Veterans

These are the Veterans on Kwaj at the Veterans day ceremony that was held today. The guys and gal in the front with the rifles were the veterans who did the twenty-one gun salute. There are thirteen Army men and women serving on Kwaj. The kids in blue/white is the school band who played at the ceremony. Remarkable considering the school is not that big. Nice little ceremony to honor our veterans. God Bless all who have served and those who are serving. We would not have our freedom without you. This is a memorial to veterans in stain glass in the chapel on Kwaj.

We were down in numbers with the kids Sunday morning and we had more preschool than usual. We were up a few with the adults. We do several hand motion songs with the songs for the kids. It is really cute watching the preschool kids try to mimic the hand signs.

All the AFFES stores are now open. The convience store opened late last summer. The clothing store opened a week ago and the hardware, sporting goods, electronics store opened last week. This guy had a load and he wasn't the only one. We have not had all three stores open full of merchandise since right after we arrived. It was good to have some choices.

I don't think I will ever get tired of the sunsets. The only difference in our weather has been the time of the sunrise/sunsets. When we arrived it was 7-7, now it is 6:30-6:30. Still 86 degrease. When I was watching the World Series the fans were wearing coats in the stands. Lee and I were reminded it is fall in the states.

Halloween of Past

I was taken back to the Halloween of my childhood when all the kids went up and down the street to trick or treat. It was refreshing to see the kids do that again here on Kwaj. In the weekly Kwaj newspaper the warning of hazards of trick or treating were falls or tripping and bicycle collisions. Most parents were walking with their kids, but there were a few who were riding on their bikes along the street. Since we don't have any personal cars to sit in to watch their kids collect candy, the biggest danger was a bike collision with another parent. I liked the fact they set a time 6:30-8:30 that the kids could go door to door. Some of the kids from Ebeye came over, but it was limited to one boat load. Parents do not have to worry about their kids being kidnapped or molested on Kwaj. All the kids have their own bicycles and they all ride to school, by themselves when they are old enough. Lee said someone he knows sends his son (grade school age) to the grocery store by himself when he needs a few things for dinner. Its great to see that again! That's the way it should be all the time in the states. Unfortunately, the devil has been hard at work.

Christmas Helpers

If you would like to bless some children at Christmas, we would appreciate anyone who can send Christmas gifts for the kids. We have about 40 kids that range anywhere from babies to high school age. We have four babies, several toddlers, five or six Jr high-High school age and the rest are grade school age. Those numbers may swell around Christmas if they anticipate presents. Instead of trying to match one child with one adult I think we will stay generic and say you can't go wrong with baby dolls and soccer balls(or any sport ball). You can deflate the balls so you can get more in the box. We have a hand pump. If you then have enough room in the box you can fill it up with personal items such as tooth brushes, tooth paste, shampoo, body soap, etc. Those things are available on Ebeye but they are terribly expensive. When your parents make $1000 a year or less your priorities change. A medium size tooth paste was $5.00 on Ebeye. Personal products may not seem too Chistmasie but it is something they need and you don't have to look for sizes.

Anything else you want to send will be very much appreciated. Nothing will go to waste. You can get a flat rate 'Priority Mail' box at the post office with 3 different sizes & cost. They cost the same no matter how many pounds you put in it. Be sure to tape the box well. With it traveling so far they tend to fall apart, especially when they are heavy. I have heard that the post office on Kwaj is crazy around Christmas. It normally can take up to three weeks to receive a package in the mail. A good rule would be the earlier you mail, the better. I think an absolute dead line to mail would be Nov. 25th. Anything after that may make it in time, or it may not. Mail your package to: Lee & Avis Cummings PO Box 1652 APO, AP 96555 Blessing to one and all.

Sweet Tooth

Thank you to Monica Wiggins again for sending some halloween candy, a Mini Mouse and some tooth paste. I happened to be in the convience store at the right time last week and found some halloween candy. It disappeared from the store quickly. I divided the candy up and put it in small paper bags. We were down in numbers this morning so each kid got two bags each. They were pretty happy. This cutie enjoyed the sucker and Mini Mouse. I think he cut three teeth chewing hard on his sucker. Thank you to Sandra Dodd and Amy Peterson for buying a felt set to help as a visual aid to the Bible stories. I used it this morning and the kids noticed it as soon as we walked in the building. They loved it. Anything that gets the story across to the kids is a blessing. I only had time to rough cut the pieces this morning. I'll take a pic of the board and pieces as soon as I get the pieces cut properly.