September Update

Maybe you can relate? As you well know, I prefer to start off our updates with a piece on what we sense the Lord is doing or teaching us through the month. A sort of theme of the month, the ideas we have been crunching, you know the routine. The summary this month, actually two months as we did not write in August, has been particularly difficult. It is not necessarily due to a period of “silence” from the Lord. No, more because there has been so many things, but again, not one of those spiritually high times when there are so many things. During those times, I think there is generally a theme or common thread that leads to growth. We have had many things, but we are yet unsure how they all come together. Granted we know that they are for His glory. We know that they are a drawing of us more into His likeness. We know that they are for our good. And we know that we are to live in gratitude and contentment in our circumstances. Lets just say that there has been a lot of circumstances. Our first-born is off to school and that has brought with it an interesting set of issues. I started in a new role at CCCD that is exciting, but remains fraught with questions. We are transitioning into life in Jamaica with three kids. I met a lady who calls herself “Grace Sufficient.” In multiple ways, the Lord has brought the “rich young ruler” into our past month in powerful ways. I heard a sermon on patience that left me sort of impatient. Keri is battling our two year old in potty training. You get the idea. Circumstances. Circumstances and issues that could each turn into an introductory paragraph and lesson for an update. Not necessarily a dry time, but a time in which we find ourselves asking a lot of “whys?” And, they are not bad “whys” as we remain grateful for His ongoing provision, blessing, and patience with us as we try to learn how to live in such a way that gives Him glory.

If you have read any number of our previous updates, you know that moving and transitions have characterized the past 2 years of our lives. Well, not that the transitions have stopped, but we arrived back in Jamaica on September 7^th, and Lord Willing we will be staying at the Knockpatrick campus until our next visit to the states. This is a very different life for us as we are able to think beyond the next month and have some idea of the nature of our life. As mentioned previously, we are learning the realities of life with three young children while simultaneously experiencing the blessings. These new realities involve Drew going to school from 8-12 every day and he has loved every bit of this new affirmation that he is now a “big boy.” Truitt has continued to struggle in his understanding that sitting on the toilet is not just rest time, but there is business that must be done at that time. Last but not least, Daisha continues to grow and mature as she is sleeping through the night and entertaining herself better during the days. In all of the “whys” mentioned above, the blessing on our family has been profound and has only caused us to ask “why” are we so blessed.

I have started a new job within CCCD. Who would have known after I graduated with a degree in Agriculture Education, that the Lord would have put those plans on a 7-year hiatus? After my first job took me far from agriculture education and placed a new calling on our lives for troubled teens, we would not have thought that all of it would come back together. Now, I am functioning as an agriculture teacher, with some troubled teens, at CCCD. This is a startup program with aspirations of becoming a regular part of the school activities at CCCD. Due to the nature of agriculture and subsistence farming in Jamaica, CCCD has an interest in ensuring that the school’s graduates leave with at least a practical understanding of how to grow some of their own food. So, similar to other teachers, I have a class schedule in which different classes go down to the farm to work, learn, and practice different aspects of agriculture. While it is unsure exactly what the program will look like in six months, we pray that it will be a foundation to a productive and beneficial program for the benefit of the students at CCCD.

His ways are so far above ours. We are trying to get an understanding of how little we know of His ways and what that means in regards to our daily faith in our Lord. We appreciate your love and support so much. Please share with us your wisdom and counsel and let us know if you would like to hear more about any of the circumstances listed above. It is our prayer that the joy in the journey will remain as we learn patience and wait on the Lord to tie up the loose ends.

By His Grace! For His Glory!

Kirk, Keri, Drew, Truitt, and Daisha