Pumpkin Soup Day

Happy New Year! In the US there is a huge party in New York that has a huge ball that falls at midnight to bring in the new year. There are resolutions made-- of which many will be broken or forgotten within the first month. There are church parties, house parties, traditions. Everyone is excited about a new chance for change...maybe this year. 

In Haiti, though, it is a new year but it is also independence day so there is even more to celebrate. Tomorrow, everyone will eat pumpkin soup. Why pumpkin soup? How about some history...

Haiti is the second oldest country in the Western Hemisphere after the US. Haitian slaves won their freedom and independence from their French masters and Napoleon's great army in the fall of 1803 and declared their independence on January 1, 1804. When the French ruled, the slaves were not allowed to eat the same food as their masters--specifically pumpkin soup. So, on January 1st, 1804, the newly free people did just that--they ate soup. 

That tradition continues today. If I were in Haiti tomorrow and I went to visit 3 families, it would be incredibly likely that I would eat 3 bowls of soup, no matter the time of day. Businesses would be closed. Things would be quiet overall. But on the 2nd, things would not be quiet.

The 2nd is feasting day! Families get together and have something like a thanksgiving dinner-Haiti version. Turkey, goat, rice and beans, pikliz, salad, and cake is usually on the menu. You never know who will show up! In my limited  experience, this is the day when you see many members of your extended family--not necessarily on Christmas or New Years. 

So, from pumpkin soup to a great feast, the next couple of days are of great importance in Haitian culture. As this new year begins, watch for new blessings and pray that God's fame would continue to be spread here, in Haiti, and around the world.

Be blessed this year friends.

Merry Christmas

I am writing this from where I have spent so many Christmases: my parents' farm in central Minnesota. Yes, it is colder here than in Haiti, but we are enjoying the time of rest and celebration here with my family.  It is great to be here. Even now I am hearing the sounds of my nephew playing with his "Uncle Al" and Grandpa. So great to be with family. We are taking this weekend to celebrate the birth of our King all together.

This morning, at brunch, my dad prayed that we would remember why we celebrate and why we give gifts.  We give gifts because God gave us the greatest gift of all...Jesus.

My prayer is that while we are all celebrating this Christmas season--whether we are in Haiti, the US, or anywhere else in the world--we will remember the gift God gave to us in Jesus: salvation and eternal life with Him.  The greatest gift of all... 

Merry Christmas everyone! 

Continued Blessings

This morning, I was up early--as usual these days--and I was thinking about teams. Those teams who choose to give of their time, energy, and funds to serve. To those teams: thank you.

I don't think you realize the impact you have on the lives if those you serve with when you come. You may be serving with members of a community, a local church, a pastor, a child, an orphanage staff member, or a missionary and blessing them in ways you never will know this side of heaven. Communication could have been limited during your service-at least verbal communication-but your smiles, hugs, and passion were a blessing to those you met.

Examples of this wonderful ministry you may not know you have abound and continue to bless me as I sit here now. Like the team that was so focused on prayer that they made a conscious effort to make sure that in every circumstance they would pray. I can still see them in my head praying together. 

Or the team that saw the importance of ministering to the staff of the orphanage and not only the children. 

Or the team that saw there wasn't enough funding to get a good start on an amazing project so they have whatever they had to bless the pastor and church who were starting the project by faith. 

Or the team who followed the Lord's leading and, at the end of their week, gave the pastor the exact amount needed to complete a project and brought tears to his eyes. 

Or the team that comes back year after year and is a huge highlight for the entire community--they look forward to seeing you all year long!

To those teams-all of you: thank you for being a continued blessing to me. Thank you for being a continued blessing to others. Thank you. I pray you will always remember how God chose you to bless others-what a privilege!

True Partnership

The pastor called for offering.  But it wasn't just any offering.  The team was here.  The very first team that has partnered with this church through Praying Pelican Missions.  They were here to partner.  The pastor took that word very seriously.  He called for offering on Sunday.  An offering of cement, sand, time, labor, money, or whatever you could give.  One by one people raised their hands.  One gave a bag of cement.  One gave a load of sand.  Many others showed up to work throughout the week.  Partnership.  The team wasn't there to just do something FOR the church.  They were there to do something WITH the church.  The pastor knew this.  The pastor got it.

When we partner with a church, this is what we hope for:  True partnership.  Almando has been meeting with pastors to see if and when we can send a team to partner with them.  We look at many aspects and explain many things about who we are and how Praying Pelican Missions works.  Almando met with this pastor at our home.  We heard about him and his church because Almando's mom attends there but he didn't know what we did so he didn't approach us to ask for a team--this often happens.  He listened to Almando talk about what we would like to see in a partnership.  This pastor was on board right away.  He heard Almando's heart for ministry and then shared his vision for the church.  Currently there are 100 members--he has his sights on 1,000 for God's glory.  The church has a plan and programs in place for kids, youth, and adults.  They just needed a building.

The team arrived on Thursday last week and has been giving that building project a kick start as well as participating and leading different programs for the kids and the youth this week.  Pastor has been spending time with Terry--the group leader--and shared his heart.  Terry already had a love for Haiti, but caught the vision and the passion of the pastor and has been excited to serve along side him.  The week continues with more concrete, sand, kids, and fellowship.  I'm sure God is smiling down at this little community here in Haiti and watching with joy as His children--who can't even speak the same language--serve Him side by side.  

On the side...

It seems that the opportunities to minister are never lacking as The Lord gives Al and me the privilege to serve Him. Many times those opportunities are not in our plans, but they are in His.

In the past weeks and months I have noticed a theme in my "on the side" opportunities. Young women reaching out to find out how God called, led, and provides for me/us. He is faithful when you obey. I share my story with them and answer their specific questions and pray God would use my words and my story in some way to guide or inspire them.  It's been a blessing to be able to have this ministry on the side.

