Home!

     Well for any of you out there who are still following this blog even tho we are home...this goes out to you. Needless to say we are home. It's bitter sweet. We all feel like we have some underlying unfinished business to tend to. Sort of an obligation to our new found 2nd home in a sense. But at the same time, so nice to be home & see our family. The flight was a success, & despite a semi rocky beginning, so was the trip. Thank you to everyone who supported us, it was certainly encouraging to us to know ppl were thinking of us back home. So sadly this blog comes to a close, but this adventure is most definitely not our last.

Sincerely, Crapauds

Day 27 "Were goin' out with a Bang"

     So today, we decided to do something special in celebration to our wonderful stay in Dominica. We are going snorkeling! The Mikel's had reccommended we visit Champagne Beach. Its called Champagne Beach because the natural bubbles that come up from the ocean floor because of volcanic activity, make it look like your swimming in a champagne glass. Only problem was, after taking the bus there, we came to find out its closed for the month, accept for cruise ship days. Didn't leave us much to work with given its our last day. But Jemimah pulled a few strings & found a place we could rent the gear. Marchet wasn't digging the idea but today is when shes getting her hair done. We are anxious to see it. Special shout out to clingtomemories and jgall927...who are you?

Day 26 "Hate Goodbyes"

     We went to meeting today. Bev interpreted the Public talk, i looked up the scriptures for her, & Alyssa & Marchet glossed the Watchtower. It went very well. Its a shame that just when we start to get the hang of things, we have to leave. The fact that we leave in two days is finally sinking in. After meeting we said our goodbyes to the ones we wouldnt see for the rest of the stay. Exchanged information, & snapped some pictures. Were really going to miss everyone.  They all want to know when we are coming back...hopefully real soon.
     After that we walked half of the way home & then ran into Brother Thomas who took us up the rest of the hill. Saved my life. We went upstairs around 2:00 for a goodbye lunch with the Thomas' and the Anthonys'. It was delicious & then we talked for awhile afterwards.
     We said our goodbyes and went back downstairs & relaxed.

Day 26 "Mero BBQ"

This morning we went out in service in Jimmit @ Naima's house. It rained pretty hard for awile but it felt good because of the heat. We covered the territory pretty quickly & after that we went home to wait for a bus to pick us up & take us to Mero Beach for the BBQ brother & sister Harps planned. It was so wonderful & such a nice group of ppl. We swam, & ate till we felt like we were gonna pop. Well, at least i did. We did some exploring around piers in the water & saw some awesome fish. We met a korean bro from cali named John. He was cool & seemed to get our humor which was nice. After a little while we all practiced singing the new kingdom melodies...will definitely need more practice.  Sister Harps printed out the lyrics so we could sing along. We did some more swimming & then had a "hard core" :) game of boys vs. girls volley ball game...with no net.  There was a lot of  shouting, alot of cheating, & a ton of laughing. It was hilarious. The boys "beat" us. So to redeem our selves we had a relay race in which the boys got wrecked. We watched the sun set & i pet some more pups that were begging on the beach. I've gotten some sort of reputation with the animals i guess. Its hard not to though, they are everywhere. Very cute. We waited for brother Hogan the bus driver to come pick us back up & take us home. It was an awesome day. Ill post pictures later. Didn't get to download yet.

Day 25

     We woke up super early & saw ourselves out of Jeff & Sangs so we could catch a bus in time. From Castle Bruce we met up with Christine from Ports Mouth, about an hour away. With her she took us to meet some of her friends along with her hair dresser who is deaf. His name was Philsber & he was so awesome. He knew probably the most sign out of every one we met. He asked Marchet if she wanted to get her hair done for very cheap. We all said go for it & we cant wait to see what it looks like. Shes getting it done monday.
     We met another deaf girl, and talked for awile. After that Christine took us to her place and fed us & gave us each something she hand weaved herself. She was just so hospitible. We loved her. We gave big hugs goodbye & got a bus back 2 Roseau to meet sister Feagin who made plans to take us to a spa. (every body needs a little pampering right?)
     The spa she wanted to take us to was closed till October! perfect timing, but she took us to another one right next door which to me was so gorgeous. A remote setting in the jungle with 3 hot sulpher spring pools to choose from. There was a little river right below that lyss & i crawled down into to cool off & got our feet nibbled on by tiny little fish. The woman "Tia" who owned the spa had a little black & white pit puppy who was probably the cutest thing iv ever seen. It was hard not to take the puppy & run. Just kidding. I also saw down by the pools, a little cat crying. I sat on the ground & it imediately crawled up into my lap & started kneeding my legs. I pet her for awile, gave her one of sister Feagins crackers which she gnawed on & then headed back to the car. The spa was wonderful & we felt like a million bucks afterwards. We slept like rocks. Again.

