Update

Thank you so much for your prayers. My dad was able to get up to Minnesota by early afternoon yesterday to see his dad, which everyone was really grateful for. My mom and Krista were going to drive up yesterday and hoped to get there by nighttime. We're so glad they were able to get home and see my Grandpa, who is still hanging on, and be with the family. We wanted to jump on the plane with them! It's definitely tough being away when things are going on in our families that we want to be there for. But it's definitely cool to experience the closeness we can have with God when things are hard. His comfort is unlike anything else. These are a few more pictures from their visit. My dad is standing with his translator, Misye Osias, who gave the sermon in Creole on Sunday as my dad preached in English. It was really neat seeing my dad preach in our church and have it translated so everyone could understand. We have a video clip of it, but it's too big too upload so we will have to show you when we are home! The street picture shows a view of Cap Haitian from the roof of a house of a friend on the rainy day my parents arrived. It was a sea of people and umbrellas. Below is a picture Chris tried to sneakily take during church! And the last picture below is Chris helping Anna with the pinata she made for her friends for Christmas! Thanks again for praying and reading. Have a great week.

Visitors! and a prayer request.

My mom and dad arrived on Tuesday and have officially spent a Christmas in Haiti. It has been wonderful having them here. They have certainly had an interesting introduction to Haiti, however. On Tuesday after getting to the airport in Cap Haitian we were immediately met with one of the most persistent groups of kids I've seen here. They were relentless in asking us for money, for food, for anything. It was rainy and very muddy as we drove through the city, and as we've mentioned before the sites, sounds, and smells of Cap are overwhelming. My parents had so much to take in, and we were reminded of what it was like when we first arrived. While it was fun to show them places that are now familiar to us, it was like having our eyes opened again to the poverty and struggle that they were seeing for the first time. When we stopped at a store to pick something up, we encountered another man who was very persistent in asking for money. He even put his body under the car as we were attempting to back out. He laid on the hood, and yelled while Haitians along the sides of the road just laughed...we waited a couple minutes and he finally stopped .The ride home was something my parents have said they won't forget, and we won't either! It is hard to believe they are really in Haiti. When we got back to the compound around 5, we realized the three big bags of rice for the hospital and a stove top were missing out the back of the truck. They must have been swiped while we were sitting in traffic in Cap. We were so thankful that none of the luggage or anything else was taken, though this did give us all a sinking feeling.

Needless to say, the intro was hard, but real. So many questions and feelings come up when you are placed in the middle of a completely different culture. We have been here for four months and have learned so much, even gotten used to the experience in many ways, but having visitors has brought up a lot of good discussion and challenged us as well as them.
We have had a great week so far. Wednesday it was rainy again, but we went to the bakery so Dad could meet his translator for Sunday (one of our students, and the owner of the bakery). We then walked to the market and showed them around our "grocery store." We decided to walk back to Fauche which was so good...they got to see the road and the people as we went along. My mom quickly learned that many Haitian will be stone-faced as you walk past, until you offer a simple, "Bonjou!" and then they usually crack a big smile and greet you! It was fun showing them around. We had lunch with Pastor Emmanuel, his wife, daughter, and their grandson. It was a really nice time and we were happy to introduce them and spend more time with them. We have also gotten to spend time with the Thedes, enjoying Christmas and fellowship. And we have also gotten to introduce them to some of the kids we know well, and visited their house yesterday to deliver some cookies.
While the trip has been a blessing, it's been difficult because about one day into the trip we learned that my Grandpa has taken a turn for the worse. He is battling cancer, as many of you know, and is not expected to live much longer. We knew that he was not doing well at the time my parents left, but the nurses and family members assured them that they should still take the trip to Haiti and that Grandpa was stable enough for them to feel fine doing that. Since being here, we have been talking with them and keeping up to date as things have been changing. We have been praying that my parents will make it back and travel to Minnesota and be able to see him again. We just learned that they will be able to leave tomorrow, instead of Tuesday, and get to Minnesota by Monday night. This is another example of God opening a door--it is hard to get in and out of here and he has made a way for them. (though we are sad!) Please pray that they are able to see him, for their traveling, and for my grandpa and grandma as they are going through this. It is hard being so far away, and weird not being able to get home. We're all being reminded how we aren't the ones in control, it's really God. Please pray for my grandparents and Mom and Dad, and Dad's brothers and sisters-in-law, Jim and Lianna, Bill and Cathy who are there now taking care of them. For peace and comfort..and strength for the days ahead. Thank you.

