We are home!

We have been stateside since Thursday evening, March 25th. The reason that this blog is so late, is that we did not have access to the internet until we got to this coast. We left Fauche at 8:30 Thursday morning and flew out of Cap Haitian at 2:15. We found out the night before that we would be flying on a single engine "Caravan". You really feel that you are in the hands of God flying for 4 1/2 hours over the ocean with only one engine. The flight was beautiful and uneventful. My sister and her husband, Carol and Craig Smith, met us at Fort Pierce. We were very happy to see each other again, especially since we arrived almost an hour later than expected. They took us right to a Steak and Shake on the way home, and we got burgers and ice cream.
We had a great few days with our family, and are now on the other coast of Florida with our friends - Graham and Billie Thoresen. Bill got to go grocery shopping for the first time last night. He had a great time buying a lot of fun things to eat - like lobster and shrimp. I just enjoy watching him when he is in that "shopping" mode. We will have a seafood feast tonight.
Thank you for your continued prayers while we were in Haiti. We feel very blessed to have been there - meeting so many people that are sold out to Jesus. Every person there has "gotten out of their boat" and trusted the Lord's leading.Many of the Haitian people have renewed faith in Jesus as the "only way" to heaven. We will pray for their country to be completely sold out to Him.

We are praising the Lord for his faithfulness. We were eating a dish for lunch yesterday that had chicken in it. Cory buys chicken legs in bulk and then they are frozen in gallon bags. When the cook wants chicken, she uses a knife to force the chicken apart - using only a portion of the bag at a time. The cook told Cory that she was sorry that she had broken a knife while separating the chicken. What she failed to say is that she didn’t find the broken tip. So, when we were in the middle of lunch Anna takes the tip of the knife out of her food. We are all so thankful that she was checking for bones. She actually licked it off and didn’t get cut. Thank you for your prayers for our safety.
Bill has gone planting bamboo with Cory and two Haitian men 3 times now. The last time - each carrying 2 - 5 gallon buckets of trees, they followed a dry creek bed almost to the top of the mountain. The men would climb out of the creek bed and plant the trees on the bank above, so that when the rains and high water come, the bank doesn’t erode further. The local Haitian families have gardens up there and they are threatened at that time. Bill was exhausted when he came back, but said the view was spectacular. They did find something interesting. Very large fresh water crabs live in the banks of the creek, with holes much like a beaver would make. The Haitians catch and eat them. You would think it would be a real treat for them. You don’t think about crabs living out of the water, but when they dug some holes in the creek bottom they found water very close to the surface. Last night we got several inches of rain. I’m sure the creek is running and the crabs are happy! Cory is happy too - his gardens and his tree plantings needed the moisture.
I visited with 3 Haitian high school students the other day down by the shop. They wanted to practice their English. They asked me all kinds of questions;, such as what is my name, do we have a computer at our house, is it billed to us, how much did it cost, do we live by the palace (meaning the White House), what is my occupation, and finally how old are you? When I told them 63 they just laughed and laughed. They had “thought” that I was an older person. But then one sweet boy said that I looked very young for my age!!! When Bill came back and they realized he was my husband, they were concerned that he might be angry that they were talking to me. When I told them that he wouldn’t mind at all, they decided that he was nice just like me. They were very polite and so happy and excited about life. It makes me wonder what will happen when they get out of school and there are no opportunities available for them. They are all Compassion Kids, so that might help them with their future too. I hope so. There is so much unemployment and hopelessness here.
We celebrated St. Patrick’s Day by going up to the Thede’s for supper. We had beef stew, soda bread, green macaroni and cheese, green Kool-Aid, cream puffs with green frosting, and Irish bread pudding. We had a fun evening of story telling and laughter. Dr. Kris said that they have to make a point of celebrating holidays so that they remember what month it is. I think that the internet and e-mail has changed the life of missionaries around the world. Without it, they would be totally isolated. The short time we have been here, I’ve been very thankful for friends and family that keep in touch with us.
Thank you again for your prayers for our protection. Please pray that the weather will be good on Thursday of next week. We are coming home!
“If the good Lord’s willin’ and the creek don’t rise!”

