Confession

Reading our friends' blog describing their experience on the mission field in Africa has me feeling a mixture of emotions tonight- joy for them- they're blown away by a great ministry. Anticipation- what will they take away from this, how will it impact and change them, will they be called to full time missions? And then the ugly emotion of jealousy underneath it all- I wish WE were seeing beautiful sights of Africa, joining a busy Christ-filled ministry, sharing our new journey. I realize in these moments that so much of my walk with Christ has little to do with Christ and a lot to do with me. Christ is the same here and across the sea, in the faces of Haitians, Africans, and Americans and present in their world. I wish I understood the story of Christmas and Christ's coming more deeply.
And then comes the peace-giving knowledge that a life seeking after that understanding will be full of meaning and growth. Understanding the significance of Christ's coming isn't something we can do in a moment and move on- it is a lifetime of learning and changing! Seeking his face will provide the fulfillment we long for and that will only be completely realized when we are with him in Eternity. For now I better fight these feelings of jealousy and realize that the story of our lives had better be more about HIM than about US. It better be focused on Him intently so that I don't forget that life isn't about awesome experiences and being the most exciting Christian (although I can't deny I like the idea of both of those things!)
Maybe God will allow us to return to Haiti, or travel somewhere else overseas. Maybe he will keep us in Terre Haute for residency, or have us start over somewhere else in Indiana. By my standards I guess Indiana doesn't sound too exciting but praise the Lord that really walking with Christ one day at a time can have an impact wherever we are, whoever we are with, and whatever we do.
Heading to bed with peace in my heart, genuine excitement for my friends, and a super thankful heart for a God who does something supernatural in us- washes away our sinful feelings, grants us understanding, and settles us with peace.

Hello again :) It is Sunday afternoon and I am sitting in front of our ventilate (fan) wishing for a venti latte (frappacino) after taking a little snooze. So it has been about four days since our last update and it is four days from our departure... time flies. Kath and I have been up to a couple of different things. It is hard sometimes to write about the days because they all seem kinda similar when you are here. The medical aspect of our trip has been great. This past week I spent a lot of the time with the Haitian doctors seeing patients and doing exams. While I may not learn as much as when I am with Dr. Kris, we can't communicate at that level, I still am able to get hands on experience with patients. It has been fun to take full histories, do the full exam, and send for labs without too much help from the doctors. Of course they are looking over my shoulder the entire time, but it has given me a real confirmation that Family practice is where I want to be. I get to see little 6 month old babies with malaria one minute and a 90 year old guy the next who is complaining of body pain. It has been a great experience.
All this time with the Haitian doctors has resulted in a pretty good relationship with them. On Friday Kathleen and I joined them for lunch in the medical house. It was great. If you have read the blog before you know I love haitian beans and rice. Well, Friday was no exception, but it had an added zest of aged hot peppers in a questionable looking container that was brought to me when I told them I like things spicy.
Its still pretty warm here. I am not going to lie...I am looking forward to some a/c and icecream. But we have had two solid thunderstorms that have lowered the humidity and made it actually cool at night (mid 70s). Thank you Lord!
Yesterday we along with the Thedes and the team were able to go visit houses of the area surrounding the compound and take pictures of the families. We are trying to compose a sponsor program, linked to kids in the Sunday afternoon kids program, in which families who support the club through their church in the US can adopt a family in Haiti to pray for on a regular basis. It was a good but tiring experience. Many people were receptive to the idea and were glad to have their picture taken. The power of prayer outweighs what any monetary sponsorship could offer. One home had 22 people living in it... crazy! because it was a twenty by twenty one story house made with woven wood and mud. Our Haitian leader, Jean-Pierre, shared the message of Christ's love with two families who had not yet accepted him! It was a great opportunity to be apart of something bigger than ourselves.
Today has been filled with a visit to Port Margot church by ourselves and a very long kids club. It was a great day, but I am culturally exhausted right now. Thanks for your prayers and I hope you have a great week. Okay we have been trying to get pics but they won't load...probably my computer. If you want some pics here is Kris and Cory's blog: www.portmargot.blogspot.com