Yay for Christmas and Family

It is only four days till Christmas! When we look out our window we don't exactly see snow, but it has cooled off some. Two days this week we had mornings that were right around 63 degrees! The rest were well into the 70's, but those two days were really nice. They warranted long pants and a light sweatshirt with ourcups of coffee in the morning. The morning and nights seem the most festive because it is cooler and our Christmas lights show up better. It is good to have to remember what Christmas is really about without all the snow, decorations, and cold. I have never sung Christmas carols while Hibiscus (like the one in the picture) are thriving right outside of my house. But we have truly enjoyed our time here this Dec. and Christmas season.

We are fortunate enough to have Jon and Beth (Kath's parents) come visit tomorrow for a week. It will be very exciting to see familiar faces and hang
out with them. We both wish that our whole families could come, but I guess that is true for any married couple that has to alternate family holidays! It is rough having two amazing families and having to share ourselves! I think that the Sloan's and Moody's should just form a union and have a big celebration together to make it easier on us :) It is a good problem to have. We have been given the amazing gift of loving families and friends. We can't tell you how much we appreciate all the emails and comments that you have sent telling us that you are reading our blog and keeping us

in your prayers. That is a true blessing to us, especially during this time of year. (Left: Picture of our Living Room with some awesome paper snowflakes and Christmas Lights)
The last week Kathleen and I have been struggling with sickness. It is really funny that we didn' t have one stomach problem before we visited Port-au-Prince in October. After that point we have had some sort of stomach ache ("vant femal" in Kreyol) or something every few days between the two of us. I guess God just knew that we couldn't handle being sick and adjusting, but now that we are adjusted we are ready to get sick. I am sure it has nothing to do with the fact that I buy food

made by street vendors or buy strange spicy pickled beans, carrots, and these little orange and green hot peppers that make my tongue burn and my eyes water! But I just love the Haitian food! I keep eating it whether I get a little ill or not... it is so good! haha I don't know why it is so good, but I just enjoy the experience. Kath and I are both feeling good right now and we hope that it will continue that way.

(Left: These two kids came by yesterday to show us their coloring pictures. I think they asked us whose was better since they are brothers. "Tampico" is a ketchup...not sure why they drew and colored it?!?!)

We have been hanging out with the Thede kids a bit lately. I am helping Eli build some Christmas presents for everyone using paper and Elmer's glue. It is a great time. It is always fun to build stuff and hang out with him. Kath has had a number of "Girls Only Tea Parties" with Anna. I was allowed to intrude once to provide entertainment, but I have declined further invitations. In most ways it is life as normal here. The Haitians don't really get into "Noel" as it is called here as much as in the states. So we are trying to carry the Christmas Spirit on for everyone. Well I have babbled on long enough. We will be thinking of you all over the next few days. We have been given an amazing gift from you to be on this adventure and all for the purpose of a greater gift... Christ coming to earth as a little baby because he loves you and me more than we can ever imagine.
(Pic is the busy market that we go to every couple of Wednesday to pick up our Cornflakes and fresh veggies)


Have a Merry Christmas!!

Oranges Galore

Last week we had the opportunity to travel with Cory and four Haitian men to visit a bamboo farm a few hours away. This place was amazing! They not only had thick forests of bamboo which was neat to see, they had an orange juice factory! We got to witness the making of the juice and sample it...it is delicious! We have never seen so many oranges. The factory was unlike anything we've seen in Haiti so far. There was stainless steel everywhere and it looked brand new. I did feel for the workers who were sloshing through the juice on the floor in flip flops, but I'm sure they're used to it.
It's cool to see other parts of the country. This is a luxury for usthat many Haitians we live around do not have. On the way home, we stopped to eat on the side of the road, and had the usual rice with bean sauce. While we were eating in the car, we noticed this little girl standing nearby, shyly looking at us. I noticed the orange tint to her hair which shows she may be malnourished, and it felt so odd to be eating in front of her. I wanted to drive to a deserted part of the road and hide as we ate. Part of the difficulty is, she was one of many many kids walking or playing on the side of the road. What should we do? I think we've all had an experience like that where you see a need you can't meet, but at the same time, we could have given her our food. So many things run through our heads...guilt, compassion, helplessness, conviction...and we pray that God will show us how to respond and how to love even when we can't or don't physically give anything.