For Al, he's a builder.  You would see that if you came to our house with tools and a seemingly never ending list of things he has built for our home.  It's wonderful to be so talented in this way.  He has started to build things for other people who need them.  Pastor Samson's wife came to our house, saw a shelving unit we have in our storage room and asked Al if he could come build at their house. He did.  He and a friend of his are starting to look for more opportunities to bless those they come across with things they can build, whether that is shelves or tables.  God has blessed him with such talent--to serve Him.

How beautiful it is to be able to bless others with our story, our time, and our talents.  These are just ministries "on the side".  I love the opportunities that God gives us in our lives.  All the glory is to Him! 

God is so good!

These days I have seen God's faithfulness so evidently in our lives! He is so good to us! I would like to give you a few examples of how I have seen God's hand working:

1. Vehicle. Many of you may already know, but our vehicle situation has been completely taken care of by our great King! He has provided for us by using one of His servants to bless us with a brand new Toyota Hilux.  We received word about this blessing a few weeks before Bityah was born and were overwhelmed and inspired. We wrote a song based on Ephesians 3:20-21. This was more than we could have asked for or imagined.

2. Timing. Bityah was born a week before her due date. Had she been born later we would not have been able to have the time to apply for her US citizenship and passport in time for my sister's wedding. Her passport arrived the day before we were supposed to travel and it was God's perfect timing for us to go to the embassy at the exact time we did as they just received their mail with her passport in it. A huge blessing! Praise The Lord!!!

3. Travels with the little one. I prayed the morning of our flight that Bityah would be a good traveler. She was! Not a single cry during either flight! That day was the smoothest travel day we have had in a very long time! 

God is faithful in big things and in little things! We can see it and hope you see it too! Praise The Lord!

New Little Family

We have been blessed, since my last post, with a darling little girl! She was born the morning of September 16th.  We named her Bityah which means "daughter of YAHWEH" in Hebrew.  The last week has gone by so quickly!  We have been busy learning to be parents to this lovely little girl.  There have been challenges, but we have been blessed to have my mom be with us since Tuesday, the 17th.  Her knowledge and wisdom has been more help than we could have hoped for.  

Now, a week and a few days later, Bityah has had her first vaccinations, I am finally feeling more normal again, and we are getting ready for the arrival of my sister and dad.  We are also heading into the embassy tomorrow to get Bityah's paperwork all completed to make her a US Citizen and get her a passport.  Please be praying that this process goes better than expected as we have plans to travel to the states on October 23rd for my sister's wedding--we know that God can make that happen.  He is faithful and He has brought us this far!

Thank you for all your continued prayers!  I will continue to post as I can in the coming days and weeks.  

Four Words I Love to Hear

It's been a long 20 hours.  I went to bed exhausted last night and not in the best of moods.  I woke up several times during the night sweaty and needing to drink water.  I woke up this morning with a really bad headache. I stayed in bed until 11.  Sleeping and sweating most of the time.  Our batteries in our fans had died during the night.  I finally got up and showered.  Decided to have grilled cheese and chicken soup for lunch as my hubby had fish with rice and beans--he did offer to pick me up something else, but I didn't want anything else.  After lunch, I wrote and prayed.  Then I cleaned the floors, watched the kittens play, did dishes, cleaned the rest of the kitchen and decided to hop online--glad I charged the computer yesterday because in the last 20 hours, we didn't have power.

This time, the four words I love to hear were, "Honey, there is power."  Almando yelled them up the stairs and I joyfully yelled back, "YAY!"  It's funny that such a thing, many take for granted, I rejoice over when we are given this gift of electricity.  It's been dark here for about an hour and our batteries that can power the lights in our house were almost out of juice and we were about to have to start the generator.  A blessing of power came to us tonight.  A blessing.

Typically, we get power every day, but I have never seen it stay on for a full 24 hours.  We have had it for up to 20 hours at a time and for as little as 20 seconds.  It comes and goes--it seems--as it pleases.  It is one thing that the government here wants to have fixed, but it's on a long list, so we have to be patient in the process.  Sometimes, this is really frustrating--like when you want light or have to charge your computer or would like to use your freezer to stock up and keep food for long periods of time--but we learn how to make do and make it work.  Most of the time, we can even keep ice.  :)

One thing I have learned from this is to never take anything for granted.  You really appreciate something when you know it won't last forever.  I really appreciate when I can charge my computer, watch a movie, or have ice water.  I really appreciate when I don't have to use batteries to have a fan on a hot night.  I really love to hear--or say--those four words, "Honey, there is power."

Waterfall Rains

Well, I realized this week when I didn't recognize the weather patterns happening around me, that I had never spent a FULL August here in Haiti, even though I have been living here for almost 3 years.  This is the time of year for unpredictable weather and, since we are heading to late hurricane season, the potential of hurricanes.  I guess I never realized how different the weather actually was--until I started paying attention.  I am paying attention now as some of our nights have become incredibly steamy--even after a good rain--and I am incredibly grateful for my battery powered fan.

I noticed it first several weeks ago when the wind changed.  I don't know exactly how it changed but it felt different.  Then it stayed hot.  Really hot--even at night.  Soon the thunder came every day around 3pm followed by the breeze which cooled things down until around 7 when it got hot again.  For a couple of weeks, the thunder would come and the breeze and the clouds, but the rain wouldn't come.

Last week, though, came the waterfall fains!  Because our roof is tin, it sounds like you are in a cave behind a waterfall.  You can't hear anything except that sound.  You can't talk to the person next to you unless you are really good at reading lips.  It just rains.  I love that sound.  For a few nights, the waterfall rains came only at night.  I used to look forward to rain at night because then the air would cool off--not that first time.  It cooled off for just an hour or so and then it was still, muggy, and hot.  Having those fans was a huge blessing.

Now, the waterfall rains do cool things off and are beautiful to listen to as I am falling asleep.  The last few nights didn't just bring the rain--but lightning and lots of it.  Since our bedroom has windows on every side--which I love, the room flashes and glows for hours.  The rain sparkles in the lightning and I am reminded of how great our God is--just because of the weather.

