And Then There Were 6!

Now that we have said goodbye to Bill and Elaine on Thursday, and there aren't any teams lined up, it is back to our usual 6 places at the lunch table, and family night movies with all of us in the bedroom watching rather than projected on the wall. We've enjoyed each person who has made their way to Fauche the last months. Little did we know we'd be meeting so many Americans during our stay, between here and Port au Prince. It's been neat!
Now there are certain things that are different when it's just the 6 of us. Special Friday night desserts last longer (and we don't feel bad taking seconds), our table manners decrease (my tendency to play with food comes out again), we can do things like water balloon fights on Saturday afternoon, and conversation topics change a bit. Now that its back to the way it was for the first 4 months, the trips to Port au Prince and everything that just happened with the earthquake and all feels a bit like a blip. I'm sure we'll have the same feeling when we go home...'Did that just happen??'
This weekend we've done a couple of out of the ordinary things. Saturday Chris and I worked on tiling the Thede's countertop. It was done by one of the teams, but for some reason the tile didn't stick, so it had to be popped up and redone. It took just about all day, with the grouting still to come. It was fun, for the most part. :) Who knew tiling was such a process if you want to do it right. Like I mentioned we cooled off with a water balloon fight in the afternoon with Anna and Eli.
Today we went to Pastor Emmanuel's church to see the dedication of his grandson, Thed. Thed is the son of Onyx and Mme. Onyx, who we have mentioned before had a great deal of trouble after she gave birth. She had serious mental issues and was not herself for months; it was so troubling to their family and very hard on them, as you can imagine. She was unable to care for Thed or be here in Fauche, since she needed to be in Cap Haitian close to her doctor. Today we were so happy to attend the service dedicating their son, and the afternoon service which was especially to honor the miracle of her recovery and Thed's life! She is So much improved. She stood up and spoke to everyone at the afternoon service and was totally normal, and everyone is thankful. Most of all, Pastor Emmanuel. It was a privilege to be a part of! We also got to hear a few of our students sing, which is always so fun. Churches in Haiti often have groups of men and women sing special music on Sunday, and it is always a treat. They will huddle close together, in somewhat odd formations, and sing beautiful harmonies acapella. Often, there are hand/body motions included. There aren't the same social limitations either--men are very expressive, they sing very high at times (even the one's you would least expect to have a high voice!) and you don't necessarily need to be the best singer. There are singing groups of kids, young adults, all women, all men, and mixed. It's neat! Another cultural observation I saw in action on Sunday was how it is not rude to be using your cell phone, anytime! We quickly learned this in Haiti when our Creole teacher would take 2-3 calls during every lesson, even if one of us was mid-sentence. He would look at texts, have conversations, while we sat there. Since then, I have seen people on cell phones during meetings, during class, and even during a service like this one. I smiled to myself when someone walked up to the front while Onyx was speaking quite seriously, and stood right next to him to take a picture of the crowd. Such distractions just don't seem to be taken offensively or with annoyance. If you make someone wait for an hour, it's basically okay! Smacking a mosquito off someone's head, no problem! Looking through the windows to see if you are home, or just standing outside til you notice, normal! Little differences like that make life interesting. Hopefully we won't be completely awkward at home from all the new habits we've picked up!
Well, on to another week, have a good one! (Above, more cute kids from the neighborhood that bring us moments of joy)

Oh The Timoun!!!!!

