Sunday, November 30, 2008

Happy Thanksgiving!

Dear Family and Friends,

Happy Thanksgiving! You know what’s shocking to me? Tomorrow is December 1st. How crazy is that? Sometimes I feel like the days are really long here and a week just crawls by. Then, all of a sudden, it’s December! I hope you all had a festive and blessed holiday. We sure did! But, let me start at the beginning of the week.

Tuesday, Sheila and I hosted ladies tea. We had a wonderful turnout, and Sheila made peanut butter popcorn, my new favorite thing. (It’s peanut butter. It’s popcorn. How can you go wrong?) We had cherry crisp and fresh pumpkin bread. The little kids did a fantastic job on our sidewalk with colored chalk. We had the brightest artwork anywhere in Cite Lumiere for while! On my way to work Wednesday, I hear this little voice calling me. “Abby... Abby... can you see me?” At first I thought those pesky voices in my head were back, but I soon realized that it was Bethany calling me. She was on the highest branch of one of the tallest trees in their yard. I got a great picture of her poking her head out of the very tippy-top. Now, I’m usually functioning at a pretty high level at eight in the morning, but I’m nowhere near climbing a massive tree. Those Reinhard girls astound me all the time with their energy! I feel very old and slow next to them.

Wednesday, everyone was preparing for the holiday Thursday. Our hymns and worship songs revolved around Thanksgiving, gratefulness to God, and praise for His blessings. Jan and Tess sang a special selection. It was inspiring, as was the actual lesson on the end times by Johannes. He was finishing up the topic from two weeks ago. His teaching really impressed upon me the need to hide Scripture in my heart to avoid deception. Being rooted and grounded in the Word, knowing the Truth and being able to recall it during trials or temptations, is the key weaponry to fight the deception of Satan. I’ve been carrying that lesson with me all week. It has motivated me to renew my Scripture memorization program.

Because Thursday was a holiday, I didn’t have to work. I spent the morning preparing my contribution to the Thanksgiving Day feast while I listened to the Bluffton Country service on the phone. It was such a pleasant day to bake in the kitchen while listening to voices from home. I felt truly blessed and so thankful. (I was also very grateful that my eggnog pound cake turned out beautifully. I made chocolate chip cookies just in case my new experiment got stuck in the pan! It’s always good to have a back-up.) Sheila made pumpkin cheesecake (yum) and corn. The afternoon was fantastic! We had a spread that would rival any Apostolic gathering. I ate way too much, talked even more than that, and generally enjoyed the time with my new community. We were blessed to have Ed Schwartz and Rich Pfister with us from LSM. Rich, his wife Amber, and their 4 (soon-to-be 5) children, are moving to Haiti in March, Lord willing. The three youngest Reinhard children, Hanna, Gabriel, and Faith, dressed up as Indians. Gabriel’s ensemble was authenticated with a genuine mohawk. Joan was giving haircuts earlier in the week when the girls said, “Hey, just leave him a mohawk for Thanksgiving, and he can be an Indian.” So, Gabriel looked like bona fide native!

Friday was a super busy day for me. I played catch-up at work doing a bank reconciliation, a new zone school map including districts, and a spreadsheet for employee data. That kept me busy all morning. Then, it was off to my second session of Bible club with Beth at the Torbeck church. I was impressed that so many children turned in their homework on Acts 1. The lesson this week was about Jesus walking on water and Peter’s faith. We are following the life of Peter and using Acts as their homework and Scripture verse of the week. The kids played Zonk again, and everyone received a little bag of candy. We made 140 bags, and I think we had about 30 left. So, 110 kids came to Bible club this week!! I can’t say that I contribute a lot to Bible club. I don’t have the right vocabulary to help teach, and we already have four or five very competent Haitian teachers who are involved in child evangelism. Their hearts are so burdened for the youth of Haiti. Next time, I’ll get a picture of the Bible club teachers, Robinson, Vionel, and Ramón. I’m more helpful for crowd control, but I’m trying to get involved wherever the Lord gives me opportunity to connect with the Haitian youth.

Friday night, I raced home from Bible club because Marie Lucie had invited me to her house for supper, along with Ed, Sheila, Johannes and Luisa. (Rich went with Jan and Tim into Port on Friday to register three vehicles, so he missed out!) Chavannes was home from his recent trip to the States, so I finally got to meet him and see their house. It was my second feast in as many days! I gave my camera to one of Chavannes’ bodyguards and asked if he would mind taking a few pictures of us all for my blog. This guy took my request very seriously – he was like the paparazzi! In any case, I had quite a few photos to choose from for this week’s selection. One more thing – I wish I had gotten a picture of this guy’s arms. I know Chavannes’ men don’t carry weapons, but I doubt anyone would have messed with this guy anyway. Wow. We had a great time with plenty of interesting stories from Johannes and Luisa. Chavannes filled us in on the government, and their recent attempts to expand micro enterprises throughout Haiti using a co-op of local businesswomen in each district. It was a fascinating night.