So, the weather in August is a little different than those other months.  Now, that September is soon to be upon us, I know that the weather will continue to change.  We will have days when you step out of the shower a start sweating and days when you want a cup of hot chocolate and your sweats.  I love the changes the seasons bring--yes, we do have seasons in Haiti.

Perks of Pregnancy in Haiti

A lot of people have asked me in the past, "What are some of the biggest cultural differences you have noticed between Haiti and the US?"  Well, the US has lots of different cultures and the one I was brought up in was actually fairly similar to the one Almando was brought up in.  We have exchanged stories of our Grandma's quilting and the freedom of running around our country homes--mine on a farm in central Minnesota and his in the mountains surrounding Bainet, Haiti.  We were both taught the importance of our relationship with God, education, and hard work.  In some ways, our upbringing was very similar, in some ways different--especially with the language and the general scenery, but it wasn't until it became obvious that I was pregnant that I noticed significant differences in the culture.  Now, I've never been pregnant in the US, but some things have really surprised me here in Haiti.  I call them the "Perks of Pregnancy in Haiti".

I noticed it not long after our trip to the states.  We were in the bus with a team heading south and it was hot and there was traffic.  I stood up to give some directions and guidance to the team.  Our bus driver, Elie, told me very quickly to sit down.  One of our male staff came up to me and asked me what I wanted communicated with the team.  I told him and he stood up to make the announcement.  I can no longer stand up on a bus to give directions--I realized this very quickly.

Later, on this same bus ride, the same staff member and Elie kept checking on me making sure I was okay and was drinking enough water.  I had forgotten my water bottle in the car.  Elie proceeded to call out the window for "Machan Dlo"--"water merchants".  They started coming up and Elie ended up buying all 30+ people on the bus ice cold water and got me one that was extra large.  He told me I need to drink more.  So, I drank.  I was being taken care of by those around me in a very intense way.  It was a blessing--to the team too!

A couple of weeks after the bus incident, I was walking around a grocery store picking up snacks and supplies for the team which was about to arrive.  I noticed I was being watched carefully by the store employees.  My basket (not cart) was getting full and I noticed them following me, soon they offered to carry my basket for me.  I tried to tell them I was fine, but they weren't going to hear it.  When it was time to stand in line, the clerk left me for a minute and set the basket on the floor.  I reached down to pick it up when it was my turn and was almost scolded by those around me.  Someone picked up the basket and unloaded it for me onto the counter.  I didn't touch those items again.  They brought them to my car and didn't even want to take a tip.  The PPM staffer I was with said, "They made you not carry the groceries didn't they?  I can't see you letting them do that willingly."  We both laughed.  It's true.  I never would have thought I couldn't carry those three bags by myself.

As time went on, I noticed more and more things like this especially when I got to be 7 and 8 months along.  My hospital has a very long line to make your payments (you have to pay before you can see the doctor here) and sometimes I would spend 2 hours in line.  Not when I was 8 months along.  The security guard escorted me to the window and made everyone else stand back.  No one questioned.  No one wondered why.  You don't stand in line when you are pregnant.  Not at hospitals.  Not at banks--which is a HUGE deal because you can spend all day in line at some banks here.  Not at the grocery store.  Everyone is so helpful.  Respectful.  Conscious of the baby growing inside.  Making sure mom doesn't stay on her feet too long.

Pretty amazing.  I definitely get funny looks when I tell people I will have the baby here.  People are surprised to see me pregnant.  But there are definitely perks to being pregnant.  One morning, Almando's brotther, Odne, went with me on some errands.  To 2 banks, the clinic, and the hospital.  He loved it!  We accomplished more in one morning because of the not standing in line than we could have in a day and a half if we would have had to stand in those lines.

There are some of the Perks of Pregnancy in Haiti.  I hope you have enjoyed them--I know I have been blessed by them in the last couple of months!

The End of One Season...

Today marks the end of a very busy summer for Almando and me--along with the other PPM staffers who serve along side us.  Almando has officially crashed for the afternoon and I actually took a really wonderful long shower and used a hair dryer for the first time since the beginning of May.  (Oh, the little things.)  The last week, Al was in Jacmel with team, while I stayed at home working on end of summer stuff--mostly financial stuff.  It's good to have him home and have almost all the financial stuff done.

We still have a couple of trips to facilitate this year, but--God willing--they will be close to home and Al won't have to be far away from the family.  That's right.  Family.  Next month, Al and I will be parents.  Those nine months really do fly by!  Even now, the little coconut is moving around a lot and getting ready to make a grand entrance into this world.  I keep explaining to the little one that patience is a good thing and he or she should wait just a few more weeks before arriving.  I think he or she will.  In the meantime, Al and I have much to do in preparation for our growing family and in ministry.

We get the question a lot:  "When you aren't leading trips, what do you do for ministry work?"  Well, this will help you be able to pray for us in the coming weeks and months.

• We are hosting our end of summer staff reuinion/meeting next weekend.  What goes into that is much planning--where to have it, what to cover, etc.  Then we host the meeting and cover all those things.  Please be praying that God would give us wisdom to know how to best debrief our staff as they go back to "normalcy" after a summer of intense ministry, wisdom to know what to cover in general, and for our staff as the end of the summer is often hard on all of us.
• We are following up with pastors.  With well over 1,000 people serving in several communities all over Haiti, we have our work cut out for us.  We will be asking them how it went this summer and if they truly were encouraged in their ministry.  We will be asking them how we can better encourage them in the future.  I love this aspect of the ministry we do.  We may be holding a Pastor's Conference this fall to get them all together to share ideas and thoughts.  Pray that God will lead us in all of this as well!
• We are setting up for future trips.  Like I said, we have a couple more trips yet this year and those have some set up to do.  We will make sure our teams will have a good partnership church, lodging, food, transportation, etc.  We have so many pastors asking us to bring them a partnership team, so this is a great time to start meeting and setting up with them.  Pray that God will prepare pastors and churches in Haiti as well as in the states to serve Him well.
• I am transferring a lot of my responsibility--especially financial responsibilities--to one of our dear friends down here.  I will be spending a lot of time training and prepping him for the work he will be doing.

