One Year Ago

One year ago, we took a trip to the immigration office in Kingston and received the above letter. While you may not be able to read it, the most important line reads, "You are expected to depart the island no later than June 2." What a shock. We actually did not have enough time to get that our tickets ready by the 2nd, and so they graciously gave us 5 more days. We then left the island unsure of when we would return. Anyways, we can laugh about it now, but it was a crazy time.

Yesterday, Keri and I took another visit to the immigration office as we had gotten new passports and needed a new visa. We are expecting to get our passports back with less trouble than we had a year ago. The kids stayed back with a work team and we took advantage of the time and stopped for a visit to Devon House, a historical site in Kingston. We are shocked that a year has passed since our lives got turned upside down and we are so thankful for His provision through the past year.

An Inspiration

Four years ago an enthusiastic young deaf lady began her journey to the States for a college education. In Jamaica it is not made possible for the deaf to go to college. This past Wednesday night Tashi Bent shared her inspiring testimony with our sending church from Leo, IN. Tashi graduated this past month and now looks forward to using her education to minister to the deaf children of Jamaica. Tashi has been an inspiration to many that no matter what obstacles are placed in our life, we can achieve what God has for us. The teachers here at the CCCD campus will testify to the determination they saw in Tashi since she was just a little girl. As we pray for our students here, we hope they will understand that their deafness can be used as a ministry and not as a disability that inables them. As we take an examination of our own lives, we pray the obstacles we face will not disable us but they will be used to change us and better us, that God would be glorified!

Tashi, congratulations! Thank you for the inspiration that you've given to us. We look forward to serving the deaf of Jamaica along with you!

You can listen to Tashi's interview at http://www.leoacchurch.org/pastsermons
Click on Wed. night interview with Tashi Bent.

Date Night

We realize that Date Nights are not supposed to make the news. But, in our world, it is just a reality. While we do feel a little bit of shame in reporting on Date Nights, we also recognize that in our situation there is no easy way to get away. This week, a team from Dillon Christian School in South Carolina is here and they offered to watch Drew and Truitt. We quickly took them up on the offer and got out to eat some Chinese. We post this to just celebrate the blessing of Christian marriage. As stated in our last post, we see the void around us in marriages and we just want to scream, "Cant you see that His way is the best way!" But, we can't just go around screaming all the time and so we must just check ourselves to ensure that our marriage is screaming that message for us by allowing the light of His love to shine through our interactions together. The above picture was one of our best from a previous night that we got to get away for a sunset on the beach.

A Piece of Paradise "Mothers Day"

While we already had our Mothers Day post, we thought this was a nice picture. At church on Mothers Day, they gathered all of the Mothers together for a picture. It was a joy to see all of the mothers together and to honor them, but it also reminded us of a sad reality. In the picture, counting Pam and Keri, not even half of the mothers are married to the father of their children. This represents too large of a number of kids who are growing up without father figures. We hope this will encourage you to prayer for the deaf church in Jamaica and for men to step up to lead the family and the church.

We have proof

Drew, our mild mannered first born, has been accused several times of being an angel. While those of us who know him best realize that is not quite the truth, we did find a picture that adds some proof to the case. He is a good kid, but not always as sweet as he leads some people to believe. But for once, we caught him with a halo.


Honestly, I don't know if I have lived in a box all of my life or if this is something truly unique. We could not believe it when we saw it. We came out of church and all the kids were pointing to the sky. It looked like a rainbow wrapped around the sun. After looking it up online, it is a phenomenon that happens with the reflection of ice crystals in very high cirrus clouds at the front end of a high pressure system. Very Interesting! Let us know if you have seen this before and if you know a name for it.

Pregnancy In Jamaica

For the past 7 months I've experienced a new aspect of the Jamaican culture. First of all, Jamaicans are blunt and very willing to share their opinions, and don't even try to question their views. So, being pregnant, I'm experiencing continually a clash between American and Jamaican views. I always try to kindly accept these views with a smile and just say, "Oh, okay," but, something within wants to let them know that their old fashion view on pregnancy is several years outdated. They give me the feeling that the healthiest thing for a pregnant woman is to stay at home, take naps, and literally do nothing!