Day 24 "Rough Waters"

     Today i woke up freakishly early (as usual) to crying outside the window. I walked out the back door to see 2 little puppies shuffling around in the dirt. Couldn't have been more than a couple weeks old. They were so adorable & mom was no where in sight so i picked them up & they franticly started sucking my thumbs off. They just needed a little tlc because after that they zonked out in my lap. My legs were falling asleep & there were literally ants in my pants so i put them in a box with a crumpled up blue tarp lying around.

     It was time to get ready for service so we ate breakfast & headed out to the territory. It was so hot & i wore a very sweat-revealing shirt which was not a good idea. We did a little bit of english but then all 4 of us went to meet a deaf girl Germaine. She was so sweet & we got to talk to her for a little while. Her grandmother made us thee best guava juice ever. She also gave us some cinnamon. & we met a guy with probably the coolest shirt we've ever seen. Look @ the picture!!!

     After service, Sang took us to the beach right below their house. It was the Atlantic so it was rougher & pretty scary @ some parts, but totally awesome. Snapped some pix, rode some waves & went back home to eat. We talked even more & really got to know Jeff & Sang a little better. They are awesome. We were all beat so we hit it.

Swimming through there was kinda scary

Day 23 "Stupid Buses"

     We got a bus to Craib Territory today. We went to Roseau, found the bus, but proceeded to sit on it for about an hour & some before we even left. Poor planning on our part, but alot of the times its unavoidable. Many of the buses dont leave until they are completely full. So we arived a tad late, but everything worked out ok. We met up with a missionary brother from the Marigot congregation, Todd Gibson. He's who took us out in the service. He took us back to the special needs school that we had made plans to visit back on.
     There were some new kids, some we already met. Axel, the teacher, welcomed us in. Even though he preferred us not to use the Learn from the Great Teacher Book, he had a copy of the dvd in asl, if ever he changed his mind. We did a little review of what we taught them last time & also some new signs. Everyone really seemed to appreciate it and we truely had so much fun. Bev did alot of cheezy acting which they loved. We were sad to leave but we didn't want to wear out our welcome. We said our goodbyes and after that, brother Gibson let us stop @ some stands in Castle Bruce where they make beautiful hand made baskets & other things. It was hard to decide.
    Next stop was Jeff & Sang Mikel's who we had arranged to stay over with for a little while. We put our things our room & crashed. We listened to some of the new Kingdom Melodies on Jeff's laptop, ate dinner, & then headed to meeting awaiting our demonstrations Jeff asked us to present that day! The meeting was held at sister Duran's home in Petite Soufriere. We walked part of the way & then packed about 11 or 12 friends into a pick up truck the rest of the way. There were 20 or so ppl in the tiny room, but it was such an intimate setting being with such a small group of wonderful ppl we weren't even nervous for our parts which went well by the way. Some of the meeting was read in Creole as well to accomodate everyone which was awesome too. After that we went back to Jeff & Sangs, talked for awhile & hit the hay for alot of walking the next day.

Day 22

Today was service in Salisbury. We met two deaf and placed two books with a really nice man.

Day 21

So today we did a little bit of desperately needed grocery shopping. After check out we realized we forgot a few things & had to go back inside. In the mean time Bev took a little stroll into rituals & picked up a DOZEN donuts. Needless to say we were in heaven when we went home. After that we just chilled at home. Resting up for service tomorrow.

Day 20

     Today at the meeting, two deaf ppl came. Rolston & Ally. Bev & Alyssa interpreted the watchtower, which went very well since we had a little more of an idea what to expect. Brother Harps invited us to a bbq on Mero beach on Saturday. It should be awesome since yesterday was wonderful. The water was perfect temperature & you could walk out far & still only be up to your waist.
     Anyways we are sitting in Rituals again :) I believe we are going to miss this place. Perhaps we'll visit again some day.

Day 19

We finally got to go to the beach! The brothers and sisters had told us about a beach about 20 minutes away from our house, Mero Beach... so today we decided to go check it out.  It  was awesome.  Most of the beaches here are black sand beaches and on our side of the island it is the Caribbean so it is very smooth.  The locals say the other side of the island has "rough waters" cause it is the Atlantic.  We were literally in the water for about four hours, it was great.  Even Marchet went in the water...and she liked it...gasp!  We had to take lots of pictures to prove it.

Day 17

So today only alyssa & i went out in service today. Bev & Marchet were not feeling so hot. But it went well. I got to work with sister Harp & Alyssa got to work w sister Alavoche. We did english service today since no one meets today for sign. No outstanding experiences but it's nice to see the difference in ppl you meet in the field away from home. Some similarities but also many differences. We are currently sitting in the air conditioned, wifi available, donut filled cafe "Rituals." Much like a starbucks. & officially our new favorite place to stop. We have yet to do some shopping while were down here but im looking forward to it since they have some really neat things. Just very expensive depending on where you shop, or if u get snookered by the cheap skates on the streets. Gotta hand it to em tho, they're good...
     Meeting tonight & hopefully more service tomorrow. We hafta make the plans still. Will try to blog more tomorrow!