There is always much to do!  A couple of personal things you can pray for as well in the coming weeks and months:

• My continued health and the baby's health as the pregnancy is coming to an end.
• We are finishing up house preparations for the baby's arrival.  Pray that God would continue to give Almando the strength and wisdom to complete the projects ahead of us.
• The vehicle.  I know this has been a prayer request for months now, but we are really feeling the pressure to have a reliable vehicle for when the baby arrives.  Please feel free to contact me with any questions regarding the vehicle and please continue to pray that God would provide for us in this way.
• Rest.  After the long summer, we are needing to rest.  Pray that in the midst of the busyness we would find time to do just that.  Rest.

I will continue to keep you posted as much as possible on how we are doing, things that are going on, and how you can be praying for us!  Thank you again for your prayers, friends!

Demen (Tomorrow)

A beautiful thing about Haitian culture has to do with the word "demen" meaning "tomorrow". You will seldom hear this word by itself. Most of the time it will be accompanied with a wonderful phrase: if God wants. The absolute reliance on the will of God in using this phrase amazes me. I have been considering this phrase lately-especially since the sudden passing of Sam-Mya. Life is fragile. So very fragile. We don't know when our time here on earth will come to a close or when a family member or friend will pass away. When we make plans for tomorrow, it should be for tomorrow if God wants.

Yesterday, Al and I attended Sam-Mya's funeral. The church seats 3,000 people. There was no room to sit. People from all over south Haiti and beyond these boarders came to grieve with Pastor Samson and his family. I was shocked to read in the program that Pastor Samson would be giving the meditation. I prayed for God to give him strength as he stood up to begin surrounded by some leaders of the church.

He stood and spoke with the power of God. His message was clear. We can either resist the will of God or accept it. He was choosing to accept it. His daughter was in the arms of her Creator and he was going to accept that this was God's will. He was choosing to believe that God is God and the whole time we were praying for Sam-Mya, we were praying for His will to be done. And it was.

He preached that God is still God and preached the Gospel clearly. He offered to pray for people who wanted and needed to know Jesus. And he ended with a song that is a song of declaration: I Believe. He sang with such conviction and the congregation joined in. Tears came to my eyes. He did believe and he is clinging to his God whose will was done.

This morning, at church, Pastor Samson showed up and surprised the congregation at the end of the early service. He got up and asked again if there was someone who needed to know Jesus today. He said that you can live without Jesus, but do not die without Him. He sang the song again. It says, "Lord, I believe You are God...I believe you died. I believe You rose again. Yes, I believe You are the Master of life....Yes, I believe You have all the power."

So, two things to think about today--two things to encourage you:
1. Tomorrow if God wills.
2. Do you believe?

James 4:13-15
Come now, you who say, "Today or tomorrow we will go into such and such a town and spend a year there and trade and make a profit"-yet you do not know what tomorrow will bring. What is your life? For you are a mist that appears for a little time and then vanishes. Instead you ought to say, "If the Lord wills, we will live and do this or that."

Prayers for Two Families

Yesterday seemed to never end and neither did the endless string of emotions.  Yesterday, two people moved on in two very different ways and I am requesting that you pray for these two circumstances.

First, Almando's sister, Suze Jean Louis with her son Micke moved away from next door to a country far away.  They moved to Chile where Suze's husband Maxen has been living for the past year.  It was a tearful goodbye yesterday because the whole family was together and we don't know when we will all be together again, but we know that it is better for her to be with her husband so they can be a family.  Almando brought her to the airport with the other three brothers while I stayed here.  It was a good thing they got there early because there were problems getting through the airport due to communication issues and lack of information.  When it was all said and done, Suze and Micke boarded a plane bound for Panama then Chile and none of us had dry eyes. 

We got word this morning that Suze, Micke, and Maxen were finally together as a family.  They made it safely!  There were cheers in this house this morning when everyone knew they were safe.  

Please continue to pray for Suze, Micke, and Maxen because there will be a lot of adjustments happening in the coming weeks.  Suze does not speak Spanish in a Spanish speaking country.  Seven month old Micke met his dad for the first time this morning.  Maxen has not seen Suze since March, 2012.  Pray that their transition into family life would be smooth and that God would be glorified through them.  Pray for Almando's family too.  Micke is the first grandchild for Al's parents and Suze is their only daughter.  Please pray for peace and comfort for them.  There is joy in this moving on.  There is sadness too.

Next, Sam-Mya, Pastor Samson's daughter--who my last blog post was about--passed away yesterday.  The news came to us late last night and it was shocking.  Just under 2 weeks ago she was a happy, healthy, beautiful young woman and now she is a happy, healthy, beautiful young woman in the arms of God.  The doctors have no idea what sickness did this to Sam-Mya, but God knows.  Knowing Sam-Mya, her siblings, her mom and her dad has been a blessing to me and now my heart goes out to her family.  It breaks for her mom.

Please be praying for Pastor and Madame Samson and their 3 other children.  Sam-Mya will be missed by them enormously.  Her joy and laughter in their house was infectious.  This lovely woman won't be forgotten.  There is joy in this moving on--she is in the arms of God  and no longer suffering.  There is sadness too for those left behind.

These two families need your prayers in the coming weeks and months.  If you have a prayer list, put them on it and pray for them often.  Thank you, brothers and sisters in Christ, for your willingness to pray.

Looking Back

Today, I have been reflecting some on my time here in Haiti.  I can't believe that it has been two and a half years already.  God is so good and faithful.  He has blessed me in so many ways with wonderful friends and family down here.  One of those people is my reason for looking back today.