Saturday was very low-key for me. I spent the morning on a long walk, paying bills, doing dishes, and reading. I had a great conversation with the Gutwein women, and we were joined by Jenn Rogan. She’s leaving on Monday to return to the States to do additional fundraising. Jenn was the hospitality manager at the RMI Guesthouse. Saturday night, Tess, Alisha, and I watched Roman Holiday (classic!). Ahhh...Gregory Peck...

Sunday, Rich and I went to Renault with the Wrays. It was WILD! It was raining, and the mud was atrocious. The Wrays very recently purchased the land they were using for their Sunday school and started construction this week on a permanent building to act as a church/school. All the rain, the construction, and the 500+ children that showed up for Sunday school mixed together to create this chaotic concoction, all covered in Haitian mud! It was great!! It gave me a taste of what the Wrays went through while starting this program without an enclosure, gate, or organized Haitian leadership. Crazy!! God has certainly blessed their commitment and obedience to His call.

After Renault, Rich and I got cleaned up (which took some time, let me tell you!) and met the Reinhards, the Gutweins, and a medical team at the Nami for lunch. It was a great way to start the afternoon. Tonight, I need to do my Creole homework. I’ve been procrastinating all weekend. (Bad Creole student. Bad!) Then, I’ll prep for another week in Haiti. It’s amazing how time moves. On minute, I feel like the day will never end, and the next, it’s Sunday night again, and I’m writing this blog about the week that has just passed. Friday, the work team from Bluffton will be arriving, and I can’t wait!! Please pray for our safety, that we can glorify God through this work, and embody the love of Jesus in action, as we head out into the villages next Saturday.

http://picasaweb.google.com/aheartforhaiti/Nov20085

Much love to you all! Abby

Sunday, November 23, 2008

A Haitian Holiday

Dear Family and Friends,

It’s been a busy week here in Haiti, but I would much rather be busy than bored!

On Monday night, I joined the Gutweins and the well-drilling team for a little music and popcorn on their porch. Derek had found a baby bird, and we took turns holding it. I thought the tiny guy was awfully cute until he had a little accident on my napkin. After that, he was promptly returned to Derek’s diligent care. With three skilled guitar players, we had some very nice musical accompaniment to our hymns and praise songs. The Gutwein's porch is the perfect place to entertain a large crowd. They have comfortable air chairs and the breeze seems to flow right through their veranda. It’s a very pleasant place to pass an evening with new friends.

Tuesday was an adventure! It was a holiday here in Haiti, a remembrance of the last battle for Haitian independence from the French. The Childcare office was closed for the day, so I decided that I would take my 4-wheeler (quad) to Port Salute for some beach time. Port Salute is about 40 minutes away and I’d never taken my quad so far, but I wanted to try. The road is good all the way there, and I’ve been feeling more and more comfortable with the flow of traffic and the lack of road rules. Tess and Alisha decided to join me. Tess was going to take her motorcycle, but after dragging it around the compound behind my quad for 20 minutes, the engine still wouldn’t stay running. So, Tess hopped on my quad and Alisha took her smaller dirt bike, and off we went!

We made it about 15 minutes from home when we hear this gunshot pop. Alisha’s tire had blown out, but thankfully, she was able to control the bike and bring it to a stop safely. We called Jan to the rescue, and like the white knight he is, he came and picked up Alisha and the bike. We thought after all the engine troubles and tire issues, maybe we weren’t meant to go to Port Salute. But, it was a holiday and we really wanted to go to the beach, so we took off again, barreling toward our destination. When we got there, the beach was beautiful, and we had a great time in the sun and an awesome lunch Then...it was time to head back. We were making our way up a mountain when I went to downshift, and something went terribly wrong. I still don’t know what I did, but man...that engine sounded terrible! We had the pedal to the medal and we were barely moving. Our pride was a little wounded as we were being passed by bicycles! We made it as far as the LSM home in Torbeck where Joan, praise God, picked us up and got us home. So, the beach was great. It was just the getting there and back that was the problem.

On Friday after work, I went to the first Bible club of the season with Beth Newton at the Torbeck church. They had the biggest turnout in Bible club history, nearly 130 children. It was a blast! The lesson was on the miraculous catch of fish. We sang and played a game called Zonk. The kids loved it! It was girls against boys, and they had to answer questions about the lesson in order to draw points from a bag. They could draw as long as they wanted, but if you drew a Zonk card, you lost all your points. It was a great way to review and have a fun doing it. Of course, the girls won.

