March - Countdown to Lockdown

'But as for me, I will sing about your power. Each morning I will sing with joy about your unfailing love. For you have been my refuge, a place of safety when I am in distress.'

Psalms 59:16

I wish I could take credit for this gorgeous photo, but the truth is it would be a rare day for me to be up by sunrise (usually 6am here in St Kitts). Now that our kids are on spring break our family's night owl-ness is in full swing. For some reason the psalmist's words always make me feel like I have to be up at sunrise to follow suite in worship, but today at 10:45am I sang my heart out to the Lord, tears flowing and hands lifted. From conversations I've been having I think many of you all around the world can relate. We are in distress, and for me it is a daily choice to find refuge and safety in our Father.

Pulling up photos to write to you about March caused me to see what a drastic change occurred in our Kittitian society in the course of 1 month. So, along with an update about ministry, here is our Kittitian Countdown to Lockdown:

February 20 - March 1

Real Life Real Impact wrapped up!

If you didn't read our last update, RLRI is a conference put on by Christian Veterinary Missions for the students at ROSS university of Vet Med here on the island. They teach practical professional skills as well as how to live your life on mission for Christ through your practice. We were honored to be able to serve as a church leadership for this event.

Learning about suturing!

Playing Games!

Outdoor worship!

Dr John preached at church that Sunday!

Then we had a delicious brunch as a church provided by the CVM crew and cooked by the amazing Gale, our friend and favorite caterer. 

CVM took the local CVF club's leadership and our church's leadership out to eat and we got to spend some sweet time together before we said goodbye. We enjoyed having this group here so much!

March 3rd

We had no idea this would be one of the last times we met in person for CR for the season. Celebrate Recovery St Kitts has been so precious this year as our 12 steps groups have really begun to get close with each other and open up more and more. We have enjoyed adding dinner to our weekly service and having time to bond as a CR family! 

March 5th

SKI Academy held a reading garden party to kick off literacy week and it's annual read-a-thon. A wonderful local author, Miss Heidi, came to read a book. They had a book swap! Then we spread out around the grounds to read as a family. 

March 6th

This week was the first time that even the thought of Covid-19 in St Kitts came up. A few families from the school chose to keep their kids home while some sent their kids with masks and gloves. Most, like us, were not really concerned, The school invited Dr Holness (our family doctor) to speak at an assembly to help calm down and educate all our children on the virus, how to wash their hands, and how to be safe and careful while not being fearful. 

Dean's golf class! The boys had PJ day and chose to stay in them while practicing their golf swings lol

March 7th

Our electricity (or current as our local friends say) went out 6 times in the first week of March! Part of living in a developing country is not having guaranteed power or water on a daily basis. We would pile in the car, crank the AC, and find places to get cozy while we waited on power to return. 

Rituals, a coffee shop & restaurant, is one of our favorite spots!

Our church building is another we go to when we don't have power at home. 

March 9th

Dean had caught a nasty virus the day before, so only Addalyn was able to dress up for Book Character day. She is dressed as Violet Beauregarde from Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, mid blueberry transformation of course! Even check the fake gum behind her ear!

Her class had a really cool math field trip that day! They went to a local grocery store, had a list and a budget, and then went shopping! The team closest, but not over, their budget won. Her team didn't win because they were too much under budget. I told her that would be a HUGE win in my book!

March 11th

By the 11th, Dean was all better, but the rest of us were down for the count with the stomach virus he had brought us. Dean was able to go to Basseterre Animal Rescue Centre (BARC) and read to puppies! I was a little jealous. All field trips after this were canceled as fears of the coronavirus began to rise. 

March 12th

We got to celebrate the birthday of one of my best friends, Tori! Her boyfriend, Brian, had come down to visit and we all got together for yummy food and fun games. 

This is also the day that Ross, where Tori attends, announced that they would no longer have in-person classes but were instead switching to an online platform. All students were free to fly back to their homes and continue classes from there. This was the first major precaution taken on our island, and it really led the way as both other major universities here also chose to go online shortly after. 

March 13th

The government of SKN at this point was reminding everyone there is no need to panic, but that did not stop the mad toilet paper hoarding from creeping up. I wanted to run into the bulk store for a box of boxed milk, and saw it packed out like never before. My 20 minute wait felt like an eternity compared to normal. I rolled my eyes, avoided the TP, and got out as quick as possible.

