"IT'S OFFICIAL!"

This past weekend, those two words got our whole family very excited because they came from Caleb's beloved 6th grade teacher and they indicated that she and her husband had booked their flights to Haiti. Jill and Dan will be coming for a week in March to help out around the school (and to do whatever work we can find for them) and we couldn't be happier to have them as our first house guests if they were members of our own family.

Jill and Dan were some of the last folks we got to spend time with in Indiana before we left last August.  In the midst of the craziness of last minute packing, they offered a quiet, restful oasis of a pool party - and we were so grateful for it.  (I don't think we ever sent a proper thank you, so I will say it here: Thanks So Much!)

 

Melissa and I enjoyed the chance to relax and chat - and to forget, briefly, all about boxes and driving to Florida and flights ... and the kids totally enjoyed the pool.

 

They especially got a kick out of swimming with the family dog!

Jill confirmed their trip just a few days ago and already the kids have asked us several times each, "So when exactly do they get here?"

Honestly, we felt a bit left out over Christmas a month ago because it seemed every other missionary here (who didn't go back to the States for a week or two) had a visit from family or friends from back home.

So we are already planning out Jill and Dan's week.  We're going to work them as hard as possible and show them every sight we can ... and then send them back to Indiana tired.  That's the plan.  ;-)  Our greatest excitement is that they will get to be a part, even temporarily, of what Christ is doing in this amazing place.

As a bonus, I am willing to personally guarantee that the weather here will be warmer than Indiana EVERY SINGLE MINUTE of their time here.  I've put it in writing here and they can hold me to it.

Speaking of weather, Melissa was pointing out tonight that with the wind chill factor expected to hit -40 degrees tomorrow in Indiana, it will feel a full 120 degrees warmer here.  One Hundred and Twenty Degrees. At the least! 

If that doesn't make YOU want to plan a trip to Haiti for yourself, I don't know what will.  Book a flight now for next Christmas.  You won't regret it. 

And if Christmas is too far off for you - and it truly is - then how about this April?  We understand that our good friend Kate is leading a weeklong mission trip again from our home church, Community Church of Columbus, during the week of April 22 to the 30th.  If you have interest in joining that team - or even just traveling alongside them and staying in our house with us for the week - shoot me an email (sgross@onemissionsociety.org) or message me or Melissa on Facebook and we'll help get you connected. 

Consider this: the way this winter is going, there's no guarantee that there won't still be snow on the ground in April.  But you have my word, you will find NO SNOW here. 

Pack your flip flops and sunscreen!

And now, to seal the deal, a few pics entitled "Wish You Were Here".  ;-)

 

A BIRTHDAY TO REMEMBER

Sarah's 7th birthday was a bittersweet day.  Fortunately, the bitter part came early. 

Two days earlier, Hannah had noticed that one of the bunnies, Cookie Dough, was not acting himself.  His appetite slowly decreased until the morning of the birthday, it was non-existent.  I told Hannah we'd come home from school over lunch to check on him. 

By 11:30, Hannah, Samuel and I were home and we found Cookie Dough lifeless in the bamboo hutch.  I dug a grave behind our house while Samuel and Hannah cried beside the hutch in disbelief. 

 

My kids have been fortunate to have been largely sheltered from the reality of death to this point in their lives and Cookie Dough's demise really tore them up inside ...

 

Which, in turn, really tore ME up.

 

Fortunately, by the time we returned to school, the day made a decisive turn from bitter to sweet.  The birthday girl clearly wanted EVERYONE to know it was her birthday - even if it meant breaking the school uniform code.

 

 

Her class enjoyed the cupcakes she brought to share.

 

 
After school, Melissa and I planned our big birthday surprise: bringing home the puppy the kids had been begging for.  I decided to take Hannah along on my little errand and let her in on the secret early since the morning had been so rough for her.  During the course of our walk up the hillside, she figured out what was happening and she couldn't stop grinning the rest of the way to Johnny's house.

Johnny separated the puppy (named "Puppy") from its mother.  Mom didn't put up a fight - she seemed relieved, actually.  ;-)



There was no doubt who was going to carry Puppy down to where we parked the truck.



Once home, we placed Puppy under a brightly wrapped box in the living room and called the boys and Sarah in to open her present.  Sarah lifted the box to unwrap it, noticed the little puppy feet beneath it and did a double-take.

I'm sure the puppy was as surprised as anybody...



Is it just my imagination, or is he smiling?

 

We ended the evening with cake and candles.

And more presents, for which quite a crowd gathered.  Sarah didn't mind being the center of attention.

Our friend Mikenn surprised everyone with a colored pencil portrait of Sarah he created using a picture I had once posted on Facebook as his reference.  The overwhelming consensus: "Wow."



The party continued on Saturday as several of Sarah's friends came over to the house for an afternoon doll tea party.  Just look at these lovely ladies...

The girls each made miniature food for their dolls out of bake able clay sent in by Grandma Trudy.

By this point, the dog was feeling right at home...

 

 More cupcakes.

Which were thoroughly enjoyed!

 

It WAS a HAPPY birthday...

