Plane Tickets

This afternoon I reserved 6 spots on the August 13th MFI flight to Cap Haitien, Haiti out of Ft. Pierce, Florida.  That's eleven weeks from today.  It felt both joyful and overwhelming.  I am already guessing that when the time comes, "ready or not" will be leaning decidedly in the "not" direction - as far as the physical preparations go. 

We are excited to have August 13th as our date because it means we will be flying in with our friends Bud and Jane, missionaries who (among other things) are connected to the orphanage for which Caleb has been raising money.  They will be returning to Haiti after a couple of months stateside and it will be so nice for us to reconnect and to enter the country alongside seasoned veterans. 

Over tacos at the dinner table tonight we discussed how so many things are going to change once we leave for Haiti and that the summer is going to fly by, so we need to appreciate all the little things we'll get to enjoy in the next few months. "Stop and smell the roses" and all that.

Just as we started to clear away the dirty dishes, the power flickered off, then on, and then off again - to stay off for a couple of hours.  How fitting!  No TV, no video games - and the laptops had uncharged batteries.  I did some reading, the kids played outside, Melissa found a comfortable spot on the couch to pass out.

Can't blame her. After staying up past midnight last night preparing, she had a crazy day.  It wasn't quite the last day of school, but it was the best day to schedule her kindergarten "graduation" program:

Melissa and her TA, Mrs. Anderson, herding 26 cats before heading to the stage to begin the program...

The kids sang several songs and were in top form for cuteness throughout the program.

Directing

The Princess gets her diploma

Melissa took a few minutes to recognize the incredible parent volunteers who have helped out this year in so many ways.

The parents surprised her with a ceramic plate with all the kids' thumbprints and names.  She was impressed with the amount of forethought and effort put into the gift.

Anyway, she deserved a bit of time on the couch tonight.  When I got to her school 30 minutes before the program, Melissa hadn't even had a chance to eat lunch and the lack of food and sleep were getting to her.  But she managed to pull it off. 

 

While Melissa was napping this evening, I encouraged Hannah to write her introduction for the new blog the kids have started, and since the computers were off, she blogged the old fashioned way - with pencil and paper.

 

I typed it up for her after the power came back on, but the words are all hers.  If you want to check out their blog, it is at 4grosskids.blogspot.com.  You can just click HERE.

Eleven weeks ... Yikes!

H-A-I-T-I Week

Hair Day

Caleb has been at it again.  He got permission from his school's principal to do a week long fundraiser for the orphans of The Potter's House in Vaudreuil, Haiti.  It's been sort of a "spirit week" where kids could participate in special themes each day for a 50 cent donation. The themes spelled out H-A-I-T-I. 
Monday was Hair day. 
Tuesday was Accessories day. 
Wednesday - Intelligence day. 
Today was Tie-dye day and tomorrow is Imitate someone famous day. 





Hair Day

Caleb was even able to address the entire student body on Tuesday over the various lunch hours - that's about a thousand students, kindergarten through sixth grade!  He's been working with a team of his classmates to collect the money from every classroom each day.  So far over $400 has been raised!

Intelligent Kindergartner

Intelligent 5th Grader

Caleb came out of the bedroom tonight a half hour after lights out. He said he was having trouble falling asleep because he couldn't get an image from Haiti out of his head tonight - that he often sees it at night and sometime even during the day - that it was this image that pushed him to do the fundraiser.  I asked him to describe it and he said, "I'll tell you, but I might cry."

"Go ahead and cry, buddy."

"It was from our first trip to Haiti.  We were on the back of the big truck returning from VBS one day and we were driving through a village.  There were lots of houses close together and they didn't even have doors. And I looked at one house and two little boys were coming out the doorway.  They didn't have any clothes on and you could see their ribs."

I assured him that even though it was painful to remember, it was a good thing because it showed how sensitive his heart was.  "God is already using your heart and I know even greater things are coming."

"That's what I'm trying to figure out - what to do next," he says. 

