Happy New Year!

Wow, what a year! We would like to wish everyone a happy new year. I know we overuse the word "blessed," but we sit here at the end of the year and are shocked as we count our blessings. The struggles remain, but we rejoice as we reminisce. Obviously, our year will be remembered by Daisha's entrance and as we remember that story, we can hardly believe it ourselves. Thanks again so much for your support and love.

Merry Christmas!

The rest of the story - Mary, Jesus, and the baby

So, here it is. What do you think?


Honestly, what are the chances that Joseph was bald?

Is this really all that JA$2500 will buy?

What is with the baby Jesus looking like he is 4 years old?

What do you think the age difference was between Joseph and Mary?


Here it is adorning our end table. The question now is, can we even find redemption in this story of Jesus. I think so. We hope this does not turn into a family heirloom in which our great-grandchildren are wondering what was wrong with great G-Pa and G-ma Plattner. Instead, I think we can make a few trades and make this work. I am guessing that the current Joseph could pass for a wise man. So, maybe sometime in the future we will order a younger looking Joseph, and demote the current Joseph to the position of shepherd or wiseman. About the Jesus figure, ummm, we will keep thinking about that.

The week in review - G-pa and G-ma Plattner

We enjoyed a wonderful week with Grandpa and Grandma Plattner. We were blessed by their fellowship and time with us. The kids loved having them visit. We spent 2 nights at a hotel and the rest of the time we spent at our home in Knockpatrick. We did a little Christmas with the kids. The kids loved making Christmas cookies, working outside, getting pulled in the wagon, getting too much candy, and all the little things that only Grandparents can do. It was a blessing for us in the midst of our homesickness during the holidays. Here are some PICTURES of the week.

Mary, Jesus, and the baby?

Not long after arriving in Jamaica, we began to be introduced, not by choice, to a guy who sells crafts at the local shopping center where we get groceries. Most times, while getting our groceries, we would try to put off his pleas to buy one of his carved turtles, birds, or monkeys or to give him a little money to get home in a taxi. Realizing that this would be an ongoing problem, we decided to change our approach. While we are owners of a not so finely carved turtle with eyes that are out of place, we thought that buying a herd of turtles or goofy animals may not be productive. So, we decided to see if he could carve us what we want him to carve. Last year, we asked him to carve a nativity set for us. Jamaica is a very "Christian" country and we were shocked to realize that he did not know the story of Jesus. We tried our best to share with him the story, but we were not so sure that we got through. After printing him off a picture of the nativity, squabbling over a fair price, and giving him a few weeks, we got an interestingly carved nativity that we gave to some friends for Christmas. At mothers day, he carved us an interesting mother with 2 boys at her side for Keri's gift. And, just the other day he wanted us to place another order. We thought maybe we could start putting together a nativity for ourselves and ordered Mary, Joseph, and Jesus. Tony, the carver, replied, "No Problem, I will do Mary, Jesus, and the baby." Wow, we have a long ways to go, even after trying to straighten him out again, he repeated that he will carve Mary, Jesus, and the baby. Unfortunately, Tony cant read, but hopefully as he is carving Mary, her spouse who is not named Jesus, and Jesus, that his interest will be perked to pursue who this Jesus is and seek the answer to the real meaning of Christmas.

P.S. - We will try to post a picture of "Mary, Jesus, and the baby" when we pick it up next week.

Grandpa and Grandma Plattner

Lord willing, Kirk's parents will be flying in on Monday for a week. What a blessing! With Keri's parents hoping to come after the new year, we feel blessed with so much support. We are hoping to spend a couple of days at a hotel and then the rest of the week at Knockpatrick. Our parents have really invested in our time here and have shown such strong support even through the pain of the separation by miles. Absence makes the heart grow fonder and we are continuously growing in our understanding of the power of Godly parents. It raises the bar for us and takes us to our knees seeking His grace in raising our kids. I am sure we will check back later in the week with some pictures of our week.

The Christmas Program pics are HERE. Sunday, we had the church Christmas program and the kids sang and signed "Away in a manger." We did not get a video, but we did put up some pics.

The star of the show!

Ok, we may be a bit biased, but you will have to admit that he does look adorable. We appreciated the school's focus of keeping Jesus the star of the show. Drew was so proud to be in the Christmas program. He talked about it all week and Friday morning he asked us about 10 times before he left if he was late for the program. For him, it was a badge of maturity to stand in front of his parents and be a part of the show. What a guy!

P.S. - We have many more pictures, we will put them up and let you know.

Its Grandma's Fault

Last week we put up Christmas lights in our living room. Since then, Truitt has been instructed and fairly warned many times about not plugging in the lights without permission. In reality, he has received many spankings for his plugging in of the lights without permission. This morning, out of the corner of my eye I saw Truitt leaning over to pick up the cord to plug in the lights. I said, "Truitt, who told you that you can plug in the lights?" He said, "Grandma told me to plug in the lights." It was then that I noticed that he was in the middle of an imaginary conversation with Grandma on his play phone. How convenient that an authority figure was asking him to do the very desire of his heart. Who teaches them these kinds of things?

Why are we missing it?

Shouldn't we have been saying something like this?

"Til death do us part? The vow would really hold true in California if a Sacramento Web designer gets his way.

In a movement that seems ripped from the pages of Comedy Channel writers, John Marcotte wants to put a measure on the ballot next year to ban divorce in California.