Sam-Mya is the daughter of Pastor Samson--if you have been following my blog since the beginning, you will know that I lived with Pastor Samson and his family for about 4 months during my first year here.  When I was living with Sam-Mya, she was always a bundle of energy and joy.  She was incredibly dedicated to her studies (she was finishing up high school at the time) and was active in church.  I loved greeting the family when I returned home after a long day of work.  Sam-Mya would jump up and greet me with "Bonswa, Cassie" and gave me a "mwuah" kiss on the cheek.  I love this girl!

She is on my mind today because she is in the hospital and not doing well.  From what I understand, she went into the hospital late Tuesday night with seizures after a stressful first year of medical school.  She has now been transferred two times to different hospitals and her family is prayerfully waiting for answers.  She is still not talking.  

I am telling you this today because I want you to pray for this wonderful girl.  I am hoping to go see her tomorrow with Almando and pray with her family.  We know that all things are in God's mighty hand and He has her in His hand now.  Please pray for her and Pastor Samson and his family.  

Thank you for not only supporting us in prayer, but for lifting up Sam-Mya as well.

An Amazing Week

While every week with teams is amazing, this week with our team combo from Alabama and Florida was an especially amazing week that touched my heart.

First of all, the team came ready to learn and serve.  It was a beautiful thing.  Complaining didn't happen and appreciation did.  For example, one day we decided to surprise our team with ice for their water and I had never heard such a loud cheer for something so simple.  It brought a smile to my face.  God showed Himself to this team in many many ways-big and small.

Second, we were serving in a community that has touched my heart many times and this time was no exception.  We served with Pastor Jacky.  The project seemed small--smoothing out the concrete floor--but  the story behind it is great.  I was chatting with a group member on Monday afternoon and she said that on Sunday she saw the women walking around in their heels on the uneven floor and she thought to herself, "That floor really needs to be re-done." not knowing that was the project in store for the week.

Monday morning, we began to work and Pastor Jacky started walking around with his hands raised high saying, "Praise the Lord!  This is a dream!" in his deep voice.  Just seeing that brought tears to my eyes, but what really did me in was when the team was sharing about what they experienced the next morning.  They heard a loud rejoicing coming from the church.  The ladies of the church saw the beginnings of a new floor and rejoiced loudly, but not because now they could walk on a smooth floor.  They were rejoicing because now they could KNEEL in worship of our King!  What an amazing blessing!

More stories could flow and flow from that amazing week, but this is just a glimpse of how God is answering prayers here in Haiti.  It is beautiful!

Praise God for all He is doing!

Divine Appointments

One thing I have thoroughly enjoyed during my time here has been seeing, hearing about, and being part of divine appointments. God is always setting up these wonderful moments for his children to be a part of so graciously.  We are representing Him and being His hands and feet here on this earth.

This week, we are serving in a community called Granbouchi which is--if you check out your map--just outside of Les Cayes on the road to Port Salut.  Almando and I are leading two completely different groups in this area and it is amazing to see how God is using each individual in each group to show the beauty of the Body of Christ at work.

The group I have been working closely with is from Christ Church in New Jersey.  Click HERE to see what they have been doing each day.  One of the things that has blessed me as I have watched this group this week is how each individual is so differently gifted, but they all come together like a puzzle.  It is a beautiful thing!

Back to the divine appointments.  One of the members of Christ Church is familiar with this area of Haiti and has been coming here for many years.  Upon arriving, he recognized our staff members so a relationship was already formed with them.  He felt the need to chat with the pastor we are partnering with this week and was able to minister to him in a special way--again, the relationship already previously formed.  The divine appointment involving this individual that really stands out to me happened yesterday.

All day long, he felt like God was preparing him for something, but he didn't know what.  At 3:30 we headed to our final ministry site of the day.  This ministry was founded by a gentleman who has a heart for those who are physically challenged.  For these people, life is really tough and many of them become beggars and are rejected by society.  He wanted to end this.  The founder's brother lost both his arms when they were children and their family thought life was over for him, but he proved them wrong.  He is now a husband, father of 3, and an accountant in the US.  The founder wanted others who are physically challenged know that their life is not over.  They can do something for themselves--they must believe that they can, so he started a 4 year program (like a technical or trade school) for people with disabilities to come and learn something that will benefit them.

Praying Pelican Missions came across this ministry in April and, other than 4 men from the US who were here with us during that time, this group is the first to visit this ministry. The member of this team who had been in this area before had met the founder in passing at a hospital in January.  He had no idea that the place we were going was a place he had heard of before and did not know what to expect.

Upon entering the property, the founder greeted this team member by name.  Shocked, he turned to the founder and recognized his face.  Suddenly, he knew what God was preparing him for all day long.  To pray for the sick.  Many of these ladies at this school/home are physically challenged from birth with problems that can be healed.  Some have clubbed feet.  (My heart goes out to them specifically because I was born with a twisted foot)  Some are missing limbs--from the earthquake.  All are beautiful daughters of the King and He loves them.  We prayed over each one of these ladies yesterday and the team member shared last night that he knew God set this all up.

God sent him to meet the founder in January.  God sent PPM to the Trade School in April.  God sent this team here in May so the dots would be connected.  God has His hand in everything that we do and is setting up thousands of these divine appointments for the summer.  Now, we just get to follow where He leads and watch as He works.

Friends, continue to pray for us as we continue our busy summer season full of divine appointments, yes, and lots of groups coming down.  We will be busy and are already feeling tired.  Pray for rest and peace and time so we can process and continue to grow together.  When this team leaves on Saturday, we have another arriving on Sunday, so please continue to lift us up in prayer so we can lead well and be alert and aware of what God is doing.

Updates and Praises!

Since it has been way too long since I posted anything, thought it would be a great time to post some updates and praises!