God's Goodness

Happy Wednesday! This has been a good, busy week so far. Between going to the clinic and then back down to see the results of the lab tests, Chris and I have begun a new project: the re-painting of the clinic's sign along the road! I will have to take a picture of it now so we can have a before and after...right now it looks a bit rough. We have been scraping the old paint (about 4 layers I think) off in hopes of getting our new paint to last a while. Unfortunately this scraping has come after we painted the first two layers, only to have them rust through in one night and show some signs of peeling! But at least we didn't start painting the letters on yet. We are having fun although I have been a little stressed about whether it will turn out okay....but Kris assures me that anything is better than what was there! And scraping has definitely been a bit of a character building experience for one of us at least. (well, for Chris too I guess as he has to deal with some of my struggling moments!)
Anyway, the team is still trucking along and getting work done...projects for the school, building a new roof on one of the school buildings, new benches, painting clinic rooms, and more. On Sunday we all enjoyed the huge kid's program that happened on the compound, of over 600 kids! It was quite something. We went on a parade, listened to different singing groups, and enjoyed some popcorn. It was incredible to see how many kids came and how happy everyone was to be there. It really stuck out to me during that time how beautiful Haiti is and how beautiful the Haitians are. Thank you Lord for letting us see the beauty and not just the negative things about this country.
God has shown his goodness so clearly lately. I want to share a few of the ways, though there are more. As you will see in the picture Chris got to help with another delivery on Sunday. He really wanted to deliver a baby while here and has gotten to help with 4. So cool! Since the team has been here, Chris and I have become less famous with the kids, which in some ways is nice and in others is a little bittersweet. It's great to see how much the team loves the kids and vise-versa, they are really enjoying the time playing and trying to communicate! So in the midst of the new excitement there's one little boy (Loubens) who has brought us a new picture he drew almost every other day. Each one has both our names on it, some flowers, and the last one even had some Creole words with English translation :) It's meant a lot to me! Tonight as we were walking back from dinner we stopped and watched a huge thunderhead rolling by against some blue sky with lighting going through it and it looked so cool. In the distance I could hear a group of Haitian women singing Come Thou Fount (in Creole, but I recognized the tune) A neat God moment. Even up on the ladder scraping that paint away I thought, How blessed am I, to be here working beside my husband? Thank you Jesus! Despite the team being here, and family members no less, we have had some good time with Kris and Cory, as Kris has gone to the clinic with Chris, we have looked at wedding and family pics, chatting while scraping paint, and adding more experiences to a friendship started over two years ago now. And as Anna and Eli are having a blast with their cousins and helping with projects, we're thankful for the two weeks we got to hang out with them before everyone came! Finally, and like I said, this is an inconclusive list, a neighbor just knocked at our door and said, Fre Chris, Anana! Which means, Chris, pineapple! And gave us a pineapple.
Well, that is my spiel for the evening. Have a great night!
"Which of you, if his son asks for bread, will give him a stone? Or if he asks for a fish, will give him a snake? If you, then, though you are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father in heaven give good gifts to those who ask him! Matthew 7:9-11

Hello! It's a beautiful Saturday afternoon in Haiti. This morning we got to go to the beach, Chou Chou Bay to be exact. It was awesome! The team is here (13 in all) and doing great. They have jumped right in to projects, playing with kids, helping with laundry, and absorbing all they can and trying to process their experiences in Haiti. It's been fun to get to know them, and to hear their reactions and thoughts about Haiti and their time here. They are gracious to invite us to join them for devotions each evening which has been neat.
So the past few days we have been doing our usual routine plus a bit extra with the team here. Chris has been going to clinic each morning and now and then he will get to go down in the afternoon if someone comes in needing medical care. On Thursday he was able to watch a birth, see two stab wounds sewn, and a little guy's finger stitched up as well. We spent a good amount of Friday scraping paint with some team members and Kris in the hospital rooms at the clinic. After trying a few methods of scraping we resorted to using machetes, which worked great! It was super hot but it felt so good to do some hard work. We were all very thankful to discover that only two of the rooms needed to be scraped before the new paint is applied! Yesterday afternoon we all took a walk to see Gener (Cory's gardner)'s garden across the river. What a beautiful walk. It was fun to let him show off his plants and various plots of land that he owns and plants on.
Talking and playing with kids has been one of the teams' favorite activities so far. It is interesting to get their perspective on the kids we have seen so often the last time we were here and the first two weeks of this trip. It's cool to see each person on their unique, individual journey. You definitely can't take everything in and learn everything God has for you in one day, or even one trip. Even after eight months we couldn't sum it all up easily!
Tomorrow will be the kid's program's big party on the compound. Everyone is pretty excited about it. There will be a parade with instruments, refreshments, a puppet show, and who knows what else. Some big thunder heads seem to be coming our way, which has happened the last few days as well. We haven't had a huge downpour in a while, so we'll see if these clouds are playing tricks on us to. Have a great Sunday, and Happy Father's Day to our wonderful Dads!!! ( a little late :)

