The Last Haiti Pics ... for Now.

OK... this is it.  The last pics from our family's trip to Haiti in July.  (Technically speaking, anyway.  Because I still have some pics from our return to Indiana via Miami that I want to post since our hosts there, Twila and Gonzo, were so awesome.)  (And I still have some videos I'd like to post... those aren't pics.)
These days, I sometimes feel optomistic that we'll be able to raise support and get ourselves to Haiti next August and sometimes it seems thoroughly impossible.  Now I know that, ultimately, the timing is in God's hands and He'll put us there when He desires it.  I really do KNOW that, so I don't stress too much.  I just wish He'd give me a short peek at the official calendar.

Encouragement comes out of the blue at various times ... often, "coincidentally", when I need it most.  I got onto Facebook this evening and saw a posting by a dear long-time friend (notice I didn't say "old friend"!) from my days in Iowa - Connie.  She was encouraging mutual friends from Lake Okoboji United Methodist Camp to check out this blog.  AND she told me to put her on my support list!  Don't worry, Connie... I will!  You won't have to tell me twice.



Although some of the food served at mealtimes was not to every kid's liking, they all were more than willing to try various types of fruit from various trees around the grounds.  Here, Ida gets ready to sample a starfruit.  If I get the time, I should post some video of Ida and Dats sampling a quite odd substance given to them by some local Haitian kids that I dubbed "snot-fruit".  Around the compound we found bananas, grapefruit, lemons, and plenty of mangoes.



Dats up a tree house in front of one of the mission houses.

For two weeks, the kids were desperate to get their hands on a coconut, but the trees are quite tall and only the yellow coconuts are rip enough to eat.  On our last day, Jane arranged for a local man to climb the tree in the center of this picture and throw down a few coconuts...

Here the man shows the traditional Haitian method for getting into a coconut:  nut in one hand, machete in the other, and cell phone between the teeth...

Jane passes around a coconut so the kids can sample the milk.

The verdict?

Not so great!  (It's better cold...)

Dats taking one last turn at the rope swing.

One last dose of anti-itch cream for The Drama Queen.



Maury and David, out to say goodbye to us on Saturday, July 16.  They aren't really soccer players ... we brought the two balls with us - along with various other items - and we had never gotten around to finding them a proper home, so David said he would get them into the hands of some local kids.



Bud and Jane ready to drive us to the airport in Cap Haitien.

The Princess wasn't just tired ... she was quite attached to Jane and not ready to say goodbye.

On the road.





Looking stylish in her pink sunglasses.

Looking not-so-stylish in the pink sunglasses.

When we arrived at the airport, check-in went smoothly, except that one of Melissa's soapstone dishes was broken during the ride.  We were all sad to say goodbye to Bud and Jane, but at least we had "home" to look forward to.  The Princess (age 4.5) hugged Jane several times, then sprawled out on the seats in the waiting area.  When I walked up to her a few minutes later, she whimpered a bit and said, "I just love Haiti."  At that point, I was pretty sure our trip had been a "success".

One last thing.  As we were waiting to leave the Cap Haitien airport, a family was just arriving - a family we were really hoping to meet.  Jane managed to make it happen, even though we had already passed through security before they unloaded.  Matt and Stacey Ayars work down the road from the main OMS compound at the Emmaus Biblical Seminary (also an OMS ministry).  Melissa had met them briefly on her trip in June of 2010 and it was at EBS that she had first discerned God calling our family to Haiti. 

I am hoping to be of use at EBS once God gets us to Haiti.  I'm not exactly sure in what capacity, but I am open.  I mention the Ayars because chatting with them for a few minutes was our last experience in Haiti before boarding the plane and it gives me an excuse to point out Stacey's blog which is so well-written and entertaining and devotional.  You never know what you'll find there ... today she told about reaching for what she thought was a hot pad on her kitchen counter only to discover it was a tarantula!