Confirmation of Pregnancy

We were planning on going to the Doctor to get a confirmation of our pregnancy. But, I decided we could forgo that appointment upon seeing Keri whipping up her Sunday afternoon lunch. There is something about a hot dog SMOTHERED in cheese sauce that certifies the confirmation of pregnancy.

We live on an island!

But, I promise we sometimes forget. Honestly, during this time of year, it feels easy to forget that we are on a Caribbean island. We are not out traveling as much and life just rolls on. Last Saturday, we had an open weekend and so we decided to seize the moment. We headed to the beach and enjoyed a beautiful day of sun, sand, and pizza. Praise the Lord!

But never Thanksgiving!

Jamaica, the land where it is always warm but never Thanksgiving! Not quite as harrowing as Narnia, but missing time with family can feel pretty tough. But, gratitude knows nothing of geography and a heart of thanks is often strengthened by absence. You know the sayings, "absence make the heart grow fonder," "You never know what you got till its gone" What a powerful reality and reminder as we give thanks for endless blessings this Thanksgiving. A little down, Yes, but also hopefully growing in gratitude. To God be the Glory!

Guava Juice?

Its Guava season. Guava grow like crazy in Jamaica. They grow on a tree, kind of like an apple tree, and they generally grow kind of wild. A friend has been bringing us some guava to make juice. There are better varieties that are pink inside that are good for eating, but the ones that are yellow inside are more commonly used for juice or jam. So, clearly, we have no idea how to make guava jam or juice, but we cant let them go to waste. So here is our best attempt at some juice.

First, we washed them up and cut off the parts we didnt want.

Second, we realized that we would need a blender. We dont have a blender. So, I walked over to Erin's apartment and asked if she had a blender. She said, "no, I dont have a blender, I have a "Magic Bullet." Ahh, touché, I think a "Magic Bullet" will do just fine.

While we probably didnt do it quite as gracefully as the "magic Bullet" infomercial, we loaded the bullet and cranked it up. These guava didnt have a chance as they were instantly turned into puree. Unfortunately for us, our puree eerily resembled chunky mustard.

But, with a little added sugar, we decided to stick with the puree rather than juice. Because, as a kid, my mom used to make these fruit slushies that she would freeze in little yogurt containers. They were awesome. You could just go to the freezer, get out a little slushy, let it thaw slightly, and then enjoy its cold, fruity goodness. Well, this was my idea to redeem my mustardy looking fruit puree. And, trust me, it takes me right back to my childhood as I eat the slushy goodness. Ummmm!

Sea Container

One of the aspects of our work that we dont reference as much is delivering material aid around Jamaica. ACWR, our sending organization, first started their work in Jamaica by sending material aid to various organizations. ACWR supports communities, schools, an orphanage, infirmaries, and a hospital. This is mostly done in the states at various distribution centers where a sea container is loaded with goods and sent to Jamaica. The goods generally consist of beans, soap, bleach, cooking oil, health kits, and then specifically requested items. Once it arrives in Jamaica, a whole bunch of paperwork is done combined with alot of waiting. Then, a small team goes down to the port, unloads the container, and trucks it to the various locations. On Thursday, we had the pleasure of unloading a container. We carried things to an orphanage, infirmary, a community, and a boys school. Erin, our teammate, did a good job of summarizing the day on her blog and so you can check that outhere for a more detailed story.

Early Christmas Gifts

As you can see from the picture above, both of the boys just got new laptops. I know they are young for such nice gifts, but we are moving into a technological age. Believe it or not, their new pieces of technological wonder can do everything the same as my laptop. What happened to stick horses and doll houses?

