Dear Family and Friends,
This has been an interesting week. You will be forced to endure my wordy descriptions because I took, like, three pictures the whole week. (Bad blogger, bad! I know.)
Last Sunday, I mentioned that there might be riots in Les Cayes due to increased tuition prices and food costs. There was some action in town on Monday that kept Marie Lucie and the pastors away from the office. I used the day clean out about ten years worth of accumulated stuff from my bathroom cupboards – old, yellow Band-Aids, a random ankle brace, gooey bottles of unidentifiable liquids, countless ant baits, expired medicines, and little (thank goodness) bug corpses. By Monday night, I was watching Tropical Storm Gustav pretty intensely. The National Hurricane Center was predicting that it would pummel Haiti by Tuesday afternoon, and Les Cayes appeared to be directly in his path.
In the meantime, I was fighting an ear infection. Now, I’ve never had a true ear infection. One time at Lake Webster, I fell off my skies and slammed my head into the water. Two days later, I had this raging earache. Turns out, a piece of duckweed got lodged in my ear and became infected. The ENT doctor thought that was pretty funny; I found it less than humorous. In any case, I now have a deep compassion for any child that gets ear infections all the time. I tried to treat it myself, but by Tuesday morning, I had given up. I’m not going to describe to you the amounts and colors of nastiness coming out of my ear that day, but I could do it with great deal of vividness and expression. Use your imagination...
So, Tuesday morning, Tess took me to the local clinic, not far from our house, where I saw the doctor and got some antibiotics. I must say, I was praising God for the invention of modern medicine. Even with some high doses, it still took me three days to feel better. In any case, I only worked about two hours that morning and then left to prepare our apartment for Gustav. We took everything off the porch, closed our hurricane shutters, and checked supplies. The sky looked threatening that afternoon and evening, but we had little wind or rain. The Gutwein girls and I watched The Sound of Music and ate popcorn. It was that kind of weather.
The rain started that night and continued for two days. Now, I didn’t know this remarkable tidbit until this week: Haitians treat rain like Hoosiers treat ice. Apparently, if you get wet down here, it’s going to be days before you dry out again, so no one goes out. Very few people showed up for work on Wednesday and Thursday because of the rain, even though we had very little wind. Marie Lucie and I were able to spend some dedicated time together without any interruptions! That was a blessing.
While God spared Cayes, other parts of Haiti were badly damaged. So far, 70+ people have died and some are still missing. Jan Gutwein explored some of the wreckage and said there are a lot of desperate people right now. Please pray for those who lost their loved ones, livelihoods, and homes.
Saturday, Sheila and I went to market with the excellent assistance of Mark Gutwein. Saturday night, we had a potluck supper with some of the other single missionary ladies. It was a great time to share stories and encouragement.
I’ll admit, I was homesick on Saturday and spending time with other Godly women who are living this life far more graciously than I am was refreshing and inspirational. I was questioning God on Saturday night asking Him if He was really sure I should be here or if this was just a terrible mistake. I opened to Acts 7 where I read, “Get thee out of thy country, and from thy kindred, and come into the land which I shall shew thee.” Well, that shut me up. Praise God for His patience with me, my whining and questioning and general fussiness. This is my life now, and I want to live it for His glory and in His name the absolute best that I can.
This morning’s service was a Spirit-filled message of restoration. You know, sometimes you don’t need to understand all the words to be fed and filled by His Spirit. Just being in the presence of Godly men and women who were praising His name in spirit and truth was enough to rejuvenate and restore my wayward spirit. Thanks for your continued prayers! They make all the difference in the world. Sorry about the lack of pictures this week; I did a video message instead to atone for my lack of photographic dedication.
Remember, the camera adds ten pounds. I love you all!! God bless.
Sunday, August 31, 2008
Sunday, August 24, 2008
How do you say...
This week, I officially started my new job at the Child Sponsorship office and began taking Creole lessons. I work with Marie Lucie, the director, John, the office coordinator, Pastor Amos, bookkeeping, and Pastor Jonas, computer data entry. Pastor LeFleur does counseling with the children when they come in for their monthly support, and Lucner translates their quarterly letters to the sponsors. Judging from this week, I think I’m going to enjoy my job! During the summer, the children do not come for support, so the staff works shorter hours and does administrative work. This week, we are gearing up for school beginning September 1. All the students will come in for their support and tuition fees. Unfortunately, the tuition for many of the schools has skyrocketed over the summer and parents are very concerned about the rising cost of education. Combined with the increase in food prices, it seems like the situation is getting tense. There has been talk of demonstrations starting tomorrow. I’ll keep you all updated on the situation.
