Thoughts from a Missionary Kid

Joe Geisler

Joe Geisler and his family - Father Rod, Mom Michelle and brothers Ben and Garen - live on LaGonave, just on the other side of the wall from the Wesleyan mission compound in the WISH compound.  Rod heads up WISH - West Indies Self Help - a very productive and useful organization which supplies water to the town of Anse-a-Galet, Haiti and back up power to the Wesleyan area and the hospital, among other functions.  

Joe and I (Marty) were talking one day when we were in Haiti earlier this month about the fact that Joe was almost through with school for the year, that he just had some writing to accomplish and a couple of things.  I mentioned that if he wanted to write a piece about being a MK - missionary kid - I would post it in our Haiti blog.  He mentioned it to his mom and the rest is history!

So …. read and enjoy!

The Pros and Cons of Being a Missionary Kid in Haiti

There are many pros and cons to being a missionary kid in Haiti.  The pros make my life a fun and exciting experience.  The cons set things back a bit, but there are always two pros for every con, sometimes you just have to look for them.  I love being a missionary kid in Haiti because of all the positives.

Sometimes my life in Haiti can be difficult.  One of the cons to being a missionary kid in Haiti is having to learn a new language.    Learning a new language is a very difficult task.  Leaving friends to go to Haiti was also a hard thing to do.  Where I live in Haiti there are no stores with books or movies I like and the ones they have are in French.  My brother is my only classmate so I can’t make friends in the classroom.  To raise money to live in Haiti I had to stand in front of people I didn’t know and speak.  I always messed up somehow in front of large groups of people staring at me.  All my missionary friends have left and new people aren’t coming for a while.  Another hard thing is the people in Haiti have a completely different mindset than me and that can get annoying.  For example,   asking for anything is okay.

Most of the time my life in Haiti is great.  Even though earlier I stated that language learning is a difficulty, one of the pros of being a missionary kid in Haiti is getting to learn a new language.  They say the more languages you know the better because you can talk to more people and it can help you get a job in the future.  You also get to meet new people and make new friends.  Another nice thing is teams of people are often willing to bring in books and movies that we cannot get here.  Because my brother is my only classmate, I usually finish school before lunch.  Then I can be free to do whatever I want to.  Now I have a different place to explore.  There is a completely new culture to learn about.  I get new foods to taste, like legim, a delicious mixture of meat and vegetables on beans and rice.  In Haiti I am also exposed to new diseases, but that is good too because it gives me a stronger immune system.

More pros to being a missionary kid in Haiti involve transportation.  I get to fly to and from Haiti.  Then I get to ride a boat from the main land to the island where I live.  It makes me appreciate how little time things take in the US, like getting a meal from a restaurant. I also get to swim by the coral reefs almost every Sunday.  Living in Haiti, I get to learn about all sorts of new and interesting things like how to fix a motorcycle tire tube without removing the wheel.  One more pro is that the soda has real sugar in it so it tastes better than the soda you get in the US.

There are definitely more pros to being a missionary kid in Haiti than cons.  My life in Haiti is wonderful because God designed it that way.  Living in Haiti is a great benefit to me.  I would rather not live anywhere else.

Finishing up our Spring 2014 Haiti trip

One of our responsibilities in Haiti this trip was to welcome and host the teams that had come to work through the Wesleyan church and other agencies.  This was a pleasure!

The first group came to LaGonave from our neck of the woods.  The Vintage Church team hailed from Randalman, NC and included its pastor Matt Smith and a group of 11 who soon meshed and bonded into a powerhouse group, only in the ways a short term mission team with service on their hearts and love for the Lord Jesus, can.

They worked HARD each morning, overseen and enabled by Larry  - attacking the punch list at the new hospital, demolishing and building up, painting ( and painting some more ) - in the stifling heat with nary a complaint!  In fact, more likely a song and dance!

In the afternoons, Larry and I introduced them to Anse-a-Galets - 

the new Children's Village,

the market,

the saline,

to name just a few of the outings which offered an "up close and personal" look at the town.

After saying good-bye to this great team, we rolled up our sleeves and did some renovating work ourselves -

               cleaning and lining the kitchen drawers, shelves and cupboards 

cleaning and lining the bathroom drawers and shelves

replacing the bathroom window screen, cleaning and repainting the window sill and 

surrounding wall

repairing a leak under the kitchen sink -

all in the apartment where visiting professors for the Nursing School will live.

Last Sunday, we returned to the Ortlip Ministry Center to welcome the final team, getting them acclimated for the week of service they would spend on the island.  

And, then, a day of travel and we were loving being with kids and grands overnight in Charlotte.  An uneventful trip home the next day morphed into a very eventful Wednesday - with the mosquito-borne 

Chikungunya virus full blown in Larry.  Wasn't long before he was down and out with raging temps and extreme join pain.  We knew the CDC treatment protocol - and a quick call to the doc confirmed we were spot on.  But, unlike those in Haiti contending with this sickness, we had the ibuprofen and tylenol, blankets to cope with chills, cool air to cope with fever, a doc at the other end of the phone confirming, educating and encouraging.  He is in the throws of it right now, but fever gone (praise the Lord!) and the rest of the symptoms are peaking and hopefully, will soon dissipate.  Not at all fun, but expecting a full recovery.  

We are thinking about our Haitian friends and others going through this vicious sickness.  We know better how to be praying for them now.

An interesting souvenir from this trip - but one that provides immunity, so Larry won't likely have to go through this again!

Closing this Haiti chapter with thankful hearts 

and new prayer petitions for the people of Haiti.