CHRISTMAS INSIDE OUT - Part 1

I have had trouble figuring out the correct approach to this blog post because I run the risk of sounding ungrateful about our Christmas Eve and holier-than-thou about our Christmas Day.  I would like to avoid both (if possible!) and focus on the way the tension between the two days has been putting a rather uncomfortable squeeze on my heart.

I've got tons of pictures, so this will have to be a two-parter.  We'll start with Christmas Eve, which was "Inside".

Inside the grounds of Labadee Beach.  This is the private playground of Royal Caribbean cruise lines.  We have seen if many times from the other side of the fence. We had access to Labadee on Christmas Eve only through the graciousness of the father of one of Melissa's students, a man who works in management there.  A few weeks ago, several tickets were offered to our principal, Angie Bundy, and she was sweet enough to share them with our family. 

So on the morning of the 24th, we loaded up and followed the Bundys, along with their family visiting from the States, to Labadee.  After a brief stop at the security gate, we drove inside the gates and it was like we were in a different country.  Or perhaps it would be more apt to compare it to an American amusement park.  One called "Haiti World".

As our group walked into Labadee, Hannah and Brianna held hands, like Haitian friends do.  So sweet!

What a beautiful beach!  The ship "Freedom of the Seas" always seemed to loom in the background (as you will notice in the following pictures).  We were surrounded by hundreds of tourists and it felt good to just blend into the crowd. 

Exploring together: Kristina Bundy, Sarah and Melissa.

I really wanted to see the inside of that ship, but I couldn't get much closer than this.

The Bundy kids' little cousin, Simon, was often the center of attention as he experienced his first beach outing. He's a cutie!

Lots of time in the water.  Another perfect Caribbean day.

Our host, Givens, tracked us down to make sure we had all we needed.  We did - and then some!

There was a little splash park for the young ones, that even some of the older ones enjoyed!

And then there was MY favorite part of the day:  the lunch buffet!  Oh my goodness.

 
Melissa seemed to enjoy the corn on the cob.

So many foods we haven't seen for several months: Greek salad, potato salad, grapes, corn on the cob, and BARBEQUED SPARE RIBS.  I have no way of knowing objectively if those ribs were as awesome as they struck me that day.

Simon was the only one not impressed with the buffet.  He crashed in his father's arms.

The Bundy kids and Gross kids stuck close together all day.

This is one attraction of Labadee we did not get to enjoy this time around: a zipline that begins on the hillside, sweeps over the water and ends on the beach.  There's also a rollercoaster that snakes its way down that same hill.  Maybe next time!

Samuel made friends with some kids from the boat in the course of the day.

 
Not only was it Christmas Eve, it was also Brianna Bundy's birthday.  Our kids had made little cards and gifts for her to open on the beach.  Here she is opening the gift from Sarah: $1.04 in assorted coins and a fake gemstone!

At the tail end of the day, Givens made sure we got to enjoy the floating inflatables.  It was only a half hour before "closing time", but that was plenty of time to exhaust ourselves!

As we drove outside the gates at the end of our day in Labadee, there were people selling leftover food from the cruise.  We scored a couple of boxes of frozen hamburgers and some American cheese slices.  Woohoo!

And as we made our way along the coast, back towards Cap Haitien, the ship seemed to be following us as it sailed on to its next port of call. 

Back home, we enjoyed a special Christmas Eve dinner together as a family and then, without a Christmas Eve service to stay up late for ... and exhausted from the day's activities, the kids were all in bed and asleep by 9:00 pm.

What a day!  Luxury, relaxation, and no care in the world.  But our Christmas Day proved to be the polar opposite of our Christmas Eve.  I will tell you about it in the next post...

THANK YOU, WEMO

For the uninitiated, WEMO is short for West Morris Street Free Methodist Church, a congregation where we were privileged to serve in the early 2000s and still one of the dearest churches we know.

Last summer our family had the opportunity to speak to WEMO's VBS about Haiti and the kids there took our four as their mission focus for the week.  They raised enough money to get our kids each a bike. 

Melissa managed to pick one up for Caleb a few weeks ago on an excursion into Cap Haitien, but we were having trouble finding a time to take the whole family to pick out bikes and then get them transported back home.  Christmas break seemed a perfect time to get this happy chore done!

