"God's will does not take you where His grace cannot keep you."

I am not sure where I got the wooden plaque that declares that truth from its place on the wall in our family room.  I believe it was given to us when we said goodbye to good friends in Georgia, on our way to graduate school at Ohio State.  Nonetheless, it has been a part of the home decor for years and years.  Our children mention its presence from time to time; others tell us what it has meant to them.  Now our grandchildren are reading it and hopefully, it will become a mantra to them as they grow and mature in their faith. 

I stood before it and received its message with new emphasis when we realized we were Haiti-bound.

Last week, we began in earnest deciding what goes into the next set of crates and what stays packed away in the attic.  We had spent much time going through and weeding out, packing up; bag after bag was taken to Helping Hands and filled boxes were put into storage.  Few people left from a visit without our gifting them with their own bags, all in the name of helping us ready our house for renters and pack for the move.  We were down to the wire:   What to keep? What to throw away?

That little sign made the cut.

When we fly out of Ft. Pierce, Florida, one month from today, it will be in one of our crates in the belly of that cargo plane.  On this day as we bask in Christmas day's afterglow, I am realizing the truth of that message is but a reflection of the Christmas story and of God's faithfulness to His people all through His Story.  It will have a prominent place in our Haitian abode.

It will be a reminder of His grace and His promises to all who come through the doors of our home.

But, especially, to the two new missionaries living there!

Beyond the Gates

Moving through the gates of the Wesleyan compound at Anse-a-Galets, out into the rocky streets, definitely feels like walking into another world.  Within the gates is a western community, with concrete block houses, a hospital, a duplex, a concrete block guest house, a tool depot;  grass (during the rainy season) kept mowed by a Haitian yard keeper; construction going on at the location of the new guest house, a couple of trucks. 

Outside the gates, rocky roads are typically lined with walls - some, concrete; some, reeds or sticks - all defining ownership and property, personal space.

 Along the road are found shops 

 and the market and a whole host of items for sale,

including bars of soap, dried fish, some coconuts and packaged cheese,

 tomatoes and melons from a local garden, sweet potatoes and cabbages.

One of the gathering places in town is a lovely fenced area, with a band shell structure.

The police station...

..look closely and you may be able to see the goat on the step on the right side of the picture.  Goats run free like dogs or cats on the island!

Behind the Wesleyan compound is the town cemetery, where the deceased are laid to rest after a procession through the streets, led by a brass band.  When the somber parade reaches the cemetery, the last song played is Auld Lang Syne!

And, a place very full of life is the Institution Foyer des Enfants de Jesus, the orphanage run by Madam Solliette who has rescued 70+ children off the streets of La Gonave.

Here one finds smiling, happy kids, loved and trained, educated -  family!

Madame Soliette and her visitor from the states!

 Happy girls, ready to live out God's promise of a future and a hope for His people.

Beyond the gates - a slice of life in the city of Anse-a-Galets, on the island of La Gonave, Haiti.

A Taste of Home (away from home)

When we arrived in the Wesleyan mission in Anse-a-Galets on the island of La Gonave in October,

 

   we got busy at making our duplex apartment, " home".  

  

 

Curtains made for the kitchen and sitting areas - check!  Ikea chair put together - check!  Rugs provided by Meg spread on the floor - check!  Target futon cover fit over the cushions on the sofa - check!

 

Hardware put on kitchen cabinet doors and drawers that a recent team had spruced up for us with fresh white paint - check!  Finishing touches accomplished by Larry when he trimmed the doors to fit flush.

Colorful Haitian art bought from the gift shop at the guest house and secured on the walls - check!

                     

Bedroom furniture purchased in Port-au-Prince, brought over to the island via The Breezy Sea and assembled by Larry and Wade - check.

 

Second bedroom readily fashioned into office/storage room/ clothes drying area/guest room/gym - check!

 

Screened back porch which both sides of the duplex share - fast becoming a favorite area first thing in the morning!  Love the Christmas lights the neighbor put up!

 And views around the neighborhood (Wesleyan compound), outside our front door:

Looking toward the old gust house

A peek inside the dining area

Looking toward the construction site of the new guest house at a rare quite moment - must be Sunday!  Look carefully and you can see the sea beyond the construction.