Yeah - I was pretty much fighting back tears myself by that point.

We brainstormed some ideas - I will let you know what comes of them!



This is his only-half-awake-but-going-to-school face
on Tie-dye Day.

Things Are About to Change

It's funny.  Melissa and I have had our hopes up about getting started in Haiti for several months now.  You may recall that we had even naively believed last November that we might be able to start in January.  Recently, we spent a couple of weeks pestering folks at OMS about getting assurance that we could start for certain this coming August (well, as "certain" as is allowed within "God willing").  We kept saying, "If only we knew for sure that we could get started with the new school year, we'd be so excited!"

So now there is a sure path to get us started in August, and, believe me, we ARE excited.  But, speaking for myself, I've noticed I am feeling roughly equal parts excitement and anxiousness.

I am a worrier by nature ... by sinful nature!  I have to actively work at resting in - and trusting in - Christ.  I need to be reminded now and then that Jesus does not advise us not to worry - He commands it.

Recall Matthew 6:

²⁵ “Therefore I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or drink; or about your body, what you will wear. Is not life more than food, and the body more than clothes? ²⁶ Look at the birds of the air; they do not sow or reap or store away in barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not much more valuable than they? ²⁷ Can any one of you by worrying add a single hour to your life?

²⁸ “And why do you worry about clothes? See how the flowers of the field grow. They do not labor or spin. ²⁹ Yet I tell you that not even Solomon in all his splendor was dressed like one of these. ³⁰ If that is how God clothes the grass of the field, which is here today and tomorrow is thrown into the fire, will he not much more clothe you—you of little faith? ³¹ So do not worry, saying, ‘What shall we eat?’ or ‘What shall we drink?’ or ‘What shall we wear?’ ³² For the pagans run after all these things, and your heavenly Father knows that you need them."

So the problem with worry is that it exposes a gaping lack of faith.  Along with the rebuke, Jesus' words are packed with incredible reassurances.

"Don't worry because you are valuable to God!"

"Don't worry because God's provision for you is not dependent on your works or even the size of your faith."

"Don't worry.  Your heavenly Father is well aware of your needs."

And then, as often happens in Scripture, there is a reversal.  The Word doesn't often leave it at "Don't do this." It's usually "Don't do this - do THAT instead." And that's how Jesus addresses the worry issue here:

^"33 But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well. ³⁴ Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own."

That's what I mean by reversal: "Don't worry - instead, make the Kingdom your top priority." 

Notice, seeking the Kingdom will not result in a trouble-free existence.  Each day will still bring trouble - but not more than can be handled that day. 

Times of change can be nerve-wracking.  We imagine so many things that could go wrong. So, as things are about to change for our family, I am choosing to direct my mental energies toward seeking the Kingdom of God rather than in "trying to add a single hour to my life". 

I came across a quote from author Andy Andrews on Twitter today that I found reassuring: "Every good thing that has happened in your life happened because something changed."

We Have Clearance, Clarence!

Praise God.  We're introducing the latest students to enroll for fall classes at Cowman International School in Vaudreuil, Haiti:

 

Sarah (6 - entering 1st grade), Samuel (9 - entering 5th grade), Hannah (11 - entering 6th grade), and Caleb (12 - entering 7th grade)! Don't they look adorable in their Haitian school uniforms? 

It will take all the self-control I can muster to not overuse my exclamation points for this particular post.

After some prayer, pleading, Skyping and emailing on our part and some accommodations and number crunching on the parts of the field and OMS headquarters, we have a Green Light for an August departure for Haiti.  Hallelujah!

Unfortunately, this does not mean that we are 100% funded.  So why is an exception being made for us?  Because the need for teachers at Cowman is urgent.  The kindergarten slot which Melissa is excited to fill has already been open for a year - this past year it was filled by the principal, who ran herself ragged trying to meet both the demands of a class of 5 and 6 year olds and the administrative demands of the entire school.  Meanwhile, in the upper grades where I will teach, a full class of 6th graders is currently finishing up the year and will be expecting to continue with Cowman into the 7th grade next year.  AND Cowman is losing one of the upper grade level teachers in two weeks as this school year closes. 