It was also the 17th anniversary of when Aaron asked me to be his girlfriend! Which means we have both spent more of our lives together than apart. Best decision we ever made only after deciding to follow Jesus :) That photo is from prom 15 years ago. How are we getting so old?!?

March 15th

In light of so many students scrambling to leave the island, we scrambled for more volunteers for our church service that weekend. I even put Dean on the welcome team with our friend Carlos! We still had more than half of our congregation, but many of them had flights out later that week. 

I managed not to get a photo, but we were able to celebrate Dean's birthday! Only a few friends made it out as many families were unsure the best ways to move forward with the news of the university closures, but he still had so much fun!

March 17th

The kids wore green like true Irish-descended Americans. We found out the night before that this would be the kids' last day of on-campus school. SKI had decided to go the route of online learning for the remainder of the term. 

March 18th

As our kids jumped into virtual school, we were notified that our village would have no electricity for the entire school day. Praise God they were making repairs to prevent the frequent outages from continuing to happen, but the timing was still a bit crazy. Thankfully, God provided a space through our church building and permission from the owners so that we could all work and learn!

We came home to brand new government issued trash cans! The blue barrel on the right is what we had used for the last 3 years. I love the grey and yellow! Way to make trash a little more fun St Kitts!

March 22

 Two days after the USA announced a level 4 travel advisory we met for our last in-person church service. We realized as a leadership that it was time to care for our people in this way - both encouraging church members not to gather in large groups, and also providing a church connection for those from our congregation who were now spread across multiple countries and cities.

The day before, our friends Will and Mary Beth Roark had arrive to help serve for a few days. Still hopeful to make their flight out that Friday, they jumped right in to service. Will led us in worship that morning! 

We had our last in person Life Group that night as well!

March 23

I had to run to the bank and realized they were limiting the number of customers inside at one time. However, everyone still chose to stand close together, still unsure of the precautions we should be taking.

March 24

Will led worship and gave a message at CR! It was so awesome to have the Roarks bless us with their talents and their transparency. They are amazing!

March 25th

Our country's first two cases of covid-19 were confirmed and announced. Two family members that had traveled back from New York and who had been in quarantine ever since. Now the entire island switched into high gear with preparations and closing things down. Public schools were closed, business closed, hotels closed. The airport closed. Now our friends, the Roarks, were officially stuck on the island until further notice.

March 27th

Aaron finished editing together our first live online church service! His ingenuity and creativity amaze me! He took our basic equipment and personal computers and figured out how to make everything work well and run relatively smoothly. 

Dean spent time getting creative for art class on a break from school! We have now seen puppet shows and youtube videos made from this "tv".

March 28th

That morning came the announcement that we would be moving into a state of emergency. Curfew would begin at 7pm and daytime movements would be only allowed for essential items. Unlike most parts of the US, our order is enforceable by prison time, up to 6 months, or $5000 in fines. 

We spent the day soaking up the sun and sea, had dinner together with some friends, and then booked it home before 7 o'clock. Dean said, "Did we make it or are we getting arrested?" Praise the Lord we made it without trouble.

March 29th

CCF had it's first official online church service! We streamed on both Facebook and YouTube (feel free to use those links to check us out this coming Sunday! 9am on Facebook and 10:30am on YouTube)

That evening we also had our first online Life Group. It was really sweet to connect with people all over the place and discuss God's Word together.

March 31st

By the last day of March our country had 8 confirmed (imported) cases and had officially gone in to full, 24-hour lockdown. What a difference from the beginning of the month! And even though it is now April 7th, our lock down has been extended. We have certain days we can leave for essential business, only two days per week. Grocery stores are limiting the amount of shoppers, so lines to get inside are taking 3+ hours. We have 11 confirmed cases as of this morning. 

This was also our first day of CRCR - Celebrate Recovery Crisis Response online small groups. The men and women from CR St Kitts met, separately, via video chat. It went so well and we were excited to still get to spend time with our amazing recovery family!

Praise God that the island is still getting shipments, so they are able to restock the shelves as fast as people are pulling things off. We are doing everything we can to love and serve those around us, to look for ways to help those who will be out of work and in financial trouble soon, and to spend time as a family growing closer to each other and the Lord. We even have a wonderful friend staying with us right now so she can limit exposure for her grandparents and great grandmother. 

Ministry and serving look different right now, but they still continue on. My favorite meme right now says, "The church is not empty. The Church has been deployed."