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