For some reason the words to the song "Count your Blessings Instead of Sheep" filled my mind. It is from one of our favorite Christmas movies...appropriately called White Christmas. As I laid in bed last night, hot, sticky, and kinda exhausted from the thought of still no running water, I reminded myself that I have so many blessings I should be dwelling on. I'm so very thankful for my big safe home. .. my beautiful family....and my wonderful visiting friends. I really could go on and on. Forgive me, Dear Lord, so many have it far worse then I.
Bathtime was a little interesting last night. Josh and his friend, T.J., had filled several containers and buckets for us...some salt water and some "fresh". We used the salt water to flush the toilets. And we used the fresh water to wash us and our dirty little kiddos. Christa had the brilliant idea of washing our two little ones in a metal bowl. Eden loved that. I washed the other two with a soapy wash cloth and a wet washcloth...and I used some of our precious supply to rinse the shampoo out of their hair. Kids get so sweaty when they are playing. I'm so thankful for even our tiny supply! They slept so much better last night after being clean! Thank you, Lord.
I woke up a couple times....with these thoughts pounding on my brain "what if the water comes back on and I don't know....and the kids have turned a faucet on somewhere that I didn't check????" Do you ever wake up and want to do something so bad...but not have the energy to move? It used to happen to me when I was a kid...I'd wake up freezing..but be to tired to find my blanket and cover up!
The water came slowly back on today! Around lunch time, a wimply, little, beautiful trickle began and I was ready to do a joyful rain dance around my kitchen...dodging the massive stacks of dirty dishes! Dishes and laundry have really piled up fast with two families living together. Our friends visiting us, have a 1 yr old and 3 yr old. So we had 5 kids....5 and under!
Wonder why messes occur more when you don't have the water to clean them up. I mean, how can a bowl of cereal be innocently sitting on the table... and for no reason at all... decide to lean to the side and spill fruity pebbles all over the table, chair, and the innocent little kid sitting there? At least that's how Alexis said it happened.
T.J. and Christa gave us a very special treat. They watched the girls for a couple hours and let Josh and I go out and eat lunch....childless! The first time I've been without the kids in over 6 months. Oh yeah, April 21 marked our 6 month mark in Jamaica. Praise the Lord.
Not only did they watch the kids, Christa also washed the rest of the dishes and swept and mopped floors. I know...I think I just found my new best friend! What a sweetie!
The kids are really excited because we have a special treat planned for tonight. There is a KFC in Montego Bay that has a play place....with A/C!!! We're taking the kids there to play..and the moms there for the a/c. I love my life!
p.s. I wrote this post before dinner at KFC....their air conditioner was broken. But, for some reason the kids didn't notice! :)
5 comments:
I enjoy reading about your life so much, Maria. For some reason, you can write about it in a way that makes it all sound fun, but I know better and I remember you when I am tempted to complain about my perfect, spoiled life here in the States. ♥ to you!
P.S. When can Christa come to my house? :)
I love that song and I love White Christmas!!
Your Eden seemed to really enjoying that bath! =)
Glad you have water back, and I'm even more glad you have a friend there!
Next time you are without water you can come to my house! :)
Hi. I just found your blog and am wondering how you came to be a missionary and how you ended up in Jamaica? I could not find it in you archives and I'd love to know the history behind the blog!
momto9, so nice to meet you. You inspired me to publish a page on my blog that is called Why Jamaica?. Hope that answers your question. Thanks for the inspiration!
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