Merry Christmas!

Dear Family and Friends,

Thanks for all the prayers, phone calls, and emails this week! It was my first Christmas away from home, and it went surprisingly well. I have you all to thank for that, as well as my community of new friends and neighbors here in Haiti. Although it’s only December 28, I feel like Christmas was a long time ago because so much has happened, and I’m out of my normal routine.

Monday after work, Sheila and I hosted an impromptu tea party in our living room. It was raining and chilly, and Karen Martin stopped to say good-bye before leaving for a trip to Florida. A little chatting turned into a lovely tea party when the Gutweins came over with Christmas cookies (yum!). We brewed some tea and cappuccino and had ourselves a festive time. Monday evening, Rob and Debbie Wray hosted the Renault youth team at the missionary school. It was their way of saying thank you to all the faithful Haitian youth leaders that cook, teach, or assist with the Renault program. They very kindly invited me to attend, so I joined them for supper. It was great to see everyone dressed in their finest, and it looked like everyone had an excellent time.

Christmas Eve, Sheila cooked me a delicious dinner. She grilled steaks, baked potatoes, and tossed a salad. We ate out on our porch to the glow of our Christmas trees. After dinner, we opened the presents that people had sent for us. Thanks to my family, Liz, Leah, Sheri, Bekah, and Sheila, I had a lovely stack of gifts to open. I received Skip-Bo, Uno, a very hard looking puzzle, the first season of Scrubs, a Beatles CD, a homemade washcloth, mints, gum, cappuccino, a nail kit, cute paper clips, an iTunes gift card and many books. They know me so well! Plus, Sophie sent me these amazing Lindt white chocolates, which I can’t seem to stop eating.

Christmas Day, Sheila and I spent a good chunk of the morning preparing potato casseroles for our 2:00 lunch with the other missionaries. Christmas was held on the Gutwein porch, and it was lovely! I had a great conversation with the Wrays, the Gutweins, and the Vroomans. The younger girls left around four to pick up a team at the Les Cayes airport. I know – who flies on Christmas Day? As it turns out, tickets were a bit cheaper if you flew ON Christmas rather than any other day around it. I spent the evening catching up on news from Bluffton, as one of the team members (Shane Shaw) is from my hometown. Shane mentioned that he’d like to do some hiking while in the country. Unfortunately, God had other plans.

Friday, I came home from work to hear that there had been an accident. Shane and Rod had been unloading a Harvest semi during the day using a Bobcat and a forklift. Shane was driving the forklift home when the edge of the road crumbled and the forklift rolled off the cliff. Shane had almost jumped clear, but his foot was caught under the lift and badly bruised. Praise God, his foot was the only thing injured and the forklift didn’t continue to roll. His X-rays showed that nothing was broken (confirmed by doctors in the States), but you should see his foot! Wow. Enjoy the pictures, but only if you can handle that sort of thing. We found him some crutches and good movies for the duration, but he won’t be on a roof anytime soon. Please pray that he continues to heal.

Saturday was a great day! Bethany, Gabriel, Hanna, Tess, Alisha, Joel, Sheila, Val, and I all headed to Port Salut for a day for fun and sun. We had both! It was so relaxing to read one of my new Christmas books on the beach, eat a lobster lunch at the little restaurant there, and nap under my straw hat. Perfect! That evening, I watched Team Gutwein/Wray/Reinhard trounce a Haitian volleyball team with an amazing amount of skill. It was really fun to watch Joan, Debbie, Tess, Alisha, Kara, and Kristi (one of the older Wray girls home for Christmas – Val is on the injured list) play. They are good. Now me, I’m afraid of all sports that involve flying balls. I played one year of softball when I was much, much younger, and I was placed in deep right field....deep right. I picked dandelions and watch for caterpillars. Sometimes, a bird would fly over and I’d duck. In fact, I had front row seat during the volleyball game and I thought that was bit too close. When those girls spike that volleyball, they mean business. They won, of course. The championships are tomorrow night.

Today at Renault, a team of child evangelists came to present the full Gospel message. It was completely incredible. The children all paid attention, followed the stories, and seemed interested in the Word. They all receive a colorful book that explained who Jesus is and what He’s done for them in Creole. It began where all stories should...at the beginning. It presented Genesis in about three pages and some key points from the Old Testament in about three more. The rest focused on Jesus, His birth, life, message, death, and resurrection. I was so impressed how the children followed along on each page and seemed truly attentive. Debbie had packed over 700 plates and spoons, but we didn’t have enough and had to reuse them after we fed the girls – not something you’d even think about doing in the States, but no problem here. You just make do. Each child left with the Gospel message in their hands, having heard the full plan of salvation. We saw a parent or two reading the little books as we drove out of Renault. Please pray that the Holy Spirit will continue His work in these young hearts, for we know that God’s Word will not return to Him void (Isaiah 55:11).

After Renault, I met the Gutweins, Reinhards, and the rest of the gang for lunch at the Nami (chicken show mien – yum!). Even Shane was able to come to lunch on his crutches with his foot and ankle wrapped. A group of them headed to Rainbow beach this afternoon, but I was more inclined toward some chocolate, a shower, and a nap...in that order. I’m looking forward to playing some games tonight, writing thank you notes, and preparing for the week ahead, although this is another short week for me at work. Here, New Years Day is a far bigger holiday than Christmas, so I’m off work on Thursday and Friday. We’ll see what adventures I can plan for those days...

I hope you all enjoy this blog, but even if I’m the only person actually reading it, this has been an excellent way for me to record and remember my time in Haiti, however long it lasts. Someday, I’ll be able to look back on all these entries and pictures and reminiscence about my time here with clarity. I’ll say to my children, “Here was the first Christmas I spent away from my family. Oh, here’s the waterfall I jumped off of. And here’s the coconut that cracked my skull open and put me in the Cite Lumiere hospital for three weeks...” You know, all the adventures that come from living and working on a tropical island.

In any case, thanks for all the support this week. I’m looking forward to starting 2009, and I pray that God will bless you all with a year filled with thrilling adventures, amazing love, fulfilling work, and good relationships in Christ Jesus. May we all work to glorify His name, wherever we are and in everything we do. Much love!

For as the rain cometh down, and the snow from heaven, and returneth not thither, but watereth the earth, and maketh it bring forth and bud, that it may give seed to the sower, and bread to the eater: So shall my word be that goeth forth out of my mouth: it shall not return unto me void, but it shall accomplish that which I please, and it shall prosper in the thing whereto I sent it. Isaiah 55: 10 and 11

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Abby