The effort is meant to be a satirical statement after California voters outlawed gay marriage in 2008, largely on the argument that a ban is needed to protect the sanctity of traditional marriage. If that's the case, then Marcotte reasons voters should have no problem banning divorce.

"Since California has decided to protect traditional marriage, I think it would be hypocritical of us not to sacrifice some of our own rights to protect traditional marriage even more," the 38-year-old married father of two said." from CBSnews.com story.

I understand that this is coming from a viewpoint that is opposite mine and that this is not an approach I support, but I think in many ways we are guilty as charged. Don't start carrying me to inquisition, I am not supporting a movement such as this, I am simply wondering why the church has not been singing both verses of this song. If we are for traditional marriage, in every breath that we condemn gay marriage we need to be calling Christian marriages to a God-honoring standard. If you can, put aside the realization that gay marriage may represent a moral tipping point for our culture and consider which has a greater impact on our lives. Divorce has touched us all and the damage is not measurable. If christian marriages were committed to a biblical standard we would not need to be worrying about gay marriage. The beauty of the collective church displaying God honoring marriages would turn the world upside down and would make everything unnatural reveal its ridiculous self. I am not ignoring our fallen selves and thinking that this is only a matter of our collective wills, I am simply using this as an example of the ease with which we throw ourselves out of balance. I see this daily in Jamaica. Jamaica is highly homophobic and they are very outspoken about homosexuality. But it is not homosexuality that is destroying the fabric of Jamaica, it is fornication and adultery that are destroying Jamaica. Again, I am not ignoring the realities of the issue, but I am saying that as long as we put more of our energies to fighting the war outside while losing the war inside, we are in trouble. By God's grace, lets seek to represent Him through God-honoring marriages.

November Plattner Family Update

What confounds you most about Christmas? Is it the shocking lineage of Jesus? His arrival in the humblest of circumstances? His teenage mother? The virgin birth? The prophecies? Etc. The beauty of the story is its depth and the new fascination that can be found every time we read those words. For me, this year, I am struggling to get my mind around “Emmanuel” and what this means for our lives. “God with us,” “Emmanuel,” is not just an idea that works well in song lyrics, it is a reality. A reality lived out in Christ’s passion for us, but also as a model for us in ministering to others. A song lyric I heard recently said that “we must become what we want to save.” Is that true? It is true in Christ’s example. What does that mean for our lives? What is your call in ministry? What does it mean to become the person to whom you are called to minister? This question makes me tremble, because I think more often than not this “incarnation” involves a stepping out of what is known and into the unknown. We seem to be on this path of the Lord slowly drawing us into a deeper understanding of what this may mean in our lives. For us, maybe it is giving up our way of relating to people and committing to trying to be more “deaf” in our relationships. Maybe for us it is deciding not to go home for Christmas in an effort to spend money more like our Jamaican friends and to show our willingness to experience the holidays Jamaican style. We are not trying to tell you what we think this means for your life because the deeper we walk down this road the more difficult it is for us to know where to “draw the line.” So, we have no suggestion, but the tension and the challenge has blessed our family. We would encourage you to commit this idea to the Lord in prayer and ask Him what part of your ministry could be more incarnational. I wonder if the Lord won’t bring some clarity to the beauty of His incarnation as we seek to live out His example to our “neighbors.” May the Lord Grant Grace>

Wow does time fly. I don’t know if I believe it or not, but the month of November is over. The majority of our month was spent plugging away at our projects. Keri and I both had Chapel duty in which we are responsible for the Wednesday night and Sunday teaching to the kids. I have continued working to develop the Agriculture Education program at Knockpatick. There has been some exciting developments that we hope will allow us to grow into next year. We have harvested some callaloo (close to spinach) and pak choy (Chinese cabbage) from the kid’s farm. Our chickens are improving their egg production. And, we hope to begin an entrepreneurship program at the beginning of the new school year. CCCD continues to struggle financially and we pray that as an organization the struggle can be used as a time of growth for the ministry. He is Faithful!

A different aspect of the ministry here is the distribution of Material Aid to orphanages, hospitals, infirmaries, and communities. Last week, our team had the privilege of unloading a sea container and delivering the aid. As I have probably written before, the real blessing of this ministry is the opportunity to see the work of the body of Christ. The aid is generally packaged and loaded by many brethren from across the states. It is then shipped down here where we deliver it to another group of people who then get to act as the hands and feet delivering the things to people who need it. We often get thanked for delivering the aid, but what people do not understand is that we may actually be the least important part of the puzzle. It is the body of Christ in the states ministering to the body of Christ in Jamaica who ministers to people in need. Praise the Lord for the opportunity to witness these blessings.

We continue to give thanks. Our Thanksgiving this year was not characterized by a turkey or cold weather, but we did give thanks and share love. It is our plan to stay here for Christmas as well. The time commitment away from those we love continues to be one of the most difficult aspects of our calling, but we pray that the pain we feel can call us to a better understanding of “God with us.” Our family continues to experience blessing upon blessing. The kids are growing and by grace we pray that they are building a foundation for lives in Christ. Lord Willing, we hope to fly home over Easter Break, March 23, to spend a few weeks with family and friends. We appreciate your support so much. Your prayers are so humbling. Thanks!

By Grace,

Kirk, Keri, Drew, Truitt, and Daisha