Chris delivers his 1st baby! (and other news)

Good evening! It's been a pretty hot day here so far, although in the evening there are sometimes a few more cool breezes to enjoy. So here are some pictures from the various activities of the last few days. The first was a program for the volleyball and soccer teams that have competed this year. The young people that participated received certificates and applause as we looked on and checked out their table full of trophies. After the little ceremony we all enjoyed some Haitian food together. The next few pictures are from Saturday, when Chris and I were able to accompany Cory on a banana distribution. The men loaded up the back of the truck and we drove a ways down the road, handing out a banana plant to each house that had not already gotten one. Cory showed them a few pictures and some information about the specific kind of plant it was. Cory said that this is the fun part, and it really was! It was interesting to stop by people's houses and talk to people we'd never seen before and get a small glimpse into their everyday lives. The picture with all the kids is from a kid's program at the church...one of many that have been happening lately as graduations and end of school parties and programs are going on. We went to one such program in Port Margot yesterday, which turned out to be a party, in which we were introduced, asked to say something to the kids, had a fan plugged in and pointed only toward the blancs, and then ate beans and rice with about 100 kids and parents! Wow. If there is one word that comes to mind for this trip so far it is, Humbling! People here always seem to treat us as guests of honor, even if we have done absolutely nothing for them, just shown up! I came here thinking, I need to find ways to help these people, to encourage them, to help change their situations for the better. And while that isn't necessarily bad, I am learning that trying to make a Haitian's life more like a North American's not only doesn't work very well, but isn't the right approach. The people here have so many gifts and talents and are definitely being used by God to do His work. Despite their difficulties they lead children and adults, praise the Lord, and bless US as best they can. This has led us to really pray for wisdom about how to minister to not only Haitians but people in general. In a book I've been reading (When Helping Hurts) the author talks about approaching poor people with the attitude that, we are both broken, needy individuals who need a Savior and need to grow. Instead of, I have to fix you and make you more like me, because I have the answers and the best way of life! Again, it's been humbling. There is so much we have to learn. As we read books, talk to people, and spend time trying to think of ways to help while we are here, we are continually humbled to prayer asking for direction and for God to show us where He is at work.

I, Chris now, was very busy in the clinic yesterday (Sunday) with Dr. Kris. We were called out of church a few minutes before it ended to go see a woman who was in labor. It was her first. One of the medical things I wanted to do while in Haiti was deliver a baby and I thought this might be my chance. So I asked Kris if I could and she said she would come back down to the clinic and help me. So we hurried up and changed clothes and I glanced at a midwifery book that had the bullet points and we went back to the clinic. It was a perfect delivery. It really went well... well, from a doctors stand point. The mother who was in labor for 11 hours before coming to the clinic may have a slightly different view. So I was the first person to lay hands on a beautiful baby girl...awesome! And God granted a safe delivery. The experience gave me a little jolt of excitement to continue my medical training...thanks Lord. Little did I know that as Kathleen and I were getting ready for bed Jean-Pierre would call to me from outside my window and tell me there was another woman in labor. This was ten thirtyish. Well, I hurried up and waited. This time I didn't have Dr. Kris to pass the time with. She usually spends the time telling me medical stories and teaching me... tonight it was the haitian nurse, Miss Ermadine, the pregnant mother (who kept calling me doc - I kinda liked it), and two of her friends. I missed about 90% of the conversation, but it was still a great learning experience. After taking the baby's heart rate and mom's BP several times and almost falling off a stool asleep I got to catch my second baby for the day at 3:45 am... a healthy "gason" a boy. Thanks again Lord. This lady was a riot though. She was singing and humming hymns right up until the final push. Awesome opportunity to learn and a great reminder to why I am glad I am not a woman!!

