Dear Family and Friends,
Check out that beautiful baby! That’s right...Baby Gerber, courtesy of Joe and Heidi (Knobloch) Gerber. I’m going to be an aunt again!!
That’s my most exciting news by far, but I did have an amazing adventure on Monday. The Reinhard family had planned a one-day construction project on Lazile Rameau for the visiting Grubes, and they let me come along. We started out early on Monday and drove to the Zanglais area loaded down with the makings for ten benches. Along the way, we stopped to drop off a piece of tin that went missing from the last construction team. Whenever there is a walk-in project where the team and their Haitian helpers need to carry in all the supplies, it’s not uncommon to have a piece of tin or tool “walk” away from the site in-route. Once, Tim had a completely pre-constructed rafter disappear in-route to the worksite!
After that delivery and subsequent reorganizing of the supply trailer, we headed to the area the Pastor had indicted he would meet us and direct us to the boats we would take to the small island. We carried everything to the little beach where three Haitian boats were docked. I thought, “Oh, good. We’ll only need two, one for the people and one for the supplies, but it was nice of them to bring three.” I’ve been here for nearly six months, and I still don’t think like a Haitian. Why would you need two boats? The people can sit on the lumber and tools, and there is always room for one more person. That’s right – we piled all the tools, lumber, water jugs, bags, and people into a single boat. In addition to the twelve of us, several Haitians took the opportunity to appropriate a free ride home to the island. All in all, there were 21 people on that boat, and we were riding low....really low. Praise God, the sea was relatively calm. Everything and everyone made it safely to the island. Some of our wood got wet and needed to be sun dried before we could varnish it, but there no other problems. See, there IS always room for one more.
The people of this island were poor, even for Haitians. Their little village was constructed of mud and thatch. They planted corn in the rocks, up and down the mountainside. The little MEBSH church was one of the nicest building on the island, but it only had two, skinny little benches inside. The people would come to service and just stand. It was a blessing to be able to fill their sanctuary with ten quality benches. After we finished the benches, we took a boat tour to a tiny little rock island where we snorkeled and swam. The beaches were covered with hermit crabs. I think the girls brought home 82 or something like that. They were everywhere. On the island, two fishermen were cracking open shells and removing the little slimy creatures inside. It’s a good protein source. (Gross.) Joan found two large sea urchins while snorkeling and Gabriel had a good time digging a “shelter” for them.
The next stop was on the mainland in an idyllic cove. The village people there apparently found us extremely entertaining as Sarah built a sand castle and Gabriel was buried in the sand. It’s very common to have a large audience for just about everything out on a worksite. I imagine it’s like being a celebrity. The Haitians watch us, even if we’re just sitting and resting. In any case, after a good time on the beach, we headed back to our original island to collect our gear, move the benches into the church, and have a quick supper. We were breathing easier on the way back without all the lumber and extra Haitians! As we drove home, we sang hymns and chatted. It was a very pleasant day!
Bright and early Tuesday morning, the sea container was unloaded, and I got my filing cabinets and two boxes of goodies from my family. My sister, Molly, sent me some wonderful snacks – Twizzlers, Skittles, chocolate covered caramel corn, movies, books, magazines, Crystal light, Lemon Heads, and other delights! My mom sent me a whole box of diversions and some lavender flowers for Luise. I had a Tootsie Pop last night that tasted faintly of lavender! Did I mention that I love my family and they are fabulous people? Well, they are! Tuesday Tea was at Joan’s house, and I caught up on all the compound news, bought bread from the breadman and eggs from SEED, and generally enjoyed myself. Everyone is so busy these days with teams that tea has become a good time to fill people in on what’s going on, who’s going out, and who’s coming in.
Wednesday, the MEBSH leadership had organized a time of discussion at their offices, and all the missionaries were expected to attend. Pastor Luders, the president of MEBSH, talked about the body of Christ, how each of us needed to effectively communicate to the other for the greatest glory for God. We spent time discussing concerns and giving updates for each department. Marie Lucie translated for those of us who lack in Creole.