Friday night, I had a slumber party at my house for the older girls on the compound. We had an amazing array of food – Special K bars, little sausage sandwiches, cream cheese puffs, peanut M&Ms, sugar cookies, and homemade bread sticks with pizza sauce! Kara Wray taught us to crotchet hats. Mine turned out really well, although I don’t know that I’ll have an occasion to wear it here in Haiti. I prefer to let my body heat out down here, not contain it with a woolen hat! But, I will wear it when I get home. We watched movies and talked about all things girly. They stayed until about 10 the next morning. I spent the rest of my Saturday reading and putting my house back together. Saturday night, I had another great evening with the Gutwein women, as the men had left to explore and dominate the island of Ilavach.

Today, the Reinhards and Beth went to pick up Sheila from the village where she’d been studying Creole. The road to get there is pretty bad, and I wasn’t feeling up to be shaken around for four hours today. I listened to the Bluffton Country service and joined the Gutweins for lunch. Sheila made it back safe and sound with some great stories to tell and a better understanding of the language.

At Childcare, we've been working on getting all the children's Christmas letters ready for mailing in the States. I've been spending a lot of time on correspondence and bank statements. I made peanut butter cookies for the Pastors this week, and that was a big hit. I might have to bring something every week now that I'm enjoying baking so much. I'm sure the Pastors wouldn't mind eating my extras!

http://picasaweb.google.com/aheartforhaiti/Nov20084

Happy Thanksgiving to everyone of you! Enjoy your holiday, and please know that I am thankful to all of you who read this blog, pray, care, love and remember me in Haiti. May God richly bless you.

Abby

Sunday, November 16, 2008

Beach Bananas

Dear Family and Friends,

It’s SO nice to have my neighbors back! This week, the Gutweins returned to Haiti on Wednesday morning after their two-month furlough in the States. They were supposed to return on Tuesday afternoon, but it was storming and the little Tortug’ plane couldn’t land in Cayes. They were all pretty shaken up when they finally got back to Port-au-Prince on Tuesday night, but they all arrived safely on Wednesday morning, praise God! Until then, this part of my little world had been quiet. With Sheila out in the village studying Creole and everyone gearing up for work team season, I’ve had some very enjoyable rest and rejuvenation. That’s all well and good for a while, but thankfully with the Gutwein’s return, things have livened up considerably!

Wednesday evening, Johannes talked about the end times; the key theme was deception. I so enjoy Wednesday night church here. There’s a great variety of topical presentations, thematic videos, speakers, prayer time, singing, and preaching. It’s always a time of reflection and encouragement. Before I left for church, I tried my hand at banana bread. I tend to buy bananas that I don’t really need from a deaf, pregnant banana merchant that comes to my door, but I hate to see them go to waste. It turned out really well, if I do say so myself. I was so cheered by my successful baking venture, that I tried a potato and ham casserole on Thursday to use up the rest of my potatoes, onions, ham, and cheese that were languishing sadly in my refrigerator.

Those of you who know me well will realize what a huge, domesticated step this is for me. I tend to mess up when cooking, even if I follow a recipe to the letter. For example, I once attempted to make monkey bread. It doesn’t take a genius to cut apart those little Pillsbury biscuits and roll them in sugar and cinnamon, but I didn’t realize that you needed to bake them in TWO round pans or one loaf pan. I put them ALL in one round pan. Needless to say...disaster. The ones in the middle were a totally uncooked doughy mess, the ones on the outside were burnt black and charred, and the caramel sauce bubbled over into the oven and proceeded to start small fires and smoke me out of the kitchen...and that’s where I’ve stayed. I thought it the wisest (and safest) option for all.

Friday, I finished with work around noon and went for a nice hike. There are a couple good-sized hills around our compound and after a couple laps on those, I certainly start to feel the burn. I enjoyed an evening of watching Anne of Green Gables with Brett Gutwein, as the others went to visit friends and catch-up on the past two months. I think he enjoyed the movie. I mean, who doesn’t love Anne (with an “e”), right?

Saturday, I cleaned my room (the dust is crazy here), did an interesting devotion with Tess, took a long walk (not on the hills), enjoyed the tree house with Mark and Derrick, checked my garden, collected some starts of philodendra, and watched the Anne of Green Gables sequel. How’s that for variety and fun?!