If you have read our blog before today you know that our time in Haiti has been partly defined by the children (timoun) that inhabit this island. Sometimes I feel like we spend more time with people under the age of 18 than we do with anyone else. This has been a great thing, if a little difficult at times.
As you can see on the right I am working with Eli on dissecting an earthworm (family: Annelida) for his science class. Anna is always there to be a helping hand. She was instrumental in the placement of pins to hold back the flesh of the worm as we distinguished what each organ was. All very interesting to say the least. Eli did a great job of being very careful and not just ripping the thing apart. Kath and I also had Anna and Eli over for dinner in our little house. We spoiled them with pop, hamburgers, Nintendo DS (we let them play theirs), popcorn, and a movie. Eli showed me a new game while Kathleen and Anna watched "It Takes Two" with Mary Kate and Ashley Olson (when they were nice little girls). It was a lot of fun. We are gonna miss these guys in a couple of weeks.
We also have been going to the children's program on Sundays. This Sunday they made us sit up front with the Baileys because they had a gift "yon kado" for them. It was a great piece of woodwork that had their named carved in it and a place for a picture! It was very nice. Then the kids put on a little song for them. After that we watched part of a movie. The kids are great. It always amazes me at the way they are able to quote scripture and recite in front of the group. Some Sundays it is hard to go, but it is always good to see the kids.
This is the skit/song they sang for us. We were sitting in the circle with them.
The thing I will miss about the kids is walking towards our house and seeing sights like this. Four little kids laying in the grass. These kids were so cute and you can just hear them talking and giggling about who knows what. I can hardly understand their kreole, but all you need to do is look at their cute little faces and you smile. Thanks for reading!

In the Swing of Things

This week we've been getting back to our regular life, I guess you could say! We started teaching again on Monday, and Chris is down in the clinic shadowing again, for the first time since the earthquake in January. Teaching English has been such a nice surprise. I remember a few weeks before we started teaching back in September, thinking, I don't want to start! and I don't want to do this! But it's been huge for us. We have gotten to know so many Haitians through our classes, and believe it or not, it is easy to not interact much with Haitians here. Not knowing the language at a comfortable speaking level (as in...sometimes I don't want to sound like I know Creole well because I know they will speak back to me at their normal speaking pace and I won't understand) and other factors can keep us pretty isolated. But English class has let us get past that, and God is so merciful. He knew that I, especially, would have trouble meeting and interacting with Haitians--I'm not as outgoing, and am more a homebody than Chris--and so he gave us the opportunity to interact daily, while mixing Creole with English (it's pretty effective, actually!) and helping them with something that is very important to them. Though we drag our feet to class some days, we are so thankful to have been English teachers here. With no previous experience, being younger than most of our students, and not having a real passion for it beforehand, God deserves all the glory for what we've been given here.
I hadn't planned on writing about that, but a sudden wave of thankfulness came over me! In the picture above are Gina and Thelusnor. Gina is our class accountant (takes money for class) and is always changing her hair! That is one of her many do's that we've seen. Thelusnor knows English pretty well and sits in on our first and second class just for practice. He is always making random comments and asking complicated questions. He laughs constantly at his own jokes! Ha!
The Compassion school on the compound has started up classes again, which is great. They haven't had more than a few days of school since the earthquake. It's so good to see the uniformed and eager students milling around in the mornings again. (As you can see through the trees in the picture) It's great that they have something productive to do, although not every kid is part of the school. It is always hard to see the few kids who hang around the school without uniforms. We don't know their specific stories, but it's true that not all children get to go to school here.
We forgot the camera, but we had a fun St. Patrick's Day party with the Thede's and Bailey's on Wednesday. We went to the Thede's for a dinner of Irish beef stew, soda bread, green juice, and even green frosted cream puffs that Anna had made! We sat around for a long while talking afterward and it was fun...Chris entertained us all with stories of falling off horses. We will definitely miss the Baileys when they leave next week!
Thanks for reading and hope you have a great weekend!