First Updates:

• Almando and I had a great time in the states.  We were able to visit with some area churches, spend time with family, and attend the Praying Pelican Missions Spring conference.  We did feel our time in the states went by far too quickly and we didn't have enough time to spend with everybody who wanted to spend time with us, but we are grateful that we spent some time anyways.
• After a quick travel day, we hit the ground running here in Haiti.  We spent time in Les Cayes setting up trips, then moved to the North side of Port-au-Prince, and then closer to home in Gressier and the Carrefour area.  We are feeling pretty prepared for the summer trip season and are excited to see what God will do.
• Our car was almost fixed when we picked it up from the shop last week, but it found its way back to the shop yesterday.  Keep praying for that situation.
• We are currently serving and leading a team in Bon Repos and will be with teams until June 8th in 3 different locations, so be praying that God will continue to give us strength and energy and wisdom as we lead these teams.

And Praises:

• My health seems to have improved in the past weeks!  Praise the Lord!  I've been able to gain some of the weight back that I lost during the first trimester and I have much more energy now than before.  The baby is growing and moving around a lot and we are getting more and more excited to meet this little one!
• Our team is currently doing very well and sharing the love of Christ with the children at an orphanage here.  The team is learning a lot about what it means to be a child of God this week as well.  It's so beautiful to see how God works during these weeks.
• With all the traveling we have been doing and the work that has been accomplished, we have remained safe and have tried to find time to rest.  Praise God for His example of the Sabbath!  We know we need to rest and God knows that too.  We are so thankful that He has been protecting us, sustaining us, and teaching us through this process.

There is so much more to share and I am looking forward to sharing specific stories soon, but for now, continue praying with us and praising with us as God continues to work in, and through, and in spite of us!

Be Blessed Friends!

Welcome to SNOW!

On Thursday, we flew into Minneapolis, MN and found a snowstorm waiting for us.  We thought we had missed winter completely, being towards the end of April and all, but we were wrong.  We definitely were not dressed for the weather as Al was wearing flip-flops (I did leave mine at home) and we only had light sweaters or sweatshirts for jackets, so we were incredibly grateful for my sister and her husband when they pulled up with a warm car, jackets, hats, mittens, socks and shoes--and for me Taco Bell!  Guess this is the end of a very long Minnesota winter.

Since we have been here, we were able to take a morning to make a snowman and an afternoon to stock up on slightly warmer clothing and shoes before hitting the road to head to Wishek, North Dakota where much more wind and snow were waiting for us along with loving brothers and sisters in Christ and rich German food.  This was part of a team which served with Pastor Jacky in January, so it was a blessing to see them again.  We were given plenty to eat as we talked about ministry and partnership and what the plan was for next January.  We felt at home.

Sunday morning, we were able to share more about what we do in Haiti and how we were called into the ministry and that was just during Sunday School.  During church, we mixed it up with a little Creole and English worship music and shared more about Praying Pelican Missions and their strategy of mission--which I believe is a great one:  always partnering with a local pastor and church to encourage and grow ministry that is already happening--this way when the team leaves, the ministry continues.

After a traditional, hearty potluck and a wonderful time of fellowship, it was time to say goodbye to our dear friends and get back on the road again.  While we were driving back towards Minnesota on a very straight and long road, we talked about how much we love sharing what the Lord is doing in Haiti and leading worship together.  We thank God for all the blessings He has given us and for the many blessings to come.

Now, we are taking a couple of days to rest.  Much needed rest here in snowy Minnesota.  Yes, there are still things we are working on here and there, but we know we need to rest.

Pray for us as we continue our journeys here in the states.  Pray that we do find enough rest to energize us for the busy summer ahead.  Pray that God continues to provide for our every need--even now, I think of one great need we have in Haiti as we continue to pray for a new vehicle.  Continue to pray with us friends!  Pray that we will enjoy our time here even with the snow!

Be Blessed!

Church Conference!

So, the past week has found me back in the swing of things with a little bit of extra rest here and there.  It is great to be able to be back in the game!  On Wednesday of last week, we headed to Les Cayes with 6 other guys--so often I'm the only female around with these kinds of trips--for the annual MEBSH conference.  The Missionary Evangelical Baptist of South Haiti denomination is the largest denomination we work with here in Haiti.  Our first contact, Pastor Samson, is the Vice President for the MEBSH and, this year, invited Pastor Rob from Broadmoor Baptist Church in Mississippi to come speak at the conference.  Four times.  At the nightly service.  It's a pretty big deal.

Broadmoor has been partnering with Pastor Samson's church for a couple of years now and have developed, what we believe is going to be, a long-lasting partnership.  It's been great to see how they want to continue to grow this relationship.  Pastor Samson has visited their church and Pastor Rob has preached here.  It has been great watching this relationship grow and change.  We look forward to seeing how much God will do through this partnership.

At the conference this week, there were probably around 6,500 people at each nightly service.  There were dynamic worship moments, wonderful choirs giving the glory to God, and--one of my favorite things--a very talented trumpet trio.  The trio did an amazing job taking fantastic old hymns like "Great is Thy Faithfulness" and making a beautiful, worshipful moment where it felt like we were being ushered into the very presence of the King and we wanted to jump out of our skin to join them in worship before Him!

When Pastor Rob preached, he had to use a translator of course, but he preached from his heart.  I always love it when you can tell that a pastor loves the Lord and His Word and preaches truth with passion.  The theme of the convention was from John 4:35:  "...lift up your eyes, and see that the fields are white for harvest."  What a great reminder for Christians to not only know Jesus and rely on Him, but look to the fields.  Why?  Pastor Rob ended with a great reason:  Because He Lives.  We need to share that good news.  We need to look to the fields.

I have been encouraged this weekend!  Praise God for all He does!

What was just a request...

All of us have vehicle woes from time to time.  Our vehicle was diagnosed yesterday as being broken.  The engine will have to be completely taken apart and hopefully put back together so it will work, but   that means that a request for prayers for our vehicle situation has turned into more of an urgent prayer request.  This vehicle has become increasingly unreliable and, when we are on the road so much, it isn't a good combination.

Please, join us in praying that God would provide another vehicle for us.  A reliable, durable one that will last us a long time and give us fewer "woes".  We know that He can provide and will provide all that we need, so pray with us friends!  

