For My Sister - Kasey

Actually, Keri's sister, but since we are one, then I guess she is just as much my sister. Anyways, I love my sister Kasey. She lives out her faith as the mother of two beautiful girls and a counselor to many others. She is bright and funny, always up for a good laugh or a good cry. But, Kasey has one problem, she is not convinced of my love for her. To say that she is slightly more gregarious and extroverted than Keri is a more than fair statement. Thus, there has been this consistent undercurrent such that since I am madly in love with Keri and who she is, then I must have less then fond feelings for her more charismatic sister. Anyways, in spite of the lack of truth surrounding this idea, it has transformed in to a sort of on-going joke. So, to make a short story long, I sometimes needle and prod with ongoing jokes to magnify the absurdity. Not long ago, at a family gathering, I took another shot that is the point of this story. Kasey is a fine cook with an appreciation for gourmet food. Thus, I see it as my obligation in this situation to play the yokel, meat and potatoes, brother-in-law. As the story goes, one evening while the family was preparing dinner, Kasey made a comment about making some Pico De Gallo. In playing the yokel, I made some kind of "pico De What" comment or a "dont you go puttin none of that fancy schmancy on my food" kind of comment. Thus, Pico De Gallo became an on going joke exacerbating this goofiness that Kirk is annoyed with Kasey. Anyways, the other day, I heard a song that was the perfect peace offering to the hilarity of the Pico De Gallo saga. The song is at this link and is the first of the songs available at the bottom of the post. It is called "Mexican Rhapsody." Enjoy!

Slugs and Bugs is series of kids cd's with great songs. The creators of these masterpieces are in the process of making their third CD. You can support them through their kickstarter page.

Transitions

Our school is going through some major transitions. During these times of transition, its hard to know whether to try to act like they are not a big deal or whether to give them their due through discussion and preparation. We are trying to figure this out. On one hand, we dont want to make a bigger deal out of the changes than needs to be made. We dont want to make the proverbial mountain from the mole hill. But, alternately, it seems as if there could be a danger in sweeping the transition under the rug and thus creating a perfect environment for problems to fester. We are learning so much and are waiting to see what the lesson is from these upcoming transitions. Ultimately, we are writing this to ask you to pray with us for our school. We need wisdom, direction, and the faith to walk in wisdom in God's direction.

With a barista like this!

The kids are always begging to sell things. Always! It is hard because we dont want to come off as if we are trying to make money off of our friends who feel beholden to buy from our three gringos. So, we often say no, no, no.

But, they love it so much that we thought we would let them sell lemonade for dirt cheap on a day when only the staff were on campus. They loved it and sold all of their lemonade and brought in a whopping JA$221. Of course, with a barista like this, this business is set for success.

And, with service like this, what do you expect?

While they were happy that they got to sell lemonade, it didnt quench their entrepreneurial appetite as lemonade, cookies, rabbits, and chickens have all been recently discussed as possible ventures.

Time for School

Truitt is trying school! Wow, it brings a tear to our eye. This boy is growing up and is excited to be going to CCCD for school. We really see this as a coming of age thing for this prototypical 2nd child. He is dying to be his own man. Drew's shadow is stifling him. The fact that he is starting at CCCD and Drew is staying home is a badge of honor worn proudly. Really, we are still in a trial stage, but in his book, he is well on his way to adulthood. We are proud of him as he has taken it in stride. And, the uniform, well its just stinkin cute.

New Normal

Last week, as you saw all of the remembrances of 9/11/01, where did they take you? What did they do to you? The thought was profound as I considered how life has changed from that moment. From those moments in which I was standing in front of my class on a Tuesday morning at my first teaching job after college to where I am today is a gap beyond comprehension. I was engaging a classroom of poorly informed, undisciplined students in whom I was trying to instill the gravity of the moment. They couldn't get it. I remember the laugh of one student in which comprehension was impossible in his movie consumed world. In his world, when the credits rolled, all was back to normal. Life was not going back to normal after we turned off the news, after the end of this day. A new normal was created. The life that has transpired in the last ten years in our little corner of the world has been lived in this new normal. Or, maybe we should call it the never normal. In my world, this involved three more years of being single and teaching, 3 years of being married and doing administration, and now 4 years of living in Jamaica. Oh, did I forget to mention the 4 kids, the moves, the laughter, the trauma, and the profound realities/joy of daily life. This is the never normal life in the midst of the new normal. We must remember! We must mourn! And, we must Rejoice!

Little Girls Grow Fast

Girls are different than boys. Boys are supposed to grow up, girls are supposed to... I dont know. Its hard, they are little girls. Well, I guess there is no stopping the inevitable. Look at these beautiful girls. Wow! Praise the Lord!!

Go Illini!!

You may recall a post awhile back about the pieces of furniture my husband has crafted for me. He has surprised me once more, along with his sons, with his ability to create!

