S is for...

Service...

We were very fortunate to be able to partner up with the SIFE organization while on our trip to Barbados. It was the least we could do to take 6 hours out of our amazing trip to help out the local all boys school, Milton Lynch Primary School.  This school was identified by student volunteers from SIFE as in desperate need of some upkeep and inspiration.   Of the 208 people on our trip, about 40 volunteered for 6 hours on Thursday and 25 people on Friday.  Together we were able to give this school the lift they needed.

We painted three buildings...

Built a pergola, monkey bars, cleared, sodded and planted....a total face lift to their playground...

I didn't get any pictures of it, but we also created an educational garden on the other side of the school, relandscaped their entry way and built another pergola out front.

It's truly amazing how much work can be done in such a short amount of time when so many hands come together.  There were current and former students of the school who worked side by side with us on the project.  They were so fired up and excited.  It was so amazing to see the happiness on their faces.

And, to top it all off....J and I volunteered on Friday; Good Friday, an extremely religious holiday in Barbados. Not even 100 feet from our work site was an open air church, full of locals signing and praising the Lord the entire 6 hours we were there.  Talk about some inspiration! With the music and love pouring out of that church we could have powered on for weeks!

I can hands down say this was the best part of our trip!  We are so blessed and thankful to be able to go on these amazing vacations.  To be able to see the world and travel is a chance of a lifetime.  But, to be able to get our hands dirty, working side by side with these incredible people...that is life changing!  It snaps you back to reality in an instant.  Makes your day to day troubles seem so insignificant. And above all, reminds you why we're all here.  To love and serve others. No money in the world, no fancy vacation out there can revitalize your soul like seeing the love of God play out before your eyes.

P, Q, R is for...

Peaceful, Quiet, Relaxation....

Yes, I'm cheating. Three letters in one post! But, when I went to match up some vacation pictures with alphabet letters, they all seemed to fall under one of these three words!

When J qualified for this round of trips (back in September) we knew that with an almost two year old and a new baby that we would be ready for a peaceful, quiet, relaxing trip.  Looking through the book of options for trip destinations we kept going back to the idea of Argentina. I mean, come on! That's a trip of a lifetime (just like New Zealand was last year!). But, a trip like that means getting up early, coming home late....lots and lots of site seeing.  And, we knew, come March/April, we wouldn't have the energy for a trip like that! So, Barbados it was! (sad that Barbados is our "fallback" trip, right?)


Peaceful, quiet and relaxing are the perfect adjectives to describe this trip.  A "mostly" inclusive resort on a paradise island....doesn't get much better than that! We said from the get-go that we weren't signing up for the plethora of optional activities. Our plan: sleep late, drink daiquiris on the beach, soak in the sun and repeat...for 7 straight days! We were pretty successful in completing our mission. Add in a quick shopping trip downtown Bridgetown, a few KU basketball games (Rock Chalk! Final Four baby!), a couples massage, delicious food and an amazing service project (more to come in the next post) and that was our vacation! Perfect. Exactly what we needed. But, while it was Heaven on earth for a week, I was anxious to get home to my pride and joys!