And open teaching positions do not gather quite as many resumes in Haiti as they do in Indiana.  So, for better or worse, we are it.

So, if we aren't 100% funded, how is it even physically possible for us to go?

A) If we raise another few hundred dollars in monthly pledges, then...

B) the remaining shortfall each month will be covered by the funds our generous ministry partners have already given to date.

(And together, that will get us through the first year at least.)

We have had some folks who, in faith and with great generosity, have been sending money to our support account for some time now - upwards of 18 months in some cases!  (THAT exclamation point was irresistible.) THEY are the reason our family will reach the starting line in August.  Our gratitude to these brothers and sisters in Christ is boundless.  You are precious to us and we are so eager to begin the work you are enabling in Haiti. 

If you are not one of our partners but the Lord is nudging you in that direction, NOW would be an awesome time to get started!  (That's the last exclamation point. I promise.)  You can initiate the process by visiting the official One Mission Society website HERE or our own support site HERE or give us a call or send an email (sgross@onemissionsociety.org).  Thank you and God bless.

Nerd Camp and May Updates

Dats (now age 12!) received a letter of acceptance in the mail today.  He is so doggone cute when he gets excited.  He is going to STEM Camp (Science, Technology, Engineering and Math) - what I am calling NERD Camp.  It will be held on the campus of IU in June for nearly two weeks.  The best part (in this frugal father's opinion) is that it is all FREE.  Potential campers all apply with an essay and teacher recommendations and grade requirements and, if selected, attend camp at no charge. We are so grateful for Dats' teacher who introduced us to this opportunity and then took the time to guide him through the application process.
 
In the midst of this, I can't help but marvel at how different Dats is from me!  When I was about his age, I had my one and only camp experience - also on a college campus.  It was not voluntary and I was not excited.  It was basketball camp and I spent most of my week in the dorm room with "a stomach ache".  Crying. 
 
But whereas I was shy, Dats is bold and outgoing. He really sees every stranger as a potential friend.  I envy that about him.  That perspective will serve him well throughout life.
 
Those two weeks will be long ones for Melissa and me.  We've never had any of our kids away from the family for that long.  It will be odd to travel without him, too, but we already have a speaking/sharing trip to Pennsylvania in the works for the weekend in the middle of his camp - and our trip may include a "swing" through Florida if we can work it out!
 
And that's a good segue into what is currently on our plate.  We just celebrated two birthdays - Dats turned 12 and The Drama Queen turned 11.  And we are in the midst of the final weeks of school, which especially keeps Melissa hopping.
 
Meanwhile, our house will soon be open again and that means we will need to either take another shot at selling it or find new renters.  Either way, Melissa and I have talked about it and it seems wise to dismantle the above ground pool in the backyard.  The cover had to be tossed at the end of last season, the lining is on its final lap and the decking is getting wobbly.  It would be a lot of upkeep for any renter and it is not a plus for most buyers.  If we end up renting it out for another year, we will have to find someone here locally who can be our "acting landlord", and I don't want to saddle that person with the responsibility of winterizing the pool this fall and reopening it next spring. 
 
At this moment, we are still hopeful for an August departure and thus, there are a thousand and one jobs to be done in the meantime even beyond the house/pool issues.  We need to keep pressing forward with the funding process while tying up loose ends here.  For instance, we know there will be a huge neighborhood-wide garage sale on May 25 and we need to take advantage of the traffic it will generate to get rid of some more stuff.  We can't leave my mother-in-law with a garage full of boxes! 
 
Three weeks of the month of July will be spent in Greenwood at One Mission Society headquarters for training in doing cross-cultural training.  Even the kids will get training and we will all be living in an apartment on the OMS campus during that time. 
 
Then, God willing, we'll be packing suitcases in August.  Time will tell!  We certainly appreciate your prayers now and in the hectic weeks to come...