Today, I went to Renault again with the Wray family. I didn’t take a single picture this time. I just wanted to enjoy the experience. Rod thought that they had the most children today that they’ve ever had – probably 600+! It’s an amazing site to see. After Renault, I hopped on my 4-wheeler with Joan and drove into town to meet the rest of the Reinhards, the Gutweins, and a well drilling team at the Nami Restaurant. We had a delicious lunch! Then, Jan took the team to Port Salut, so I got some wonderful beach time this afternoon. It’s been a really great day!

Thanks for your prayers and encouragement. I’m starting to get super excited for the Bluffton team to come down in December. It will be so nice to see familiar faces, family, and friends. The mere anticipation of their arrival will keep me uplifted through the rest of November!

http://picasaweb.google.com/aheartforhaiti/Nov20083

In Christian love,
Abby

Sunday, November 9, 2008

How Time Flies

Dear Family and Friends,

I can’t believe another week has passed so quickly. Let me give you some of the highlights of my week here in Haiti.

Last Sunday night, after I posted my blog, Joan and Tim hosted a singing and prayer time on the Gutwein’s porch. We prayed specifically for the Presidential election in the States and the country of Haiti. Haitians are very interested in what happens politically in the U.S. because the leadership of the country generally affects any international aid programs, of which Haiti is often a beneficiary. On Tuesday, I found myself working alone in the office with Marie Lucie. I said, “Hey, where did all the Pastors go?” Marie Lucie said, “They’re listening to the election coverage outside!”

Monday night, I said goodbye to a new friend. Christina (aka Tina) moved back to Germany after a year of service in Haiti for the Cite Lumiere Domestic Center. I will miss her, but I know God will continue His work through her wherever she is; her passion for the oppressed people of this world is inspirational, as is her smile and joy in service. Sheila and I also had Rick Schwartz and Christophe over for supper on Monday night because they’re boys, and it’s a well-established fact that boys tend to starve when left to fend for themselves in the kitchen. I’m kidding! It’s fun to have company over for food and fellowship.

Tuesday afternoon, I enjoyed ladies tea at Joan’s house and we discussed our missionary Thanksgiving. It felt a little strange to talk about turkey and stuffing while sweating in the shade of a palm tree. Tuesday night, Christophe, Rick, and I watched The Princess Bride (classic!) and ate some famous Gutwein popcorn while I proceeded to bribe Rick with Paydays so he would play mailman and take out all the Childcare Christmas letters. It turns out that bribery was unnecessary. He has a good heart and agreed to take five pounds of mail to the States for me. Thanks, Rick!

Wednesday night at church, we watched a testimony of a woman who was born with one finger on each hand and one toe on each foot. She talked about her life, struggles, and joys, and then...she played the piano! It was amazing! It certainly made my little trials seem like pebbles next to Mount Rushmore. It was a good adjustment for my perspective.

Thursday, we had a Cite Lumiere Committee (CLC) meeting. Friday, I said goodbye to Rick and Sheila. Rick left (with my mail) for the States, and Sheila left for two weeks to live and study Creole with a Haitian family. So, Friday night, I hosted a movie night at the Gutweins. It was a good time with junk food and friends. Saturday, I took at break from computer work and Creole assignments to swim at the Wray’s house with Katie.

I had such a great Sunday! I went to Renault again with the Wray family. This time, Dr. Paul and his wife, Mary, came, too. It was wonderful to see the program in action again and greet the children. Rod showed a portion of the Jesus film in Creole and everyone was fed again with the four huge pots of rice and beans. On the way back to Les Cayes, a truck was stuck up ahead of us on a very narrow pass, so Rod had to pull him out. Right after I got home from Renault, Dirk and Karen Martin picked me up for an afternoon at Port Salut. It was the perfect day to go to the beach. The water was warm, the sun was shining, and the beach was clean and fresh. We even had lunch on the beach! It was the perfect way to relax after a long week.

Is it too early to ask for my Christmas present? Well, I’m going to ask anyway because I know exactly what I want: I want to fund the Wray’s Sunday school program for a week, which comes to about $300. They provide the rice and beans and water for each child, the generator, sound systems, gas, prizes, and tents, not to mention the love, dedication, time, effort, and energy it takes to run a program this size. I’ve felt God’s hand upon this program, and I’ve seen the results of how God’s Word and the love of Christ in action can touch the lives of these little kids in their smiles and hugs. It’s my Christmas wish that this program continue to grow and succeed. I’d like to be a part of what God is doing in Renault. If you’d like to be a part of His work in this area, you can send a contribution with a memo of “Wray-Sunday School” to:

Harvest International
3711 N.E. 42nd Lane
Ocala, Fl. 34479
Phone: 352-622-1818

Your prayer support for this program, and all the other missions and missionaries in Haiti, is just as crucial. We at Childcare ask that you continue to pray for the students in the program, the school and churches we support, and the Childcare staff.