It is Sunday morning and we are alone in our house for the first time since January 22nd. We totally enjoyed Joel and saw him off yesterday morning for Port Au Prince. He is flying home to New Brunswick on Tuesday.
Chris and Kathleen came back yesterday. We expected them in the early afternoon, since Cory had to shop for groceries after they flew in to Cap Haitian. Trips in Haiti are rarely normal, and theirs was definitely one to remember. They landed in Cap Haitian on time, went out for lunch and then grocery shopping. So far, everything is on schedule. About halfway home, the highway was closed ahead. There had been a feeding station by the road - giving out rice and other foods to the local people. A young man tried to run in and grab a 50 lb. bag of rice - when a policeman shot and killed him. The only road between Cap Haitian and Port Au Prince was closed for several hours. It was very hot yesterday.
When we heard about this via cell phone, we began praying for their safety and that they would have enough water with them to keep hydrated. They were able to get out of the truck and stay in the shade and were safe with a UN vehicle close behind them. When they finally got on their way and just a few miles from home, a man jumped on the back of the pickup like he was going to get a free ride. Instead he grabbed a suitcase out of the back of the truck and some men on a motorcycle picked him up, turned around and went the other way. It all happened very fast. The really bad part, was that the suitcase had antibiotics and other medical supplies inside. It is a very big loss! Instances like this are so hard for us to understand. But we have to remember that God is in control, and as we praise Him, all things work together for our good and His glory.
Monday morning: As I sit at our dining room table - I can see hundreds of children playing and waiting for school to start this morning. They look so sweet in their matching uniforms. They have only had school a few days since the earthquake, and I know that they were very bored waiting for life to resume again. It seems like a long time to be off of school, but the leaders were very concerned about another earthquake and didn’t want to put these children in danger.
It looks like this is going to be a slow week for us with not much to write about. It is very hot, and with no teams here life has slowed down. We do have 10 or 11 people for Compassion International coming to stay with us the last few days we are in country. They are coming for a conference at the school on the compound arriving next Monday - March 22nd. We are in the process of getting sets of sheets and towels together for each of them.
We leave for the states on March 25th. I’ve started to pack those things that we will not be using anymore and am getting anxious to go home. Any groceries we leave will just be transferred to Kris and Cory’s house, so that is not a problem. It is hard to believe that our time here is almost finished. We have learned that to follow Jesus does not necessarily mean that we do the big or outstanding, whether we fix the generator or make tortillas for the teams. He just wants us to be open to His leading each day. That is our prayer as we begin each day - “Show us what you would have us do today”. The choices are so limited here, that it is much easier to follow Him. None of us are probably aware of the lives we touch just by our witness, or the love and compassion that we show others. Every person that comes to help or serve in Haiti has felt the call of the Lord - so witnessing of our love for God is very easy. It is much harder sharing that love at home with non-believers. This time here has been a gift to us - a place with few distractions, filled with beauty, and teams of people coming in and out that are sold out to Jesus. We’ve also gotten to appreciate the Haitian people: for their ability to praise the Lord in the midst of such great grief, their sharing with others when they have so little, and their gracious acceptance of us in their lives.
May the week ahead be as peaceful as ours “looks.” One never knows what the next minute will bring. May God bless you as you walk with Him.