Life is a bit different without our English classes these last few weeks. We will start up again in January, but for now we are enjoying some free afternoons. Chris has been working more outside with Cory and talking with the group of boys who come by at least once every day. I am amazed at his patience with them and all the time he gives them. They can be a tiring bunch! In Creole class this week, we each had to write a letter to someone from home in Creole, talking about our experience here. Although this wasn't super hard, we still struggle to understand and hear when people are talking, especially at their normal pace! But we are still trucking away. It seems like we will have a good grasp on it, right before we are ready to leave. But as Anna likes to remind us, at least we will be able to talk in front of people without them knowing what we are saying! :) Have a good week, thanks for your prayer!

Christmas Time in the Tropics!

As you can see we put up our first Christmas tree, complete with 6 ornaments! We have done our best to decorate our house and get into the Christmas spirit...despite 90 degree days and no bright lights decorating our neighbors' houses! Chris and I took our second walk to the market today, which is in Port Margot, a couple miles down the road. This picture gives you a good idea of what the roads look like here. Notice the lush vegetation and palm trees hanging over the road, isn't it pretty? The roads are rocky, but walking isn't bad. It is fun because we often see our students along the way or meet someone walking the same way who will talk with us as we go. Today we walked with Matthew, a man about 30, who walked all the way with us, and was willing to talk Creole with us. Below is a picture of what we bought last time we ventured to the market. The large green things are breadfruit (kinda like potato), avacado, plantain, tiny potatoes, black beans, and Chris's new machete, that he is very excited about. Most Haitian gardeners carry around a machete so once Chris gets some dirt on his he will fit right in!
We and the Thede's were blessed to be invited over for lunch at Pastor Emmanuel's house last week. His family lives about a 20 second walk from us, and we have gotten to know him through our English class. It was such a neat experience. They had prepared a ton of food (which is typical when dining as guests in a Haitian home) and Pastor Emmanuel had actually written out a speech for us in English that he shared, thanking all of us for being here and encouraging us. It was such a unique thing...he has really shown us care and been a true encouragement to us. During lunch, the subject of coffee came up, and Chris and I's love for coffee was found out! We talked about the difference between coffee in the US (coffee shops with lots of choices and sweet coffee) and here...where the coffee is very strong and often drunk luke warm! Well, we have never tried Haitian coffee, and a few days later, Pastor Emmanuel's son Onyx delivered a pot of it to our house! Chris really liked it...but I could only drink a sip and then I was through. When you pour it out, it looks like motor oil it is so dark!
Thanks for praying for the clinic. We just said goodbye to Dr. Barbara, a family practice doc from Cap Haitian, who has experience in pediatrics, who was here for about a week. She came to stand in for the team from the US that was supposed to come. The number of people at the clinic is more than usual, which is good! Not overflowing with patients but still more than usual. Please continue to pray for the December deal, and for the doctors and patients. We are hopeful that God is at work more than we can see.

The Last Week of Class

Well this has been a full week in regards to our English class.
This week was our last week of classes. Kathleen and I made a test for each of our classes and we gave them out on Tuesday night. We were pleasantly surprised with the results! Many of our students did very well. The test took just about an hour for each class. Then we printed their certificates and handed them out on Wednesday and Thursday to the second and first class respectively. Many students from our first class will be continuing with us in January as we begin a new set of classes. They will be moved up to the second class if they received an 85% or better on their test. Right now we have 17 signed up! This is very exciting for Kathleen and I as we have come to really enjoy many of our students and have gotten to know them.
(Right: My friend Deroly. We became friends when I taught him how to use his keyboard - I just read the English directions and made him repeat the steps until he understood. Now he calls us on the phone to just say hi.)

These are the pictures of our two classes. The one above is our second class (we really enjoy this class) who speak English pretty well but they have a hard time listening. Below is our first class who now speak enough English to talk to you for a few minutes, but they are far from fluent.

This is Kathleen with her girlfriends from the first class and Dupin Willy (the guy) who jumped in.