Tuesday was my first lady’s tea. It’s a tradition that the missionary women get together on Tuesdays to chat, reconnect, drink tea, and have a little treat. It’s like a meeting of the United Nations. There’s the German contingency with some French, the Americans, and everybody’s speaking Creole. Being me, I knocked over a full glass of juice in the first five seconds. After sitting in the German/French section for a while, I moved down the table to the American conversation where someone asked me, “What did you sacrifice to come down here?” I said ten words about my family, promptly burst into tears, and had to excuse myself in shame. When will I learn to behave? Thankfully, they seem like Godly, forgiving women, and they will probably let me come to tea again this week.
Wednesday was my second session of missionary church, and I was so engrossed in the message on worship that I forgot to take pictures. I’ll make sure to document that next week. On Thursday, we had an unusual occurrence at Child Sponsorship. For the first time in ten years, Marie Lucie locked all the keys in the office. Let’s just say this: we can now be sure that the office is very secure. It took a big generator, a blowtorch, two men, and an hour to help us break into our own office!
Friday, John and I went to the village of Triverny. We had some new children entering the program, and we went to take pictures, do case histories, and help them write their first sponsor letters. It was a beautiful area, and the children were sweet and helpful. I spent the day Saturday just reading, playing games with the Gutweins, trying my hand in the neighborhood volleyball merriment, and enjoying the time of rest.
Today was a great day! The Gutweins attend the MEBSH church at Bambou, and Sheila and I tagged along for the day. The singing was very uplifting, and I was impressed by the quality and enthusiasm of the church congregation. Jan was able to translate some of the message for me. After church, we went into town for extra supplies, just in case the roads are blocked tomorrow. It’s always good to be prepared! After a little Sunday afternoon laziness, Sheila and I accepted a very nice invitation for German coffee issued by two single missionary ladies, Suzanne and Beth. We had pumpkin cake and some other delicious cake-like-thing made of chocolate, marshmallows, and Coke. I had a truly excellent time discussing the Haitian culture, jobs, families, and friends. It was a great way to end to week and begin a new one.
I’m not sure what tomorrow will bring, but I am sure that it is in God’s hands. If anything, this week has taught me about how my life will probably be in Haiti – unpredictable! Please pray that this week will pass peacefully as the Haitians prepare to start school and a huge thanks to everyone who wrote an encouraging message or said a prayer on my behalf for this past week. I very much enjoyed reading the comments you left for me and hope you will continue to do so.
Enjoy my pictures from Haiti this week. I love you all!
http://picasaweb.google.com/aheartforhaiti/August2008II
In His service,
Abby
Tuesday was my first lady’s tea. It’s a tradition that the missionary women get together on Tuesdays to chat, reconnect, drink tea, and have a little treat. It’s like a meeting of the United Nations. There’s the German contingency with some French, the Americans, and everybody’s speaking Creole. Being me, I knocked over a full glass of juice in the first five seconds. After sitting in the German/French section for a while, I moved down the table to the American conversation where someone asked me, “What did you sacrifice to come down here?” I said ten words about my family, promptly burst into tears, and had to excuse myself in shame. When will I learn to behave? Thankfully, they seem like Godly, forgiving women, and they will probably let me come to tea again this week.
Wednesday was my second session of missionary church, and I was so engrossed in the message on worship that I forgot to take pictures. I’ll make sure to document that next week. On Thursday, we had an unusual occurrence at Child Sponsorship. For the first time in ten years, Marie Lucie locked all the keys in the office. Let’s just say this: we can now be sure that the office is very secure. It took a big generator, a blowtorch, two men, and an hour to help us break into our own office!
Friday, John and I went to the village of Triverny. We had some new children entering the program, and we went to take pictures, do case histories, and help them write their first sponsor letters. It was a beautiful area, and the children were sweet and helpful. I spent the day Saturday just reading, playing games with the Gutweins, trying my hand in the neighborhood volleyball merriment, and enjoying the time of rest.
