A VISIT FROM OUR HOME CHURCH

Tonight I got Melissa back.  For the past week she's spent every spare moment with her friends from back home in Indiana.  (Reminded me of the week she discovered "Downton Abbey" DVDs!) 

Three of our visitors over the past week - Kate, Keri, and Karen - are women Melissa numbers among the best friends of her lifetime.  The fourth - Kelly - came as a stranger to us and left as a new friend.  (And with the four of these ladies came four other new friends from Ohio.) 

One of the first things Keri did was to show pictures of HER four kids to OUR four kids who are all really good friends.

In the afternoon of the Wednesday they arrived, several team members joined all the regular missionaries for the prayer meeting at our house.  Prayer and Bible study - a great way to start their week!

During their stay the team got to visit all of the various OMS ministries in this area, like the Emmaus Biblical Seminary.  It was our privilege to show them around a bit.

On Thursday afternoon, we took the team over to The Potter's House orphanage.  Keri and Karen both work with the kids' ministry at our home church, Community Church of Columbus, and they had led the kids there in raising money for bunk beds for the orphans.  What a joy for the team to meet the kids face to face.

Karen bonded with this little girl who is a recent arrival.

While Kate put her Creole skills to use in getting to know some of the boys.

The kids of CCC sent hand-decorated pillow cases to the orphans.  What a cool idea!

Meal times were spent at the Holiday House.  Melissa snuck down there for as many meals as she could over the course of the week.

On Saturday, it was our pleasure to take the team to Dhaloo Beach.  Folks are always struck by the beauty of this place.

On Sunday, we joined the Bundy family and the team for a trip into the countryside to worship at a church in Grison Garde.  We took the big flatbed truck in order to fit everyone in.

I was glad to NOT be behind the driver's wheel this time around.  After an hour's drive, Brett drove us down a steep bank and through a river for a quarter mile or so before we hiked the last little leg of the trip to the church.

A beautiful church with beautiful believers inside.  This little girl kept looking back at me and smiling throughout the first part of the worship service. Eventually she came back and held my hand for a bit - a precious moment.

Here's Keri introducing herself to the congregation.

This is the church's school building.  Employing this site and the sanctuary next door, the church works with about 200 students on a regular basis - the only opportunity for education in their area.

The main thrust of this team's visit, though, was sharing the Gospel in two remote villages:  Leroux Caichiman near Trou du Nord on Friday and a village called Adam outside Dondon on Monday.  Melissa took both days off from school to go with the team and on Monday Caleb and I also joined them.

Contact with the village was made in advance through a local church.

 
The local congregation provided guides and prayer coverage as the team of Americans divided into smaller groups to disperse throughout the village.  A Haitian translator also went with each group.

Upon finding a willing audience, a team member, via the translator, would present the Gospel. Regardless of whether or not the homeowner responded to God's call (many already claimed to be Christians, in fact) we left a solar-powered radio tuned to OMS's Radio 4VEH.  These radios are very gratefully received and have a proven track record of drawing listeners closer to the Lord - and even introducing folks to Christ.

I had the privilege of leading these three young people to Christ.

I enjoyed watching Caleb in action, too.  Here he was challenging and encouraging a sister in Christ.

The four ladies from Indiana gathered back in the sanctuary after an afternoon of doorway conversations.

Dondon is in the shadow of one of Haiti's most famous landmarks - the Citadel, a vast mountaintop fortress built two centuries ago.  We haven't had the chance to explore it yet, so this is the closest I've been to it.  Gorgeous.

 It was a two hour trip back to OMS grounds.  Keri, Karen and Melissa were sad to say goodbye to their interpreter, Orinel.

And then, just like that, the week was over.  We said our (temporary) goodbyes outside our front door this morning before our family left for school and the team prepped to go to the airport.  If all goes well, the team should be back in Indiana about the time I get these pictures posted tonight.

Again, we found this visit from friends from the States to be such an encouragement and we thank God for that and for all they accomplished while here.  I know their visit especially recharged Melissa's batteries. 

That's important because we have just over FOUR WEEKS of school left and we need to finish strong.  When Sarah shed some tears last night about the team's departure, I was able to comfort her with a reminder that we will be flying back to Indiana for a visit ourselves in just five weeks.  We would appreciate your prayers as we finish up the school year, pack for a two month trip, and finish making plans for church visits over the summer.  Thanks for lifting us up! 

And thank you, CCC, for sending this delightful, humble and encouraging team our way.

GOOD FRIDAY WATER WARS

While our friends and family back home in Indiana are barely a week out from the latest (and last??) snow shower, we are well into the heat of what feels like SUMMER here. 

Good Friday was hot and sunny and we had the day off from school.  After spending some time in Daniel's neighborhood in the morning (more about that in another post), it was refreshing in more ways than one to have a simple task like washing the truck turn into a raging water war among our four kids and my three "Haitian sons" - Ruysdael, Johnny, and Mikenn.

It started with a simple chore request from Melissa: "Somebody" needs to wash the truck.  Our kids decided they should put on swimsuits since the work might get a bit wet.

I drove the truck around to the back of the house, broke out some rags and borrowed a hose from the Bundy's next door.  For the first few minutes of the job, some actual work got accomplished.

 

 

But then the self-induced hosing started...

 

 

 

And Caleb broke out a water gun ...

All downhill from there!

 

 

For well over an hour.

Finally, Melissa called a truce for some freezer pops.  (Looks like Caleb is experiencing a bit of brain freeze here!)

But then out came the water balloons!

 

 

Originally I had no plan to blog about the afternoon, but when I took a closer look at the pictures and saw the absolute JOY on so many faces, I just had to share them.