So we have finished our classes for December and our looking forward to starting again in January. We will have a first level class of all new people, a second level class with a few newbies and those that are moving on from the first class, and an English club with those that are now done with the second class. In our club, we will be reading articles and working on listening and speaking correctly. It should be really fun to lead.
Thanks for thinking about us and praying for us as we taught these classes. It was a learning experience to say the least but we enjoyed it! Have a great weekend.

Thanksgiving + Clinic

Here are a few pictures from our Thanksgiving. We had such a good time getting ready for our dinner with the Thede's and eating together.




































Eli, Anna, and Chris preparing food!
and The Thede's, our family in Haiti!

On Saturday we traveled about an hour away to join with other missionaries in the area for another Thanksgiving meal. It was held at this radio station building, which is also where an English church meets. It was interesting to meet missionaries and hear what they are up to in Haiti. Anna, Eli, Chris and I sat in the back of the truck on the way there and had quite a ride over the bumps and around the speeding buses! It was fun.

I am a little late on writing this on the blog but we have some prayer requests we would like you to join us in. The clinic here has been going through some very difficult circumstances lately. A doctor who recently had to be let go has decided to set up a clinic right across the street from the Wesleyan clinic, in spite of the fact that a city only a few miles down the road, with about 40,000 people has no doctors. He has even gone so far as to encourage people walking to clinic to come to his, instead of coming here. As you can imagine, this is discouraging. In the month of December, the clinic that Dr. Kris works in is having a special deal for patients to come see a doctor for less money. We are praying, not that we would be able to outdo the other clinic or take patients back from them, but that this will encourage people to come onto the compound and as a result be exposed to the good news of Christ! Will you please join in praying with us? A team from the US was supposed to be here this week, but we found out just 2 days ago they are not coming. This is also discouraging as they were advertised for (A pediatrician from the States would likely draw people) and now they are not coming. Please pray for Kris as she is going to be given most of those peds patients in the coming days as a result. A few other prayer requests are:

-Pastor Rigo, the hospital administrator, is stressed about this situation. He is also a pastor to a church over an hour and a half from here, and has numerous responsibilities. He is also losing sleep as he stays up some nights with his sister who is sick. Pray for strength and endurance for him. Pray that he will have wisdom, and just for his physical and spiritual health.

-The staff at the clinic, to have good relationships among themselves, and to keep their focus on serving. Also for their encouragement and opportunities to steer patients toward God.

-Patients- That many would come during December, and that they would be led to a relationship with God. And that they would find relief from sickness in this place that has less resources.

-The clinic across the street. For the doctor and for a nurse who is possibly working at both clinics, but not admitting it. That somehow this situation would be redeemed. Pray that this doctor and nurse would come to know God.

-For the moringa trees that Kris hands out to the patients...pray that they would grow and provide nourishment for families. Praise the Lord for Anna and Eli who willingly fill hundreds of cups with dirt and moringa seeds to be handed out.

Thank you so much. Please consider praying each day for the clinic this month. We would love to hear about it if you will do this. Drop us an email or leave a comment. One way we can encourage Pastor Rigo, Kris, and others involved is to let them know how many people are praying for them and carrying the burden with them. (For more info...you can check the Thede's blog at www.portmargot.blogspot.com) Hope you are listening to Christmas music today!!

A Typical Day for the Sloans

Happy Thanksgiving!!! We hope you have a great holiday. We are missing home today but also having fun trying to get in the holiday spirit in spite of the 90 degree weather. We will take pictures to share later!
Today I'm going to write about what a typical day here looks like for us. While not every day is exactly the same, this is a pretty accurate picture of what we can expect!

