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
http://picasaweb.google.com/aheartforhaiti/Dec20083?feat=directlink
Abby
Sunday, December 28, 2008
Sunday, December 21, 2008
Waterfalls and Work
Dear Family and Friends,
Merry Christmas! I say that with a little shake of my head because it certainly doesn’t feel like Christmas down here. I’m wearing shorts and a T-shirt and sweating as I type this new blog entry. I can look out my window and see the palm trees sway. There are no Christmas advertisements, no last minute sales, no snow, no ice, and no large inflatable Christmas scenes on anybody’s lawn. However, the spirit of Christmas is here, and I just came back from a beautiful Christmas concert and plugged in my new Christmas tree. I can see the gifts just waiting there for Christmas Day. But more than that, the spirit of Christmas was fully alive at Renault today. The Wray’s home church blessed them with goodie bags for each child, 700+ today. They made some very poor children very happy. Even more, today was the first day that the rice and beans were served with meat sauce, courtesy of our own World Relief organization. Each little plate had a nice scoop of turkey meat placed on top. The children really enjoyed it, as protein is hard to come by in Haiti.
This week has been work, work, work. Last week, I mentioned that Rob Lehman was here as my terrific techie for Childcare. He is now the techie tyrant. Seriously, he barely let me eat during the day. (I hope Rob is reading this as all my slanderous words are directly for his benefit.) I barely have any pictures from the first part of the week because I was glued to my desk for days. I’m only kidding, of course! It was wonderful to have Rob here. He left on Thursday morning, and I celebrated by taking the day off and going to an amazing waterfall.
This waterfall, Saut Matherine, is a couple of hours away, and some of the team and I rode on the roof of the truck all the way there and back. The views were majestic. The waterfall itself was beautiful, but the water was COLD. We swam for a while, but the big thing to do at this particular waterfall was jump. I’ll admit I was peer pressured into jumping once. I was seriously scared. Leaping off large rock formations into an icy cold stream is not the most appealing thing to me, but I wanted to be able to say I had done it once. Of course, Justin Grube went all the way to the top, a 60-foot drop. Check out the pictures.
After the waterfall, we took a short tour (courtesy of Johannes, our resident historian) of an old French plantation. It was fascinating to look at the 200-year-old ruins, see the space where the huge waterwheels turned, and visualize the plantation at its full glory. After the ruins, we rushed home to get ready for the Christmas program at the missionary school. The children did a wonderful job! They recited poems, sang songs, and performed an amazing play, directed by our own Tess Gutwein. Not only did she directed the play, but she wrote the adaptation from a book called Jotham’s Journey AND pulled together the stage, set, and costumes. Tess is a very talented lady!
Friday, I tried to organize all the work that Rob had left me :) and went to Bible Club. Saturday was kind of a low-key day for me. I took a long walk, did devotions, and read in the afternoon. Then, I baby-sat for Joel and Brett so the Gutweins could compete in a volleyball tournament, which they won. Today, I went to Renault and then the Christmas concert. After that, I took in a little volleyball in Simon. I just finished Prince Caspian (thanks Aunt Kris!) over at the Gutwein’s place.
I want to thank all of you who have sent Christmas greetings and prayers. I decided on Saturday to stop being homesick...period. That’s a bold decision for me to make considering that Christmas is this week, but I know that God will give me His peace and comfort this holiday season away from my family. I will miss you all, of course, and be thinking about you, but I’m going to choose to be content with these circumstances. God is still God. He is good and faithful, and I trust Him to provide for my every need as He did by giving us the greatest Christmas gift of all...chocolate. Kidding! I just wanted to see if you were paying attention. Jesus, of course! May God bless each of you during this Christmas season. Much, much love to you all!
http://picasaweb.google.com/aheartforhaiti/Dec20082?feat=directlink
In His service,
Abby
Merry Christmas! I say that with a little shake of my head because it certainly doesn’t feel like Christmas down here. I’m wearing shorts and a T-shirt and sweating as I type this new blog entry. I can look out my window and see the palm trees sway. There are no Christmas advertisements, no last minute sales, no snow, no ice, and no large inflatable Christmas scenes on anybody’s lawn. However, the spirit of Christmas is here, and I just came back from a beautiful Christmas concert and plugged in my new Christmas tree. I can see the gifts just waiting there for Christmas Day. But more than that, the spirit of Christmas was fully alive at Renault today. The Wray’s home church blessed them with goodie bags for each child, 700+ today. They made some very poor children very happy. Even more, today was the first day that the rice and beans were served with meat sauce, courtesy of our own World Relief organization. Each little plate had a nice scoop of turkey meat placed on top. The children really enjoyed it, as protein is hard to come by in Haiti.
This week has been work, work, work. Last week, I mentioned that Rob Lehman was here as my terrific techie for Childcare. He is now the techie tyrant. Seriously, he barely let me eat during the day. (I hope Rob is reading this as all my slanderous words are directly for his benefit.) I barely have any pictures from the first part of the week because I was glued to my desk for days. I’m only kidding, of course! It was wonderful to have Rob here. He left on Thursday morning, and I celebrated by taking the day off and going to an amazing waterfall.
This waterfall, Saut Matherine, is a couple of hours away, and some of the team and I rode on the roof of the truck all the way there and back. The views were majestic. The waterfall itself was beautiful, but the water was COLD. We swam for a while, but the big thing to do at this particular waterfall was jump. I’ll admit I was peer pressured into jumping once. I was seriously scared. Leaping off large rock formations into an icy cold stream is not the most appealing thing to me, but I wanted to be able to say I had done it once. Of course, Justin Grube went all the way to the top, a 60-foot drop. Check out the pictures.
After the waterfall, we took a short tour (courtesy of Johannes, our resident historian) of an old French plantation. It was fascinating to look at the 200-year-old ruins, see the space where the huge waterwheels turned, and visualize the plantation at its full glory. After the ruins, we rushed home to get ready for the Christmas program at the missionary school. The children did a wonderful job! They recited poems, sang songs, and performed an amazing play, directed by our own Tess Gutwein. Not only did she directed the play, but she wrote the adaptation from a book called Jotham’s Journey AND pulled together the stage, set, and costumes. Tess is a very talented lady!
Friday, I tried to organize all the work that Rob had left me :) and went to Bible Club. Saturday was kind of a low-key day for me. I took a long walk, did devotions, and read in the afternoon. Then, I baby-sat for Joel and Brett so the Gutweins could compete in a volleyball tournament, which they won. Today, I went to Renault and then the Christmas concert. After that, I took in a little volleyball in Simon. I just finished Prince Caspian (thanks Aunt Kris!) over at the Gutwein’s place.
I want to thank all of you who have sent Christmas greetings and prayers. I decided on Saturday to stop being homesick...period. That’s a bold decision for me to make considering that Christmas is this week, but I know that God will give me His peace and comfort this holiday season away from my family. I will miss you all, of course, and be thinking about you, but I’m going to choose to be content with these circumstances. God is still God. He is good and faithful, and I trust Him to provide for my every need as He did by giving us the greatest Christmas gift of all...chocolate. Kidding! I just wanted to see if you were paying attention. Jesus, of course! May God bless each of you during this Christmas season. Much, much love to you all!
http://picasaweb.google.com/aheartforhaiti/Dec20082?feat=directlink
In His service,
Abby
Sunday, December 14, 2008
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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