a more cheerful subject, I was able to go to Nassau for a weekend to visit some of my teammates and say hello for a few days! I am always encouraged by everyone from the CYN and BYN when I visit. I was so glad to have an opportunity to see all these wonderful people! Furthermore, I was also able to visit my family for Easter! I had to fly in for medical reasons to Georgia, but I got to stay a few extra days to see the fam. 

(The photos above are of me visiting my amazing big brother and beautiful mother and a fun night of games hosted by a team that came down with Many Hands to play games with the kids at youth group!)

Finally, in April a dear friend of mine, Julia, from college came down to visit for a week. It was the best gift ever to have a friend from home come and visit.  I got to share my life here and catch up on all that she’s been doing for the past two years! We had a fun two days of exploring the island together, but also got to hang out with my kiddos at school doing art therapy and playing a classic game of Gaga-Ball! What a joy to my ministry to be with my best friend, who was one of my biggest cheerleaders when pursuing this job in college! 

 (The photos above show Julia helping me do crafts and art therapy with my kids at school, plus an amazing game of Gaga ball!)

Prayer Request

1. Recently the Bahamas government toured down many of the homes of Haitians who built on g property. This has caused many of the Hatian students, we work with at youth group, homeless or displaced. Please pray for God's comfort and provision during this hard time for them.

2. Recently, some close people I work with on the island have lost loved ones close to them. Please pray for God's comforts and answers to come in time for such traumatic events.

3. My Monday night Bible studies that happen twice a month have been going very well!!! Please pray for continued success and God being present in those moments as we study scripture.

4. Pray for April 27th, which is when my small groups next get together.

5. Finally, please pray as myself and my wonderful students are in the home stretch for the end of the school year!