Greetings of love to each of you. I feel like I have been absent from my blog for a while and when I look at the date of my last post, I realize that it has been many weeks. I hope I can give everyone an update that is concise enough to keep this from turning into a book!
To start I will mention that the above picture was taken on a recent trip to Rainbow Beach. I am not a photographer, but every once in a while I manage to take a shot that I really like. The children in the boat were having such a fun time that day and I was thankful to capture their silhouettes as they pushed off from shore and paddled around in their hand-carved boat.
The beginning of February started out a bit rough for me as I was suffering from a terrible toothache. Of course, a toothache is not serious and usually is not a bit deal, but when you can't drive a few blocks and visit your dentist, it becomes a bit more complicated. We treated the pain with a round of antibiotics and ibuprofen and after a few days I was feeling better, but it was obvious that the tooth needed dental attention. So, I was faced with deciding if I wanted to explore dental service in Haiti or try to get back to the states for treatment there. The tooth with the issue already had a crown so I was inclined to try and go home.
As providence would have it, there was a team from Sabetha coming in February. I endured for a couple of weeks and was able to travel back to Kansas with them on February 15th. Selah went with me and we had a good trip and were thankful for our traveling companions.
A day before we left for our flights to the Kansas, I received an email from my cousin, April, informing me of the progression of my Aunt Kathy's cancer. Kathy recently completed chemo treatments for a second bout of breast cancer. Unfortunately, she is suffering from an aggressive form of cancer (triple negative) and her latest scans show cancerous spots in her lymph nodes, liver, and brain. Prayers on her behalf are needed and appreciated!!
With this news, I was thankful to be making a trip home and I was able to drive down to Wichita one day and spend some time with my Aunt. In fact, most of the cousins and my Aunt Sheryl were all able to meet April and Kathy for lunch in Wichita. We had a wonderful time. Kathy indicated a peace with her diagnosis. She is doing some additional treatments, but also told us that she is at peace with God and is ready to meet Jesus if that is God's will for her life. What a testimony!
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| Back Row L-R Komari, Jenny, Megan, Krista, April Front Row L-R Aunt Sheryl, Aunt Kathy, Kim |
My dental work went well and Selah and I returned to Haiti with a team traveling to Bonne Fin on February 22nd.
The kids had a Bonne Fin Geckoes (their selected school mascot) spirit week in February. They enjoyed wearing PJs to school, a mix-match dress up day, dressing up as their favorite character and wearing their school T-shirts one day. The pictures below show Mara and Krae dressed up as their favorite characters.
Krae was David as a Shepherd Boy complete with sling shot, bag with 5 smooth stones and a shepard's staff. Mara was Laura Ingalls Wilder. She did a great job making her outfit from the limited items we have for clothing. I was wishing I had packed a few dress up clothes - we have great bonnets and aprons in storage at home! Selah didn't want to miss out on the picture taking so here is a pic of her in her PJs.
Another development in February was the installation of a cement pad in the space where we park a vehicle when one is brought up to our house. We share 3 vehicles with 24 people so we don't always have a vehicle at our house, but when we do, the area where a vehicle is parked was packed dirt and would become a mud mess when it rains. So, I have been asking for a load of rock or something to cover the area. It was decided that cement would be best since the rocks would probably just wash down the hill when we get a heavy rain. My load of rock became a three week project with a drainage trench and some touch-up to our sidewalk along the west side of the house. It has turned out great and the kids are thrilled with a place to ride bikes, scooters and use sidewalk chalk. Another wonderful unexpected blessing! Here are a few pictures of the progress.
The tractor from Cayes was up here for a few days. Rudy Zollinger was here doing some work and did a bit of breaking up the packed dirt.
Rick didn't let everyone else have all the fun. He spent some time on the tractor moving some dirt around and smoothing out the area in preparation for the masons. He impressed Linonce with his tractor driving skills. I believe I heard Linonce say, "Mr. Rick is a Genius!"
This dump truck backed-up our narrow lane and even made the turn before dumping a load of sand for the cement mixing. The crew worked very hard for one day to hand mix the cement on the ground, carry over to the next spot with a wheel-barrow and dump it for the masons to shape and smooth out. It was a fascinating process to watch! The masons, Prinus and Gilson, are craftsman and they have such a joyful demeanor. As a side note, Gilson is a brother to Mme. Elina who helps me with cleaning. Just like in our community at home, it seems like everyone is related in Bonne Fin.
The finished product turned out very nice and makes a huge difference when we get rain. Instead of a mud mess, we have a nice cement pad that drains well. We are thankful!
At the beginning of March, many people in Haiti celebrated Mardi Gras also known as Carnaval. This can be a bit of a wild time, so we stayed close to home during that week. We heard some music and celebrating every night, but it did not seem to get too wild around here. In fact, the local MEBSH church that we attend on Sunday, hosted a camp-out for the young people in the community. The men of the church planned the activities and the ladies made the food. It struck me that even though our worship is different in many ways, the members of the church still come together and work just like our church members at home. I believe there were people at the church all night on "Fat Tuesday" singing hymns and praising God, instead participating in the raucous activities of some of their neighbors. I am thankful that God placed our family in the midst of a Christian community!
Last week I had a visit from Annette. Those of you who have been to Bonne Fin may remember her as the lady that quotes the prophets and sings (Trust and Obey is her favorite) at the very top of her lungs. AND she has an amazing ability to project her voice. She came and prayed for a blessing on our home when we were here last May with the work team. The Haitian workers told me that she is fou which translates as crazy or insane. But, they said the same about John the Baptist, so I welcomed her prayers. Regardless of her mental state, she loves the Lord!
Anyway, she was out in my front yard last week along the fence line and I believe she was quoting a chapter in Psalms. This was all in Creole, so I was only getting small bits of it. When I asked her if she was quoting a prophet, she told me no, the Psalms. So, I took her a cup of cold, clean water and we visited a bit. She had a handful of small pebbles that she was planting along our fence and I asked what she was doing. She replied that she was planting beans for me. This is the first time that I have seen evidence of her being not all there mentally and I thought to myself, maybe she really is crazy. We visited a bit more or as much as I can with my limited language skills and I asked if I could pray for her in English. She agreed, folded her hands and bowed her head - the quietest that I have ever seen her. When I finished with my prayer, she looked at me with such love in her eyes and in that moment our hearts were bound with Christian love. It was a special moment for me. I am pretty sure she didn't understand the words of the prayer, but she knew the prayer was for her and she was comforted and felt the love of Jesus. Love really is the greatest gift. Now, I will really be in a state of wonder if some bean plants start growing along that fence. That would be another unexpected blessing from Annette.