A few more days have gone by and we have settled into a little routine. It will only last about one week, since there is a team coming next Wednesday, but it's been quite a familiar week as we've taken up a similar routine as we had last year! Chris has continued to go to the clinic each day this week and it has been an interesting experience as each day brings in a different mixture of ages, sicknesses, and conversations with the patients. He has mostly been shadowing Dr. Kris, and spent one morning with Dr. Jean Pierre (whose English has improved, which Chris is grateful for) One unique thing about this clinic is that Dr. Kris is able to talk to the patients about their faith and pray with them. This has been a really good experience for me (it's Chris now ;) because it has gotten me thinking about how I want to shape my practice and how I want to impact my patients. Many times in Haiti the doctors do the best they can with what they have and the rest is up to God or chance or whatever the patient believes in. Often what the doctor has is very limited in Haiti, but I know I will run into the same problems in the states. There never will be enough tests and cures. No matter what I do as a physician people will become ill and every one of them will die at some point. This sounds very pessimistic I know, but I am thinking about how as a Doctor I can make the visits they have matter and the knowledge I have mean something. Do they leave my office hopeful or hopeless? I may not have the answers, but I believe that the christian church does and it is Jesus. I hope to be able to integrate my faith into my practice in a way that encourages my fellow believers, but challenges them to live a life in the best way we know how. Dr. Kris asks people if they attend church and if so she will talk with them about the choices they are making and whether they line up with what God wants for them. That's great. And for those who aren't Christians I am equally excited to be their doctor if not more. Not so that I can force something on them, but so that I can provide the best care possible and be someone they can trust in those trying times. So to sum it up I am learning a lot.
We have settled back into our Haitian life. After a little more than a week we have seen many of our friends and old students. It has been fun to reconnect. Kathleen and I have again been able to teach English... but not in a classroom setting. People will ask us if they can visit and practice their english with us. Most of the time they don't show up, but sometimes they do. The pic to the left is of a kid named Walfy who has been bringing his school books to ask for help with English. Most of the time it is just helping with pronunciation. It is neat to make people so happy by just reading aloud or correcting their "th" sound (which is the hardest sound for Haitians to master).

This morning Kath and I went with Cory and Gener to Limbe to deliver about 75 banana plants to a Wesleyan church there. We also are delivering another 75 this afternoon to homes a couple miles from the compound. Cory is try to get the more bug and disease resistant plants out into the community so their value can be recognized.
It is a lot hotter today than it has been. The sun is pouring out all its warmth.... and making me sweat! Its not terrible but it is warm. Fans are high on the list for all time best inventions in my book. Well that is all for now. We will have to write more later about the celebrations we have been attending, but I have to get this hot computer off my lap :) Thanks for reading

First days of our Visit

We're back! (good movie by the way if you like dinosaur cartoons) We got in on Thursday morning and spent most the day in the biggest city in northern Haiti, Cap Haitian. We went shopping, waited for cargo at the airport, bought frozen chicken, and went out to eat. We went to a place called "Gwo bebe" meaning "big baby" but for some reason the sign had the picture of an older woman who looked very motherly. I had goat with lots of bones in it, plantain, spicy sauce, bean sauce, beans and rice, and a sprite for 200 gds. (about 5 dollars). It was awesome! Kath went with the chicken. I have been craving haitian food since we left. Kathleen and I were tired enough from our travels that we actually fell asleep in the car, something neither of us ever thought possible because of the road conditions. For dinner we had beans and rice with chicken and sauce....again amazing. Okay enough about food...
It is hard to sum up what is different between the states and Haiti unless you have been here. I kinda feel like I am just stepping into a different world. It is not a bad world by any means but very different. For example, I don't know too many kids in the states who would wait most the day at someones house for a person to arrive. When Kathleen and I got to the compound there were around thirty kids waiting to greet us (some we didn't know). It is nice to feel loved. Another difference is the length of the days. Because we stay in one spot and don't hop in the car two or three times a day the days seem longer... even though we go to bed at nine! This presents awesome opportunities to spend time reading, talking with people, playing games, and spending more time with God. Kath and I both are looking forward to this month for the blessing we have to reflect and to reconnect with each other, the Thedes, and our Haitian friends.
This weekend we had a tea party with Anna, helped transport 150 banana plants to Port Margot, went to church, went to the kids club, and played Settlers of Catan. All a good time. This morning I was able to go with Dr. Kris to the clinic for the first time. We saw seven patients with a variety of ailments including stomach pain, fever, and headaches. Maybe some malaria. We will find out when we get the lab results this afternoon. Well that's most of the report. Have a wonderful day. (Pictures to come, they wouldn't upload today....)