Thanks so much for all your love and prayers on my behalf. They make all the difference in the world! I got some great pictures this week - I hope you enjoy them.

http://picasaweb.google.com/aheartforhaiti/Nov20082

Love,
Abby

Sunday, November 2, 2008

The Reformation and Rice

Dear Family and Friends,

Well, it’s back to the grindstone this week.

Tuesday, at ladies tea, I met two new missionary women who are serving in the Les Cayes area. Sarah is a guesthouse manager and Mandy is here with her husband, Rico (who is Haitian), working with SEED ministries. It was fun to talk about the wedding and dresses with the other women; the first team of the season returned from their trip out to the villages during tea. Everyone arrived safe and relatively sound although Tim earned a nasty gash above his eye during a fall on the worksite.

Pastor Jonas was injured in a motorcycle accident while I was away, so I’ve been learning his job this week. On Wednesday, I made one of the biggest mistakes at Childcare I’ve ever made anywhere! Pastor Jonas normally does the computer input into our Childcare program, but I didn’t want him to be behind when he returned to work. I asked Marie Lucie to teach me to do data entry for him, so we went through the first couple of batches together. I worked really hard on Wednesday doing all this data entry, only to find out on Thursday, that I had been adding these amounts to the children’s accounts instead of subtracting them! Needless to say, I spent all day Thursday doing everything over again – TWICE, once to make it right and once to actually subtract it. Lesson learned!

Wednesday night, Johannes gave us a lesson on the Reformation for church. Martin Luther nailed his 95 theses to a church door 491 years ago this week. It was an extremely interesting lecture. On Thursday night, the work team, Reinhards, Sheila, Christophe, and I all went to the Nami to eat. It’s nice to get out sometimes and just enjoy each other and some different food. Before a team leaves, we often invite some local vendors to come to the Guesthouse and sell their wares. I bought a few paintings for my bathroom.

Friday night was a first for me. I told Doris I would help her with her son’s birthday party. Daniel turned 13 and invited about 20 of friends over for a party complete with games, food, and presents. Mandy and I were in charge of games and crafts in the backyard, and Mandy’s husband organized soccer in the front yard. We played “Pin the Nose on the Clown” and did crafts like make paper airplanes and color. Doris made pizza, dessert bars, and popcorn. In an effort to control the crowd, we put in a movie for the kids. Then, we got to spend some time chatting as adults, which was great.

Saturday, I worked on a missionary directory for the MEBSH administration all morning. Then, I got to play with Katie in the Wray’s pool during the afternoon. Saturday night, a few of us went to Luisa and Johannes’ house to watch the move “Luther.” Johannes had a printout with character descriptions and gave us a short history lesson on the movie and the timeframe. It’s easy to see that he loves history and is an excellent teacher!

Sunday, I was privileged to join the Wrays for their Sunday school lesson in Renault. Renault is an extremely poor part of Les Cayes. The Wrays began their outreach there in February; they have made amazing inroads into a community that has been ignored for years. Here in Haiti, church is big deal. It’s a time to dress up. Unfortunately, if you don’t have any nice clothes, or any clothes at all for that matter, you don’t go to church. Here, the idea is to come as you are and hear the Gospel, no matter how you look or what you wear or where you come from. Many children came with only a shirt; some came naked. But the point is, they came.

There is an incentive: food. After the Sunday school lesson, the Wrays have a feeding program. This may be the only meal the children can count on all week. Some of the youth leaders have been up since 4 AM cooking four huge pots of rice. This week, we fed about 525 children. Now, you’d think that if this were the only meal you were going to have for a week, you’d sit and eat every last bite of it in the safety of the enclosed area the Wrays have managed to provide you. Unfortunately, the cultural idea of sharing is so strong, the children often try to smuggle the food out in their shirts or pants, which makes for some interesting confrontations at the gate. Nevertheless, the children seemed to enjoy participating. They learn a new verse and song every Sunday, and if they can remember their song and verse from last week, they get a little toy. I was so impressed with the program and the energy and passion of the Wrays and the youth leaders. It humbled me to see the work, love, and dedication they have poured into this poverty-stricken area. The children are seeing the love of Jesus in action! If anyone is interested in learning more about this ministry, send me an email and I’ll see how we can assist the Wrays with their outreach into Renault.

Thanks for your prayers! Please continue to pray for my language and accounting skills. Both are lacking! Enjoy the pictures.

http://picasaweb.google.com/aheartforhaiti/Nov20081

In His service,
Abby