Life on the mission station

Larry and I have been spending time re-acclimating to life on La Gonave, and on the Wesleyan mission compound.

Some things haven't changed much:

Ongoing work on the compound - Trimming of a big branch brought workers and onlookers, advisors, and naysayers :)  - and Fr. Joel gets the clearing job done, single-handed!

Hanging the laundry out back to dry in the wonderful Caribbean breezes.

The beautiful flamboyant trees

… and the fragrant plummeria blossoms outside our duplex.

Then, there are the things new to us!

A prime place to sit out of the sun.

The old guest house is gutted - no more kitchen, bedrooms  nor dining room.   The process of turning the building into a public pharmacy and medical storage site is underway.


The work on the hospital "punch list" - those last things that are addressed in any big project, before opening up to the public - is being addressed by Haitian workers and a work team from The Vintage Church in NC.  Another building project at the mission station is the "triplex", which will house missionaries, the MK teacher and the classroom in the fall.








And, the new guest house is just wonderful!  The kitchen equipment that was purchased in South Carolina has made our cooks very happy and two teams tonight totaling forty people have been readily served the tasty Haitian cuisine our cooks are known for!

A little down time for The Vintage Church group after dinner, in the back hall which we hadn't seen before this trip.  A great place to debrief and relax after a full day's work.







Sunday morning found us at the local Wesleyan Church, celebrating Haiti's Mother's Day!  The service was joyful and spirited.  It was good to be there.

Last night, I was able to join the Ladies' Group which meets on Sunday evenings, having begun in 2012.  It was a very nice time of sharing and prayer.  Larry has been able to partake in Toro Time, too - a shade tree gathering of men at the end of the day - to shoot the bull and drink the bull - Toro!

We walked down to the NatCom store this afternoon and bought our wireless internet stick for the computers.  But NOT for the 800 USD the clerk first told us it would cost!  This language thing had us all confused - but finally we straightened it out!  We are good for our time here for $36.00   :)   Because we only had American dollars and he didn't have any American dollars for change, we chalked the extra $4 up to the experience!!

Tomorrow, we will take the NC team out to the Children's Village, on a walk through town and down to the saline - then a visit to the current English classes!

Pictures, anyone?

Wrapping up the retreat news ~

Thankful to work with this great group of folks!

Four families who work on LaGonave, 

two in Port au Prince 

and one in Cap Haitian, 

 one family who is in the process of raising support and hopes to join the team in July, 

were joined by the four gals in pink who provided a great missionary kids program .

On Friday morning, we headed to La Gonave on the Wesleyanna sail boat on calm seas (thank you, Lord!) and spent the week-end getting re-acclimated to life on the Wesleyan mission compound.

More to come …….

And, we are off …...

Monday was a long but - thank the Lord - uneventful day - traveling from Charlotte to Port au Prince, arriving by noon.  We then traveled by car to the Ortlip Center, the Wesleyan ministry center by the sea an hour outside PAP, twelve hours after turning off that alarm at 3:00 am earlier in the day.  After a late lunch, we continued down the highway to the lovely Moulin Sur Mer resort, for the initial sessions of a missionary retreat for fifteen of those serving all over the country, in Port au Prince, Cap Haitien and on La Gonave.

One of the buildings on the site at Moulon sur Mer.

     

Larry and Dan Ervin during a break

Let me explain - we had a three-week window of time to offer in response to the request to be here this trip.  It turned out that the first five days of our availability coincided with the Global Partners retreat  for those on the Haitian mission field.  Thankfully, we were included!  These first sessions have reminded us what great and appropriate support this umbrella organization GP is for Wesleyan missionaries worldwide.



So, we are here and deep into discussions about the joys, challenges and frustrations of serving the Lord in a developing country - and starting this time of our working in Haiti with other Global Partners missionaries, by sharing updates and information from the field and the individual ministries.  Evaluating, planning, strategizing, re-visioning and updating goals.  Bonding.  Appreciating.  Worshipping and Praying.

During a discussion session -

Pwa ak diri  -  Haitian beans and rice - YUM!

Tim Hibschman, Director of Missionary Care,
Global Partners

The necessary evil - mosquito spray!

Rainy season brings afternoon and evening rains.

 Dan and the mango smoothie!  Yes, relaxation is scheduled into the day!

 
And, yes, some things never change!  I washed my hair in cold water this morning and swatted resident mosquitos in our room.

Another day and a half and we will be off across the sea to La Gonave and the work set before us.  We will have a good time of solid challenge, learning, and fellowship under our belts.  Those who have been laboring on the field will have had a good time of R & R, as well.  Our take away has been an effective time of preparation for getting back in the saddle of missionary work, as well as being brought up to date with what's been happening since we left the country last year.

And, thanks be to God, there is much encouraging news!  For example, the training and sending of Haitian missionaries to Africa; leadership training for youth pastors through mentoring and a series of large gatherings of 200+ youth leaders annually for instruction and challenge; the post-earthquake church rebuild nearing completion; new, strong and visionary church leadership in many areas of the country; the La Gonave Wesleyan Nursing School with the opening trimester slated to begin in October.  Most exciting are the new Global Partner missionaries coming to Haiti, bringing needed gifts and talents, to La Gonave and Port au Prince.  …..and there's more in the making….

And, we leave this retreat humbled to have this opportunity to work once more among these people called by God to come alongside the Haitian national Wesleyan church to serve the people of this country.

And, so ... we're off!

Who duh thunk it? We're going back!

Yep - we're heading back to Haiti.  The request of service was made earlier this winter - and that familiar tug on our hearts arose - and, yes, we would pray about it - and yes, we would go!  And the months passed - and the time is nigh - and now, back to the blog we go!

Things are looking familiar around here, too -

The Haiti clothes are on the way into the suitcases …

…along with the mosquito repellent, sunscreen and hand sanitizer ...

… gifts for Haitian students and children

and requests from missionaries and friends!

We're almost ready!    

The countdown has begun! 

We leave Clemson on the 15th for  …

Elizabeth's Suzuki Book 2 piano recital

Hannah's high school graduation and festivities

and
Hannah's last Charlotte Youth Symphony concert...

…and to love on our family one more time before heading south!

Then, Monday, May 19 at 6:00 am, we head to the airport
and the next chapter in

The Haiti Adventure!





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