The Comers in St.Kitts 1.0: Days 1 & 2

Our first glimpse of St Kitts!

We finally got to step onto the beautiful island country of St. Kitts. It was breathtaking! From the large mountains to the glimmering sea, it was a stunning first impression. Now before you click off of this post and continue on with something else thinking that we just spent a few days in paradise, please know that this was not a Caribbean vacation :) Right up against the pretty scenery were glimpses of reality that the people who live there do not enjoy the same experiences as the guests of the Marriott or the cruisers exploring the port. Small homes in need of repair, old cars that always need to be fixed, most people walking because they have no other reliable transportation. We were ready to get a real picture of life living in St. Kitts. Brandon Grayson picked us up from the airport and we drove the short distance to his family's home in Bird Rock. They live in the top story of a home that has been separated into 3 apartments. We found out that most of the "larger" homes on the island were divided up that way, very rarely did one family live in the whole thing alone. Everything in the house was made of tile, and the windows and doors were opened to allow the breeze to flow through. Air conditioning is not a luxury most have, and it's not used in the day time even if the house has it. We were blessed to have AC in our bedroom for the stay and boy was it refreshing to cool down in it at night. Most days we were there had highs around 90 with what felt like 100% humidity! It was hot and sticky, but we survived lol.

 

We got to go to one of the three local grocery stores to shop for the week. That price on potatoes is the EC dollars, not US so don't freak out too much :) However I would say that the overall grocery bill was at least 50% higher than here in Knoxville.

That night the Vander Yachts came over for dinner! Jillian and Andy were in our small group here in Knoxville until the moved to St Kitts for Jillian to attend Ross Vetrinary School. It was so incredible to see them for the first time in almost 10 months, especially since we never thought we would be visiting their new residence! It was such a sweet time to catch up and reconnect. After dinner one of the Graysons' friends named Evris came over to ask them to pray for his friend, Jonothan, who had been hospitalized due to a fever. While Evris was with us, Jonothan starting going in and out of consciousness and had a several seizures. Brandon went to the hospital to pray with the family. The next morning Jonothan passed away. Please be praying for his family as they grieve this healthy young man who got sick out of no where. In St Kitts many young adults are not Christians because they are waiting until they can "get rid of all their sin" before they will accept Christ. Please pray that the sudden death of Jonothan will open the eyes of his friends to realize that they may not have later to make that decision and pray for people like the Graysons who are teaching God's grace and transformation. 

Saturday, Day 2, was a fun day of seeing the beach and making new friends. We headed out in the morning to Carambola beach to go swimming and cool off! We met the Vander Yachts there (they almost couldn't make it, their car wouldn't start for a while. We soon learned that the little things going wrong was normal and they often joked about "island problems." We were also joined by another couple from their church, Erica and Scott Miller. We had so much fun soaking in the Caribbean Sea and learning more about life on the island. It was fun to watch the Grayson's kids, Audri and Keaton, play in the sand and splash in the waves (I have to admit, it made me miss Addalyn and Dean like crazy!). We ate lunch at a little hut styled restaurant at the other end of the bay. Erica Miller is also a Vet student, so we got to hear more about what it's like to be an American student on the island. We will be moving there willingly because of God's direction, so we are pretty excited. I think it can be a very hard adjustment for some of the students who were going to Ross or the medical schools because it was their fall back plan and not their first choice. I love the grad student side of the Grayson's ministry. It's such an important thing to encourage and love and feed into these men and women who are so far from home!

 

 

After lunch, we headed back to the house to get cleaned up and Aaron and Brandon went with Sean Miller to do a local radio show that is broadcast every Saturday. Sean, his wife Mandi, and their daughter Maddie are missionaries through Child Evangelism Fellowship. They will be in St Kitts until January and then they will be getting prepared to move to Turks and Caicos. You can read more about their ministry at A Moment with the Millers.The radio show consisted of Brandon and Sean reading a discussing a passage out of the bible. Aaron filmed part of the show. Towards the end Sean asked Aaron to chime in with his thoughts. Aaron was able to share a little of his testimony and experience with grace. We were listening at the house and it was so cool to hear Aaron's voice on the radio!

 

That night the Millers came over for dinner. We had so much fun getting to know Sean and Mandi! We picked the Millers' and Graysons' brains about St Kitts, life as missionaries, and getting prepared. I'm sad that the Millers will already be gone by the time we get back. We can't wait to hear all about their ministry in Turks and Caicos and everything God will do there!

Since this is quite a lot, I will continue the story of our trip in the next post :) I will say that we already miss this country and are aching to get back, and to get there permanently! Our next trip is scheduled for Feb 24-March1. I will post more details about it, but we would like to take a group with us to serve for the Festival of Life! The website for the festival is www.folcaribbean.com. Check it out and if it sounds interesting to you then please be praying about possibly serving with us that week!