Melissa's teacher's aide, Rose, went with us to translate (we still have a long way to go in learning the language!) and to haggle. 

Mostly to haggle. Rose LOVES to haggle.  She is a no-nonsense, master negotiator.  And there is no way she is going to allow us to be charged the "foreigner price" for something in the market.  She has been known to take a vendor to task over high prices: "Are you trying to charge me more because I am with her?" she once asked while helping Melissa find a new lunch box for one of the kids. She pointed at Melissa and continued, "She doesn't have a lot of money.  If she did, we wouldn't be shopping HERE!"  Priceless.

So when Rose is leading, we can feel confident that we're getting a good deal. 

We stepped into the middle of this particular corner  in downtown Cap where several men sell bicycles and, I tell you what, those guys saw four kids browsing and their eyes lit up.  Within two minutes we were surrounded by these fellows and their bikes.  At one point Melissa had to ask them all to back up and give us some space.

This was the first time we have braved the markets with the entire family in tow.  Sarah was none too excited about being out in the heat and crowds until ...

... we found HER bike.  Now we'll just have to teach her how to ride without training wheels.  I have no doubt she will pick it up quickly.

In the end, we came home with three new bicycles and managed to stay within budget.  (Thanks, Rose!)  This was a wonderful extension of Christmas for our kids.  They will get a lot of use out of these bikes.  Thanks again, WEMO, for your thoughtfulness and generosity.  God bless you all!

MOMMY, I MISSED THE PLANE!

(This has been a VERY different Christmas for us and I will post more about our recent experiences soon, when I've had more time to process everything. But I couldn't pass up sharing a bit right now about this evening's events.)

About a week ago, our good friend Johnny was saying that his family doesn't really do anything special for Christmas.  Nothing out of the ordinary at all.  In fact, he explained, without electricity it isn't even possible to watch any Christmas specials on TV. 

That got me curious.  Just what kind of "Christmas specials" show up on Haitian TV each December?

"Well, there's 'Maman, J-ai Rate L'Avion', of course," he told me. 

That's French for "Mommy, I Missed the Plane".

Johnny and Mikenn and Ruysdael described it to me and it slowly dawned on me that they were talking about "Home Alone"!

Later, I got to thinking about how to bring "Home Alone" to Johnny's house over our Christmas break.  With a set of computer speakers Melissa ordered for Christmas that draw power via USB, I had everything I needed to show a movie without requiring an electrical outlet.  We borrowed the DVD from the Heckmans and I made sure Caleb's laptop was fully charged. 

One of the best investments I made before we left the States was a mini video projector from Brookstone.  It can run for two hours on its rechargeable battery.  I have used it numerous times in my classroom and for showing movies on the wall for movie nights at home. 

So tonight we used it to show a movie on the front wall of Johnny's house up on the hillside.  Mikenn supplied the white sheet and he and Johnny pounded a couple of nails into the concrete with a rock to tie the sheet tight.  Family and friends and neighbors gathered around to watch - I suppose about 20 or so - bringing their own chairs.

I was excited to find that the DVD included a French dubbed version of the movie. I turned on the English subtitles for Caleb and me.

I also attempted to take a couple of pictures.  Keep in mind that the quality is poor because everything (inside the house and out) was pitch black if not for the camera flash!

About the point where Marv and Harry finally realize that Kevin is staying in the house alone, Johnny leaned over and said, "It's raining."  I didn't feel anything so I dismissed it.  A minute later he said again, "It's raining." 

I said, "I don't feel anything." 

"It's raining - down there. And it's coming this way." 

Thirty seconds later, big drops started pelting us and we gathered the electronic equipment and the bed sheet and went inside.  Johnny's mom's room is the biggest space in the house, so we set up there to watch the rest of the movie. 

"Watch" and not "hear".  The rain on the metal roof was almost deafening and completely overpowered my little speakers for much of the remainder of the movie. 

In the course of the evening, Johnny and Mikenn were excited to show Caleb and me the bedroom they share. 

They share a full sized bed that almost fills the entire room. Mikenn's school uniform hangs on the back wall, protected from dust and dirt.

Johnny, Caleb and Mikenn stand at the entrance to the bedroom.



Some of Johnny's artwork hangs on the wall.