Friday, I finally got the filing cabinets to the Child Care office, thanks to Mark. He helped me load them in the Ranger and drove, very carefully, up to the office. I had planned to take a long walk on Friday afternoon to shake off a lingering case of the Haitian blues, but I got stopped four times in the first lap by people who were asking for more than a smile and wave. I wonder what they would do if I actually gave them my shirt one time? You know, that kind of thing gets pretty old, pretty fast. I gave up and went home. Thankfully, Tess came over and asked if I wanted to come watch a movie with the girls. As it turned out, their inverter gave out before we started, so they came over to my place. That was even better – nothing like junk food, a chick flick, and a bunch of friends to kick your depression to the curb. Am I right, ladies?
Mandy and Ricot are a young couple from Canada. Ricot is Haitian, and he and Mandy moved here to explore the possibility of full-time mission work. For now, they live at SEED. Mandy invited me to go to Rainbow beach with them on Saturday, and I gladly accepted. We were joined by Micha, a German here doing his year of civil service. We had a very interesting discussion about the differences between German, Haitian, Canadian, and American politics on the way there. The day was perfect! We drank coconuts, read, swam, walked the sand, and slept. Saturday night, I watched a series called Sue Thomas, F.B. EYE with Tess and Alisha. Apparently, Sue Thomas is a real deaf person who worked for the F.B.I. reading lips and doing undercover agent work.
Today, I listened to the Francisville service with the Gutweins and enjoyed lunch with Beth, Susanne, Irene, and Sheila at Beth and Susanne’s home. It was a great time of fellowship and German chocolate, an excellent combination! I don’t have a lot of plans for tonight – just some reading and maybe a few emails. I’ll be an organizing whirlwind this week, but for now, it’s nice to relax.
http://picasaweb.google.com/aheartforhaiti/Feb20091?feat=directlink
I took a bunch of pictures this week. I hope you enjoy them! Much love and congratulations to Joe and Heidi!
Check out that beautiful baby! That’s right...Baby Gerber, courtesy of Joe and Heidi (Knobloch) Gerber. I’m going to be an aunt again!!
That’s my most exciting news by far, but I did have an amazing adventure on Monday. The Reinhard family had planned a one-day construction project on Lazile Rameau for the visiting Grubes, and they let me come along. We started out early on Monday and drove to the Zanglais area loaded down with the makings for ten benches. Along the way, we stopped to drop off a piece of tin that went missing from the last construction team. Whenever there is a walk-in project where the team and their Haitian helpers need to carry in all the supplies, it’s not uncommon to have a piece of tin or tool “walk” away from the site in-route. Once, Tim had a completely pre-constructed rafter disappear in-route to the worksite!
After that delivery and subsequent reorganizing of the supply trailer, we headed to the area the Pastor had indicted he would meet us and direct us to the boats we would take to the small island. We carried everything to the little beach where three Haitian boats were docked. I thought, “Oh, good. We’ll only need two, one for the people and one for the supplies, but it was nice of them to bring three.” I’ve been here for nearly six months, and I still don’t think like a Haitian. Why would you need two boats? The people can sit on the lumber and tools, and there is always room for one more person. That’s right – we piled all the tools, lumber, water jugs, bags, and people into a single boat. In addition to the twelve of us, several Haitians took the opportunity to appropriate a free ride home to the island. All in all, there were 21 people on that boat, and we were riding low....really low. Praise God, the sea was relatively calm. Everything and everyone made it safely to the island. Some of our wood got wet and needed to be sun dried before we could varnish it, but there no other problems. See, there IS always room for one more.
The people of this island were poor, even for Haitians. Their little village was constructed of mud and thatch. They planted corn in the rocks, up and down the mountainside. The little MEBSH church was one of the nicest building on the island, but it only had two, skinny little benches inside. The people would come to service and just stand. It was a blessing to be able to fill their sanctuary with ten quality benches. After we finished the benches, we took a boat tour to a tiny little rock island where we snorkeled and swam. The beaches were covered with hermit crabs. I think the girls brought home 82 or something like that. They were everywhere. On the island, two fishermen were cracking open shells and removing the little slimy creatures inside. It’s a good protein source. (Gross.) Joan found two large sea urchins while snorkeling and Gabriel had a good time digging a “shelter” for them.