Today was a great day! The Gutweins attend the MEBSH church at Bambou, and Sheila and I tagged along for the day. The singing was very uplifting, and I was impressed by the quality and enthusiasm of the church congregation. Jan was able to translate some of the message for me. After church, we went into town for extra supplies, just in case the roads are blocked tomorrow. It’s always good to be prepared! After a little Sunday afternoon laziness, Sheila and I accepted a very nice invitation for German coffee issued by two single missionary ladies, Suzanne and Beth. We had pumpkin cake and some other delicious cake-like-thing made of chocolate, marshmallows, and Coke. I had a truly excellent time discussing the Haitian culture, jobs, families, and friends. It was a great way to end to week and begin a new one.
I’m not sure what tomorrow will bring, but I am sure that it is in God’s hands. If anything, this week has taught me about how my life will probably be in Haiti – unpredictable! Please pray that this week will pass peacefully as the Haitians prepare to start school and a huge thanks to everyone who wrote an encouraging message or said a prayer on my behalf for this past week. I very much enjoyed reading the comments you left for me and hope you will continue to do so.
Enjoy my pictures from Haiti this week. I love you all!
http://picasaweb.google.com/aheartforhaiti/August2008II
In His service,
Abby
Sunday, August 17, 2008
Greetings from Haiti!
Bonjour, family and friends! Greetings in Christ from Haiti.
It’s been a week of firsts – going to market, exchanging money, visiting my new co-workers and neighbors, going to missionary church, seeing the LSM home in Torbeck, navigating Les Cayes and Simon, buying flour and phone cards, riding as a passenger on a motorbike to look at Haitian cell phones, surviving my first tropical storm (Fay), paying Derek to remove two toads from the inside of my window, organizing the house, eating strange fruit, and learning to love a good, cold shower. And those are just the highlights.
Two main thoughts have been circling in my mind for the last two days. (1) God is God. He is faithful and good. (2) Praise God for the Gutweins and Sheila! Seriously. I would be totally lost without them. Jan gave Sheila a driving lesson, and Val has fed us multiple times while we adjust to life here and wait for our house lady to start tomorrow. Tess and Alisha baked us cinnamon bread and pizza. Mark and Derek keep us cool by letting us use their pool and Joel keeps everyone on their toes. Brett has shown me the true meaning of contentment. Sheila comforted my heart when I was low and fought Satan for me in prayer during a spiritual attack. They have uplifted my spirit, fed my soul with wisdom, and kept me sane during my first few days of homesickness and sadness. They truly represent the servant heart of Christ.
I’m starting work tomorrow at the Child Sponsorship office and beginning my Creole lessons with Jean-Claude, an instructor that the Gutweins have used. I’m looking forward to another week of firsts. I’ll try to post a new entry every Sunday with pictures and stories from the week. Thanks for your prayers and God bless.
Here are my first five days in pictures. I hope the captions are helpful!
http://picasaweb.google.com/aheartforhaiti/August2008
It’s been a week of firsts – going to market, exchanging money, visiting my new co-workers and neighbors, going to missionary church, seeing the LSM home in Torbeck, navigating Les Cayes and Simon, buying flour and phone cards, riding as a passenger on a motorbike to look at Haitian cell phones, surviving my first tropical storm (Fay), paying Derek to remove two toads from the inside of my window, organizing the house, eating strange fruit, and learning to love a good, cold shower. And those are just the highlights.
Two main thoughts have been circling in my mind for the last two days. (1) God is God. He is faithful and good. (2) Praise God for the Gutweins and Sheila! Seriously. I would be totally lost without them. Jan gave Sheila a driving lesson, and Val has fed us multiple times while we adjust to life here and wait for our house lady to start tomorrow. Tess and Alisha baked us cinnamon bread and pizza. Mark and Derek keep us cool by letting us use their pool and Joel keeps everyone on their toes. Brett has shown me the true meaning of contentment. Sheila comforted my heart when I was low and fought Satan for me in prayer during a spiritual attack. They have uplifted my spirit, fed my soul with wisdom, and kept me sane during my first few days of homesickness and sadness. They truly represent the servant heart of Christ.
I’m starting work tomorrow at the Child Sponsorship office and beginning my Creole lessons with Jean-Claude, an instructor that the Gutweins have used. I’m looking forward to another week of firsts. I’ll try to post a new entry every Sunday with pictures and stories from the week. Thanks for your prayers and God bless.