Home Sweet Home

It is so good to be in our house again. Sleeping in our bed, walking around our campus, being with our friends, teaching classes again - it is comforting to return home from the concrete and destruction of PAP to the green beauty of Fauche. Our trip here and arriving home wasn't the smoothest day in Haiti. It is a blessing that God doesn't give us more than we can handle.
We got up around 5:30 am on Saturday morning in the guesthouse in PAP to get coffee brewing and to get packed before our flight at 8. We wanted to make sure the team that was there would have breakfast all set up before we left. Our ride got to the house at 6:45 and we packed the 355 lbs of supplies that Cory and Kris Thede has left with us to bring. We said our goodbyes to the missionaries and friends in the south (Dan, Joy, Carl, and our driver) and headed off to the airport. The drive to the airport wasn't bad and we were soon checking in to MAF (Missionary Aviation Fellowship) in the PAP airport. We were flying in the smaller Cessna class plane rather than the 9 passenger that we had flown in coming. Now you must understand that my wife is not the biggest "flier". If she is in a plane she doesn't want to feel each air current and turbulence - not easy with a Cessna (a 5 seater plus the pilot). Once all the gear is strapped down and we are buckled in the pilot gets in and starts up the plane. All is normal. Then he starts his taxi out onto the runway, turns left, floors it for 10 seconds to get us down the strip a little, slows (a little) wheels it around and, to Kathleen's dismay, doesn't take a second to line up or take a moment but pulls the throttle out and off we go. The flight wasn't much to speak of until the landing where it was a little shaky. The pilot was great and he knew what he was doing but it is always hard when your life is out of your hands! Nice to be back on the ground.
Cory, Jean Pierre, and Anna came to pick us up. It was great to see them all again. Anna especially was glad to see my wife. For the rest of the day Kathleen had someone other than me to hold her hand.
The rest of the morning was spent shopping and getting some cheeseburgers. Shopping in Haiti always takes more than the average Wal-mart run because you have to go to several different stores to get what you need. When we were on our way home in the early afternoon we started to see Tap Taps pulled off to the side of the road. Then we saw a huge mass of people in the road a 1/2 mile ahead. We wondered what was going on. We saw a police car with a shattered back window drive past and a UN unit passed us roaring ahead. Jean-Pierre got out and quickly found out that there was an incident in which a truck carrying a bunch of rice was getting looted and a young man had been shot by the police. We don't know any other details except that people were mad. This happened at 11 am and was still going on in the early afternoon and didn't end until about 4 pm. The crowd had cut down trees and blocked the road. There wasn't much to do other than sit and wait it out. It was a strange experience sitting there watching people walk back and forth with no sign of agitation a half mile from where there had been a shooting and a mob was blocking the road. Not something you hear of very often in the states. We never really felt unsafe, but it was a little tense. We waited for several hours just sitting, talking, trying to keep Anna busy, and being bored. (Anna on the side of the road)
So we finally get back on the road and drive through the scene where I saw some fallen branches pushed off the side of the road. Not much to see.
We stopped by the Baptist University for a minute to drop off some bananas and had a chance to see Nancy James for a little bit. Then we were on our way to Fauche. When we got to the top of a hill a couple of minutes from Fauche Jean-Pierre said he wanted to check the luggage and supplies that were all tied onto the back. He did and we found out that a big black bag of medications was missing! We were shocked. We had no idea how this could have happened because we never stopped for someone to just pull it out. Then a guy on a motorcycle flagged us down and said he saw a man jump off a moving motorcycle, get the bag and take off with it! We got home tired and sad that someone had stolen great antibiotics and meds meant for the people of Fauche. We pray that they will still be used in the correct way and not just sold in the markets like candy.
The Thedes fed us dinner and we got back to our house around 7. We opened the door and Kathleen made a little gasp. There were two cockroaches in the kitchen! I told her to just go in the bedroom cause I saw three. Fifteen minutes later I had killed 11 cockroaches and found a couple of dead bodies! I would flush them out with bug spray and then stomp or swap them with my shoe. This is what was left.
We didn't see anymore that night and were thankful for it. Church the next day was good. Kath and I had to sit apart from the rest of the group and so we didn't have a translator. I did pretty well at understanding for about 15 minutes and then it was as if my brain powered down. I didn't comprehend two words after that haha. The singing was good though. They have some very gifted singing groups that sing songs with a lot of truth. In the afternoon Kath and I went to help with the Children's program. It was a full house. They do a lot of singing and bible memorization and games and then they show a movie. The movie is not necessarily christian but it is a great way to get kids involved. As you can see from the picture as many parents and adults line the outside of the building watching through the windows as those inside.
Our first class was tonight (monday) and it went really well. The two hours is a little longer but between the two of us we can do it. We are really looking forward to our last 5 weeks here. It seems so short compared to 8 months, but we know that is a lot of time to make a difference. We hope you have a great week!