The next stop was on the mainland in an idyllic cove. The village people there apparently found us extremely entertaining as Sarah built a sand castle and Gabriel was buried in the sand. It’s very common to have a large audience for just about everything out on a worksite. I imagine it’s like being a celebrity. The Haitians watch us, even if we’re just sitting and resting. In any case, after a good time on the beach, we headed back to our original island to collect our gear, move the benches into the church, and have a quick supper. We were breathing easier on the way back without all the lumber and extra Haitians! As we drove home, we sang hymns and chatted. It was a very pleasant day!
Bright and early Tuesday morning, the sea container was unloaded, and I got my filing cabinets and two boxes of goodies from my family. My sister, Molly, sent me some wonderful snacks – Twizzlers, Skittles, chocolate covered caramel corn, movies, books, magazines, Crystal light, Lemon Heads, and other delights! My mom sent me a whole box of diversions and some lavender flowers for Luise. I had a Tootsie Pop last night that tasted faintly of lavender! Did I mention that I love my family and they are fabulous people? Well, they are! Tuesday Tea was at Joan’s house, and I caught up on all the compound news, bought bread from the breadman and eggs from SEED, and generally enjoyed myself. Everyone is so busy these days with teams that tea has become a good time to fill people in on what’s going on, who’s going out, and who’s coming in.
Wednesday, the MEBSH leadership had organized a time of discussion at their offices, and all the missionaries were expected to attend. Pastor Luders, the president of MEBSH, talked about the body of Christ, how each of us needed to effectively communicate to the other for the greatest glory for God. We spent time discussing concerns and giving updates for each department. Marie Lucie translated for those of us who lack in Creole.
Friday, I finally got the filing cabinets to the Child Care office, thanks to Mark. He helped me load them in the Ranger and drove, very carefully, up to the office. I had planned to take a long walk on Friday afternoon to shake off a lingering case of the Haitian blues, but I got stopped four times in the first lap by people who were asking for more than a smile and wave. I wonder what they would do if I actually gave them my shirt one time? You know, that kind of thing gets pretty old, pretty fast. I gave up and went home. Thankfully, Tess came over and asked if I wanted to come watch a movie with the girls. As it turned out, their inverter gave out before we started, so they came over to my place. That was even better – nothing like junk food, a chick flick, and a bunch of friends to kick your depression to the curb. Am I right, ladies?
Mandy and Ricot are a young couple from Canada. Ricot is Haitian, and he and Mandy moved here to explore the possibility of full-time mission work. For now, they live at SEED. Mandy invited me to go to Rainbow beach with them on Saturday, and I gladly accepted. We were joined by Micha, a German here doing his year of civil service. We had a very interesting discussion about the differences between German, Haitian, Canadian, and American politics on the way there. The day was perfect! We drank coconuts, read, swam, walked the sand, and slept. Saturday night, I watched a series called Sue Thomas, F.B. EYE with Tess and Alisha. Apparently, Sue Thomas is a real deaf person who worked for the F.B.I. reading lips and doing undercover agent work.
Today, I listened to the Francisville service with the Gutweins and enjoyed lunch with Beth, Susanne, Irene, and Sheila at Beth and Susanne’s home. It was a great time of fellowship and German chocolate, an excellent combination! I don’t have a lot of plans for tonight – just some reading and maybe a few emails. I’ll be an organizing whirlwind this week, but for now, it’s nice to relax.
http://picasaweb.google.com/aheartforhaiti/Feb20091?feat=directlink
I took a bunch of pictures this week. I hope you enjoy them! Much love and congratulations to Joe and Heidi!
Abby
2 comments:
I wasn't picturing the people standing THAT closely when she was building a sand castle. Whoa!
Abby,
It was a pleasure to spend some time with you. We had a good trip back home with no insidences much different then on the way. We will continue to be prayerful for all of you there that each step can make a difference. We were so vividly reminded of the need to pray for safety as the teams go out on the work sites as we found out Thursday while there. We love you, Ronda Grube
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