Day 16

Today was awesome! We finally made it to Carib Territory and met up with Sister Joan Gordon who practically knows everyone who lives in the territory.  We had made plans to meet with the deaf and blind girl and her brother so we first went there to speak with them.  They were really happy to see us and it was really nice teaching the boy about becoming God's friend and that God has a name.  He didn't know how to spell or write his name, so we taught him how and it was sweet he was too embarrassed to practice writing his name in front of us so he would go in his room and write his name and then come out and show us.  He had participated in the Special Olympics and had won a few medals and he was so proud of them that he wanted to show us all of his awards and medals.  After talking with them, we went to the school where we had planned to meet their mom, Stephanie.  This school is a one room schoolhouse that helps disabled kids whether physically or mentally.  Stephanie's grandson who is also deaf, attends here with three other deaf kids.  We didn't know that the teacher of the school is a pastor and Stephanie had arranged for us to speak at the school, which we also didn't know, so we really didn't know what to expect when we got to the school.  It ended up turning out really nice.  We gave the teacher the God's Friends and the Learn from the Great Teacher dvd which he will hopefully use in the class.  He then let us teach the 12 or 13 kids some signs.  Natalie drew pictures on the chalkboard of animals, trees, plants, the sun, moon...and Beverly taught the kids the signs.  Alyssa helped a boy with Down Syndrome learn the signs, and Marchet helped a girl who was very shy and embarrassed to try to sign.  It was so sweet to see them all trying to learn the signs.  They all seemed really happy to have us there.  For the first visit we didn't want to push it too much with the Bible so we only taught them what the sign is for Bible.  Then Sister Gordon asked if it would be ok if we came back next week to which the teacher agreed.  So we are all really excited to go back to the school next week to teach the kids some more signs and hopefully teach them about the Bible too. 

Day 15

So we were supposed to go to the other side of the island today and stay with a couple who live out there, but their car had broke down and it would be better for them if we came next week.  But either way tomorrow we are supposed to go to Carib Territory and visit a family with two deaf kids and the girl who is deaf and blind, so hopefully we can get a bus out there since we had tried last week and our plans were foiled when we couldn't get a bus.  We are trying to stay positive since a few days that we were supposed to go in service our plans got changed or the weather was bad.  Today we also made plans to go in service next week with Kimmer, a sister who works at a coffee shop in Roseau that we have been frequenting when we come to grocery shop, and are currently blogging at. 

Day 12

We finally got to go out in service today, since we were stuck in the apartment for a few days because of the tropical storm.  There was a really nice group out and even though we worked English territory we got to visit a few towns we hadn't been to yet and we got to put our feet in the ocean at Mero Beach.

Middleham Falls

     So yesterday (9-6-09) definitely topped the other days we've been here. Including Emerald Pool. Yea i said it.  We went to meeting where Marchet had to interpret part of the watchtower study and did awesome! We also had made arrangements 2 meet up w/ "Vince" for a hike up Middleham Falls.  We left around 2:30 & picked up a few others along the way. All in all we had about 10 ppl. Its about 4 miles from Roseau (Ro-zo) or (Ruzo) (iv heard it both ways) & Roseau is not too far from where we were staying. You could feel it get cooler the higher we went up which was very refreshing & we would get minny downpours for about 2 minutes off & on. So really you couldnt tell the difference between rain & sweat.Vince was a very good tour-guide, made sure everyone was safe & together. It was actually tougher than i thought it was gonna be but awesome all at the same time. It was only a little more than 5 miles there & back but the terrain was pretty rugged & slipperier (is that a word?) than ice because of all the moss & rain. Bev & both fell. It was hilarious. Her's was not as funny as mine since i only fell on my behind which was probably the safest spot for me to fall if ya know what i mean. She on the other hand wiped out on some rocks & cut her knee up nicely. But anyway, about ten minutes into the hike, we detoured a tiny bit to a place ppl call the "stinky hole" i believe.

      The closer we got, the more appropriate the name became. It was an underground cave with hundreds of bats. Not everyone would be as xcited as we were but i think bats are awesome, the presents they left, not so much.  After that it was more slipping and crawling and scaling and climbing till we finally could hear the falls. As we got closer there was a deck built that would stood on for a gorgeous view of Middleham falls, which im sorry, blew Emerald out of the water. No pun intended.
     It was definitlely more hard core. So if ur not too into hard core, than i wouldnt recommend it. After the deck we had to climb down the rocks & jump into the water. Very deep water. & climp to the other side into the little cave on the left (you can see it in the picture) & jump off up higher.