2nd Week down South

I've been trying to compose a blog for a few days now, so this time I am really going to finish. We are leaving for Fauche tomorrow on a plane at 8am. We are so ready to go back! There are plenty of good things about our time here, but the nature of this place eventually (after about 2 weeks) makes you want to go home. We have experienced more frustration this time around than we did the first trip, surprisingly, since it seems it would be easier since we knew what to expect and whatnot! But Haiti continually demands increasing flexibility. We have spent a few rounds of several days in a row with no teams and not much to do, and then a team will come, usually unexpectedly, and it's crazy for a few days, then back to nothin' much. As the ones responsible for meals, it was hard in that teams came and went and the timing was very up in the air. They would be scheduled to arrive at noon, and not get to the house until 3:30, that sort of thing. And today, we weren't supposed to have anyone new, but suddenly we got a call saying we had 7 hungry people heading our way to stay for the night! At times it would be the other way around, for instance we were scheduled to have a team of five from Monday-Friday, and got word Monday that they weren't coming at all. It is really challenging to have a good attitude at times. The reason we are here is to host people, and yet it's so hard to be flexible! I like to be prepared, especially if we're the ones making a meal or holding responsibility. But things always come together sooner or later. I decided that if I ever run a guest house, I am going to sit down on a cheerful day, write a check list of things that we HAVE to do each time people come (Offer the computer, don't cringe when they eat the breakfast food unknowingly the night before, offer fans, etc.), to make sure that if they inconvenience me I won't subtly make them feel guilty! Oh this is a growing experience. :)
Above...the pictures are of a bunch of bags put together by a team from SC that were here yesterday. Each one has beans, peanut butter, and canned goods, they are "family packs" which make distribution easy. It was impressive to see how quickly the bags came together and know they will go to people that need them. The group in the truck was a great group of people. We got to see Matt and Justine again, as well as the other missionaries from LaGonave, which was fun! We always say goodbye to them not knowing if we will be brought back together again in Haiti. So far we have gotten to see Matt and Justine 5 times, and the rest of the group 2-3 times!
Chris has been sick this week but is feeling much better now. He is becoming a real jack of all trades. As you can see in the picture, he tried to put in plugs, but when he took off the plate, this is what he found, and after testing all the wires, realized it wasn't possible! This house presents a lot of challenges, between the generator, water, and everything else. He's been hanging pictures, a light outside, laundry lines, and laundry :) He is currently making casseroles to freeze for tomorrow after we leave, and earlier made biscuits to go with our stew for dinner. I'm so proud of him, I can't explain how much, his willingness is humbling.
When we go back to Fauche, we will have 5 more weeks with the Thedes and with Haiti. I can't begin to write about leaving yet, because I don't know what to say, I just hope that God will prepare us. We feel a bit numb toward the earthquake and everything we see here. Hopefully we will have time to process with each other and the Thedes in the next few weeks. Thank you for being part of our lives!! We're SO thankful!!
Have a great weekend!