He is faithful!

Where does that leave me?

This week, Almando is in Pignon which is far away from Port-au-Prince and the road isn't the best.  He is leading a group of 25 people who are building a house for a beautiful little family and are working with the kids showing them the love of Jesus.  But, if Almando is there, where does that leave me?

I am in Petionville staying at Haiti Christian Orphanage with my missionary friend Marlo and working on my Creole with the boys here.  When I am not with the boys or sleeping (which I do a lot of), I am doing a variety of things.  Much different than what I do at home and sometimes similar.

On Sunday, I walked to church with Marlo and some of the boys.  But, it was a very different church than what I am used to.  We didn't use the hymnals, but we sang songs like "Majesty" and "Lord, Reign in Me" that had been translated into French and printed in the bulletin.  Sunday afternoon found me cooking my Easter meal.  It wasn't quite what mom would have prepared, but still very American.  Baked chicken, mashed potatoes, gravy, and peas (the steamfresh ones you cook in the microwave).

After Marlo and I finished eating we headed to the bus terminal to meet the team (and see Almando) as they were passing through town. It was a quick visit, but so good.  We headed back up the hill by taptap to the orphanage and I finished the day with chocolate pudding.

My morning, yesterday, was full of taptaps and wandering uphill for what seemed like forever and then wandering back down after my business there was finished by noon.  Uno, laughter, language learning, and debates filled the afternoon as the boys filtered in and out.

The sounds are different here, the sights are different here, the atmosphere is different here.  A little change is doing me good.  For a little while.  I am working on some office stuff here and there this week and trying to help Al out as much as I can from here.  I know I will be ready to go home at the end of the week.  For this little while, I am glad for many distractions and many new things.  So, that's where I find myself this week.

Please be praying for Almando and the team while they are serving in Pignon and be praying for me as I am having a completely different set of experiences here in Petionville.  I look forward to the end of the week when we can be together again, but I know God is working on and in and through both of us separately right now.

The Sounds of My Day

My days are starting to sound familiar to me.  Different from a lot of you, so I thought I would take this opportunity to share the sounds of my day.

I wake up in the morning to a buzzing sound. It only lasts a couple of seconds before it turns off again, then it starts again.  What is this sound?  It's my husband's cell phone.  Who is calling so early in the morning?  It could be a pastor, a friend, or family member.  This morning, it was a family member who wanted to borrow the drill.

Then, whenever the phone is silent again, we hear the roosters (they keep crowing all day long), and then our cat.  Meowing.  Begging us to let her in so she can have some food and cuddle time before it's light outside and the dogs get fed.  We let her in and quickly become annoyed with her trying to get our attention and we know that it is time to get up.

The voices from next door start rising as the morning goes on.  We hear the guitar's "Jing, jing, jing" and the voice of Daniel singing whatever song he is working on perfecting.  Lately, it's been "Allelujah".  We hear someone walk towards the house and the sound of "M'vin achte" (I've come to buy) followed by the response coming from the inside of Al's parents house saying "Sa ou vle" (What did you want).

The conversation voices continue along with new sounds.  The sounds of people working.  Construction of some kind happening in the area.  The mixing of cement, the pounding of nails.  The ladies laughing while they are doing laundry with the squishing of soap suds and water and cloth.  Then, the sound of cooking comes.  The pounding of spices, boiling water, frying foods in oil.

There's the random Mack truck that comes rolling by, the motorcycle with speakers that play music much louder than it's engine, and the ice cream truck.  I hear people calling out for each other or calling out greetings. The knocks on metal doors and horns honking in the distance.

As the day comes to a close, the work sounds die down, as does the conversation and the visiting friends stop coming.  The neighbor kids may decide it is a great time to come visit me though.  They knock at the door to my house and yell "Pa gen moun?" (which is the equivalent of "Anyone home?").  They come in and watch whatever it is that I am doing and, of course, ask for candy.

Finally, at the end of the day, I either hear silence and the quiet whirring of the fan above our bed, or I hear our generator faithfully giving us light until it's time to sleep.

My day is full of noises.  There are noises at night too...but maybe that's for another day!  :)

Realization: Things will (and must) change.

For those of you who are friends with me on facebook--or hear the news from people who are, you already know that the past couple of days have found me incredibly ill.  I haven't been able to get even much liquid down--much less food, but God is faithful and has been showing me, in a variety of ways, that things will change in the coming months and years.

For example, while I have been unable to do much of anything, my wonderful husband along with some great staff has been able to host a team of 50+ people who are doing some amazing ministry.  If you have a couple of minutes check out what they have been doing by clicking Here for Living Faith Fellowship and Here for First Baptist Church of Terry.  It's interesting that I haven't been able to be a part of this trip, up to this point, and that is incredibly difficult for me.  Why?  I really do love what we do and love to see lives changed--because so many lives are changed.  I know, though, that in the coming months, things must change and I am getting a taste of that now...

So, what have I been doing today?  For a long time, I stared at a calendar and scheduled events I knew were going to take place such as trips for the summer, meetings in the states, and places we need to visit for setting up trips.  Most of that ends in mid-August. I stared at the months that follow and noticed that very little was scheduled.  Birthdays, weddings, and Christmas were all there, but I realized that things will change.  Things must change.  I decided to keep looking ahead to the next year which is currently blank and I wondered what that year will look like.

I simply don't know.  God does.  And He will continue to guide our steps through the coming months and years. I know things must change and have realized that even this week is different than I would have expected.  God knows what He is doing and I know that I will continue to trust in Him.  While the ministry that is going on around me is glorifying to Him, so is my realization of this truth:  Things will change, but God remains the same.

The Good News and the Bad News.

For those of you who have struggled with deciding what to tell first and what to tell second if you have both good news and bad, you will relate to this...but I have decided to start with the bad news.