It is Friday already. I just managed to forget our youngest grandson's birthday. Happy Birthday Adam - 2 years old yesterday. It has been a very quiet week and I have just been relaxing through it. Bill and Joel have been painting rooms in the hospital, mowing grass, and helping Cory plant bamboo and bananas along the river. Bamboo grows very fast and puts down deep roots. Hopefully that will help stop the erosion of the riverbanks during the rainy season.
Joel went up the mountain with Anna the other day - and just loved the trip and the view. He was in Port Au Prince during the earthquake, was not harmed but very shaken up. After that day he assisted doctors in makeshift hospitals (Joel is 21 years old, and not trained medically) and helped keep the guesthouse running. The cistern was damaged in the quake, so they had to haul water for all of the bathrooms, and for washing clothes by hand. Several teams came in and had to be taken care of in this way. He is going home to Canada on Tuesday, so he has come to the north of Haiti, to try to understand and enjoy another part of Haiti. We have enjoyed his company for the last few days.
We are making ourselves available to be used of God, and each day is a new day to bring glory to His name. Sometimes, he just lets us rest in His love and grace.
We pray for each of you to be at peace and walk in His presence.

Earthquake Pictures

I have some pictures of the damage in Port Au Prince. They do not come close to the reality or the immensity of the devastation. We drove around saddened to even ask the driver to see it all over again, but we needed to see to partially grasp the huge problems this country faces.

Friday morning was a cool rainy day in Port Au Prince. Carl’s brother Phoenix drove Bill and I around the area to see the earthquake damage for ourselves. The devastation is overwhelming. We saw building after building totally demolished. Many of those that are still standing are very dangerous to be in or near. People are living along the streets or in one of the many huge tent cities that have been put up. Some with real tents, others made of tarps and tablecloths. With the rainy season almost upon us, life will get several degrees harder for these brave people. The tour went on for over 3 hours. Every time I thought we were driving out of the worst of the destruction, it would begin all over again. We never did get to the epicenter - where there are huge boulders on the roads, and large cracks in the earth that have no bottom in sight. Our driver said that when the earthquake took place, he was waiting to play soccer. Suddenly the earth began moving like waves of the ocean, and the noise of the city falling was deafening. It took a few seconds to realize what was happening, since he had never experienced an earthquake before. He said, “it took just 30 seconds for life to be changed forever.”
When we got back to the guesthouse, we got everything ready for the medical team to come in on Friday evening for supper. They had just come in from spending the last 2 weeks in Petit Guave with Dr. Kris, Cory and the kids. We had 16 people come to stay, besides the 6 of us already there. Six men and the Thede family slept in tents outside, and the 6 women slept of the floor inside. It is quite an interesting job to plan the meals, make up the correct grocery list, have beds made up, and make each person feel at home.The stories these teams bring to us are priceless. Hosting a guesthouse is a very real way to share the love of Jesus with the body.
This morning, we left with the Thede’s and Joel, (a young man from Canada) to return to Cap Haitian and then home to Fauche. We left the house before 8 AM. Due to inclement weather, we flew out at about 11 AM. As the clouds were closing in, and the pilot couldn’t see the next ridge of mountains, we landed in Pignon, Haiti - about 25 air miles from Cap Haitian. This is called the “Central Plateau” of Haiti. We landed in a grassy airstrip, and stood by the plane for about an hour trying to decide what to do. Our choice was to fly back to Port Au Prince and try again another day, or find someone to drive us to Cap Haitian, 2 ½ hours by road. Cory and Kris knew the names of some people in Pignon. They eventually got in touch with a man who has a mission compound here with a brand new guest house. Two sweet men came and picked us up, and brought us to what they lovingly call “The Pignon Hilton” We have a good size room, 2 twin beds and our own bathroom with a shower. Supper is at 6!!!! They even have solar hot water and electricity. We feel totally blessed. By the way, we are out in the middle of nowhere!!! God is so good! We know that we are not here by accident and we are anxious to realize His purpose. They tell us that this is all part of the adventure!!!! Tomorrow will be a long day of driving, but we are looking forward to the trip.
Monday March 8: We woke up to breakfast of spaghetti, boiled eggs, and fried plantain, and toast. I cannot describe the beauty of the trip home - or how terrible the roads were. The entire road was rock - so the bouncing was constant and wild. We forded the river twice and there were large craters in the road 3 - 4 feet deep. They took up the whole road, so we were very thankful it was dry. We did have a very large Chevrolet truck that had been raised even higher than normal, just for the purpose of driving down these roads. Four of us were in the backseat, and 4 in the front. Joel was sitting by the window and Bill was beside him. After we had been driving awhile Joel said, “I feel like I’m between a rock and a hard place”. We all laughed - because those of us sitting in the middle had no place to hold on, so at times we were just bouncing uncontrollably. We picked up Cory’s truck in Cap Haitian - ate lunch - and then Joel rode in the back of the truck the last 1 ½ hours of the trip. He was tired from hanging on and bouncing back there, but could stretch his legs and had a beautiful view of the mountains and valleys. We are all very happy to be home - and to have had the chance to see parts of Haiti that we would never have seen if the flight had gone as planned. We even passed the “Citadel”.
Remember the people of Haiti in your prayers. They need to know Jesus as their Savior and Lord just like we do. Pray that they will have food to eat and water to drink. This is an immense problem right now.
Pictures are of the guesthouse and the "Kodiak".

