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!

Pictures of the Team

Here are some more pictures of the week with the team! The first picture shows all the guys, so from left to right is Mike, Todd, Pastor Rigaud, Alan, Mickenson, and Paul. This was taken after Pastor Rigaud (hospital administrator and friend) came to give us thank-you gifts for coming and working. It was neat, each guy got a really cool drawing of Haiti. He gave Chris and I gifts too, which we weren't expecting! He came to tell the team how much the people here appreciate the work they've done. They have made life easier for the hospital staff in many ways, and simply their presence here is an encouragement.Underneath here you can see a before and after picture of the counter top in the medical house. Before the guys built the nice wooden one you see below, Chris thought there was a piece of ceiling tile placed over the cabinets that they couldn't set their dishes on. What a joy for them to have a brand new, stable counter. They also put one in their bathroom too. This morning we were planning to go to the Citadel...but learned that it would cost a very large amount of money. We changed plans and decided to go to the beach which is somewhat nearby, but it's been raining this morning so I'm not sure we will do anything touristy today! We shall see. Mike (the guy on the ladder) has been busy doing electrical work all week (even in the rain, that is!), while Mickenson (the guy painting) has been so great to have around to translate for us and to help with jobs. Bill and Elaine have been awesome hosts too. Cooking, cleaning, and working with and for the team. We are all getting ready to head to Port au Prince on Monday. We'll drop the team off at the airport, and wait for a few hours until our own plane comes in, then we'll be off.

Yesterday we showed a movie for our English club...the Ultimate Gift. It's a good movie! There were about 5 guys there to watch, and they enjoyed it. We turned on the English subtitles so they could hear and read, hopefully getting a fuller understanding that way. Every so often, we'd pause it and talk about what was happening. It was something fun and different than talking about politics, the earthquake, or history like we usually do in the club. Those are all important topics of course, but who doesn't like to kick back and relax now and then. (Although I'm not sure how relaxing that was for them...if we tried to watch a movie in Creole I think I'd be exhausted afterward).
After that, we went with Pastor Emmanuel to his house because his daughter-in-law, Madam Onyx, was there visiting for a few days. She had a baby back in September but immediately had serious complications and has been going through depression and other mental difficulties since. Last time Dr. Kris saw here, she said she was shuffling through the house, and wasn't very responsive. But yesterday, she seemed MUCH better! We were thrilled to see her so much improved. We talked with her and her parents for about 10 minutes probably, and she asked a few questions, and seemed very with-it. She has been living in Cap Haitian, away from her baby, for many months now, getting care. Her family has been taking care of Ted, the baby (whose dad lives here with

them) and we have all been praying and asking
about her for a long time it seems. So it was great to see her here and doing better. Praise God!
I like this pic of Chris with a shovel in one hand and pulling a little red wagon with the other. :) The team has been using it to haul stuff up and down the hill.
Have a good weekend!

A Week of Repairs

This has been a really good week with the team. They work quickly and have gotten a lot done: Re-wiring the electricity in the church (there are actually light switches now, and the wires aren't exposed) new counter tops made for the medical house, screens repaired for the clinic and medical house, a toilet (almost finished) put in at the clinic, tiling on counters, repairing of water tank, and more that I'm forgetting. Each night we eat dinner all together, and have devotions afterward.It's been cool to hear stories and listen to people share about how God has been faithful in their lives. In the picture you see Paul and Alan working hard, and one of the screens that needed repaired. Above that is Jennifler and Sephora, two of the cutest little Haitian girls you could imagine! Everyday the team has a group of kids (sometimes adults too) standing around watching them work. They are very gracious to them, and like to hand out candy too. Yesterday one guy came out of the guest house with a hand full of suckers, followed by another guy carrying an arm load of toothbrushes! Both were received with excitement. Two of Cory's gardeners have also been working with the guys. They've really appreciated the help and as you can see they aren't afraid to do the dirty work. (they are digging to find some clogged toilet pipes in the picture, no thanks!)
English classes have been going really well this week. After three weeks of no class, most of our students have come back this week and been really great. After we found out we need to leave again for two weeks, but both classes have been gracious. We assured them they will still get their certificates if they come to class, and we are extending the class time to 2 hours instead of one and a half. Our first class is my favorite right now, mainly because it is small. This week we've only had 6 or seven students in this class, and 4 of them are women! It's fun teaching a class that size, and knowing their names this time around, in both classes, has totally changed the experience. I'm starting to not be able to think too hard about when we leave! Though we're excited to come home and see our families and be in our own culture, the thought of leaving is becoming much harder to think about.
Oh! We also heard from the Thede's again, as Chris has been talking with Cory now and then about projects going on and getting instruction. They are still doing well, and the clinic has been able to limit their patients-per-day to about 200 instead of 600. The kids are doing fine, and Kris is still doing triage while Cory helps in the pharmacy. We will get to "host" them in Port au Prince next Friday when they come to the guest house before coming back north.
So, the saga with Darlene will continue. I imagine it will be a bit different because Carl, the owner of the house and her boss!-will be there and from what we understood she and Hareld would act differently when he was around. (maybe she won't go outside and sleep in the afternoon anymore! :) We shall see!
Thanks for reading and keeping up to date with us and praying. We're not very good at posting prayer requests but here's a few:
-For the Thede's in Petit Goave, that this would be a bonding time for their family, and a healing time for Kris, as she went through a lot the first time she was there.
-For the team up here, that they could return home having learned some things and knowing they really blessed the people here
-That the commitments made to God and the spiritual awakening wouldn't fizzle out, but would grow stronger as the country and each family enters this this time of rebuilding and moving on.
-That we'd be safe in that tiny plane once again!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Eeek!
Have a great day!