Here are my first five days in pictures. I hope the captions are helpful!
http://picasaweb.google.com/aheartforhaiti/August2008
Monday, August 4, 2008
Summer Fun 2008
My summer is almost over. I'm leaving for Haiti in eight days. I took some time to reflect on my summer of 2008.
I attended Mission Training International for three weeks in May, cried at my Grandpa's funeral in June, grilled and gamed with family and friends on July 4th, celebrated my 29th birthday with a Haitian hut cake, visited Sauder Village with my Habegger cousins, laughed through a zoo outing, toasted my friends at Flanagan's, swam, skied, sunbathed, and stuffed myself at Lake Webster, and met the Child Sponsorship Committee in Morton.
And now, I'm looking at my final Sunday in the Bluffton Country Church August 10. It looks sad and scary and really big. But, I'm also excited and willing and uplifted. God is ever faithful!
Enjoy my summer pictures at:
http://picasaweb.google.com/aheartforhaiti/Summer200802
Look for my next blog to be from Haiti! See you on the flip side...
I attended Mission Training International for three weeks in May, cried at my Grandpa's funeral in June, grilled and gamed with family and friends on July 4th, celebrated my 29th birthday with a Haitian hut cake, visited Sauder Village with my Habegger cousins, laughed through a zoo outing, toasted my friends at Flanagan's, swam, skied, sunbathed, and stuffed myself at Lake Webster, and met the Child Sponsorship Committee in Morton.
And now, I'm looking at my final Sunday in the Bluffton Country Church August 10. It looks sad and scary and really big. But, I'm also excited and willing and uplifted. God is ever faithful!
Enjoy my summer pictures at:
http://picasaweb.google.com/aheartforhaiti/Summer200802
Look for my next blog to be from Haiti! See you on the flip side...
Thursday, July 10, 2008
Grandpa Gerber's Heart
My Grandpa Gerber passed away on June 14, 2008. Before he left this earth for his reward, he told me that I was fulfilling a life-long dream of his to live and work in Haiti. I never knew how deeply his heart was touched by his trip there in 1965 until he told me that just a few months ago. It reaffirmed my faith in God’s goodness and love.
I borrowed some of my Grandpa’s pictures that he took in Haiti. You can view them at:
http://picasaweb.google.com/aheartforhaiti/GrandpaGerberHaiti1965
Robert and Esther Rocourt were a missionary couple in Haiti that Grandpa often mentioned. They have an inspiring story that touched my heart, too. You can read about them at:
http://www.faithmissionhaiti.org/memor.html
I'm leaving for Haiti on August 12. This is the start of a grand adventure into God's faithfulness, for His glory and in His name! Please pray for Sheila and I as we prepare for our departure. I hope to write and post additional pictures every week. Thanks for all your support and love.
I borrowed some of my Grandpa’s pictures that he took in Haiti. You can view them at:
http://picasaweb.google.com/aheartforhaiti/GrandpaGerberHaiti1965
Robert and Esther Rocourt were a missionary couple in Haiti that Grandpa often mentioned. They have an inspiring story that touched my heart, too. You can read about them at:
http://www.faithmissionhaiti.org/memor.html
I'm leaving for Haiti on August 12. This is the start of a grand adventure into God's faithfulness, for His glory and in His name! Please pray for Sheila and I as we prepare for our departure. I hope to write and post additional pictures every week. Thanks for all your support and love.
Friday, June 27, 2008
Meeting and Greeting in Haiti
I took a short trip to Haiti in May 2008 to meet the missionaries there, investigate my new home and workplace, and greet my new roommate. Sheila Moser is from Sabetha, Kansas. She will be working with the construction crews, managing the Guesthouse, and hosting any women on the rural work teams. We were able to sit down together and make plenty of lists of things to bring to Haiti!
I've posted some pictures from the trip at:
http://picasaweb.google.com/aheartforhaiti/HaitiMay2008
I've posted some pictures from the trip at:
http://picasaweb.google.com/aheartforhaiti/HaitiMay2008
Wednesday, June 11, 2008
My Journey to Haiti
My physical journey to Haiti began back in September 2007, but it really began a long time before that.
In 2006, I was finishing up my bachelor's degree in general studies at Indiana/Purdue University Fort Wayne. I had been praying about what to pursue after graduation when the Spirit began to convict my heart of some inconsistencies in my life. The more I prayed in faith that God would show me my blind spots and reveal the dark areas of my heart, the more freedom and peace I found in Christ.