This is no buy from a store here in Jamaica. They don't sell the like! In fact, that's a problem when shopping for birthday presents here. So my crafty husband surprised us all with a Illinois hoop for Drew's birthday. Kirk commented to Drew, "You'll never enjoy it as much as I did in making it."

Thanks Kirk for using your creativity and skills that God's given you!

School is in Session

School is back in session. Its great to have the kids back on campus. Wednesday night, I had the opportunity to meet with the older kids for chapel. I asked them if any of them had were able to go to Church over the summer. Out of the 40 or so students that were in chapel, 2 were able to attend a deaf church service over the summer. A few more went to church with their families and had a family member interpret for them, but 2 were able to go to a service in their language. That in itself is a prayer request. Two months of influence by the world with no encouragement from the Word will throw most trains off the tracks. I tried to remind them of the Gospel. Jesus! Sin! The Cross! Blood! Freedom! Reconciliation!

Only by Grace!

It must be the marketing

I came into the house the other day, and this is what I saw. Keri, sitting in her "schoolhouse" reading a book to the kids. Its funny though, last year, I only remember her having 2 students. This year, it seems that we have had 100% growth in our little school. I am sure the growth can only be attributed to our excellent teaching staff and a great marketing plan.

August Update

Plattner Family August 2011 Update

Why should I care? What should motivate me? In our last update, I mentioned my cold heart towards the famine in the horn of Africa. Maybe it opened a can of worms, but the question still lingers regarding our responsibility to act in love to the suffering world. It was an abrupt introduction to an update and I feel some need to tie up a few of the loose ends regarding this issue. What is our obligation as ambassadors in showing the world the reconciliation found in our Father’s kingdom? I am sticking with the same premise, we should care. Why? Because He says so! Not because those pictures break our heart, although they should. Not because we have so much and they have so little, although this may make us liable. Not to be seen by others, although good works being seen will bring Him glory. But, because He says so! This does not just apply to the famine in Africa, it applies to the people and places in your life in which an ambassador is needed to show the world the blessing of His rule. His rule brings reconciliation, His kingdom brings peace, and His reign attacks the real problem, sin. It isn’t about guilt, although you should probably feel guilty, it is about obedience. Or, maybe it’s about worship, which is delighting in obedience. May God grant grace for eyes to see the places He has chosen us to represent His kingdom to this world, from the Horn of Africa to our living rooms.

We are trying to ask these questions in Jamaica. Sometimes the answers make sense; sometimes our glass is extra cloudy. August started out with us moving our family over to the Jamaica Deaf Village (approx. 30 minutes from our house) for a couple of workteams. The Huber family is currently in the states and we were filling in for 2 weeks. The kids loved it. It was like a 2 week vacation in which they had all new toys, friends next door, and work teams who are always interested in playing catch. We also enjoyed the change of scenery as our school can feel like a ghost town with no students. The teams were a blessing and we enjoyed our time at the Jamaica Deaf Village.

The week after the workteams brought two very unexpected blessings. Our hearts have beat strongly for two issues in Jamaica; the deaf church and the residential care of the students at our schools. First, we were able to attend a leadership retreat for the deaf churches in Jamaica. This was an opportunity to cast vision and take the pulse of the Deaf churches in Jamaica. It was encouraging. Then, the next week, our school gathered together all of the houseparents from all three schools. They gathered for training. I was able to attend a few of the sessions and was blessed to see investments being made in the residential care of our students. It was cool to be able to be a part of both of these events as they so closely relate to the way our heart beats for this work.

The majority of our downtime through August has been spent doing “the little things.” Dealing with auto insurance, getting vehicles serviced, working on little projects, writing updates etc. This may sound insignificant, but the smallest tasks can take a full day. One day, I took our van out to get the oil changed. I dropped it off at around 9:30am. I was told to come back and pick it up about 2pm. I arrived a little before that because that was my only ride into town. I then sat there until after 5 because it was raining off and on and the mechanic didn’t really have a garage to stay out of the rain. Frustrating, yes a little, but also encouraging as 3 years ago this may have ruined my day. I know now that this is life. Pack a book and make the best of it. Ahh, the wisdom of experience. Anyways, that has been our August.

Our family continues to experience rich blessing. Drew is starting 1st grade, Truitt is starting pre-school, Daisha already has her Masters degree in creating chaos, and Danae is trying to figure out how to make her hands go where she wants. Pretty exciting stuff. Kirk continues classes in the school of hard knocks and Keri holds us all together. The students should be arriving in the coming week and we will be ready to get back into the swing of a new school year. Praise the Lord! Thanks again for your love, support, and prayers.

Happy Birthday Drew!!!

It was only after waiting approx. 5 hours for this video to upload that I realized it was not going to allow me to use the song that I had chosen. So, if you are interested in a slideshow of Drew, enjoy the video. But, it obviously loses something without a catchy, tearjerking song behind the pictures. If you have a good imagination, add it yourself, otherwise, our apologies for the silent video.