How does one remember?

4 years have gone by. 4. I remember that day. Where I was when I got the call from Matt. I'd never been there before. Never met anyone from there. Why would I care? Somehow I did. My heart broke when I heard the news. When I saw the pictures. I didn't know then that the "there" would turn to "here". Haiti. 

Before the earthquake that devastated the capital city, Port-au-Prince, I had never visited here. Where I live now. Where my husband grew up. Where his family lives. Here. Haiti. That day, 4 years ago, the thought didn't cross my mind that my future husband was in the middle of a terrible natural disaster that could have claimed his life. I didn't think that at all. My heart simply broke for this city and the millions of people affected by this tragedy. I didn't think I was one of them, but somehow I was.

I am reminded today of that day. A tragic day that somehow impacted my life. A day that impacted the lives of so many I now call family and friends. 4 years ago.

Today, right now, people are gathering at churches where testimonies will be shared. Where people will celebrate and praise the God that saved them. Where there may be moments of silence to remember those lost. There will be much rejoicing because we are here and God is shining a light in Haiti. 

What a great way to remember. Celebrating, rejoicing, praising God for the life you have. The church here amazes me. I remember that day with my family and friends here. 

Continue to pray for Haiti. For God's name to be made famous here. For Haiti to be a light even as we remember that day.

My Pelican Family

Every few months or so we host a staff get together/meeting where we are able to regroup and grow closer together as a family. We spend time in worship, in God's word and in fellowship besides laughing and meeting about important ministry practices. Our worship time has been dynamic and passionate as we know our family loves our King well.  People are concerned if they miss our worship time. 

Our last meeting was an interesting one as we told our staff that they could invite potential pelicans to join us for a day of introduction and orientation and fun. We were shocked that so many people showed up. We had 43 people there who were either already part of our family or who wanted to be. As we all introduced ourselves, it was a blessing to hear why people wanted to be involved with PPM. The answers were almost all regarding how PPM is a family that takes care of each other and how with PPM they are or heard about how they are treated as leaders, as equals. As we read applications, the answers continue to reflect the idea that PPM is a family that develops people into leaders. 

I think of this now as we have new pelicans serving for the first time this week with a team and as we plan to continue to train and develop our staff and our family to be good leaders and representatives of Christ here in Haiti. It's the time of year when we evaluate how we can better prepare our staff for every situation they may encounter.

Please be praying for us. We want to be good examples to our Pelican family and  lead them well. We want to provide them with the resources they need to lead our teams well in the coming year. Above all, pray that God is glorified through each of us and our lives would point people to Him.

I love our Haitian Pelican Family dearly and pray that they continue to grow and lead others well.

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!