As of late, the hospital at Diquini has become a very familiar sight for me.  I have been visiting there often for a couple of reasons.  Yesterday, it was to visit the emergency room.  For myself.  I was napping yesterday afternoon and woke up to some commotion outside.  I quickly jumped out of bed, thought I took a step, and fell immediately to the floor.  My legs were sleeping and could not hold me.  I cried out and Al came to my rescue--what a great guy--and rushed me away to the ER to find no broken bones, but damaged ligaments in my left ankle.

I am on crutches now and in what they call and air cast for anywhere between 2-4 weeks.  I never realize how difficult things can become until I had to climb, no crawl, up three stairs to get to the bathroom and try to figure out how to get down without falling. It's kind of a funny way to end up injured, but I'm thinking that God has a plan for this...as He always does.

Let's rewind a little bit, yesterday was the ER, but before that I was already fairly familiar with the processes of the hospital at Diquini.  Why?  Because I have been going there for the past month because we are expecting a BABY!  This is GREAT news!  We are so excited for this new chapter in our lives and would really appreciate your prayers as we prepare for the baby and as God continues to create this little one before he or she is born.

So, as we are preparing for teams coming in the next month and as we are making decisions regarding my role with these teams, be praying for my health, for wisdom and guidance, and for God to be glorified above all things!

Focusing on Something Else...

With our car still in the shop and much work that is ahead of us to do, we are taking a step back and focusing on something else for a little while.  February 11 is just a little over a day away and that day holds a lot of significance to me and Al--it will mark one full year of marriage.  We know we have been blessed.

After our beautiful wedding and week long honeymoon, we figured out that it didn't take us long to forget what it felt like to be single.  We enjoyed working together, cooking together(we have created a wonderful meal of a mixture of cultures), taking long work road trips together, and simply living life together.  Our life, we noticed, isn't a very steady one.  We would get used to the routine of being home and working from here, then it would be time to share each other with the teams that we spent weeks with.  When we got used to how those weeks went, it was time to go to the states for a while.  When we got used to the routine in the states, back to trips we went.

The lack of a normal routine is evident, but we have enjoyed all the little adventures in and through each of our "normals" and we can't believe a year has already gone by since Almando jumped off the platform at our church here in Haiti with excitement as he saw me walking towards him.

We know that every year will bring challenges (like the car) and adventures and joys.  And we look forward to many more years serving the Lord together.

Please be praying for us as we enter into our second year of sharing life and serving the Lord together!

I used a passage in Ephesians 3 in my vows to Almando a year ago and in verse 20 and 21 it says, "Now to .Him who is able to do far more abundantly than all that we ask or think, according to the power that is at work within us, to Him be the glory in the church and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations, forever and ever.  Amen"

All for His Glory as He has already done far more abundantly than all than I could have asked for or thought of--All of this for His glory!

Back to the TapTap

Al with the timing belt that has broken 3 times...

Good day everyone!  This morning finds us working from home because we have been finding it hard to get around lately.  Our car has been in the shop a number of times in the last couple of weeks and has been resting there for the past 4 or 5 days.  This means that we are back to taking the taptaps around.

Taptaps are a big part of the public transportation system here in Haiti.  They could be school buses, 15 passenger vans, or--the most common--pickups with benches running along the bed.  Each taptap has a route that it runs multiple times each day, so if it is going the direction you want to go you flag it down and hop in. It may stop multiple times to let people get in or let people get out and sometimes those pickups have well over 20 people in them.  Drivers seem to think that there is always room for one more...

Taking the taptaps around is rather inconvenient because it takes us a LOT longer to get where we need to go, so we find that it's difficult to do our job.  We have many trips coming up in March and really need to be able to make sure each team is hosted well and each pastor finds encouragement from these teams.

As interesting and calming it is to be taking public transportation, we really need our car to be able to what we need to do.  Please be praying that we can find the parts and the funds to get our car fixed.  Pray for the mechanics that they would know how to fix it.  Pray that we are able to get much accomplished in the meantime.

The Man with Heart

Last week with our team, we served with a man Almando and I love dearly.  His name is Pastor Jacky and he is the kind of guy you call when you are having a hard day.  He is the guy Almando calls "My heart" because Pastor Jacky has a lot of heart.

We met Pastor Jacky a long time ago it seems.  He is like an uncle--he calls us his kids.  Last summer, we brought a group to serve at his church and he was so grateful for the help they were able to give and the ministry they had with the kids.  Last week, it was a smaller team made up of college students from the south and "farmers" from the north.  It was a joy to see them serving together and hearing them talk about Pastor Jacky.  Many of them wanted to take him home with them because he is such a passionate, joy-filled preacher who walks completely by faith.

On the first day of "work" on the trip, it was almost lunch time and the team had been passing bucket after bucket of sand to use for cement later in the week.  Pastor Jacky came to me when lunch was ready and asked me if the team had finished washing their hands to be ready to eat.  I told him we had used Germ-X.  He looked at me and told me that Germ-X wouldn't be good enough.  He would bring water and soap to wash their hands.

About 5 minutes later he came back and said he was ready.  The team lined up and were amazed--as I was--as Pastor Jacky stood over a basin with a gallon of water, a bar of soap, and a towel.  He washed their hands.  It reminded me of the story of Jesus washing the disciples' feet.  He washed our hands and it was a blessing to have clean smelling, dirt-free hands before lunch.

This man has heart.  This man has vision.  This man has faith.  He knows he is nothing without God.  We are so blessed to know Pastor Jacky and to serve along side him and encourage him in the ministry God has entrusted to him. May his life continue to be reflecting the God he serves.

Pray for Pastor Jacky, his wife, their 4 kids and the ministry God has given to them.  They have many challenges, but they know they serve a great God!

Busy Days!

Hello friends!

Almando and I are leading trips this week, so these are busy days with finalizing logistics and spending time in fellowship with the team and the community we are partnering with.  Please check out what our teams are up to by clicking Here! 

There are always challenges during these weeks, so be praying for us and that we find enough time for each other as well as for the ministry.