  

These men work from daylight to the end of the day.  That is the cement mixer! 

One of the houses on the compound

and just across the street, the Wesleyan Methodist Hospital:

Plaque indicating that the hospital was dedicated in 1959, serving the people of La Gonave for over 50 years.  It is the only hospital on the island of close to 100,000 people.

 

mural on wall outside hospital

Closing with one of the hundreds of Haiti's proverbs:

"Bondye bon." 

God is good.

Next posting - Beyond the Walls

Pictures ARE worth a thousand words!

Fall trip to Haiti - 

On the way to Port-au-Prince, flying MFI (Missionary Flights International).

Our gear rode between us and the cockpit!

First glimpses of Haiti

.. and Port-au-Prince.

 The Breezy Sea, for the 1 1/2 hour crossing from the mainland to the island of La Gonave

I don't look real comfy!  Actually, they hitched a plank bench along the side for me to sit on which worked just fine.  You can see La Gonave out across the water.

It wasn't long before the ole Navy man was behind the wheel.  Larry drove us most of the way across the channel, loving every minute of it!

These sailboats constructed by the men on La Gonave are used for fishing and for ferrying people across the channel.  They were beautiful sight as we came in to the wharf at Anse-a-Galets.

Public ferries we would take across on two occasion during our stay this fall.

Coming in to dock at the Wesleyan wharf 

Always plenty of muscle around, PTL!

The story of our trip to La Ganove, in a fraction of the pictures we took!  

But, it gives you an idea of the beauty of God's creation in this needy land. 

Next, getting settled in.

      

It's Saturday and Thursday's a-comin'

The countdown continues.....

Fourteen 16-gallon lidded containers teeming with household goods, clothing, books, teaching supplies, and miscellaneous packages that we are ferrying from the states to the long-term missionaries on La Gonave, are stacked in our living room.  There is also exercise equipment, boxed Akea chair and cushion, and one larger container with the things that wouldn't fit into other totes.

Last night, we acquired a mosquito net (along with too many insect horror stories!) used regularly for two years on St. Lucia from a veteran Peace Corps friend, which we will tuck into a box along with the last bunch of gifts that are going from a SC grandmother to some precious grands in Haiti. 

Each box has been sorted, packed, weighed and reported to MFI, the group who flies missionaries in and out of islands in the Caribbean.  Content lists have been developed for our sake when unpacking and to, Lord willing, make working our way through customs at Port-au-Prince a bit smoother.  

We've searched out our passports and birth certificates and have them at the ready.  Making the car switch with daughter Meg today when she arrives with her Suburban into which we will load most of our wares for our year in Haiti.  We'll send her off Sunday in the Prius which her family will babysit for us while we are away on this pre-service year visit.

Working on the Haitian creole.   One-on-one instruction.  Video instruction on line.  Holding our own up to Unit 10 (out of 15) in the language program we are using.  Flash cards.  Practicing speaking like we know what we are talking about!  

Mail and newspapers have a scheduled stop and start date.  Neighbors and friends will be keeping an eye on the house.  Plants have been adopted. 

Ticking the items off the list.

Won't be long now...





 

Return to La Gonave

October is here!  This is the month we return to Haiti for a 3-week organizing visit - to buy a bed and mattress for our duplex, comb through and organize curricula for ESL classes, install the new server and configure the 10 laptops for computer classes, meet with some of the seventy or so continuing students (Lord willing) and begin to get to know the other missionaries on the compound, begin to get a feel for La Gonave and Anse a Galets (the town in which we will be living), sew curtains and cover sofa cushions, etc., etc. - and we can't wait!

But, alas, delays happen.  And, they just might build some character! 

The fact is, we will be going a week later than originally planned.  Missionary Flights International, ( a private non-profit aviation service to Christian missions serving in Haiti, the Dominican Republic and the Bahamas), 

the plane on which we and a number of Rubbermaid crates will head to Port-au-Prince, didn't have room for us on the 20th, which was when we had our hearts set on traveling. 
 
So we booked our seats on the 27th.  One additional week to get organized and ready - a good thing; one more week to wait ....  

Breathe deeply; we're on the Lord's timetable.