-Wake up about 6 or 6:30 (this has definitely changed since living in Haiti)
-Get some water boiling for coffee (first things first... :) and eat breakfast
-Devotions (We were given a great devotional for our wedding, it's led to many a good discussion!)
-Around 8:30, Chris heads down to clinic (We will have to take some pictures of the clinic sometime), and Kath heads up to the Thede's to be around to help with school.
-Chris and Dr. Kris see their patients, while Kath reads or works on a paper with Eli, or checks email and tries to help Eli and Anna focus!
-By noon, Chris and Kris are back and we eat lunch which the cooks have prepared (sometimes Haitian food, sometimes American, if we are lucky, we have bon-bons, or cookies, for dessert!)
-After lunch=SPELLING TIME! Kath and Eli and Anna work through a spelling list or sometimes play a spelling game. (My stellar students got 15 words in a row right the other day! They are so awesome!)
-Chris and Kris head back down to clinic to do labs.
-After labs, Chris and I prepare for English class, going through the curriculum and coming up with a plan. (Sometimes we enjoy one of these huge Sprites bought from a friendly older man named Maurice a few seconds down the road. No, we don't get to keep the sweet bottle!)
-Other afternoon activities include: studying Creole, talking to kids (Walfie in particular, who still comes by everyday), reading, cleaning, grading papers, sometimes a little nap!
-At quarter til 4 we go to class. Our first class has about 35 students, who know little or no English. Our second class, which is back to back with the first, has about 22 students. A typical class consists of (All in English, by the way! We don't use any Creole): A welcome and prayer to begin, vocabulary words that we write on the board and do our best to explain, some kind of grammar..usually practice with pronouns, adverbs, or something, A few exercises in their workbook which they do with a partner or by themselves, A dialogue which a few come up front to try, and sometimes a Bible passage which we read and work through the meaning. Sometimes we will listen to an English song too and write the words on the board so they can follow along. They usually always start singing along by the end! It's only a little over 2 hours, but we both leave so tired by the end!
-On Wed. and Thurs. we have Creole class with our teacher, David.
-After class we come home and begin cooking dinner. The bean picture shows the first step of making beans and rice...separating out the dirt and rocks from the beans!
-Eat dinner, clean up, finish up any work that needs to be done, hang out (sometimes watch a movie, play Scrabble or Rook)
-Usually we are asleep by 10, or sometimes earlier! They call 9:00 "missionary midnight" here...which we used to laugh at, but now
understand! It gets dark so early, and we get up earlier, so by 9 we are ready to sleep!
We're so thankful for this time. We totally realize that while there are challenges we face here and things that are hard, we are so blessed to be here. Thank you for reading! I hope this gave you a little better idea of our life here. This last picture is from the retreat, but I think it is so cute I thought I'd throw it in. Happy Turkey Day!

Weekends!

A typical Saturday for us is usually a day of relaxing, doing some cleaning, sometimes spending time with Eli and Anna playing a game or just hanging out at the Thede's house, doing random jobs (mowing, laundry, etc.) reading, making dinner, and watching a movie on Chris's computer. Some Saturdays, however, we find ourselves doing something out of the ordinary! We have gone to the market to buy veggies and fruit, ventured up the mountains on a hike, and Chris has been known to have a group of Haitian boys gathered around the computer on our front steps showing them videos and pictures of our friends and families, while listening to music. (That is one of my personal favorites, and the kids love it!) This last Saturday we also had the opportunity to do something different. One of the doctors from the clinic was doing an HIV/AIDS talk at a youth meeting called OJEPP. This is a Christian youth organization that educates youth and hopes to help them make good decisions. He invited us to attend so we ventured out of the compound and down the road about 5 minutes to sit in on a meeting of about 60 youth as they learned about the history, prevention, and specifics of AIDS and about abstinence. The talk was in Creole, of course, so we practiced our listening skills for about 2 hours, and both received a certificate saying we had been there! It was interesting. The speakers kept looking at us and saying little phrases in English, and we were the only two offered chairs to sit in rather than the school benches. (We declined the special treatment) We were glad to be there, sitting outside on a beautiful warm day surrounded by Haitians and participating in something in the community. It is always a little disconcerting, since we can't really follow what is being said, but we were both encouraged by how much we did pick up! Most of the jokes or things the rest of the group laughed at were lost on us though! Afterwards, we decided to take a mini hike up the mountainside, and were joined by a young man Kendall along the way. He is eager to learn English and so we chatted with him about the US and Haiti as we walked. He, like many Haitians, is under the impression that America is the greatest place and the problems he faces in Haiti do not exist there. Money is in abundance, so problems disappear, right? We tried to explain that there are problems and struggles in the US too, and money doesn't fix all of them. People still need God there, and they need him here. He nodded and agreed at all the right moments, and with his limited English it is hard to know if he understood or agreed with what was said, but he seemed to know the Lord, hopefully not just all the right answers. Walking back to the compound we briefly talked with a family who had been yelling "Katleen! Katleen!" as we walked past. We didn't know them, but they were friendly and so that was nice!
We have been indulging in the amazing sugar cookies we made this weekend too. My sister had sent us a mix with frosting and pumpkin sprinkles and we finally made them...YUM! The other picture is of two gourdes Chris found and we tried to carve as substitutes for pumpkins. Unfortunately, they are rock hard and we bent a knife trying to cut into one! Guess that will have to wait till next year...
It is Thanksgiving week! I hope it is a restful and fun one for everybody. Thanks for your prayer and support!

