Home Thoughts From Abroad

 “The P.A.C.K.” Purposed Around a Common Klesis (calling)

Two years ago we began our journey with a cohort of fellow MAGLers with whom we would struggle through nine courses in leadership. We spent two weeks together last February in Colorado Springs and now we are together once again for our Capstone Seminar to mark the beginning of our two final courses. We have lost a few members along the way due to the demands of finances or their full time ministry. Others are still on the journey but have needed to temporarily slow the pace or could simply not join us these two weeks because of family needs or work assignments. We dearly missed Timothy, Nikole, Kris, Allison, Jonathan and Kurt.

We finally were able to visit what will be our “alma mater” as the seminar was held at the main campus of Fuller Theological Seminary in Pasadena. The campus is beautiful and it was great to catch up with the lives of our cohort members. We did the intensive, in-class portion of two courses which we will complete over the next five months. Outside of class we had opportunities to visit over meals and walks through the charming, old city of Pasadena. It was a tiring intrusion into our summer but we are simply rejoicing that we “can smell the barn”.

Ever since we left Canada, my long time friend Sonya has been planning to visit us but life, work and school kept getting in the way. Now it has finally happened and it was worth the wait. Most of our visitors thus far have been family  so our explorations have been beach and kid activity stuff which is great. However having Sonya here gave us the motivation to visit some new sights.

The Queen Elizabeth II Botanic Park is really lovely even though we were probably a week or two late the catch the flowers and trees in full bloom. It was still a very pleasant stroll on a lovely day and gave us the excuse to have lunch at the Lighthouse with the waves crashing around us.

We discovered Pedro St James and spent an afternoon learning a bit more of the history of the settlement of the Cayman Islands. Referred to as “The Birthplace of Democracy in the Cayman Islands”, Pedro St. James was the venue for a meeting on December 5th, 1831 where the decision was made to form the Cayman Islands first elected parliament.

We still had plenty of time for the regular island stuff like the submarine and beach walks;Sonya developed a new found love for snorkeling. We couldn’t help but use the excuse of company to take the night cruise to our favourite funky, little restaurant at Rum Point.

It seems unbelievable that our first year is over. It has been incredibly challenging, stressful, fun and rewarding. We still basically wake up each day and marvel at the beauty of this country and the joy of living here. We have made some amazing new friends but as always comes with this life style; that means we have new people to say good-bye to.

We have been trying all year to do an evening catamaran sail across the North Sound to have dinner with our friends Kevin and Angie. Angie was the elementary school principal and Steve relied very heavily on Kevin for the needed training and tech support to make this school year a success. Now they are headed back to the States to provide the care that is needed by their aging parents. We managed to get in a wonderful evening with themjust days before they had to leave the island.

As the Cayman Islands are an overseas territory of the United Kingdom, we have a Governor who is appointed by the monarch on the advise of the British government. The Governor is the de facto head of state and is responsible for appointing the Premier, the leader of the party with the majority of seats in the Legislature.

This weekend was set aside in honour of the Queen’s 90th birthday, and the celebrations began with a traditional parade of Cayman’s uniformed services, a royal 21-gun salute and three cheers to the Queen. This was followed by a ceremony at which some prominent local figures were honored.

Governor Helen Kilpatrick, after carrying out her duty as representative of the queen by inspecting the assembled uniformed services opened her home,  The Governor’s House for a traditional Garden Tea for residence of the islands.

(Photo Credit Cayman Compass)

It was a typical, beautiful morning in Cayman and we enjoyed attending the party and taking in some of the sights and sounds of the British heritage of our adopted home.

The first year in a new country is all about settling in and getting to know the culture and traditions of your new place. We were warned that this particular festival and parade was largely about revealing costumes and feathers but decided to take it in anyway.

The festival’s original name, Batabano, is a salute to Cayman’s turtling heritage. The word batabano refers to the tracks left in the sand by sea turtles as they crawl onto the beach to nest. Finding these tracks was – and still is – a reason to celebrate!

Carnival is a premier cultural celebration in the Caribbean – a kaleidoscope of music, dance and pageantry with roots mirroring the region’s diverse history of African and religious influences. Colourful costumes reflect the vibrant landscapes, heritage and culture, with the music the very rhythm of island life. Carnival in the Cayman Islands has a distinct flavour as the islands are home to a melting pot of over 100 nationalities – one country celebrating many cultures!

During carnival, districts and corporate groups join together to compete and showcase creative costumes, choreography and floats. The energy of Cayman Carnival Batabano is electrifying, with thousands of locals and visitors flocking to the streets to enjoy the spirited parade, which is all about expression.

(an excerpt from www.caymancarnival.com)