Bird's Eye View

Part 3 of a 3 part series (Find part 1 here and part 2 here ) I had mentioned that I lost my voice in Part 2: A Day in the Book Fair . Here’s how that happened: About 2 weeks before the Logos arrived, the boys caught a cold. It got so bad for Ezra that I had to rush him to the polyclinic to be nebulized. Now, my immune system is quite friendly, and for some reason, feels it needs to experience everything my children do. I was fighting it so well, not a single sneeze. But my throat was starting to get sore a day or two before the ship arrived. It crossed my mind that maybe the Enemy didn’t want me to go, but I put on my belt of Truth, cause I knew that what God wanted would happen. So I never needed to give that another thought. I prayed and had others praying, and I moved forward. I didn’t seem to get a cold in the usual way, but my voice was pretty much gone by the day the ship arrived. Working in the Book Fair requires a lot of talking so I wondered if I should just stay ho

I would have loved a little Jamaican flag on my badge Part 2 of a 3 part series. (Find Part 1 here and Part 3 here ) I arrive to the ship between 8:30am and 8:45am and head to the security desk to hand in my yellow ‘volunteer pass’ in exchange for my volunteer badge, which must be worn at all times on board. I head up the crew’s entrance which places me on Deck 5’s lobby area. I head down D stairs to the partner lounge to put my things in Locker 15 then head back up the stairs then down C stairs to Deck 4 where the tiny Matilda room is tucked away, hidden in the middle of the book fair. I choose one of the well worn, but clean, burgundy polo shirts that the Angels had folded and put away the day before. I have to head back up two sets of stairs to Deck 6 to one of the few bathrooms that we volunteers have access to, to change into my uniform, then head back down those 2 flights of stairs and back to the partner lounge for devotions at 9am. (And can U believe I did not lose

Part 1 of a 3 part series. (Find Part 2 here and Part 3 here ) In February 2017, at a Missions Conference at Abundant Life Assembly, I heard about the Logos coming to Barbados. In February! And since my life wasn’t going exactly as planned, November was far enough away that I could set my eyes on it whenever I felt disappointed. If I couldn’t do one thing, at least I would be able to ‘dip my feet’ in the waters of cross-cultural missions again. I invited Paul Wheatley, the regional director of OM, to share at WYcliffe Club (WC) in May. James and Althea also came and their testimonies were powerful and inviting. Three of us from WC became DEEP volunteers onboard! At the end of August, I got my first e-mail with information on how to apply. I was stoked! I got my reference in from my Pastor then lined up an interview with Haruka from Japan. She was always available to talk on whatsapp if I had any questions, and she was always so warm. I didn’t feel like an outsider. She made it

Preamble A new school year is about to begin. I’m seeing pictures of children looking all grown up in their new uniforms, or out of uniforms going to University! I’m just here waiting on my new curriculum to arrive. We’re homeschooling! I’m so excited! If you are thinking of homeschooling, this post might be helpful . If you are not homeschooling, it will be a bore. Be warned. Technically, this is Judah’s first year. He really should have registered last year (He turned 5 in June, which is still within the 2016-2017 school year), but I went, bodily, to the ministry when he was 3 and they told me I didn’t need to. When I went this year to register, they said I should have registered last year. Anyhow… (The actual registration process was pretty straightforward and not at all unpleasant. ) The wonderful thing about homeschool, though, is that you work at your child’s pace. So I did do more ‘formal’ instruction with Judah last year. It probably took us about 20 minutes to do a

Have you ever had to take the bus with 2 babies? Do you know that those children come with equipment? Like a stroller to get to and from the bus stop. Or a super-sized diaper bag, cause if something goes wrong in town, there’s no jumping into a car and driving home. Have you ever been kicked off a ZR with expletives being hurled at you because you had all that stuff taking up more space than the driver would like? Or being forced to pay for an underage child because he fell asleep on a seat that an adult should occupy even though the bus still had space? Have you ever tried to push a stroller with one hand and hold a baby and an umbrella with another because the rain started right as you got off the bus?  Have you ever had to change a baby on your lap at the bus stop with passing cars staring, while watching the toddler so he doesn’t run off into the traffic? Why didn’t I go to the restroom close by with the changing station? Because I had been at that bus stop, in the sun, wi

I went to Trinidad to study at UWI, or that was the plan. But one thing I did learn from Trinidad is that they loved an excuse to lime. If you could imagine it, then it could be a public (bank) holiday so they could lime. Jesus’ Birthday? Public Holiday. The day the Indians arrived on the island? Public Holiday. The day after the two public holidays for Carnival where people will likely be exhausted? Unofficial Public Holiday. Oh, and Lime they did! I may have forgotten most of what I did at UWI, but I’ve not forgotten how to lime nor how to use dates for valid excuses. Today is Valentine’s Day. In my youth, I was on a high horse, so far above needing calendar dates to express my love. But now that I’ve aged, and some amount of Grace has accompanied it, I am grateful for the excuses to love. Everybody’s in red today and there’s chocolate all around. Here’s your perfect excuse to stop worrying about the New Year’s Resolutions that have already crashed and burned. You can put it a