A Little Bit of Everything and Some News from the Thedes

Its Tuesday morning and Kath and I feel settled back into Fauche. We started our English classes again last night that went well. We talked about the difference of fancy and casual, family, step-family, we read the beginning of James 2, and worked on the pronunciation of oo in food, pool, etc. It was a good class that went pretty quickly. Kath and I have found teaching together very encouraging and helpful. Whenever I am feeling sluggish my wife is there to take up the slack and keep the class moving and visa versa when she's not feeling it. It is great to teach together and we have become a pretty awesome team! Last night was our first class in three weeks. We had Pastor Emmanuel (our English speaking neighbor) come to class and translate for us as we told our class that we will be missing another two weeks starting Monday. Why? Yesterday morning we got a call from Joy Irvine and she asked us to come and work in the guest house in Port-au-Prince again! Kathleen and I didn't really want to go, but we just prayed that if we were supposed to go then things would go smoothly and everything would be arranged. We were just feeling settled and we were worried about our classes and the relationships that we have with people here. We just got started again! But someone needs to be in PAP to receive teams and feed them. So we will be going on the first of March. We have a team here that is working on the clinic and campus so we need to be here until Monday and we will be leaving at the same time as them. Bill and Elaine will be coming with us to help out. It should be a good time of meeting new people and being a good host/hostess. We are sad to be separated from our classes again but last night they took the news very well, and understood that the earthquake disrupted everything, including our little English class 100 miles away.

The team here for this week is from north of Grand Rapids, MI and have been working away. Todd, Alan, Mike, Paul, and Mickenson (a Haitian guy from LaGonave that knows Todd and met them up here to help translate-very helpful! and work) have been a pleasure to have and very easy to take care of. Right now they are working on tiling countertops in the clinic (below), rewiring messy areas, putting in light sockets/light switches (Below: Bill and Mike looking at a fuse that needs replaced) repairing broken sewage pipes, hooking up water to the clinic, tiling countertops in the Thede's house, making fun of each other, laughing, and sharing stories with us. It has been a great time and they have done a great job. We are excited to see what they can get done this week.
Sunday afternoon Kathleen and I spent some time apart (it was agonizing!!!!). I went to the children's program at the church and she stayed and made Haitian food with a Madh-Jenny (sounds like Myjenny). They made a white rice and then a chicken sauce to go over it. Kath kept just a little and we gave the rest to Madh-Jenny's family. It was very good...Good job honey! When we get back we will have to make Haitian food when we have guests.
I talked to Cory today. He had some crazy news. Yesterday the clinic set a record of seeing 600 patients in this little outdoor clinic! He told me that they were working until 7 o'clock handing out medications and seeing patients. Kris has been very helpful in doing triage (picking importance of who gets seen) and keeping order in the masses of people wanting to be seen. Her knowledge of Kreole and Haitians is very useful in this type of situation. She and the rest of the medical workers are all working outdoors under these tarps. Not having rain is very important. Cory has been working in the pharmacy (below) stocking drugs in the morning and handing drugs to patients after they have been seen explaining to them how often and how much they should be taken. With 600 patients it is a real blessing to have 2 knowledgeable missionaries there! Anna is even keeping busy playing as usual and even translating some. The whole family is staying in a tent together at night 100 feet below the clinic. 200 feet below them is the ocean. Cory told me that everything seemed well organized and going very well in spite of being so busy. The medical team doesn't seem to have any hotheads and the Haitians are willing to wait for their free medical care. It is amazing how it has been working. We just learned the other day that this clinic should be closing down in the next 30 days because the Red Cross is going to rebuild the hospital there. That would be phenomenal, but until then the Wesleyan Clinic is THE health care provider for Petit Guave.
Well that is a lot of typing, but I had a lot to say ;) Thanks for all your prayers and thoughts.

Bon Voyage Thedes, Welcome another team!