Dear Sponser

Drew still goes to the CCCD school 2 mornings a week for science class. Today, Drew asked me what "sponsor" means. Our school runs due to child sponsorship and so sponsors are a common aspect of conversations around school. So, when Drew started asking what sponsor meant, I started putting two and two together. Upon further questioning, we discovered that his teacher had been talking about sponsors in his class and that the kids were supposed to write letters to their sponsors. When we asked him what sponsor meant, he said that his teacher explained to him, "the white people that come down from America." So, the idea got stuck in his head that he wanted to write to his sponsor and today he created the above picture. We wouldnt know who to send it to except that it seems appropriate enough to send it to all of you as we appreciate your support so much. From Drew and all of us, Thank you for "sponsoring" our family.

A Little Catchup

As you know, its our goal to update our blog every couple of days. Well, its been more than a couple of days and so we will explain why and give you an update.

1. Tomas flew by with hardly a breeze. The time that he was straight east of us was calmer than the next couple of days after he passed. We had hardly any rain and just a little breeze. It was also good to see Haiti mostly spared. Praise the Lord!

2. We announced last week that we are expecting baby #4. We can hardly even believe we are writing such a statement. Thanks for your kind words of love and support. Keri is doing great and we likewise pray for a full, healthy pregnancy.

3. We just finished spending 5 days with a team from our sending church. They came down to evaluate our work and the work in Jamaica. It was a great time of fellowship and discernment regarding our future in Jamaica. While no big decisions were made, some groundwork was laid for some potential changes maybe beginning next year.

A little news!

Tracking Tomas

We have been tracking Tomas for the past week. We have been praying for the storm to move but we certainly wouldnt wish it on Haiti. Our prayer has been that it will weaken and spare both Haiti and Jamaica. We pray that happens and are excited to see the possibility of it sneaking between the islands at less than a hurricane status. Here is a pic of some preparation as our windows got covered today. If the wind does come strong enough to knock out the power, we may be offline for a few days.

October Update

Plattner family Jamaica Update
Our little Truitt is the master of intimate moments. He will not always go there, but when he does, he has the sweetest things to say and will snuggle up to you in a way that will melt your heart. The last time I caught him in one of these moods, I began talking with him about how he is growing into such a big boy. He humbly agreed and then shared that he thought that Daddy and Mommy were growing smaller. My first reaction was to start inquiring into what he could mean that Daddy and Mommy were growing smaller. I think I asked the question and then let it go. But, the longer I thought about it, the more the truth of it became apparent. In every part of his world, Daddy and Mommy are growing smaller. First, physically, every inch the little lad grows, the smaller his parents seem from his perspective. But that was only the first and less insightful thought that our little philosopher bestowed upon us. The more stark reality is that from this point forward we will be growing smaller and smaller in our level of control in his life. While we do still have years left of influence in his life, he has now begun his journey towards independence. He is starting to pour his own milk, soon he will be off to school, driving a car, and then he will be making decisions as to the course of his life. Similarly, it’s our prayer that we can display a life that is characterized by growing smaller so that our God can show up bigger and bigger in our life. This is our heart for our kids that we can use our influence, ever decreasing as it may be, to display “the smaller life” to our kids in a way that will lead them towards pursuing a life that will similarly make Him big.

Ahh, just a regular month. October for us represented just a regular month. Routines, classes, church, school, laughing, crying, joy, sorrow, etc. I think we could classify it as remarkably unremarkable. And, that is not a complaint. While it leaves not much to send in a monthly update, it does provide for time to live, learn, and grow. One thing that is not worthy of the label of “average” was that we celebrated our 6th wedding anniversary. The blessings of marriage continue to overwhelm as and we are thankful. We know it is by grace that we have experienced the joy of marriage, and by grace that we go forward in faith. We are thankful for the grace given this month in the form of a regular month.

We continue to wait on the Lord as to His ongoing direction in our lives. At the beginning of November, a team from our sending organization is coming to asses our work and also assist us in working through some issues regarding the direction of our ministry. Please join us in praying for this time that it can be beneficial for all involved. As is always the case in this type of work, there are so many stakeholders that need consideration. Our heart is for honest discernment and wisdom with an eternal perspective. By Grace!

Love,
Kirk, Keri, Drew, Truitt, and Daisha