Small Up Yuhself

It's been a year. One whole year. Actually, a year and one day as I write this.  A year since we said goodbye to family and close friends.  A year since we became temporary residents of another country.  The process of getting here started months before this anniversary, and what a whirlwind that was! But one year ago things changed in a big way.  Bigger than any of our other prior changes, and we've had a LOT of changes. We packed up, sold most everything we owned, stored the rest and made the move to Jamaica.   We honestly had no idea what to expect.  Adria told me the other day she thought there wasn't going to be cars and roads and big buildings.  She thought it was just going to be jungle.  Sorry kid, we may have let you down in that department, but I sure am glad we have those things!!  We were nervous about the uncertainty, but excited for the adventure, knowing that God had opened all the right doors, and closed others, that allow...

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year to you all!   We had the extreme pleasure of spending the holidays with family and friends in Alaska and Oregon.  The girls got to experience Alaska snow (for the first time!!), sledding, playing on a frozen lake, and drinking lots of hot chocolate by the fire.  We went to the Christmas Eve service in Anchorage where we felt right at home with everyone wearing their Sunday best - jeans, yoga pants, ugly but practical shoes, and right leaning political clothing.  Gotta love Anchorage!  Then, we spent time in Oregon catching up with all our friends and spending time with Jeromee's entire family - first time ever that all the siblings with their spouses were together.  However, after all our traveling, I was happy to wake up on our first morning back to the sun and 75 degree weather.  No seasonal affective disorder down here!  After almost a year down here, we are finally starting the build out project in Monte...

  So its been 3 months since my last post....and I am staring at the computer wondering what to write.  I'm going to be honest, the reason I have been hesitant to post is because I just don't know what to say.  God is doing amazing things down here through our organization, but I don't feel like I should be taking any credit or praise because sometimes life here is just hard.  And sometimes I am selfish, and I miss my comforts of the US.  And sometimes (many times) God works in spite of me.  Thank goodness God is a loving, merciful God.  But as time passes and we settle into a routine, it is starting to feel more normal, more like home.  There are so many times that Jeromee and I have to say to each other, that's just the way it is down here.  But we are accepting it more and more.  Thankfully, the kids have just fallen right into normal life.  They have best friends, they have sports, and they love living here.  For that, I am...

Hi All!  Sorry it has been awhile...the girls finished up school for the summer - at the very end of June!  And then we took a trip to visit family in Alaska.  We are now back on the island, ready for a new chapter now that I am doing cataract surgery in addition to everything else.  We are also starting to work on building out a new facility close to home for operating and making glasses, which Jeromee is helping to oversee - or at least he will be once the kids get back in school.  But I wanted to share a cool story with you. I recently saw a sweet old lady after having had cataract surgery.  When she had surgery done, the team that was in gave her a little wooden cross necklace.  She said to me "I don't really like Jesus and I was not happy when they put that cross around my neck.  But now my vision is so good!  It is a miracle!  And now I love Jesus and I always wear my cross!!"  How amazing is that!?!  Makes all the day t...

  This past weekend was the culmination of much preparation here in Jamaica.  My role here is to be a constant ophthalmology presence for challenging cases and to provide laser therapy and surgery, both of which have only been offered when teams from the states come and visit.  Of course, when they come, they also bring all their staff and all their own supplies.  This meant that I had to train staff and somehow find a way to get all the supplies.  I have two wonderful Jamaican ladies who have been learning the material on how to be an OR nurse and have been observing the teams that come down.  Sourcing supplies has been a huge hurdle, but we have managed to find some things on the island and then have others bring in what we need.  So, after months of preparation, a very generous and talented ophthalmologist came down with tons of supplies and 2 nurses to help get us up and running and train me on how to handle the very difficult cataracts that we see...

Well, we have hit the 2 month mark here in Jamaica.  We are starting to settle into a routine here and are making friends at our church.  The girls are now enjoying school, and both are doing very well.  Adria has a few girls that she hangs out with while Lorelle is friends with everyone in the school.  It helps that she is the smallest in the school and loves to hug everybody.  Jer and I have been fighting off a nasty cold for the past 2 weeks.  Turns out all illnesses here are called the "flu" so when I kept telling everyone that I don't have the flu, only a cold, I got some pretty weird looks.    The rainy season has hit, which means it rains nearly every night, but usually the mornings are pleasant.  We get lots of thunder storms, which are pretty fun to watch.  We are also learning to cook Jamaican foods and have been buying new things at the market.  Last night, we had curry with cho cho, which I thought kind of tasted like a...