This morning the Thede's took off for their two week trip to Petit Goave as a family. When Kris left the day after the earthquake to offer her medical skills, that is where she ended up, and where she eventually met Chris's dad too! Now they are returning as a family to offer another two weeks of service and experience a taste of what Kris did together. We will be praying for them and ask that you do too! Cory will be traveling around with an agricultural team for the first week, seeing what crops should be planted post-earthquake that could provide food quickly. We'll be praying that they have a really amazing experience as a family and individually! That Anna and Eli will adjust to the new temporary living situation easily and that they will each be used in special ways. The picture to the left shows the large military tents they'll be staying in, as well as the ocean view they will hopefully enjoy when they need a breather. On the right you see the pharmacy that has been accumulated at the clinic in Petit Goave. The Thedes are bringing more boxes of medical supplies to add to the stash you see here. The palm tree pic shows part of the clinic area; patients are laid on those tables for exams and wait their turn on the surrounding benches.
It will be strange being here in Fauche without the Thede's for the next few weeks! We and the Bailey's will be hosting a team of 4 men coming to do more work on the clinic and things around the compound. We will try to keep them busy, fed, challenged, comfortable, and happy! We don't know anything much about the guys, but will have met them all by (hopefully) about noon today. Chris went along to pick them up from the airport this morning and drop the Thede's off at the same time.
Next week we start our English classes once again. So far I am finding out that my worry was unnecessary (I suppose worry is ALWAYS unnecessary, but that's hard to realize at the time) about whether our students would be upset over our leaving without letting them know. So far, each one we have talked to has been gracious. God shows us again that we only need to trust him.
This past week Chris and I honestly didn't do much when it comes to actual work. We got home and realized how tired we were! The first night we were back I think we slept about 10 hours, it was so nice. We spent the first few days unpacking, accumulating a large pile of laundry to go along with the large pile we had left 2 weeks ago, getting acquainted with the team that was here, hanging out with Eli and Anna, relaxing, talking to neighborhood kids, sweeping flies out of our house, and spending some time together. It was interesting hearing the teams from the US talk about their experience here. They LOVE the kids, first of all. They find them charming and fun, which was good for us to hear. We have become a bit jaded when it comes to the kids, since they rarely come without asking and asking now a days. When we first came, we spent hours playing with them and really enjoyed that! But as our months have gone by it's become less enjoyable and more a source of frustration and confusion--we aren't sure how much to give, both in time and material things, and they seem to just want to take. So it was good for us to hear them rave about the kids, and to reevaluate our attitudes toward them. It's still hard but we don't want to become too cynical!
Today I am getting ready to go talk to the cooks and tell them to spice up the beans and rice (Kris, Eli and Anna don't like spicy food so while they are gone we will try for something different!) and then help Bill and Elaine get ready for the teams' arrival. Thanks for your prayers. We have 2 more months here and want to finish strong, whatever that will mean! We appreciate your prayers and encouragement more than ever. God bless and have a great weekend!

A Parade of Praise...with a video!

Watch this video of what took place in Fauche on Tuesday!

On Tuesday afternoon, we had been back in Fauche for only about a day, and were still excited by the response to the three day, nation-wide time of fasting and prayer that Haiti had declared. How exciting it was to see crowds of people singing and walking from church services on Sunday night in Port au Prince, when it was the first night of Carnival! (usually this would be a time for Vodou stuff to take the streets) As we drove back to our guest house from Petit Goave that night, we saw church after church packed out, with people having services under tarps, and even on the streets. It was a decision about a week and a half ago that Haiti would have a day of mourning (Feb. 12, one month after the earthquake) and a weekend of prayer and fasting for the country. The spontaneous response was greater than we could anticipate. It was kind of unreal to be in Port au Prince and see all the people near the broken palace where they held a huge service. When we returned to the North, there were similar exciting stories to being told! Hundreds of people had accepted Jesus at the church in Port Margot, and services had been held all weekend up here as well. This week there is a service in the Fauche church every night.
On Tuesday afternoon, we heard that there was going to be a parade of people coming through Fauche. We didn't really know what that meant, but heard that people were walking the roads from town to town, and we could hear their singing off in the distance. Along with the team here from Warsaw, Indiana, we went down by the road to wait for them to come by. When they finally came around the curve, it was quite a sight!! There were so many people! Singing and dancing, and with big smiles, arms raised. They came into the campus to gather for a few minutes, then turned back toward Port Margot to continue with their parade. It was amazing! To see all these people whose country and families had just been devastated by an earthquake only a month ago, praising God and enjoying themselves, it can't be explained. The healing and hope that was taking place was too much to take in at once!
I love this picture because the woman on the far right is Lilianne, the lady from our English class that I mentioned a few weeks back who told me she had lost her husband. We know that seriously only God can give her the smile that's on her face and the dance in her step. God is moving here! And it's so exciting! Even though there is great sadness and serious wounds, God is good and our hope is in Him!