Wednesday morning - another clear hot day in Port Au Prince. When we flew in on Monday afternoon we saw sporadic buildings down. One would be down and the next looked ok. Of course closer to the epicenter it is total destruction. The guesthouse is not far from the airport, so our views were very limited.
Before we left Fauche, I developed an infection and Chris went to the clinic and got some medication. By yesterday morning I realized that I was probably allergic to it. Not seriously allergic, but I wouldn’t be able to continue taking it. So, last night, about 4:30, Carl - the Haitian missionary on sight, and Joe - a guy from Canada, took me to several pharmacies looking for the right medicine. We drove all over, going to about 3 grocery stores and 5 pharmacies asking for the correct medicine. You can’t imagine the traffic and the tight spots these people drive in. Finally, we found it, getting home after 7 PM. I really didn’t think we would find it, but Carl and Joe would say, “It’s a hunt!” “We are out of the compound, let’s enjoy ourselves!” I think they said that so I wouldn’t feel that I was causing them problems. Anyway, we drove through so much devastation, and so many people on the street. Haitian drivers have to be so very good, aggressive, and still careful to miss the pedestrians, scooters, and vehicles. If a big truck is coming behind you or towards you, they honk their horn, and everyone just moves out of the way. Scooters are constantly zigzagging through the traffic. They use scooters as taxi’s hauling 3 or 4 people at a time. Carl said they are like death waiting to happen. Once it got dark - you could hardly see the hundreds of people on both sides of the street. I was just praying for their safety on the way home. At first, I couldn’t get my seatbelt to work, and then I realized I had to work harder at it. The possibility of an accident was very real. Anyway, we made it back, they were waiting supper for us, and I feel much better already!!! I’m thankful.
It doesn’t sound like there will be any teams in until Friday. Since we are leaving on Saturday, we will be only able to help a little bit with meals.
This morning before breakfast, Bill found a short in an electric line, and is studying the operating specs for the generator. His expertise is appreciated in this area. I’m not doing a whole lot at this time. They have a cook who cleans the kitchen, cooks lunch, and washes clothes. And a man who sweeps and keeps the rest of the house clean. At “home”, if it gets done, we do it ourselves. We do make breakfast each morning, and fix supper each night. Tonight there is just 7 of us. I might make a pie for dessert. We actually found a can of apples here.
Global Partners, the missions branch of the Wesleyan church, sent pallets of food to this guesthouse since so many teams stop here overnight. Bill has been having a great time looking at all of the cases of the America food stored in our bedroom. From Fauche, Cory has to drive the 1 ½ hours to Cap Haitian, and then sometimes spend hours in a store waiting for a small variety of canned goods to be checked out. The differences from here to there is amazing. Almost a culture shock for us.
I'm standing beside the refrigerator trying to finish this blog, since the battery is low in the computer and this is the only plug-in that works when the generator is off. I guess we are not in the USA!!!
Remember the courageous people of Haiti in your prayers.