The Bluffton Work Team 2008

The Bluffton work team pictures:
http://picasaweb.google.com/aheartforhaiti/BlufftonWorkteam

The days before and after the team:
http://picasaweb.google.com/aheartforhaiti/Dec20081


Dear Family and Friends,

It was amazing to have some of my family here from Bluffton last week! I’ve only cried twice since they left – not too shabby. Let me start at the beginning:

Nearly two weeks ago, I traveled with Marie Lucie and Jean to the school at Masse. We had planned to visit two other schools in the area to take pictures, look over the accounting books, and speak with the administrators. Unfortunately, our trip started out with a flat tire. After changing the tire and finishing our tour of Masse, the administrator noted that one of her students was ill and lived up a steep incline down the road. So, being the responsible people that we are, we hiked up that incline to visit the student and her family. When I say incline, I don’t mean Indiana incline, I mean Haitian incline. I was holding onto branches and shrubs to help pull me up, but Marie Lucie did the whole hike in a dress and heels. I stand in awe of her daily. We attempted to take the truck to the next school but simply couldn’t make it over a slippery rock incline on the road. After our fourth attempt and a lot of what we thought were unanswered prayers, we simply gave up. As we turned around, a villager came up to us and said, “It’s a good thing you didn’t make it over that hill. There is one that is even worse on the other side and you would have got stuck for sure.” So, God knows exactly what we need even when we are asking for something else!

Friday, the Bluffton team arrived! I finally got to hug my aunts, Kris and Jean, my cousin Rachel, and my uncle Ted. It was such a fun group; I was super thankful they let me tag along. We left for our first village, Dicis, on Saturday morning. The men got right to work building rafters for the roofing project for the school, and the women learned how to build school desks combined with benches. It’s really an ingenious design! We always had a large audience of Haitian kids to handle quality control. We finished putting the desks together on Saturday. Sunday, we started our day with three hours of Haitian church, which involved special musical numbers. Sunday afternoon, we went visiting around the neighborhood with the Pastor of the Dicis church. I felt like that was a sobering and inspirational time as we prayed and sang with those who were sick, sad, or lonely. Monday, we ladies painted the benches, the men finished the roof, and we headed back to the compound to repack and rejuvenate.

Tuesday morning, we helped out by organizing bolts for the next team. Well, the girls helped. I spent most of my morning chatting with family and eating the homemade Thanksgiving cookies (shaped like turkeys and pumpkins) my Mom had sent along with my aunt. Thanks Mom! We left for Aquin on Tuesday afternoon. It’s a beautiful drive, and Justin, Tess, Wendy, Rachel, and Videl (one of the Haitian workers) rode on the back of the lumber truck. It was a great ride! Aquin is a large church with an active school. We only did five new benches there, but we fixed several other damaged desks. The Pastor had asked the group to replace some of the tin on the church roof, and that roof was high! It made me very nervous to watch the men leap like little gazelles from roof to roof. It makes my feet sweat just to think about it. Thankfully, God protected us from any major injuries (although I know how to suture a wound now and was looking for any opportunity to do so!).

Wednesday morning, we were awakened at 5:20 AM by the Haitian church members singing Nearer My God to Thee. It was an amazing way to start the day. We finished the desks and roof and left that afternoon. Aquin is very close to the ocean and a super nice beach, so we stopped to cool off and enjoy the waves. It was a blast! Thursday was tour day. We visited the Childcare office, the Cite Lumiere Mission Clinic and Hospital, Azil Dorcus (the nursing home), the Domestic Center, the IRD trade school, the LSM group home in Torbeck, and the market in Cayes. After a long, interesting day, we had supper at the Nami with the whole group.

Friday morning, we drove eight of the group to the airport. (Ted, Justin, Leon, and Mary Kay are staying for an additional week.) I had to cry a little bit when I got home, but I couldn’t wallow very long because our second sea container came late on Thursday night and needed unloaded Friday morning. I finally got my pots for my philodendra starts, scale, laptop speakers, etc. To my utter delight and surprise, Liz (Richardson) and Leah (Baumgartner), my cousins and Ted’s daughters, sent me a Christmas tree complete with boxes of gold, silver, and red bulbs and white lights!! I spent all morning Friday putting up my new Christmas tree and arranging packages under it. That’s right – they sent me presents, too!! Wrapped presents for Christmas and a whole box of goodies that I’ve already dug into. They know me SO well. There were books ( I LOVE to read), yarn (for knitting and crocheting), and crafting materials like sun catchers, fresh, sharp crayons, coloring books and stickers, little Post-Its, Silly Putty, and a Play-Doh picnic basket set. They packed me lotion (Bodycology in vanilla butter cream – yum!), puzzles, baby powder, little travel sized rolls of Charmin (super handy), Germ-X, Love’s Enduring Promise and The Gospel of John on DVD, a soccer ball, and Clorox disinfecting wipes. And food...oh, the food! Oreos, Chips Ahoy, Crystal Light, English Toffee and French Vanilla cappuccino, cans of Pringles, summer sausage, Jolly Ranchers, Twizzlers, Gummy Bears, Maple Nut Goodies (I used to think there were really maple nuts until my Dad set me straight, but they are still my favorites), an assortment of flavored coffees (hazelnut cream and caramel truffle – yum!), packages of Paydays, cake mixes, herbal teas, and great variety of easy to make mixes like blueberry muffins, brownies, and PB and chocolate chips cookies. Liz and Leah – THANK YOU!! Your thoughtful, generous, totally overwhelming gifts made Friday bearable, and I thank you from the bottom of my heart.

Friday afternoon, a Caribbean Committee support team flew in with my terrific techie, Rob Lehman, aboard. We spent Friday afternoon just chatting and Saturday having different meetings and such. Sunday, we went to a small church toward Port Salut and worshipped there together. Lunch was at the Nami. Then, we took a scenic drive to Tet Simon. We were only there a few minutes when Jan arrived on the Ranger heading toward the new LSM home in Fond Frede. Five little girls had spent their first night there on Saturday, and we wanted to check on their welfare and see the home. They are precious little girls! Seriously, don’t visit unless you want to leave a piece of your heart there in Fond Frede. I know I did.

Sunday night, the Gutweins hosted an amazing Christmas singing around a bonfire they built in the front yard. They popped popcorn the old-fashioned way – with a huge kettle over the fire stirred with a paddle. It felt a little weird to be wearing shorts and a T-shirt, covered in bug spray, and sweating from the heat while singing Christmas carols. Just about everyone was there, and I got some great pictures from the roof of our house.

Whew! That brings you all up to date. It’s been busy and crazy and great! Thanks to the whole Bluffton team for a fabulous time, my Mom and sisters for sending cookies and cards, my aunts for their wisdom and support (and Prince Caspian), Liz and Leah for the amazing Christmas tree and box of joy, the Reinhards and Gutweins for being such terrific hosts and neighbors, and the many, many others that continue to uplift all the missionaries of Haiti and others around the world in prayer and in action. May God bless your dedication to His glory!!

Much love,
Abby