Into the City

Over the course of our blogging the last few months, we have tried to be careful in the way we have portrayed Haiti and how we describe it. The Thede's have said that it's hard when people come in and immediately begin criticizing things that to us may appear very substandard to what we are used to. Even if it is innocent and we are just reacting to the differences and difficulties we see, we are learning to think before we blurt out what we think about this and that. It is hard trying to be culturally sensitive like this! We see so much that we want to react to and describe, and tell about because of the "wow" factor. The first day we arrived, seeing the homes and living conditions of the Haitians was very hard. Life here is more rugged and people live in conditions that we would probably not be able to handle. The more time we've spent here, the more we have learned that they are just people too, living with much less and often without comfort, but they have a way of life and norms just as we do. It's interesting how we have gotten more used to seeing their way of life, even the poverty. It is hard to know what to do, when there is often nothing we can do.That being said, I am going to try to describe our trip through Cap Haitain to the Dominican Republic on Tuesday as best I can! Chris has been to O'Cap (as the Haitians call it) a few more times than I have; it is the city we flew into when we first arrived. We had to take this little journey to get our visitor's visas renewed...by leaving the country and returning, we are good to be here another 3 months. We began the bumpy journey at 6:30 am, and drove about 3 hours (I think) to get to the border. There we took care of our business and headed back toward Cap Haitian. We never actually crossed into the DR...I was a bit disappointed! Anyway, I am a city girl so there is a certain element about the busyness of the city that I love! Cap Haitian is different than the Chicago suburbs, however. The streets are so crowded, I am always amazed we have never hit anything with the truck. People are everywhere...making their living by selling produce, fish, shoes, clothes which often come second-hand from the US, soap, hot food, you name it! Most buildings are made from concrete, and there is concrete rubble all around. The streets are paved in some spots, but mostly rocky and bumpy. It is not frowned upon to throw trash on the street, in fact, there are large piles of trash which accumulate and then eventually get picked up by large trucks and men with shovels. These pictures show a cool church we saw, and the outside of the marketplace. We ate a lunch of beans, rice, plantains, yams, and sauce bought from a street vendor in an ally (the picture of me with sunglasses shows it in the background) and we were glad for the experience of eating Haitian food from a place a Haitian would really go! They give you a TON of food...it was pretty good, but we felt 10 pounds heavier afterward. We then went into a grocery store, in which Cory bought some ham for Thanksgiving!, and Chris and I encountered a usual bunch of snickering school kids...you kind of have to get used to being laughed at, or you will just feel bummed a lot! So we tried to buy a slushy, but it wasn't quite ready, and while trying to talk to the clerk in Creole, we somehow caused a hearty round of laughs from the little group, and some mocking from the clerk. Chris did a great job of joining in the laughter and making it no big deal, but his wife had a little harder time this particular day! But I was able to laugh by the time we left. We then walked through the streets for a little while, buying a few packs of cookies and various items, and feeling much more comfortable than the first time we were there three months ago. It is a challenge to buy things always. Not only do we not have the Creole numbers downpat, some vendors you bargain with, and some you don't. Some are friendly, and some are just not in the mood for what it takes to sell something to a Blan- or white person! The smells and sounds of the market are hard to describe, but I know we will remember what it's like for a long time! By the time we left, I was so tired! And we hadn't done much more than sit in the car and do a little shopping.
This has turned into a long one I know...but there is much to tell! Tomorrow we will have officially been here for three months. WOW! This picture is one of Chris chilling with our second English class listening to some music before class began. We were very excited to find out last week that we will have visitors over Christmas! My parents were able to make reservations to come on the 22nd of December, which is awesome because when they tried to book tickets earlier last month, everything was full! But God opened doors and they are able to come now. It is so good to know we will get to see family soon. We hope you had a great week!