The More the Merrier

Friday night we had the 16 people come back to Port au Prince from Petit Goave and the 6 of us that were staying here making a fun group of 22 for dinner. We relied on three jars of Ragu (1), several pounds of penne pasta, a big can of corn, and some rolls to feed the crew! It turned out great. Everyone loved it. The night went smoothly except that I need to work on my "welcome" speech. Kath and I set up a bunch of beds during the afternoon in the three tents out back and in the bunk house. We (or I) am still confused at exactly how we all slept on the 19 mattresses that we had! I kept forgetting to count one or two and it wasn't working out, but when they all got settled Kath and I surprisingly still had our bed!
This morning started at 6. Each day is different depending on when the guests need to leave. The Thedes were heading out at 8 with the Baileys and Joel in tow. We are sad to see them all go :( The Baileys have been a great help this week and would have been nice to have around, but we know that there is stuff for them to do in Fauche too. We will try to survive. It was great to see Eli and Anna, Cory and Kris again as well. They seem to be doing great and to have enjoyed their time in Petit Goave. Their plane left at 9:30 am but they didn't get to Cap Haitian. The weather has been rainy now that rainy season has started and they were forced to land in Pignon in the central plateau. They are spending the night there with a missionary friend who will bring them to Cap Haitian tomorrow (where we left Cory's truck).
The team left today to head up into the mountains to the Baptist mission to visit their restaurant and gift shop. They have been gone for six hours and should get back soon. We fed them dinner again and they had a time of devotions and singing. It was good to have them here. They picked up most of this by the time they left!

Well, I am finishing this blog two days after I started it because I got a little sick! Kathleen had to take care of the team on Sunday morning as they all left. I just wasn't feeling up to it. We don't know what was wrong with me but I had bad nausea, a cough, and was a little feverish. I have been taking my chloroquine to make sure it isn't malaria. I am feeling much better today.
This morning we were supposed to have 5 people here all week and a team of 13 for tonight, now we have one for tonight and nobody until Thursday. It will be a slow week, but we are okay with that. We will have to get ready for the team on Thursday because it has 18 in it. That will be interesting because of beds. I hope there are some couples who like to share twin beds. Not much more to report other than my wife has taken excellent care of me and the Thedes and Baileys are safe in Fauche. I hope all is well with you at home.





1. 5 Quarters. http://5quarters.net/products/ragu.jpg

The Week in Port au Prince

It's hard to believe it's already Friday, and tomorrow the Thede's and the Bailey's will return to Fauche! Chris and I will stay here for another week and hopefully return next Friday or Saturday. This first picture shows us at a little restaurant in Cap Haitian, where we stopped before getting on the plane on Monday. It was so nice! It was a deli-like place with lots of bread, and cakes, and also sandwiches, chicken, and other food available. You could order food, then go upstairs to this little haven! There was no one else up there, and it was strange having so much space to ourselves in such a crowded, noisy place. It was fun going to a restaurant and we waited there for a few hours for our plane to arrive. (It ended up being delayed about 3 hours.) Chris got to sit up in the co-pilot's seat on the way there, which is always fun. He said the pilot wasn't very talkative though. The ride was smooth until the landing, which was wobbly and downright frightening at points! But we made it. Another trip in a small plane complete!
We have had a good week here. No teams have come yet, (we will have 18 people tonight) so the week has not been very busy. It has been fun to spend time with Carl, his intern Joel who is from Canada, and the Bailey's. We've enjoyed meals together and good conversation, as well as a few movies and projects together. The men have worked on the generator, we have all pitched in for meals and clean-up and other odd jobs around the house. Today Bill and Elaine are out for a drive with Carl's brother to see Port au Prince a little more.
Darlene has been busy making bread, coffee cake, Haitian meals, and other things! She brought pictures of her 2 kids in to show us, which was nice! She was full of smiles about that. Now that Carl is back, we can trust that he is taking care of everything that needs to be said/done with she and Herold. We still are in charge of letting her know what we'd like her to do for the day, but it's not too difficult. She listens to Chris really well, and he does a great job being straightforward but nice.
This morning Chris and I spent time getting the beds made and ready for our guests tonight. There are 18 mattresses here, and now 3 big tents. There is also a bunk room outside that a few can stay in. We have been sleeping inside, in a room upstairs that has a balcony which we could jump off onto an awning if we need to. Though I think I actually fell asleep the other night without even thinking about the chance of an earthquake! We've enjoyed sitting out on the little balcony up there and reading and talking. We also went on a walk yesterday and saw a lot of people walking around and doing their normal daily activities. We personally have not driven around much, so I don't know if much has changed since we were here last time. The drive from the airport to here showed a field which had been cleared out for a tent community, but little else was different since a few weeks ago.
This morning in a devotional book I read, "It is not hypocrisy to rejoice in distress: It is obedience; for, says the Scripture, 'Rejoice in the Lord always, and again I say, rejoice!" (Philippians 4:4)." Being here, it feels kind of wrong to rejoice sometimes. Every time we are having fun, sometime the thought will come that, how can we have joy when so many people are suffering right now? And in that moment our joy is stolen, but it doesn't exactly feel right. I think we are learning that no, we can't ignore the fact that we are eating well and many people nearby don't have enough, and we sleep comfortably while many sleep under the stars, but to walk around with a guilty, forced sense of gloom isn't the right response to that. We are not only allowed to rejoice, we should. And in the mean time, we are compelled by God's love to reach out to the people around us who don't have their needs met. We haven't had the chance to do that directly and walking down the street yesterday we were wondering at how we could help people living nearby. The truth is we don't know! But we're clinging to the fact that we don't have to do the exact right things to be good enough for God. Jesus has already been enough for us, and it's so hard to remember that.
Thanks for reading! I can't believe we will be home in less than 2 months. Have a great weekend.
P.S. The other pictures show Elaine in the plane, and the bunk house with tents on top, ready for people to come sleep.