I hang my laundry out on the line almost daily. Often, I'm told, "That's stretching too much!"
We go up and down a hill several times a day to eat meals or do things on campus. "Be
careful, go slow", or simply "don't."
And not that I do that great of job exercising with pregnancy, but I find out this is a definite
no, no!
I know I'm wrong on this one, but you should see their eyes when I pick up and hold Truitt!

The other day Kirk and I went in to get a tour of the hospital. I tried to ask several questions so I could be prepared with how labor and delivery may be different here than in the States. I asked the question if I could be up and walking through most of the laboring. The reply was, "Oh no! We'd be afraid the baby would just fall out!" Can you believe that, coming from a nurse?! I almost said, "That's what I want to happen!" But, instead, I smile and say, "Oh, okay."

So I try to be polite and not challenge them (too often), but this is a part of the Jamaican culture that I'm not so willing to change my lifestyle to theirs, in order to fit in. And if I would deliver here, I might be a difficult patient. In the middle of my contractions I'm not going to smile and say, "Oh, okay."

First Visit to Dentist

Yes, these proud parents couldn't help take a picture of their brave little son at the dentist! The night before we did our best to pysch his little mind up for this big event.
"You get to go to the dentist now that your're three!"
"Let's see how wide you can open your mouth!"
"Truitt's not as big as you; he doesn't get to go to the dentist yet."
" You get a prize when you're all done!!"
Kirk even did a role play as he examined Drew's mouth with two metal spoons.

Twice a year, CCCD is blessed by a visit from Dr. Buzz and his team. They efficiently move 100 kids in and out of their clinic each day.

Before Dr. Buzz could say open wide, Drew was showing him his biggest alligator mouth. He was a brave little boy without even a tear.

A Celebration

Fighting and screaming, dirty diapers, messes, grime building up on their little bodies, discipline, discipline, discipline.
As I celebrate Mother's Day, I hesitate to start this post with such a pessimistic ring. However that will not be my purpose of this post. I celebrate with my family as they celebrate with me the joy of being a mom! As the everyday/every minute dramas in the world of our little boys come and go, I stand back and marvel that God chose me to be their mommy. It's true that these minute by minute dramas bring stress, frustration, and weariness, but bring me to a more dependent relationship with an All-knowing God. So I celebrate all these parts of motherhood that God brings to me. All the stresses really do grow dim in light of the joys. I choose to end this opposite of how I began it. My daily, minute by minute joys Drew, Truitt, and even our little life that we haven't yet met.
Phrases and thoughts that come from who knows where, building a BIG train track together, listening in on their little conversations, their smiles, their self-composed songs sung at the top of their lungs, new words, firsts, tackles/snuggles, the little life I feel inside of me, and the sweet, sweet words, "I love you, mommy."
Thank you, God, for making me their mommy!

Adversity is our asset?

We currently have John Wooden's "12 lessons in leadership" as the desktop screen on our computer. For those of you not so inclined towards college basketball, John Wooden was the mens basketball coach at UCLA way back when they won championship after championship. Anyways, #12, which is right on the bottom and almost always visible, is "Adversity is our Asset." We are in the middle of a time in which we feel like we need so much help working through our cross cultural relationships that we post things like leadership reminders as the desktop screen on our computer. And, as a result, we are reminded that this desperation that we feel is our asset. That feels like a hard pill to swallow. But, this is not John Woodens idea. We all know about the Refiners fire and enjoy thinking about the pure gold on the other side. It is in the midst of the flame that makes it hard to say that the heat that brings the pain is our asset. That is not to say that we are in the depths of pain or struggle, we do not want to overdramatize our situation, but I am guessing even the battle of making big decisions is our asset. Similarly, CCCD is struggling to make ends meet financially. There is nothing fun about financial struggle, but presuming that the refiners fire is truly purifying, CCCD will be able to declare this battle as an asset. So, we end up having no choice but to walk by faith and an understanding that He has shown himself faithful over and over in the past and He is unchanging. Amen and Amen!