Middle of November, already??

Here are a few more pictures from our trip. We fell in love with this beautiful hillside while we were staying at the Baptist mission. It was full of character! As is most of the landscape in Haiti. There was so much to see and take in...both in the country and the city. In some ways it was really nice to be around an urban environment again, although Port-au-Prince is very crowded and overwhelming. But it is also good to be tucked away in this lovely northern part of Haiti where no tall buildings or light pollution is to be found! The next picture if of our full load on the way home! We had 26 date palm trees, as well as all our luggage and groceries. Chris and Cory's expert packing allowed it all to get back in one piece! The third picture is of a little boy named Moise who was on the retreat with us. (one of the families is taking care of him while awaiting the finalization of his adoption, by their daughter!) He was such a joy to be around! The last pic is just one of the meetings we participated in...talking about our vision and mission as missionaries.
This week back has been a tough one. I was sick at the start, as Chris mentioned, and we just had a harder time than we expected getting back into everything! I suppose this is normal after being away, but it would be nice if we naturally had endless energy and inspiration!
Chris has been able to shadow the Haitian docs more the last week and is hoping to keep doing that as much as he can. It is encouraging to see how he is able to follow their Creole well enough to keep up and even hold a short conversation! We are trying to be more diligent in our Creole studying, and are praying about what else we can do in the coming weeks.
This past weekend we enjoyed spending some time with Anna and Eli, building legos and having a tea party! (boys built the fighter planes while the girls chatted over some Kool-Aid "tea") A prayer request we have is for our relationships with them. We want to be able to impact them somehow and invest in them while we are here. Thanks for your prayers and for your encouragement! We can't say thanks enough. We'll see what God has in store for this week.

Back Again!

We are back! I hope nobody was worried ;) But Kathleen and I arrived back in Fauche Friday night after a bumpy seven hour drive. Let’s just say that I was very excited to get out of the back seat of the truck. I tried not to complain too much. I am telling you, us Americans have soft butts compared to the Haitians, they all sit on the back of a motor bike or the edge of a truck bed for hours without a second thought. It amazes me! Haha
The two weeks away were a blessing and a break. To start our trip we went to church in Gonaives, this church is three hours from home. It was a good way to break up the trip. Unfortunately, the streets in Gonaives have been changed around a few times so we were a little late in getting to the service. But on Haitian time that is not a big deal! When we arrived we walked right through the singing congregation, up onto the stage, and sat facing everyone singing while we didn’t have our song books. We did the best we could by clapping our hands and smiling, but I am sure I just looked like a blanc up on stage looking a little clueless. Granted there were some entertaining kids in the front row my kreole is not good enough to pick up a sermon. Since we were late sat for about 40 mins, visited the cement latrines, and headed to the pastor’s house. We (okay mostly me) feasted on fried goat (kabrit), deep fried smashed banana (banann pese), boiled plantains (banann), French fries (tiny homemade ones!), lettuce, onions, tomatoes, and this delicious sauce. I dumped it all together and enjoyed every bite. They were very generous. It is an interesting balance eating at a pastor’s house like that. You eat every bite with the knowledge that what is going in your mouth is not going into a Haitians mouth. Yet, you also eat with the knowledge that they want you to eat and feel that they are blessing you when you do. So I ate until I was full saying many a thanks along the way.
(We took this pic of the boat we road on from La Gonave back to the Wesleyan Warf outside of Port)
We finished up the drive and arrived in Fairmount at the Baptist mission. Kathleen and I were put in an apartment duplexed with the Thede’s. It was AMAZING! Our apartment was at least three times the size of our house! So we enjoyed the space as well as the weather that was cool enough to wear a light sweatshirt and jeans! It made Kath and I remember that it is fall back in IN and IL. After two nights we went to La Gonave to see the hospital there and the Wesleyan mission. This is where the Thede’s used to live so it was neat to be able to put a place with all the stories. We also got to connect to some young adults in their twenties. Kathleen knew one gal, Justine, from college. It was great to hang out with some youngsters our own age and enjoy some time of hanging out. After a day and a half we were back in Fairmont. We spent the rest of the week and weekend there relaxing during the day and playing cards and games at the Baptist missionary’s home. It was really nice.
(This picture is us going from the Wesleyan Warf out to La Gonave to visit the Wesleyan Compound and friends... I know the pics are out of chronological order!)
Monday morning we headed to coast for our missionary retreat. Global Partners treated us really well! We had great accommodations, great food, and were ministered to very well. We spent a lot of time in the pool, eating, enjoying the a/c, in meetings talking about what we as missionaries are doing in Haiti and respective countries, and enjoying hanging out with old and new friends.
Unfortunately it is during the “retreat” that Kathleen began to feel a little “off”. She just wasn’t interested in food and left one of the meetings to go lay down. During the day she usually did alright though and we made it back home before she really started to not feel well. We got home on Friday and by Saturdary night she was sick. She felt really hot and had some rashes on her elbows and knees. Sunday we took her temp and it was 103.9! My wife is tough! Everytime I would ask her how she was doing she would say, “I could be worse.” Well, it is now Tuesday and her fever has subsided, but she still has a very itchy rash on her soles and palms that we are treating. She is tough though and she wasn’t even a grouch to me! I know I would have been short with her at least once, but that just goes to show you the quality of woman that I married.
We are back and starting our routines again. We don’t know what is in store for us in the next six months, but we trust there is a lot left for us to learn. The thought of six more months seems like a little much to me, but I know that if we take each day as it comes we will do just fine. Thanks for reading and your interest in what is happening in Haiti.

