The sun shall be turned into darkness, and the moon into blood, before the great and terrible day of the Lord come. And it shall come to pass, that whosoever shall call on the name of the Lord shall be delivered... Joel 2:31-32
We had a beautiful view of the recent Super Moon and Full Lunar Eclipse from our rooftop. We took our beach chairs up, relaxed, and enjoyed the show. It was interesting and educational for our kids, but it's the promise in the Book of the Prophet Joel that inspires us and keeps us looking to the Eastern Sky.
We had some cloud cover over the Super Moon, but the sky cleared and we were able to view the Lunar Eclipse well with the naked eye. Here are a few pics of the progression that we observed in Haiti:
The Glow from the Super Moon was Magnificent!
Eclipse beginning
About 1/2 eclipsed
Almost fully eclipsed
This is the Day that the Lord hath made...
As most people know, October is our month to celebrate nearly everything. We have birthdays for Rick, Komari, Krae and Selah in October as well as our anniversary. This year we were blessed to have a work team from Kansas here for our week of celebrations and especially to celebrate Rick's 40th birthday.
On the team were:
- Roger & LaVonne Aberle - Rick's parents
- Aaron & Maria Luthi - our niece and her husband
- Marcus & Amanda Baumgartner - our nephew and his wife
- Michael Baumgartner - our nephew
- Dominic Meyer and his son Landon - our dear friends
I will highlight the fun-filled week we shared with this team of family and friends. It is a week we will always remember!!
The team arrived and some of them rode on top of the vehicle for the last few miles up the mountain road. Because the road is so rough, our vehicles climb up quite slowly and riding on top gives a spectacular view of the mountains, valleys and the river along the route. This vantage point is a special treat for visitors!!
The team arrived early enough on Saturday to be able to load up in John Deere Gators (ATVs) and take a tour of the local area.
On Sunday, they attended Haitian church with us at the Bonne Fin MEBSH church. In the afternoon, we had an AC service in the hospital chapel. Often, we invite all missionaries that are serving in Southern Haiti when we have visiting ministers from our churches. We had about 80 people attend our afternoon service. To make Rick's 40th birthday extra special, I invited everyone to a Birthday BBQ at our home on Sunday afternoon. It was a wonderful afternoon of fun, food, fellowship and celebration. Enjoy some pics from the BBQ:
Thanks (or not) to Heather Christensen for bringing the silly birthday hats and to Olga Thissen-Lapp for the Kiss the Cook apron.
The grilling crew coaches watching the grilling crew! Aaron appears to the Head Coach...
Let the eating begin! 
The Lord provided an absolutely beautiful day for the BBQ. On the previous Thursday and Friday, it rained almost continually as the outer bands of a hurricane passed over Haiti. We were so thankful for the rain, but I was worried that we might have to cancel the BBQ. It was a joyous day and we praised God for giving us this blessing.
Work Project Begins
The work team came to finish renovations on the emergency side of the clinic. Here are a few pictures of the them working on electrical, plumbing, painting and general finish work.
More Birthday Celebrating
Among our missionary family in Bonne Fin, we have 3 people with a birthday on October 5th: Krae, Hadley Plattner and myself. We had a smaller celebration for these birthdays with cake and ice cream in the evening on Monday, Oct. 5th. Hadley turned 11 years old, Krae turned 9 years and I am just getting more silver highlights in my hair.
A special birthday treat for Krae was having his good friend, Landon Meyer, come with the team. Landon attended school with Krae several days and Krae enjoyed having a buddy to hang-out with every afternoon. I didn't hear, "I'm Bored!" for a whole week!
I forgot to use my camera for a few days, but the team enjoyed singing for patients in the hospital on Tuesday evening, sharing a church service and Sunday school with us on Wednesday evening and dinner at our home on Thursday evening.
After all the work was finished on Friday, we traveled to Port Salut to play and relax on the beach.
A fun afternoon was topped off with a feast on the beach. Rick and I both thought this meal at Kaliko's was the best beach meal that we've had since moving to Haiti. The Grilled Lobster was very good that day!!
It was an extra blessing to our family to have this team come to Haiti. Besides the tremendous job they did on the project, it was a joy to have our Baumgartner nieces and nephews as well as our good friends, Dominic and Landon Meyer, see our home and life in Haiti. It really does help those at home to connect with us when they are able to experience a little of our daily work and life.
Another Birthday
Selah celebrated her 4th birthday on October 19th. Birthdays are so fun at this age and this day was very exciting for Selah. Here are a few pictures of her party with the missionary family at our home.
As each member of our family celebrated a birthday in recent weeks, we thank God Almighty for the blessings He has bestowed upon us. Our lives are very different than a few years ago, but I believe we are able to more clearly see God leading us along His path since our move to mission service.
There is much more news to share, but as this post is getting long, I will continue in another post in a few days.