 

And, though I was too slow to put two and two together in the moment, it did strike me later that this was undoubtedly the first water war that Mikenn, Ruysdael and Johnny had ever experienced.  No wonder they took such delight in dousing each other and their American siblings in cold, clear water! Like so many of the other folks on this mountainside, they don't have the luxury of indoor taps with hot and cold running water on command.  And they don't have a hose in the back yard.  Water is a necessity that requires extra effort and/or extra money to obtain.  From elsewhere.  For them, a nearby spring supplies their washing needs, but for cooking and drinking they need to buy cleaner water in jugs from sellers on the main road down the hill.

 

Water is scarce, good water even scarcer.  It's certainly not something you are used to playing with.

 

So that got me to thinking that my three friends, and many others around this globe, might have a deeper appreciation of the story found in John 4 than you and I currently have.  That's the one where Jesus, in the heat of the day, confronts a Samaritan woman at a well and offers her "living water".

 

Can you imagine how the offer would catch your attention if a good chunk of your time and energy - EVERY day - was spent in fetching water?

 

As much as she dreamed of a never-ending source of physical water close to her home, Jesus was wanting to share a deeper spiritual reality which leads to even greater JOY that would be INSIDE her ... or me ... or you: "a well of water springing up to eternal life"!

 

As we close out another Easter season, my prayer for you and for me is that we may live in that joy of living water, made available to us by Jesus Christ, our Lord and Savior.   

 

 

BIRTHDAY WEEKEND

This past weekend was a busy one as we celebrated three birthdays: Johnny's, Hannah's and mine.

Some gifts came early through the mail - like these bagels Grandma Trudy sent for Hannah.  (The puppy was NOT a gift - it belongs to the Bundys next door.  Buddy is more than enough for us to deal with right now!)

Here's MY favorite gift - Melissa ordered me in a bottle of Nyquil and I was finally able to kick my sinus infection. She didn't intend it for my birthday, but it was certainly a welcome "treat".

On Friday night, the house started to fill up with a small herd of pre-teen girls ready to celebrate Hannah's birthday with a sleepover.  Melissa suggested I take my Haitian sons out to a restaurant to celebrate Johnny's birthday - and I gladly jumped at the opportunity to get out of the house. 

 

We drove into Cap Haitien to have dinner at a burger joint called Lakay ("The House") which is along the shore.  

Before heading into the restaurant, we stopped next door at one of the two grocery stores that Melissa and I tend to frequent: Kokyaj.  Johnny had never been inside and he and the other two took lots of pictures ... of themselves posing in front of canned goods.

I was looking for crackers but came upon a rare treat: cans of Dr. Pepper.  I decided to buy one can as a surprise for Hannah and one to share at dinner with the three guys who (gasp!) had never even heard of Dr. Pepper before.

At Lakay, Johnny, who is newly 21, opted for ham pizza and the four of us enjoyed a great conversation around the table. 

 

 

It made me wish I had done something like this MONTHS ago.  I learned stuff I never knew - like the fact that the father of one of these boys worked as a bodyguard years ago for a famous Haitian president (and spent some time in hiding afterwards as a consequence!). 

 

 

We also talked about the Lord and our individual hopes and plans for the future and how they may or may not align with God's.  It was a beautiful evening.

 

 

I lost all track of time.  Eventually Melissa called, wondering what had happened to us.  She needed my help back at home, re-arranging mattresses to get all seven girls into one bedroom for the night.

Thankfully, the young ladies didn't stay up TOO late, so Saturday morning they were up early looking forward to some chocolate chip pancakes.

If I remember correctly, snapping this pic was followed by these words: "Daddy!  Don't post that on Facebook or the blog!"  (She never reads my blog.)

After breakfast, Grandma Trudy Skyped and that gave Hannah an excuse to open some presents so Grandma could be a part of the moment ... from a distance.

Much of the rest of the morning was spent in crafting.  Hannah was in such a good mood, she even allowed her little sister to participate as well.

These girls were serious about their crafts!

Then there was pizza (and one Dr. Pepper) for lunch.

And chocolate cupcakes!



Grandma Gross had sent money and a hairbow- and bracelet-making kit - all of which was a big hit.

That evening, the celebration continued with a dinner at the Heckmans' house. Delicious food and great company!  And more cupcakes.

On Sunday we spent the day at Cormier Plage, just on the other side of Cap Haitien.  A gorgeous day at the beach.

 

 The kids and I started our time with a bit of exploration of the rocks at the far end of the beach.

 

 

I got to spend quite a bit of time snorkeling - one of my favorite beachside activities.  The highlight this time was finding a fist-sized octopus that I pestered for nearly 30 minutes. He was so mad he inked four times.

For some reason, throughout the day we kept running into Cowman students - four total!  Like Sarah's little friend from 1st grade, Hannah.

Not to mention the Heckman family and the Weavers! Our kids were thrilled to get another meal in with Haylie and Ethan and Melissa and I enjoyed our adult time with Emily and Phil Heckman and Cheyenne and Ryan Weaver, who all work at Emmaus Biblical Seminary.

 

Once back to the house, we had the boys over for dinner - poppyseed chicken by Hannah's request - and dessert: BROWNIES!!!

 

And homemade ICE CREAM!

A perfect ending to a fantastic weekend.  I don't know that I could be any more thankful for the friends and family - both here and in the States - with whom God has so abundantly blessed us.

 

 

P.S.   [Warning: I can't resist the following humble brag.]  I praise God for good health!  I turned 46 last Sunday but started the day with a two mile run and a hundred push-ups ... and Ryan Weaver (who has known me for several weeks now and is technically a fellow adult) jokingly guessed my age as "45", thinking I would be insulted since he actually figured I was no older than 37 or 38!  Maybe Haiti is keeping me young...