Seventh-day Adventist Churches

Since we arrived in September, we've been trying to visit all the Seventh-day Adventist churches here on the island.  Surprisingly for a small island, there are many S.D.A. churches. Mike thinks it's because people often walk or take buses to get to church, so they try to meet close to their homes.  That results in many small churches spread throughout the island.  We've had very positive experiences with each one of them so far.  It's pretty obvious to everyone that we are the visitors as soon as we step inside.  One kid even came up to me after a church service and kept touching my cheek and my arm.  I didn't think much of it until we got in the car later and Mike said, "We are probably the first Asians he ever talked to!"  It's a very interesting experience to be the minority.  

At the Old Road S.D.A. church.
They usually don't meet in the Elementary school, but it was a special Sabbath.

An amazing lunch provided by the church!
Not sure what they were, but we know that it was vegetarian and it tasted great! 

Cayon S.D.A. Church

The "Crusade" went on for six weeks!
All the churches came together to meet at the "tent" every Sabbath and a few nights a week.
Mike spoke every Wednesday night for a few minutes giving dental health advice.  

It's important to keep hydrating because it's still pretty hot under the tent!

Phillips-Molineux S.D.A. Church

Friendly kids at church.  They loved playing with Megumi.

The white building is the S.D.A. Sandy Point Zion church.  

Megumi, you are suppose to be paying attention to the Children's story!

Megumi seems to make friends the quickest our of the three of us.  As soon as we sit down, she is smiling and waving at people around her.  Often resulting in her "talking" to other kids, or forcing the person next to her to play a little game of "pass things back and forth".  One Sabbath, she walked up to the lady who was sitting in front of us and climbed onto her lap!  Megumi sat with her the whole church service.  Later we found out that she wasn't Adventist but had come to listen to the Crusade meeting.  I am thankful that God uses our little Megumi to provide us with opportunities to talk to people.    

We definitely miss Azure Hills church in California that we attended for the past four years.  But as I was reminded this morning at church, it's so neat to be a part of a global church.  I'm thankful we are able to get together with our "church family" all the way out here in the middle of the ocean to praise and worship God!  We are excited to continue visiting the different churches and to eventually find our "home" church.

"Romney Manor - Home of Caribelle Batik"

"Old Road"-on our way to Romney Manor!

Last Friday afternoon, our little family visited one of the popular tourist spots on the island: Romney Manor, home of Caribelle Batik.  "Batik", I've never even heard of the word until I came to St. Kitts.  Inside the store, we enjoyed the demonstration of how they use the hot wax and colorful dye to create patterns on the cloth.  The store is filled with beautiful pictures, bags, dresses, kids clothes, ties...all made of Batik.  It is a wonderful place to find little gifts from St. Kitts.   

 After walking through the store, we spent some time taking pictures in the beautiful surrounding.  Megumi had a blast running around in the grass.  I know that this sounds silly, but it's really hard to find a "park" here.  So it was such a treat for her to run around on the soft, green grass!

We can't wait to come back with friends.  I think a little shopping followed by a picnic outing would be a perfect afternoon.  We are trying to visit all the tourist spots before our family and friends come over (Hint Hint!).  Romney Manor will definitely be included in "The DuVall's St. Kitts Tour"!  

Thanksgiving...Island Style!

I've been meaning to post pictures from our Thanksgiving weekend for a while now.  Tonight is the perfect night for it.  Besides, I better post these pictures since Christmas is just around the corner!  This Caribbean weather is really throwing me off with my sense of time...

Our first Thanksgiving on the island did not start out well.  I came down with a fever the Saturday night before Thanksgiving.  For the next five days, I was on a soup diet since everything else hurt too much to swallow.  I was miserable.  I was homesick and I was keenly aware that my family and friends were miles away from me.  It's amazing how when you are physically not well, it puts a damper on your emotional and mental state.  Thankfully Megumi and Mike did not get as sick as I did.  Megumi only had a fever for a day and Mike had sore throat for couple days.  I realized "good health" is something our little family had taken for granted.  Not anymore.

Thanksgiving day was the first day after being sick that I was able to FINALLY eat something other than soup!  I think everything tasted EXTRA tasty.  Although they don't really celebrate Thanksgiving here in St. Kitts, we were invited to join a special Thanksgiving lunch at the Prep. School where I teach piano after school to few students.  Although we were all sweating, it was cozy and we enjoyed good food amongst great company!  It was a little strange that most of the people that attended the Thanksgiving lunch had to go back to work afterwards. (Not Mike though! The dental clinic was closed on Thursday and Friday.)

Although we were invited to another Thanksgiving dinner that evening, we decided to stay home and "take it easy" and enjoy a quiet family time.  Since we really didn't have time to prepare for a Thanksgiving dinner, we decided to forget the traditional food and make pizza!

                           

"Mom, are you going to share any of that with me?"

However, on Saturday evening Mike did have cravings for Thanksgiving food, so he made mashed potatoes, gravy, corn, green beans, and we had vegetarian hot dogs instead of turkey! (a little random I know but you have to be flexible when your choices are limited!)  Then I made pumpkin bread for dessert which we enjoyed with some vanilla ice-cream.  We concluded our weekend by listening to Christmas songs and writing Christmas cards while our ceiling fan kept us from sweating too much!    

Was it strange to spend Thanksgiving without our family? Yes.  It was strange and we definitely missed sitting around a big table with everyone.  However, our hearts were still filled with thanksgiving.  Although it almost felt like a regular day, perhaps that's how it's really suppose to be.

Everyday, we should count our blessings and remind ourselves of the ways God has been faithful in the past.  Everyday, we should give thanks to how He is faithful in the present.  Everyday, we should rejoice in how we can trust that He will continue to be faithful in the future.

It won't literally be Thanksgiving everyday (although that would be super cool!).  But at least I hope Mike and I can strive to build the "atmosphere of Thanksgiving" in our home...everyday.