Here we Go Again!

(Disclaimer: I tried to upload more pictures, but it's not working today. next time!)
We are back in Port au Prince. We arrived last night around 4:30 and have been getting readjusted to being back in the same place again. It's like we never left! (isn't that always the case?) This time Bill and Elaine are with us so the load is much lighter. Last night we all pitched in to get dinner prepared and again this morning for breakfast. It was fun to see Darlene and Herold again. Darlene has been working hard the past few weeks we have heard! So I think our previous concerns won't be as big a deal. The owner of the house, missionary Carl Gilles, is back and in charge again, so that is good. I think Darlene just has a shy, less cheerful personality, which is just her way! But this morning I showed her some of our wedding pictures and she loved that. She made some jokes that I couldn't quite understand but at least she was laughing! haha.
Today we will clean out the fridge, get some things organized, and make dinner. Those are the main tasks. We also might venture out to a grocery store, which would allow Bill and Elaine to see more of Port au Prince. It's strange but true how we want to see the damage for ourselves. Not in a morbid sense, but in the sense that it somehow makes the whole thing more real. We still feel like it didn't really happen, though we see evidence of it everywhere, both in the buildings themselves that fell and in the people. Something keeps us from being able to process the whole thing fully. God protected us from seeing it until a month later, when most of horrible images you probably saw on the news had passed, and we are thankful. Many many people have pictures in their minds that they wish they could erase. We will continue to pray for the people hurting though now I just wish we could forget the whole thing ever happened. (Well now as I reread this I realize that God has brought a whole LOT of good from the tragedy. But we still mourn for what people have endured.)
Before we left, we took the team for a hike up the mountain! One of the men, Alan, wanted to get baptized on top of the mountain, and two others wanted to get re-baptized up there. It was neat. We climbed up (with some kids in tow...well actually they were literally running uphill for part of it) and had a little service overlooking the mountains, ocean in the background, and surrounded by beauty! It was a cool way for them to end their trip.
Now we are here on another 2 week adventure. We are better prepared this time around, and though we didn't really want to leave, we're hopeful that God will teach us a thing or two :) bonjoune!