One bright Sunday morning in September found me chatting with a cousin in the foyer of our Bluffton Country church. My elder, Ed Schwartz, stopped by to say a friendly hello. Knowing he had just returned from Haiti, I commented that all they probably do down there is lie on the beach and drink out of coconuts. After assuring me that he did indeed work while he was there, he said, "Hey, I think there's a couple full-time positions open in Haiti. Are you interested?" Shockingly, I was. It was like the cartoon light bulb that snaps on after a particularly illuminating thought.
I had never considered that God would call me to missions. That was for those other Christians. However, as God rearranged my life and thoughts, I realized that the last ten years had been excellent prep to shape my heart in that direction. I guess God was guiding my steps before I knew exactly where I was stepping. He’s good like that!
Now, I’m attending Mission Training International in Palmer Lake, Colorado. SPLICE is an excellent program consisting of cross-cultural training and practical instruction on how to survive and thrive on the mission field.
Spiritual Personal Lifestyle Interpersonal Cultural Endure/Enjoy
MTI uses an interesting quote to describe its purpose and training goals: “Zeal without practical wisdom can lead to heartache and the squandering of Kingdom resources” (http://www.mti.org/). I found this particular ideology remarkable. Their whole goal is to equip cross-cultural missionaries with highly relevant techniques to increase effectiveness, longevity, and personal satisfaction.
I’ll be starting PILAT (Program in Language Acquisition Techniques) next week as I’ll need to learn Creole, the basic Haitian language. I’ve started with Wally Turnbull’s Creole Made Easy; I’m still waiting for the “easy” part to kick in.
Please pray for me as I study new language techniques and ask that God would gift me with a clear understanding of the Haitian culture. I hope to post some additional photos of my trip to Haiti in May and my time spent here at MTI. I certainly appreciate this opportunity to better prepare myself for an effective cross-cultural ministry in the Apostolic Christian Child Sponsorship offices.
Thanks for your love and prayers. Au revoir!
In 2006, I was finishing up my bachelor's degree in general studies at Indiana/Purdue University Fort Wayne. I had been praying about what to pursue after graduation when the Spirit began to convict my heart of some inconsistencies in my life. The more I prayed in faith that God would show me my blind spots and reveal the dark areas of my heart, the more freedom and peace I found in Christ.
One bright Sunday morning in September found me chatting with a cousin in the foyer of our Bluffton Country church. My elder, Ed Schwartz, stopped by to say a friendly hello. Knowing he had just returned from Haiti, I commented that all they probably do down there is lie on the beach and drink out of coconuts. After assuring me that he did indeed work while he was there, he said, "Hey, I think there's a couple full-time positions open in Haiti. Are you interested?" Shockingly, I was. It was like the cartoon light bulb that snaps on after a particularly illuminating thought.
I had never considered that God would call me to missions. That was for those other Christians. However, as God rearranged my life and thoughts, I realized that the last ten years had been excellent prep to shape my heart in that direction. I guess God was guiding my steps before I knew exactly where I was stepping. He’s good like that!
Now, I’m attending Mission Training International in Palmer Lake, Colorado. SPLICE is an excellent program consisting of cross-cultural training and practical instruction on how to survive and thrive on the mission field.
Spiritual Personal Lifestyle Interpersonal Cultural Endure/Enjoy
MTI uses an interesting quote to describe its purpose and training goals: “Zeal without practical wisdom can lead to heartache and the squandering of Kingdom resources” (http://www.mti.org/). I found this particular ideology remarkable. Their whole goal is to equip cross-cultural missionaries with highly relevant techniques to increase effectiveness, longevity, and personal satisfaction.
I’ll be starting PILAT (Program in Language Acquisition Techniques) next week as I’ll need to learn Creole, the basic Haitian language. I’ve started with Wally Turnbull’s Creole Made Easy; I’m still waiting for the “easy” part to kick in.
Please pray for me as I study new language techniques and ask that God would gift me with a clear understanding of the Haitian culture. I hope to post some additional photos of my trip to Haiti in May and my time spent here at MTI. I certainly appreciate this opportunity to better prepare myself for an effective cross-cultural ministry in the Apostolic Christian Child Sponsorship offices.
Thanks for your love and prayers. Au revoir!
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