A GIRL AND HER BUNNIES

A few months ago, I mentioned to my students that I thought studying all our science through an online curriculum was probably doing the subject a bit of disservice.  I said I would be very open to ideas on some "hands-on" activities to supplement our science-by-laptop.  I was thinking dissection or combining chemicals in flasks or feeding bugs to a tarantula. 

What I got was bunnies.

One of the 6th grade girls, Anabel, saw my invitation as the perfect opportunity to bring  her bunnies in to class for a day.  She explained that she didn't get to see them much because she wasn't able to keep them safe from dogs around her house, so her dad had arranged for them to be cared for by a man out in the countryside.

A few days later, here comes Anabel, grinning ear to ear and carrying three young rabbits in a cage.

I was kind of surprised by her reaction when I invited her to bring them out of the cage and pass them around - she shrunk back, afraid of being bitten or clawed!  She had often admired them through the wire mesh, but had never been in the habit of holding them.



On the other hand, I really wasn't surprised to see who stepped forward to fearlessly grab the first rabbit - my own daughter, Hannah.



Since our move to Haiti, I have noticed for the first time, her interest in animals.  And it's not just an interest; she seems to have a WAY with them.  The Heckmans were calling her "The Goat Whisperer" one day when she was able to approach AND PET several goats on the seminary campus which had always shied away from humans in fear.

(My theory is that her vast experience in growing up with two brothers has prepared her well for working with other dumb animals.)

She seemed to have the same calming effect on each of these bunnies in the classroom, cuddling them, soothing them, and then passing them off to others with instructions on how to hold them properly ... and all of a sudden, she was the bunny expert.

 

 

The bunnies came to class in November, so it was almost inevitable that Hannah would ask for a bunny of her own for Christmas.  She would hint and hint and then ask straight out and then say things like, "I know I won't get my own bunny."  And all the while, Melissa and I would confirm that sentiment publicly and then, behind closed doors, agree that bunnies would make a great gift for her. 

My only hesitation was that I wasn't sure where to FIND a rabbit in Haiti, so I cornered Anabel's father at the Christmas program to ask about where to buy one and he offered to GIVE Hannah any of the bunnies she might want!  Quite sweet and generous. (Don't worry - Anabel was also on board!)  He gave me the number of the man who kept Anabel's bunnies in the country and said my only expense would be buying a cage from the man. 

So the day after Christmas we told the kids we were going to the market and they had to come with us because we weren't sure how long we'd be gone and we didn't feel comfortable leaving them at home.  Our good friend Mikenn rode along with us to make sure we found our Bunny Guy (That's how I had him listed on my phone). 

We parked far from any sort of market, far down a road none of us had travelled before, walked a dirt path into the midst of a dozen rabbit hutches ... and it slowly dawned on Hannah why we were there.  The look on her face was priceless.

We were told by several individuals, including the Bunny Guy, that rabbits don't survive a solitary existence, so we picked out two bunnies - a male and a female - and negotiated a decent price for a bamboo hutch and headed home - with our two new pets and four very excited kids.

Hannah couldn't wait to show the bunnies to her friends next door.

And I, King Tightwad, was excited to learn these two enjoy eating the mangoes that fall from the tree at the edge of our yard - no need for Purina Bunny Chow!

We've had the bunnies two weeks now and my project over the last few days was to convert an old section of kitchen cabinetry taken out of Melissa's classroom during recent renovations, into a smaller, more secure hutch that would fit on our front porch - especially urgent after Melissa discovered one of the rabbits on the loose one afternoon a few days ago.

 

We had been concerned about the Bundy's dog finding a way to make a meal out of the bunnies.  But to our surprise, Bella seems to have maternal feelings towards the two and is now their self-appointed guard dog!

So they've got a nice, secure home outside now, but rest assured they are frequent house guests inside as well.

 

The gray bunny, our female, has been christened "Cloudy" while the male is now known as "Cookie Dough".



And as far as using bunnies to promote science?  Well, I can claim success there with at least ONE of my students - you wouldn't believe how much research that girl has done on rabbits in the last two weeks!

And all of this results in one very happy girl and, I'm guessing here, two happy bunnies.

What more could any of our kids want?






Oh... yeah.  And with Sarah's seventh birthday coming up on Thursday...

CHRISTMAS INSIDE OUT - Part 2

There's a term for why I have been struggling to put our Christmas Eve/Day experiences into words here: cognitive dissonance. 

Dictionary.com: "Anxiety that results from simultaneously holding contradictory or otherwise incompatible attitudes, beliefs, or the like." 

Our Christmas had two very different sides.  I've already described our beautiful, luxurious Christmas Eve on Labadee Beach among the cruise ship passengers.  And that was followed by a very traditional Christmas morning for our family, with cinnamon rolls for breakfast ...



And a tree surrounded with presents wrapped in pretty paper...

And stockings filled with candy and surprises ...

 

And practical gifts ...

 

And some surprises that were mailed in pre-wrapped by friends and family back home.

 

(Thanks, Celestia!)



As well as some homemade treasures...