Community

In our home church, FWC/ALIVE in Central, SC, there is a sweet time each week when worshipers tarry after the services.  Hugs, vigorous handshakes, slaps on the back, and maybe even a kiss on the cheek are the order of the day, as folks connect and catch up on family news and the weekly activities of one another.  Newcomers are welcomed and introduced around to others.  It's not unusual to see two or three huddled off to the side in prayer, or with heads together in intense communication.  This is a good.  Interest and love is shared; support is lavished.  Community happens.

While in Haiti, we joined 100+ Haitians in Port-au-Prince to worship under a Samaritan's Purse tarp, remnants of the earthquake all around us.  Three flapping walls; the fourth, a stationary barrier,  one of the walls of the rebuilt church which the congregation would soon move back into.  What a day that will be!

The day was breezy and the blue plastic lifted from time to time, letting the refreshing breeze roll over those of us seated close by throughout the extended service.  We hummed along with recognized tunes of the hymns which our brothers and sisters sang with feeling; we stood, smiled and nodded when we were introduced to the congregation; we marveled at the unknown tongue through the energetic sermon and sneaked unobtrusive peeks at the worshipers, our Haitian family, God's family.


After the service was when I noticed it:  people tarrying, the hugging, the slap on the back, the kiss on the cheek.  People were connecting and catching up on family news and what had been happening.  We were welcomed and introduced around to others.  Two or three huddled off to the side in prayer; some heads were together in intense communication.  Interest and love was shared.  Support was lavished.  We were witnessing community.

Whether in a lovely, air conditioned sanctuary or under a tarp, with a breeze providing climate control.  Whether in South Carolina or in Haiti.   Men, women, children - sharing life together. 

Community.

Se piti piti zwazo fe niche.

Knowing that we really would be hard pressed to develop authentic relationships with Haitians the Lord brought across our paths without speaking the lingo of the common man there, Larry and I have embarked on learning Haitian Creole.  Embarked with some trepidation!  Embarked with resolve! 

Daily, whenever possible, we finish breakfast and turn on the cd player to participate in language study with the Pimsleur method of learning conversational Haitian Creole.  " Totally Audio - Scientifically Proven - Interactive Lessons - Only 30 minutes a Day"    In addition, whether in our kitchen, walking around the circle with ear buds, or in the car, you just might find us concentrating on the lessons on the cds, this lilting juxtaposition of French and African sounding words, a unique creole with its own syntax and grammar.

Former short-term missionaries to Haiti, Amy and Jim Hardin, sent this program our way when they learned we were preparing for our year.  Thankful for their generosity!  Word is, Jim had a better grip on the language than any of the other new short timers.  We are hoping for the same success with this program as he and Amy enjoyed!

So far, after six sessions ( several repeated over and over and over til we "get it"!), we feel a little more confident about greeting folks in the morning and in the evening, asking about directions and asking if someone would like something to eat or drink, among other useful words and  phrases.  :)

Justine Iskat also sits us down weekly and brings a patient enthusiasm to her lessons of vocabulary and grammar.  She provides the nuances and usage patterns from an American point of view.

It's a slow go.  So,  if you notice Larry or me muttering to ourselves, or getting a far away look in our eyes with lips silently working, or thumbing through a Haitian Creole-English dictionary at odd times during a conversation, just say a prayer for us! 

Justine brought us our first proverb last week, from this country of proverbs - Se peti peti zwazo fe niche.  Little by little, the bird builds the nest.

And the application is apparent!  Little by little, Lord willing,

                                             We WILL learn Haitian Creole!!!

School Daze

Now is the time of year when America's roads are filled with the iconic yellow bus and the careful driver slows to a snail's pace in the neighborhood of a school.

When we were in Port-au-Prince last May, we noted neatly uniformed students on their way to school.  Their "school buses" of choice seemed to be the "tap taps"

 those gaily painted buses or pick-up trucks that serve as share taxis in Haiti.  Tap tap literally means "quick quick". But, they don't leave until they are full of passengers, so they may not be so quick to get a student to school.

Some school transport looks much like open bed trucks.  Hold on tight!

 Classrooms are filled to overflowing with students in the elementary grades. 

 



Some things are universal!  Eager students are the joy of their teachers, everywhere!