      It was so much fun. It felt like a helicopter was landing in the water, the fall was so windy. We did a few jumps & set back off up the mountain. We attempted to make it back before dark but that didn't really work out as planned. Navigating in the dark was sort of a nightmare but we made it happen. Suprisingly wiped out more on the way to the falls than on the way back in the dark. That's sad. Before we left we stopped once more @ the stinky hole in time for the bats to come pouring out. Some of them would bump into you but mostly you could just here them wizzing by your ears. I just managed to snap an ok picture of one. They're pretty fast.

    But yes we finally made it to the car, soaked, & pretty beat. But it was an awesome day. (Oh, and no, Marchet did not come, she wasn't feeling good, but i think home was a good idea for her this time. )

     We slept like babies last night. Best day ever!

We've lost track...

     So we officially don't like hurricanes.  We've been in the apartment for about 4 days in a row and very happy 2 be out finally. Sunday Bev, Alyssa, and Marchet had to interpret at the meeting which was very nerve wracking!  On Monday Jemimah, a sister from the congregation took us in service in Grand Bay.  Jemimah is one of the sisters in the hall who is involved in sign language so she introduced us to several deaf in the town.  We also worked with Vanessa and Lizzy, a mom and really cute daughter who we had a lot of fun with.  Sitting outside the Kingdom Hall, the weather is very nice.  We were without electric and running water for a little while which can be difficult with 4 girls in a confined space with mainly cookies starburst as are staple foods. But regardless we made the best of it. We serinaded the neighbors no doubt with Kingdom Melodies & Bev & i hand crafted a parchisi board out of paper doctored with medical tape & dry erase markers. As players we used earrings, peanuts, batteries & gum wrappers. (we were desperate) I will blog more later. We hafta go in for meeting now!

Day 5

     Today was absolutely awesome! Sister Alexis picked us up today and drove us all around the island.  It was amazing.  We drove up the coast to Portsmouth and met some of the friends up there.  The one sister took us around the market and bartered with the locals for some cheap produce. Most definitely no more breezy mart for us. We got mango's, bah-nah-nahs :) fresh baked bread, sugar cane, & a whole bunch of other things. After that we were off. It was a jam-packed day. We went on a search for mango's to pick rather than pay (foraging is the way-2go) but unfortunately the only one left was not ripe. Apparently we are not the only ones with the same idea. In the mean time we got stuck behind an extremely long & loud line of cars trucks buses etc advertising a phone company & the legendary Kubuli beer, Dominica's pride & joy. I've heard it's gross..

     After that we had the most amazing lunch @ a missionary sister's home above the Kingdom Hall in Portsmouth. The breeze on the porch was heavenly. She made us plantains, sweet potatoes, rice & beans. It was what we all needed since were all working the bugs out as regards the planning of lunches & dinners....literally. Staying as long as we could, we snapped some pictures & headed over to the Caribb Teritory which was by far the most beautiful place i have ever seen. The ppl are naturally shy but extremely hospitable once they feel comfortable. Caribb Territory is actually the place where most of the cities in Dom get their souvenirs from. They weave baskets & carve designs into coconuts, they are gorgeous. In Caribb territory we visited a blind & deaf girl. Both of her 2 brothers are deaf as well. She was so sweet & very happy to see us. We made arrangements with Stephanie her mom to meet her another day & a new school for special education where her daughter goes to help her with tactiling. After that we met another sister who we will try to meet up with for service later in the week & then we met Jeff & Sang from Castle Bruce. They had a beautiful view & one of the only white beaches on the island. Most are black because it's volcanic sand. By the way all the volcanoes are dormant & the moment thankfully. But anyways we made arangements as well to meet up with them next next tues. Hopefully do a beach day all day, sleep over, and then do service all the next day. Last but most definitly not least, we were off to Emerald Pool. Normally foreigners have to pay but since we went so late in the day they let us in for free.  We hiked down a path in the mountain & finally got down to the bottom.  The water was chilly but wonderful since we pretty much were soaked to begin with in sweat. Bev was the first to jump in. I was too busy taking pictures. Then Alyssa. Then me. Sister Alexis & Marchet volunteered to watch from a safe distance...

     It was so pretty tho. We could only stay for a little since it was getting really dark & the hike up is about 15 minutes & there's no way were getting back alive in the dark. We had about an hours drive home & we were all beat. But 2day was wonderful. Were all sleeping good 2night.

Bev with another Beverly (there are actually many Beverly's on the island) in the Caribb Territory.

Emerald Pool. A picture just doesnt do it justice. It was beautiful