A Week In the Life

"What do you do all day?" is a common question I get. While it is hard to fully explain our life in St. Vincent, here's a peek at what an average week looks like for us. Of course, this life is pretty unpredictable, so some weeks look a little different.

Sunday:

On Sunday we attend Grace Community Baptist Church. We love our church here! We have said on multiple occasions that we wish we could just bring our church with us back to the states. Being a part of GCBC has been such a wonderful, faith-growing experience. It was also a bit of a culture shock at first. I grew up in New England, where people barely say "Amen" in a church service. Here, most people are pretty vocal. Luke and I have also had the privilege of being involved in our church. Luke taught the adult Sunday School class once, but usually, he ushers every few weeks, opens the service in prayer, or does special music with another man in the church. I have had the opportunity to fill in and teach a few Sunday School classes. I also taught the 10-12-year-old class for a few months with another girl. I really enjoyed that. I play the piano every Sunday morning. That has been enjoyable and challenging. I've had to sight read quite a few new songs, and since the words of the song are on the screen for the congregation, sometimes they sing their own tune, so I have to adjust and follow along with them if I can. Every third Sunday evening, our church goes out and shares the gospel instead of having a traditional service. The times we go out have been very eye-opening. It is sad to see the poverty in some cases, and it is interesting to get a better glimpse of the culture.
I'm so inspired by the faith of our church family here. For most of them, life hasn't been and isn't easy, but they joyfully praise and serve God. When they pray for us, it brings me to tears. I'm going to miss them so much when we leave.

Monday:

Monday is usually a very productive day for me. I cook on Mondays to fill orders placed by Luke's fellow students. I never know how busy I'm going to be. Sometimes I make one or two calzones, and other times, I'm making biscuits, muffins, and 19 calzones. I also usually do laundry on Monday.
Luke goes to campus in the morning and studies all day, taking breaks for lunch, dinner, and working out.

Calzones

Cheddar Bay Biscuits

Cinnamon Sugar Doughnut Muffins

Tuesday:

On Tuesday I usually relax a little bit during the day. Sometimes I'll get together with friends, accomplish some things around the house, read, or watch Netflix. On Tuesday evenings, I attend a yoga class on campus. Sometimes they hold the class at the Canash Beach Apartments. The class was extra peaceful there with the sun setting, the gentle breeze, and the sound of the ocean. I'd never done yoga before, but I decided I could use better flexibility since I'm horrible about stretching post-workout. My friend asked me to go with her, and we had such a good time at the first class that we kept going. The classes at the gym usually end with a shoulder and neck massage. It is so relaxing that I almost fall asleep!
Luke basically repeats what he did on Monday. Poor guy. He studies almost ALL the time.

Wednesday:

I look forward to Wednesday every week. I meet Luke and our friends for lunch on campus. Lately, we have been purchasing roti from a couple who sells food out of the back of their car down the road from campus. Roti is so delicious! After lunch, I take the bus down to the Canash Apartments to meet up with the other spouses and their children to spend time at the pool. We all love the social life it gives us since most of us don't have cars and don't get out much.
Luke studies most of the day. Sometimes I stay at the pool longer so Luke will walk down to Canash, and we will walk up to campus together in time to make the bus home.
On Wednesday evenings, we attend church. I usually play the piano, and we always enjoy the time of fellowship, Bible study, and prayer.

Roti

Thursday:

On Thursday I used to cook to fill food orders like I do on Mondays, but this term I switched things up and bake instead. I usually make cookies or muffins. On Thursday evenings, Luke and I go on the grocery run. The grocery run is at least a two-hour process that generally involves squishing on the bus or coaster and not finding most of the things on your grocery list. It is fairly common for the stores to be without certain items for weeks or even months at a time. There have been times when there was no butter or sugar or eggs available. The produce section is really hit or miss, as well. When I go to grocery stores in America over break, I'm overwhelmed by all of the choices. I know a lot of people complain about grocery shopping, and maybe I will too, but I'm really looking forward to being able to find everything I need and being able to put my groceries into my own car. Right now, we put groceries in tote bags and backpacks, stuff them under our seat on the bus and carry them on our laps until we get to our apartment. As crazy as the grocery shopping trip sounds, it usually is kind of enjoyable socially. We also get KFC for dinner on Thursdays. I'm always grateful for that because it means I don't have to cook dinner! After we put our groceries away, we usually eat dinner and watch Netflix.

Friday:

On Friday, I usually find something to do around the house. Sometimes I read, tan, watch Netflix, or do laundry. At 3pm, I take the bus to campus to play sand volleyball until about 6pm.
Luke studies all day until it is time to play volleyball. He plays volleyball for an hour or so before switching to play hockey. We take the 6pm bus home and just hang out the rest of the evening.

Saturday:

We usually sleep in a little on Saturdays unless we have something we need to attend in the morning. Depending on the Saturday, we might attend a VSPCA clinic, Kid Companions, or go to Kingstown. On an average Saturday, Luke goes to campus to study, and I go to a CrossFit class at 3pm. We take the bus home in the evening and relax.