November Update

Because Jamaica does not celebrate Thanksgiving, the Christmas season begins around the middle of November. This allows me the freedom to make the Christmas transition early and talk about the Good News of Great Joy! As people on mission, this is our rallying cry in the face of a world with big problems. I recently read an article that put a nice bow around this issue of Good News in the face of big problems. The author posed the question of whether we are the Church of God with a mission in the world or whether we serve a God of mission that has a Church in the world. Yeah, take a few minutes, ruminate on that idea. The first perspective puts us in the center of the issue; the second perspective puts Him in the center of the issue. Does this little word play really matter? We have seen the relevance of the difference played out in our lives as we have taken the first perspective only to become overwhelmed by the task that faces us. Quickly, as the author pointed out, we end up with “I bring you bad news of sad problems” This perspective “betrays with the sense that what is yet to be done is greater than what Christ has already done.” The God-centered perspective points us “to our privileged participation in the life-giving action of the triune God.” Motivation comes not only from our compassion, but from our pursuit of God and joining in that privileged participation. With this understanding, we can proclaim the Good News of Great Joy in a work that has already been done and a victory already won. Because the work has been done and the victory won, we have the necessary foundation with which to face the bad news of sad problems boldly with the Good News of Great Joy.

Ahh November, poor November. November seems stuck ruthlessly between the beauty of the October autumn and the anticipation of December’s Christmas. While we missed October’s beautiful autumn, we have been anxiously awaiting December’s Christmas. But, life carries on and we never want to waste days anticipating tomorrow. The beginning of November found us fellowshipping with a team from our sending church. They came down to see the projects, evaluate the work, and plan for the future. This time was very beneficial in that the fellowship was sweet and the discussions were profitable. We had been anticipating these meetings and they fully met our expectations. After they left, we ended up going through a small case of the blues as we came off of the high we experienced with their fellowship. We praise the Lord for answered prayers during this time.

The rest of November carried on as normal. Our school farm continues to grow slowly week by week. We have sweet potatoes, tomatoes, cabbage, pak choy, callaloo, cucumber, and some other seedlings growing. The rain of October has led us straight into a November drought, but we continue to plant in faith. We continue to have piglets born and our chickens are still cranking out eggs. Actually, our family also decided to get into the action with the first official production of Plattner Family Farms. With Drew and Truitt leading the charge, we bought 6 broiler chickens that we fed to be butchered. It was a successful project that yielded us 19 pounds of chicken, lots of laughs, and a good experience for two little boys. Daisha continues to melt our hearts as she is growing into quite the little lady. We are so thankful for God Blessing on our family.

We continue to walk forward in faith learning to trust in His goodness. We have alluded to question marks regarding the future of our work in Jamaica and we continue to have unanswered questions. But, we are encouraged as to the freedom we feel to continue to work through the process of discernment. The entire family has been counting the days until our return trip for Christmas. We look forward to seeing family and friends during the holidays. Thanks again for your love and support.

Blessings,
Kirk, Keri, Drew, Truitt, and Daisha