Blog by Pictures :)

School of Global Leadership

After baptism, all the pastors come out holding hands.

Bayshore Wedding! Randy, Arlene and their beautiful children.

Me eating the famous Bake N Shark sandwich.

This seems odd to me. (L) Avocado (R) Banana

Preparations for a Hindu ceremony.

Tyler and Marlin at the Tunapuna soup kitchen. Marlin leads the youth.

At a look out point in Port of Spain

Tyler astonished by the 10th largest Hindu god in the world.

It's rainy season!!

Care for some crab?

Coconut plantation at the southern end of the island.

That's my God right there

And part of His creation. He is amazing!

Hot

Yesterday was the second coolest day temperature-wise since we have been here. I was 77 degrees! Some days I think Facebook is not so much a blessing when I read the things like how beautiful the fall colors are. I am not too sad that I am missing them. What I am sad about is that I miss them and then have to return to Iowa in the frigid snow. The day I leave in December, I will be leaving mid-80s in the morning and be slapped with who know how cold by night. Crazy!

Today we went to my favorite place, Bayshore! This little church is so fun to be a part of. On Thursday, we usually go to Bayshore in the afternoon and help school children ages 7 and up with their homework. This is definitely something I have started to look forward to each week. There is one young lady that I get to help with math homework every week. Love it! Today when we went, Ty had his usual backpack full of books, games, and toys, but today was the first time he brought it into the area where the kids were doing homework. We had quite a crowd gathered to see the contents of his pack. Then after he was done showing everything, a few girls asked if I would go through it and show everything that he had gotten in the US and everything that was bought in Trinidad. Then one of the girls asked if the US has everlasting gum. I said yes but it's not really everlasting... I think I should have just left it at yes... Poor girl was very disappointed.

Tomorrow... Today... However you want to look at it. Every other Friday we make a nice little drive to Tunapuna to help at a soup kitchen. I also get to choose somewhere to go after we are done at the soup kitchen. I would realllllllllllly love to go hiking and check out some of the caves on the island but I really want to do that when we have a full day to do so. There is a McDonalds that just opened up north of Tunapuna and I am wondering if they have iced coffee. :) I can't believe that McDs came to the island a while ago and closed down due to lack of success yet you can find a KFC, Subway or Pizza Hut just about anywhere.

Soon I hope to put on here some of the things I have learned or ways in which I feel I have grown. For now, early morning come too fast... Good night to all and God bless!

Praying Hands

Yay, we finally have internet at the house! Hopefully this means I will be able to blog a lot more. I have to get some homework done but wanted to share this little story from yesterday.

Yesterday sometime in the morning, I was in a hurry to get the garbage out before the garbage men came. It had just rained so the dirt incline to the road was a little slick. I really didn't think anything of it. I put my flip flops (slippers as they are called here) on, grabbed the trash and went to put the trash in it's place. On the way back down, I slipped on a very muddy spot, bent in an awkward position and heard my back crack. My back has been hurting for a week, so my initial reaction was hopeful that the pop I had heard was going to make my back feel better. I came inside, sat down to work with Ty on his homework, and the pain just started rippling through my body. So much for making things better.

Angie gave me some anti-inflammatory cream and I took some ibuprofen which I believe both helped but definitely didn't get rid of the pain. When we got to class yesterday after devotions, Pastor Mike asked Renae (a wonderful woman of the Lord who is with us for just a few more days) if she would pray for my back. She agreed and when the time came, she walked over to me and layed her hands on me and started praying. Here is my favorite part... one I don't recall has ever happened yet. As Renae was praying, Tyler came up beside me. Usually he will talk in my ear or ask for something... sometimes a distraction. Well yesterday, he walked over to me and placed his hands on me and I could hear him very quietly praying asking God to heal my back. I can't put into words how beautiful that was to me.

I am happy to say that though my back is not 100%, it does feel soooo much better and I know this is only because of prayer!!

NEW!

I would just like to say that I really wish I could do this more often but so far it just hasn't worked out. Now it has been a while since I have posted a new blog so where do I begin?

Ty got invited to a birthday party this past Saturday which was an answer to my prayers. I was a little worried about him communicating but I knew he needed some kid time. He came back completely excited about stories of the kids. Bouncy houses are big here so there was one of those to play on. He insists that everyone speaks Spanish even though I tell him over and over that he is really hearing English. So one of his stories was of all the kids at the top of the bouncy house getting ready to go on the slide. Quite a few of the kids were at the top ready to go down and apparently a girl budged in front of Tyler. He said they were all telling him to let her go down, but the hardest part for him was that they were all speaking Spanish. Oh this makes me laugh every time I think of him telling me. Even the lady we live with, he insists while he is talking to her that she is speaking Spanish. Thankfully she always seems to enjoy her conversations with him.