And even new electronics. (Well, this was it for electronics, and it also qualified as one of the "practical" gifts - Hannah needed a laptop for her online classes here.)

 

And also a little bit of snow!



And it was all followed by a beautiful baked ham for lunch.

THEN we met up with my "three Haitian sons" and the Heckman family and we hit the road.  This was to become the other side of our Christmas.



First stop: The Potter's House.  Our friend Jane was out of the country over Christmas itself, but she made sure she left behind some goodies for each child, so Melissa and our kids had added to the goodies and then assembled a gift bag for each orphan. Now it was time to deliver them.

 

(At the bottom of this post is a video of these precious kids singing "O Holy Night" in Creole.  Don't miss it!)

After leaving The Potter's House, it was on to my friend Daniel's neighborhood.  With the aid of a gift from a friend back home (shout out to Faith!), we were able to help Daniel put together a Christmas party for a group of kids he has been feeding on a regular basis as he seeks to share the love of Christ in his own neighborhood.

Preparations began on the 23rd when Daniel and Mikenn and I went shopping for the food.

This is Daniel and me in the center of the big open air market in Cap Haitien.  Typically, Daniel serves soup.  But he told me the kids are always begging him for rice and beans.  Our budget would allow for us to serve a special meal of rice and beans and chicken meat to about 50 kids.

Buying the vegetable oil needed to cook the chicken.

And some special treats for each kid.

Daniel's best guess was that about 40 kids might show up on Christmas Day, so Melissa and I had also made 50 star-shaped Christmas cookies for the big day - to go along with a Bible lesson on the Magi following the star to find the baby Jesus.

So when we tracked down Daniel at home Christmas Day and he led us across the street and down a narrow alley to a small courtyard decorated with balloons and toilet paper streamers to find a small crowd of kids dressed in their finest clothes, we were so excited to get started. We were just shy of the 40 kids we were expecting.

 

As the food was cooking, Johnny led the kids in some singing and telling jokes (I think). It turned out, he was a natural at interacting with these kids, who thoroughly enjoyed performing for each other. The little girl below was belting out a song of some sort!

And then I was up for the Bible lesson.  Mikenn translated for me - his first experience at it - and he did a fantastic job (as far as I could tell!).

As all this was going on, kids kept trickling in.

Until they overflowed the benches.

 
And packed out the courtyard until there was barely room to move about.  By Daniel's final count, 101 kids total!

Oops!  We scrambled and started to alter plans.  First, the Gross and Heckman kids opened the 50 gift bags we had brought and emptied the contents into one bag so every kid could get a small handful of candy.

I broke all our star cookies into thirds.

The Kool-Aid got stretched further, too.



Honestly, we got a bit nervous about how the crowd was going to handle the situation.  We had heard of things like this getting nasty when supplies ran out, so we helped hand out the food and then we left while the kids were finishing up their meals - two hours after our arrival - before the candy and gifts were divvied up. It just felt a little safer to get our families out of that claustrophobic courtyard before anything ran out. 

In the end, though, there seemed to be enough rice and beans and chicken to serve a heaping plateful to each kid. (Maybe it got multiplied!)

And upon reflection after the fact, I'm not sure there was any need for us to fear the reaction to limits on Kool-Aid or candy or gift bags. 

Because these kids didn't come for Christmas presents - they came for a meal.

 

And that's why I was left with a bad case of cognitive dissonance:

It's easy to think of being at Labadee Beach as a luxury.  But by Christmas night, I was struck by the fact that what we called a commonplace Christmas morning at home (and one even quite subdued by American standards) was incredibly LUXURIOUS compared to the experience of the vast majority of families outside our four walls (and around the world, I might add). 

Some people point to the frankincense, gold and myrrh brought by the wise men as the origin of gift-giving traditions at Christmas.  But how do we justify our extravagant purchases of chocolate and plastic and electronics to be given to those inside our little circles of loved ones by pointing to men who spared no expense of time, comfort or funds, to find the baby Jesus?  And who, upon finding him, sacrificed great wealth to Him and then worshipped Him?

Don't get me wrong.  Giving gifts to loved ones to express our appreciation of them is a wonderful thing.  But, regardless of whether it's in moderation or over the top, it doesn't strike me as an adequate way to "celebrate Christmas". 

Wouldn't our celebration of Christ's birth be more honoring to Jesus if it centered on obeying what He grew up to teach?

"Whatever you have done unto the least of these, you have done unto Me."

"Do unto others as you would have others do unto you."



"If you love those who love you, what reward will you get? Are not even the tax collectors doing that?  And if you greet only your own people, what are you doing more than others? Do not even pagans do that?"



“Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moths and vermin destroy, and where thieves break in and steal.  But store up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where moths and vermin do not destroy, and where thieves do not break in and steal.  For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also."



Every year we hear a lot of Christians who protest the "war on Christmas" and whose slogan is "Let's keep Christ in Christmas".  But maybe we're telling the wrong people.  It's not the retailers' or the schools' or the government's job to keep Christ in Christmas.  It's OURS. And if WE keep Christ in Christmas - really keep Him - the world WILL take notice.