PRE-RETREAT

It was quite strange to sit down to breakfast this morning with just the family.  The whole house felt quiet and empty.

It was a week and a half ago that I picked Phil and Connie Dicks up at the Cap Haiten airport. (And just yesterday that they flew back to the States after a bonus day in Haiti brought about by heavy rains and cloud cover over the airport on Friday.)

Phil is the pastor of the Grundy Center UM Church - a wonderful and generous group of brothers and sisters in Christ which we have had the pleasure of getting to know over the past two years or so. Connie works with the Disciples of Christ camping program.  

I have known these two since I was just out of college, working as a rookie youth pastor in LeMars, Iowa. Back then, I spent a couple of summers working under their guidance at Lake Okoboji UM Camp.  I always appreciated Connie's soft heart, deep spirit, patience and ability to listen well.  And Phil?  His love for people, sense of humor and passion for life are legendary.

When Melissa and I started the funding process to get our family to Haiti a few years ago, it was my pleasure to rekindle this old friendship and to introduce Phil and Connie to Melissa and the kids, and vice versa!  And they have been supportive of our family and work in innumerable ways ever since.

About a year ago, Melissa and I floated the idea of having Phil and Connie come lead our 2015 OMS Haiti Field Retreat to be held in the Dominican Republic. When they said Yes a few months ago, we rejoiced!

The day after Phil and Connie arrived, another couple, Hannah and Nathan Rosensteel, showed up, also to help with Retreat.

We first met them about a year ago when they came with a group from their home church, The Refuge, in Berkeley Springs, West Virginia.  We quickly grew to love them - especially our little Sarah - and, knowing them to be a talented couple, asked them also to come to retreat, to lead the children.

Since we had a few days of school before Retreat would start, we put the four of them to work at Cowman.

Phil spoke to my students about their need to display a "God Attitude"...

While Connie delivered and read some new classroom books from our Grundy Center UMC friends.

While Nathan and Hannah went from class to class teaching some new songs.

In our spare time outside of Cowman, we went through some of the suitcases of supplies Phil and Connie brought from our Grundy Center UMC friends - things for us, the other missionaries, and supplies for the school and the Retreat. (I consumed nearly the entire bag of cheese puffs by Melissa's left hand in the picture below - with very little help from anyone else - before the evening was over.)

Phil also chatted up students in one of my afternoon adult English classes.  It was a rainy day and very few students showed up - which meant plenty of practice in conversational English for them and a chance for me to get to know them better as individuals.

We also had time to explore the mission grounds and sample some FRESH produce - such as this pod we pulled off the cocoa tree in our backyard.

Phil gets excited about ANYTHING food related!

And THEN, on Friday, we had one of the most energetic and enthusiastic chapel services Cowman has ever seen.  

Here Hannah and Nathan lead in a little song called "I Think I'm Gonna Throw Up ... My Hands to the Lord".  Catchy tune.  Sticks in your head.



And this student is "gonna hurl ... his sins out the door".

And Pastor Phil's rendition of "Whose Side are You Leaning On?" got more and more riotous as it went.

What a blessing these four friends proved to be even before the Retreat got off the ground!

Once I get all my pictures to load properly, I will show you a bit of what took place once we were actually on Retreat ...