Angie also seems to enjoy buying new foods when she goes out. She has come home several times with something new for Brandi and I to try. The other day for breakfast she made us roti and bodi. There are a fe different forms of Roti. This one was like a pita bread. Bodi is a very long green bean. She cut the bodi up and put in onions and potatos and a few other things I'm sure. Most everything has a little curry powder in it. I really liked it, but when I sat down to eat it I started filling the pita with bodi. I watched Angie eat for a minute and then picked up my pita stuffed with bodi. I had to ask... She and I were eating this breakfast differently so I asked, "Am I eating this like a typical American would?" She smiled and said yes. Most of the time when there is a tortilla or pita bread, it is used in place of a spoon. You pinch what you will eat inside the tortilla.

A few days ago, for our Sunday morning service we went to Bayshore. Bayshore is a squater community made up of... I'm not sure what to call them... huts. Very small homes serving very basic needs. Most of the people in this village are Rastafareans. Many do not have jobs. It's a very poor area and the church that has been established at Bayshore is doing and will continue to do amazing things there. The couple that got married had been together for 16 years and had 5 children. After coming to know the Lord they felt led to get married. This is huge for that community. Hopefully they will be an example to many who live with and are not married to their signifant other. Brandi and I will get to be a part of tutoring some kids there and this is something that I am really looking forward to.

Yesterday we had a beach day, we went to Maracas which is on the north shore of the island. This area is a little more touristy so beaches are nice... Just lots of touristy things there. I ate a shark sandwich from bake and shark. It was pouring on our way to Maracas so we were wondering if we would be able to swim or not. After driving and debating we decided to swim with a little rain. I bought a small innertube for Ty so I could take him to deeper parts of the water. He loved that and I loved taking him out there. The waves were good size and strong enough to knock us over near the shore. I LOVE the water so to me it was sooo fun! It was an amazing day of laughing and being carefree. Definitely need that with new experiences.

Ok, I could go on and on but would like to email my daddy right now... or upload more pictures.

First Few Days

I have attempted to get another post up before this one, but either didn't feel like writing or didn't feel I could share at the time what I was feeling.

We went to a few grocery stores on Tuesday and did some exploring of the island. The two main stores we went to were identical to Sam's Club and Walgreens. I am surprised to find that most things are just a little more expensive here than in the US except for gasoline. Since this is a major gas producing hub... or maybe oil drilling area, gas is around 80 cents per gallon. If you're looking for a restroom you won't find one... Seek a washroom. With Tyler this is crucial information, because I am always asking where the washroom is.

Wednesday was our church picnic. I was extremely anxious about this simply because I always get freaked out when I know I am going to meet a bunch of new people. I just felt really stressed out. I hadn't even looked at Tyler's homeschool books yet. I am extremely protective of my child and I have just been very concerned about him here. He stands out in a crowd. During our morning devotion time, it hit me that what I was struggling with was control. Control with my child. In the states, it is so easy to say yes Lord, I surrender my child to you. I trust in you to take care of him. I feel like I was going through the motions. Here, I feel like I don't have a choice but to completely surrender my child to my Lord. We could encounter dangerous situations here and I may not be able to do anything about it, but no matter where we are, in asking and praying I know God will keep Tyler much safer than I could ever dream.

So the picnic wasn't too bad. Right after we got there, I had to find the washroom for Ty. :) And when we came back Mike, Pam and Brandi had disappeared... saying hello to everyone. I know we were in a group of amazing Christians, but this was almost overwhelming for me. Ask my mother... I'd still be glued to her hip at social events at the age of 26! We spotted our little group and joined them to view our lunch options. I don't have my little lunch option card thingy that we were given so I don't remember what all the options were. I do remember one was bbq chicken, french fries, salad, and a drink which is what everyone but Pastor Mike and I got. We had paratha (sp?) and curried goat or chicken. I had chicken and Mike had goat. It comes with a big roll of something like tortilla and there was also pumpkin and mango, both seasoned. You use pieces of tortilla to pick up the other parts of the food. Oh I forgot, there was also a potato mixture... All very good. The curried chicken and mango were slightly spicy but very good! Tyler ate french fries. The boy he was sitting with had a Nintendo DS so I am lucky he even ate fries. There was also a bounce house that he spotted the minute we arrived, so eating for him was last priority. I don't know if he has ever had barbequed chicken. I pulled the leg from the thigh for him and when I licked my hands it tasted delicious but he wasn't too sure about it.

Thursday was beach day. We drove to the north west end of the island which is a couple hours drive. We had KFC for lunch which is very popular here. We met up with a family Pastor (can't remember his name!!) and his wife Sandra and their two boys Christian and Timothy. They were all so nice. It was very fun hearing their stories of their visit to the states. On our way to the beach, we were in bumper to bumper stop and go traffic... so slow!!! Then we came around a corner to see that there had been a mudslide on the opposite side of the road and they were using that lane to clean up and repair the damages, so it was one lane through there. I know that can happen in different parts of the states but not in IOWA! Haha! There were a ton of stairs to get down to the beach but it was postcard beautiful. It was so nice to just float in the water and check out the surroundings.

Yesterday, we spent a great deal of time in the car. We went and picked out bunk beds, bought sheets, towels, trash cans... everything one might need one moving to a new place. What a long day! But very fun too. It is so much fun being out and looking at all the different things. After many hours of shopping, we came home, made dinner and then played a few games. It's not hard to get Tyler to sleep these days... or myself for that matter.