Vacation Summary

We referenced our vacation in our monthly update. Keri's parents came for a visit and we had a great time. Like most good vacations, the memories are sweeter as time goes on and we savor the times we had together. Keri's parents had visited before and worked with us getting our apartment ready and visiting CCCD. On this trip, they had the idea of taking a little vacation along with their trip. We welcomed the idea and it gave us an opportunity to see the other side of Jamaica. After overcoming some feelings of guilt, we decided to stay at a hotel for 2 nights in Montego Bay and then 2 nights in Negril. This worked great as our kids could only handle so much time at a hotel. We did the 2 nights in Montego Bay and then went back to the Montego Bay campus for a few days. This gave us a chance to do a few things at Montego Bay as well as an opportunity for them to visit the kids at CCCD. We then went on to do a couple of nights in Negril. Ultimately, it was not about where we stayed, but that time was available for us to be together. The times like this are vital for our kids and wonderful for us to reconnect with our parents. We were blessed by the time and you can see how much the kids enjoyed their time in some pictures. You can see the pictures by clicking here.

April Update

Earlier today, I was on the phone with a Jamaican man who is a friend of a friend. I had tried to explain to him who I was, but that never goes well. He then put together my white voice, with who our friend was, and it all became clear in his mind. His next words were, "Oh, you are with the dumb school." I knew he wasn't joking and so I saved the laughter and the tears. Keri and I have just begun looking further into the Christian call to justice. We know our God is just, but to what extent should that characteristic translate into our everyday lives.(Psalm 10:17-18, Psalm 12:5, Isaiah 1:17) The answer for us is that we don't know because we are just beginning to dive deeper into the issue, but we know there is something to be mined from these questions. We see, hear, and feel the injustice around us regarding the deaf. The reason I knew not to laugh at a ridiculous statement like the "dumb school" is because we hear those sentiments often. The lack of education regarding issues of deafness vs. literal dumbness vs. dumbness as ignorance is apparent. The thing that is even more frustrating is probably the lack of interest we see in Jamaica regarding deaf awareness. While we could right this issue of as a misunderstanding of words or just loose vernacular, but the we see the deaf treated as dumb too much of the time. In reality, this leaves our friends facing the uphill climb culturally to get jobs, have equal rights, and get a fair shake at life. So, we ask the questions and pursue God's heart for justice and what that means for our lives. Maybe I can report back to you next month on the findings of our look into the issues of justice, but for now I just ask you the questions of what God's heart is for the lack of justice that surrounds our daily lives.
April for us was characterized by transition and rest. After a torrid month of March, we were blessed with the opportunity to catch up on life and family. We are learning more and more about balance and how it works in real life. After a bunch of teams in Montego Bay, we took a few extra days to tie up loose ends and get some rest. We then headed up to Knockpatrick for a couple of weeks and spent a lot of time settling back into the flow of Knockpatrick. We then packed back up for a little more than a week with Keri's parents in Montego Bay. The week with Keri's parents was an official vacation for us. We went to a hotel and experienced the "other side" of Jamaica. It was very refreshing, we had sweet fellowship, and good family time. We are very thankful for the support of family.
While we don't have a lot to report this month, we have been working through some significant issues. There are some new opportunities opening up in front of us that will present a significant change to our work. I am sure we will share all of these developments with you as they develop, but for now we pray that we can be sensitive to the direction of our Father. We also continue to seek wisdom regarding whether to have the baby in the States or in Jamaica. We are thankful that all seems to be going well with the baby. We had a sonogram a couple of weeks ago and it appeared that all is on track. We tried to get conclusive evidence as to whether we are having a boy or a girl, but the umbilical cord was in the way. We are guessing that it is a girl and we are going to start preparing as if it is a girl. If it is a boy, I think we will be ready for that by default. All things considered, we remain thankful for His provision in spite of our evident confusion at times. The reality remains that we feel like we are in over our heads and needing His grace. There are often times that I feel like the top performing student at the "dumb school." We pray that we can continue to experience His strength in our weakness and that our eyes can continually be opened to His will and justice in our lives and in the lives the deaf community in Jamaica.

Love,
The Plattner Family