A few things we have learned during the first week on the mission field

1.  There's some great cooking going on in the guest house.
        For example - mouthwatering lobster bisque - YUM!

2.  The trays in the bottom of the toaster attract ants no matter how diligent one is to wash them after each usage.
        Solution - send the toaster back to the gwa kay ( big house or guest house ).

3.  Crocs are perfect shoes for the dry season.
        Why?  They can be washed off in the shower right along with your legs and feet when you return from a walk!

4.  Resident dogs can't resist playing with anything left on the front porch.
        Solution - leave shoes inside by the front, not outside by the front door.

5.  At 6:00 a.m., when the electricity comes back on, the lights that were left on when the electricity was turned off at 9:00 p.m., tend to wake one up as they blaze back on!
        Solution - turn all light switches to "off" before going to bed, even though the lights are off

6.  Sometimes there are breaks in the pipes carrying the cool, fresh water down the mountain.
        Solution - keep a few containers filled with water, just in case.

7.  Walking through the guest house before a meal affords not only good aromas but sometimes yields a lovely surprise - hearing a cook's pure, sweet voice singing a familiar hymn in creole.

8.  Missionary Midnight!
        What's that?  9:00 p.m. - lights out when the electricity is turned off!

9.  The caribbean night sky is beautiful!
        Artificial lights off; God's lights burning brightly!

10.  Sunrise is, too!
        Asleep soon after 9; awake as the day breaks!

11.  The breeze and shade are real blessings!
        Thanks be to God for them.

12.   Married women take the name of their husbands in a different way.
        Marty is known as Madam Larry.

13.  The Wesleyan Church in Anse-a-Galets is filled with song and worship and beautiful people.
        It starts at 7:00 a.m. and ends whenever the minister finishes preaching.

14.  Missionary Church begins at 10:30 and picks up where the singing left off in town.
        The role of minister is filled by Greg Edmond or a pastor on a visiting work team.  The sermon
        is much shorter!

15.  God's Spirit is present at both services!
        Response from the heart:  Praise the Lord!

 Can't wait to see what our second week has to offer!

       

      

The last leg of the trip to La Gonave

Well, we are now officially members of the community here at the Wesleyan mission in Anse-a-
Galet, La Gonave, Haiti!   Praise the Lord!

Last Thursday, we flew into Port-au-Prince, prayed our way through customs (being aware that many prayers were being said for that very event and feeling very humble and fortunate because of them!), having to open only two crates while the customs official smiled big at Larry’s attempt at Creole!   We were met by Merline, the office manager at the mission and driver Judain who took us shopping to purchase our month’s worth of supplies while Merline bought for the guest house and two other families.  

We also purchased the water cooler and two “galons” our children had gifted us with!  Cool, clean water, at our fingertips!  A gift and a treasure!

Seven hours later ( a commentary on the traffic and other meanderings which are a natural part of this culture!  We are learning to S L O W  D O W N and remember this culture is based on relationships, not driven by the hands on the clock – as we are in the states) we arrived at the lovely guest house which Carl and Maya Gilles operate in Port-au-Prince.   A delicious meal of beans and rice with vegetable sauce awaited us – and a good bed.

The following morning, we made our way to the Wesleyan wharf outside PAP and to The Wesleyanna, the mission sailboat, our mode of transport that day from the mainland across the nine miles of channel  to La Gonave. 

  

After that two-hour adventure , we slipped beside the Wesleyan wharf where we were met by lots of muscle to help unload our LOADED boat!

And,the rest, as they say, is history!  We have been getting settled in and finding our place in the rhythm of the mission station here. 

The year has begun!

This is it! We're on our way....

When one looks back on it, the past month could be likened to a video run in double time! 

Slowing the coverage, one can note the following parts:  Completing the preparation of our house to hand over to the God-ordained renters; dealing with the art of packing:  the 15 crates with clothing ( 2 of the 15!), supplies and electronics for Haiti; then the division of intermediate short-term apparel into piles - "Indiana in winter", "Charlotte in January", and "Traveling to South Florida and Haiti". 

The coverage then dims and expands to the packed schedule of Global Partners Missionary Training Institute in Indianapolis and the harried escape at the end of the week from the ice and snow and delayed planes to balmy Charlotte.  Then, a couple days with family and before we knew it - we find ourselves in Ft. Pierce, Florida, anticpating moving to Haiti day after tomorrow!  Yikes!

Let's unpack this video with some crazy 3-D glasses on! 

The Lord's provision, seen with clarity!  Dear long-time friends Barb and Ted Jennings needed a place to stay until they can move into a condo of choice; we needed a renter.  Voila!  and Praise the Lord!  When we had been cleaning out, weeding through and storing, we did it without knowing who would be living in our Clemson home, but trusting that it would be God's choice.  When the decision was made, the final days were clearly joyful, envisioning our friends there.

Once again, we were packing for Haiti.  Once again, the living and dining rooms were cluttered with clothing and materials and electronics waiting to be carefully placed into their specific places for the trip down.  Once the crates were filled and weighed (as in that last trip in October), we were ready to move on to more immediate packing and sorting needs.  In the thirteen days preceeding flying out to Haiti, we would be in three different climates, requiring different sorts of clothing!

Larry was fond of saying that Global Partners was aclimatizing us in the cold north before we move to the hot Caribbean.  Right on!  While it was snowing outside, we were housed in the international headquarters of The Wesleyan Church in Fishers, IN, attending the training missionaries have before heading to the field.  We were overwhelmed with the excellence ( and the packed-ness ) of the schedule, knowledgeable and effective presenters, very worth while and necessary information, and the top quality of the overall training.  The information pertaining to hostages was a little unnerving, but the information about what Global Partners had in place - just in case - was impressive and very encouraging.

Heading back to Charlotte, we had some wonderful time with daughter Meg and her family.  Then all the kids and their families, plus Aunt Gayle, Larry's sister, gathered for lunch on Sunday and an extended visit time together.  What a great, precious afternoon!

MamaG and Sir and the Grimes and Spear families at the Haiti Send Off Luncheon

The underlying solid assurance of God's call to this year in Haiti offered the balm to ease our hurting hearts with each good-bye. 

Clarity - Monday, the 23rd, THE day we were to head south to Ft. Pierce.  The last farewell to Meg's family was accomplished in the drizzle (another ironic weather happening since it is the dry and dusty season in Haiti!) and we were soon moving down the long driveway and into the future.

One day later, here we are - still reeling from the speed with which it has all happened!   This time last year, the idea of serving in Haiti was not even on our radar, had not even entered our thoughts.

Yet, now we are commissioned Global Partners missionaries, with the assignment to serve on the island of La Gonave, Haiti, for the next year! 

Never know what the Lord will do next!



"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.