Well, off to wake up my sleeping little man so we can get the day started. I hope to keep everyone updated even if it ends up being about once a week!

Blessings!!

The Last Thing I Expected

So most of you know that I missed my flight the other day, but not everyone knows why. On my way to the airport, after declaring that I hadn't forgotten anything at home, I realized that I had left my wallet. It had Tyler's birth certificate in it which I was told was pretty important to bring. We were almost to the airport so turning around wasn't an option. Mom called Aunt Debbie, who is always awake before the sun comes up, but she didn't answer. The first person that answered the phone was my dear old grandpa. Bless his heart, the man was up, but I knew my chances of getting my wallet delivered before my flight were very slim. Then Mom got ahold of Uncle Jimmy, who is very capable of driving (and moving) at a much faster speed than Gramps. I'm not sure of the exact time that Ma got in touch with Jimmy... Maybe 5:45ish... My flight was leaving the terminal at 7. After getting all of my bags checked in, I was hoping and praying that Jimmy would make it to the airport on time without getting pulled over. At 6:45 he hadn't arrived yet so I headed up the stairs to go through security. Right as we got to the passport checker, over the PA came "Last call for Jacquelynn Higgins and Tyler Harris". I told the guy that that was us and he said, "Well better hurry", yet offered no assistance in helping us hurry.

Just after going through the big body scan thing, my mom gave my wallet to one of the security guys and they delivered it to me. I didn't get a chance to say good bye; I couldn't even see her to wave good bye. Not to mention we didn't have time. We got our shoes on and ran (as fast as possible with the 50lbs of books and other "necessary" stuff I was carrying). Our gate was the last, and I saw only Continental attendants sitting around when we got closer. Before we reached them they declared that our flight had already left. I was in shock... This was not MY plan for the day. How could this have happened?? I started crying. One of the ladies handed me an 800 number for Continental and told me to see what they could do. The line was so busy that hold wasn't an option. It stated to call back later. Again a little panic set in. I had another flight to catch in Houston. How was  I going to get to Trinidad now??? The ladies at the desk also told me that there were no more flights on continental going to Houston. GREAT!!!

I sent my ma a text and let her and pop know this horrible news. Back down the escalators we went where they were again standing. The man that helped me get my tickets printed when I first arrived, took one look at me, and possibly even smiling... said, "You missed your flight, didn't you?!" I didn't have to answer. He knew. He immediately set out to get a new flight itinerary for us. After what felt like forever to me (really 45 minutes) he had routed us from Des Moines, to Dallas, Dallas to Miami, and Miami to Trinidad. I wasn't too excited about all the changing of planes, but very happy to know we would still be flying out that day. Then it occured to me that Brandi, the other person taking SGL, was going from Miami to Trinidad at the same time as my flight. I laughed at the possibility that we might have ended up together the whole trip. I know God does some crazy things, but really? After getting a proper good bye from the parents Ty and I headed back through security. This time not so rushed. After finding our gate, I sent Brandi a text to let her know that I missed my flight, and also to see what her itinerary looked like. Her responce... Des Moines to Dallas, Dallas to Miami, Miami to Trinidad. NO WAY!! We met up after she got through security and I was finally able to relax a little.

I was assured by the Continental angel that my luggage would still be traveling to Trinidad and would arrive hours before me. I was quite nervous that I would be living in the clothes I had on for a few weeks. Once we landed in Trinidad and got through customs in record time, I set out on my mission to find my luggage. I went to the Continental desk and told them that I had missed my flight earlier in the day and that my luggage had arrived hours before me. The guy at the desk pulled out a notebook where names were written of luggage that hadn't been claimed. My name was not on the list. The guy then took my luggage tags that I had been given in Des Moines. Nope. Still no match. The guy said sorry we have no record of your luggage. AAAAHHH!!!! What?? Really?? I did not want to hear that. Then another employee walked up to the counter and the guy that was helping me asked the other if he knew of any unclaimed luggage. He stepped aside of some bags that were neatly stacked on a luggage cart and said, "What about these?". I couldn't believe it... There sat all of my suitcases. Oh thank you sweet Jesus. That was my thought for quite a while.

I couldn't believe the day. I know looking back that my Lord was right in the middle of it the whole time, of course. Pam (who I am staying with in Trinidad) was very worried about Brandi and I traveling by ourselves. Brandi had never been out of the country before, and usually when she flies she take Dramamine. She wasn't looking forward to flying alone. I am still at this moment in awe of how everything worked out not by MY planning but just the way my GOD wanted it to. Awesome!

Two days....

Hey peeps! Thanks for checkin out my blog. In just a few days, Tyler and I will be a few thousand miles away from everything familiar to us. For all the friends and family that are excited or worried about us leaving, I thought I would keep a little journal on here about everything we get to experience. I know School for Global Leadership is going to me an amazing growth opportunity spiritually and I hope I convey that through my future blogs. Keep us in your prayers!