 
Outside of Johnny's room is the kitchen, where his sister was cooking in the dark when we arrived.  She ran from my camera, though!

 

Johnny also wanted to show me the bedroom of his twin brother, John, who is also an artist.

Johnny, Ruysdael and Mikenn were real sweet after the movie was over.  They made sure they helped me get the pickup turned around and heading down the right street.  The heavy rain had made some of the bad gulleys even worse! 

I think they were afraid that we wouldn't find our way out of their neighborhood - about five minutes after Caleb and I arrived home, Mikenn called and Johnny texted to make sure we were safe at home!

THE FIRST DAY OF WINTER...

... is a great time to go to the beach in Haiti. 

And you can be jealous if you want, but it's not like I haven't invited you to come join us! (Seriously - any time.  Come visit us.  We'll roll out the red carpet.)  Put Haiti on your calendar now for next Christmas.

Every once in a while, I find myself looking around in wonder and thinking, "Dude, I am living in the Caribbean!"  As I write this, I am finishing off a piece of banana cream pie Melissa made last night and watching the living room curtains slowly inflate and then deflate with each gentle breeze. 

Our day started in this room with us giving the boys an early Christmas present - a snorkeling set.  We had one set that was given to us by some friends before we left Indiana (shout out to Lee and Cara - we get a lot of enjoyment out of it! Thanks!) but a second set makes it possible to partner up and go exploring a bit further out from shore. 

We headed out at about 9:00 with our pickup following the Heckman's - today was the first time it's worked out for us to spend a day at the beach with their family.  Phil and Emily work at the Emmaus Biblical Seminary and their son Ethan is a good friend to our boys and their daughter Haylie is a good friend to our girls!

Another first - We were able to take my three Haitian sons with us, too. 

Dhaloo Beach is 18 miles away - which translates into an hour plus to drive there.  But the pay-off is worth it.

I did NOT play around with the colors on this picture.  The water is really this beautiful!

The Kids: Ruysdael, Caleb, Ethan, Haylie, Sarah, Samuel, Hannah, Mikenn and Johnny.

The Adults.

My Haitian sons and I. From left to right: Johnny, Mikenn and Ruysdael. It was Ruysdael's first trip to any sort of beach and none of the boys had been to Dhaloo before.  They were much more excited to be there than their photo-faces would lead you to believe!

Also their first time to play pool.  Not surprisingly, I won.

 

The Heckmans brought along a kayak - which got a lot of use throughout the day.  Here Samuel and Phil are coming in to shore.

And here Johnny and Mikenn are heading out.

 

 While Ruysdael is lost in deep contemplation.

 

 

Emily taking Sarah out.

 

It's hard to get a Haitian to smile for a photo!

 

A selfie with Ruysdael and Mikenn.

 



Melissa knows how to relax.

 

This is where the on-site restaurant serves lunch.  Today it was cheeseburgers all around.

A big part of Phil's job at the Seminary is landscaping.  He can't go ANYWHERE without inspecting the local greenery!

Some local fisherman brought in some ugly fish!

Sarah was a bit disgusted!

Several merchants were set up in the area - hoping to catch some visiting tourists spilling over from Labadee Beach next door - that's where the Royal Caribbean cruise ships anchor for a day of jet skis, kayaks, inflatable water toys and feasting.  Melissa and I did a bit of Christmas shopping with these artists since most of the items were quality work.

 

Just when I feel like I've gotten to know these boys pretty well, they surprise me again.  This Dhaloo employee (on the right) was obviously deaf and trying to do his best to communicate with us as soon as we got off the water taxi in the morning.  Mikenn immediately started gesturing back to him and pretty soon it was obvious they were on very friendly terms. 

 

"Mikenn, I knew you were good in English but you know sign language, too?!"

 

"Yes, I have a friend who is deaf."

 

I am more and more impressed with how sharp these three young men are.  And it is a reminder to me that the resources which we (and some of YOU!) have invested in their education are well placed.  I believe the Lord has great plans to multiply those investments in ways we can't even yet imagine.

My only complaint about the day was that it flew by so incredibly fast.  Before we knew it, we were back on the water taxi and headed for the trucks.  It was one of those days when you stop to thank God for a beautiful day and you really, really, REALLY mean it.