Off we go

Tomorrow morning we head out a little before 6 for a two week trip with the Thede's. The nine-hour drive will be broken up by a church visit in the middle, and then we will arrive at a Baptist mission in southern Haiti where we will stay for about a week. We all need to renew our visitor's visas so we will hopefully get that all done on Monday! Cory, Chris, and I will head to LaGonave (the island off the coast of west Haiti) for a few days, where we will meet up with some missionaries there, see the Wesleyan hospital, and sit in on a few English classes. We are also told that this is the land of icecream!! So we are so excited for that!
The next week we will travel to a retreat in Port au Prince for the missionaries in our area. (Haiti and surrounding areas) We aren't sure what to expect but are excited for the opportunity to go and see more of Haiti and have a change of pace. We will also get to meet more people, and I (Kathleen) will get to see one of my friends from college who happens to be living on LaGonave this year! So we are looking forward to the trip, despite the long car ride. It will be strange being away from our home. I'm looking forward to coming back in a few weeks and having it really feel like coming back home!
Please pray for safe travels and ease with getting our visas and getting to LaGonave. Also, that the retreat would be refreshing and encouraging for everyone.
We won't have internet the first week, but probably the second, so we will try to update sometime! thanks for your prayer and support! Au revoir!

New every Morning

We woke up to a particularly beautiful morning today. We were really struck with how great it is to have new days. Sometimes it's just a relief when a day ends, and you know that there is a fresh one coming. God is so good in that way, and we are full of praise.
"Because of the Lord's great love we are not consumed, for his compassions never fail. They are new every morning; great is your faithfulness." Lamentations 3:22-23

Sometimes it's hard to keep up that attitude of praise when the cool morning becomes a hot, full day (particularly, a Monday ;) What does it really mean to depend on God and get strength from Him? I hope we can understand that even a little more during our time here.
Being in a new place out of your comfort zone has a way of revealing the weak spots we have learned to tuck away. God is so good and he provides for us, but that doesn't mean we do everything perfectly and have smiles all day long!! Though that would be so nice! My prayer is that he won't leave us the same, that he will make us more real in our faith.
Thanks for your prayer and support and for reading our blog!! It's awesome to be able to stay connected to home. Here are a few prayer requests we'd like to share,
-Walfie..he was going to come to church with us Sunday but didn't. For chances to talk to him about God, and that we'd understand what he says. (if only they spoke English! or we spoke Creole!)
-Wisdom for how to best teach English and what to talk about during class
-Pastors in Haiti, to have endurance. They are so busy and the handful we know are going through a lot of hard things right now. Praise that Pastor Emmanuel (a neighbor of ours) shared that he was able to pray with a witchdoctor a few weeks ago and he turned to God! He introduced us to another witchdoctor that he knows when we visited his church last week with Cory. As you can imagine being a pastor here can be pretty heavy.
Thank you. Have a great week!