OUR CHRISTMAS LETTER FOR 2016

Producing a timely Christmas letter this year has been quite the test of patience and sanity. At the very beginning of the process, it was difficult to find a day in November that was sunny enough for a family picture. Then, when we decided the letter itself needed some photos, our home color printer gave up the ghost. (Honestly, it lasted three and a half years in a climate notorious for destroying electronics, so we can't complain too much - except over the timing!) So I thought, "This gives us a great opportunity to support a local business. We'll take the letter on USB to a printer in Cap Haitien."

First, that's a great way to get your USB infected with a virus. Second, you end up with nearly unreadable letters that look ... well, the word that keeps coming to mind is "greasy".  There was no time or budget to fix it, so they needed to go out as is - with a short apology stuck on top. (Because I am an American, and appearances are important to me.) What they really needed was a caption added to each photo to explain what in the world the reader is looking at.

Next step: stuffing envelopes. Our generous friends in Iowa brought us hundreds of envelopes at the end of November to use for our letter. Want to guess how long it takes for the Haitian humidity to seal every single one of those envelopes? I don't know exactly myself, but I have learned it is less than two weeks! Fortunately, we have a steamer that helps in prying them open - and a bit of extra help in a new friend named Carol:

So I decided it might be a very good idea to post our Christmas pictures and letter here on the blog this year. So without further ado, here they are.

First the family photos:

Dear Friends and Family,                                 December 2016


Wishes for a very Merry Christmas from our family here in Haiti to you and your loved ones! We certainly hope that as 2016 ends you can look back over the past year and give thanks for many blessings from our Lord’s hands, even amid the inevitable trials.

2016 was a year of blessings and trials for our family as well. On the blessing side, the kids are getting ever taller and ever more fun to be around. Caleb is a sophomore now with a guitar and a driver’s permit (though no driving in Haiti will be happening anytime soon!), Hannah is a keyboard-playing bookaholic freshman, Samuel (8^th grade) has taken up juggling and (maybe) drums, while Sarah (4^th) continues to be the tree-climbing social butterfly.

The end of the 2015/2016 school year came in late May, mere moments before the end of Melissa’s energy. She was trying, with much success, to balance teaching third grade full-time with overseeing about a dozen other teachers, guiding them in lesson planning and developing curriculum across the grade levels. After the end-of-the-school-year commotion passed, she was especially looking forward to a few family days back in Florida in early June before we would be driving up to Indiana. That break was cut short the day after arriving in Florida with news that Melissa’s brother Randy was in the hospital. Thankfully, Melissa was able to fly to Indiana in time to see him face to face before he passed away and then to be together with her family in their shared grief. Our prayers continue to be with all those touched by Randy’s life and death, especially the three daughters he left behind.

The rest of the summer was much more joyful for us – my nephew’s wedding in Washington, a week of camp in Pennsylvania, and visits with friends and supporters in Oregon, West Virginia, Iowa and Indiana. We spent a night on the Oregon coast, floated on the Potomac River for the 4^th of July and got our fill of Hoosier sweetcorn. And ice cream – lots and lots of ice cream. All the while, though, our home and friends in Haiti were never far from our minds and we spent a lot of time encouraging family, friends and complete strangers to come visit us and see Haiti’s astounding beauty and deep needs for themselves! That is an ongoing invitation open to ALL.

We returned mid-August to begin our fourth school year at Cowman. This year I am teaching 7^th through 10^th grade English and Bible classes (as well as my late afternoon adult English class). In 2.5 years, God willing, we will be graduating our first class to earn a high school degree from Cowman. Melissa’s role is very different this year. She is no longer in one particular classroom but, rather, is working as Cowman’s assistant principal with responsibilities covering curriculum development, literacy, and teacher training.

Late October saw Hurricane Matthew devastate southwest Haiti, followed by heavy rains and flooding here in the north throughout November. We were glad to see many folks mobilize and give aid through these disasters. So much of Haiti’s population lives in such deep poverty that such disasters are life threatening even after the storms have passed. But these times also remind us how important it is to work for a better future for Haiti, a future where the power of the wind and rain is much less severe.

Thus, our dedication to education here in Haiti continues to deepen - as the influence of Cowman School continues to widen. We’ve been teaching and learning in a construction zone for over a year now as we’ve expanded our facilities to accommodate our current 160 students enrolled (up 30 over last year) and more than 20 Haitians and 9 Americans on our teaching staff.

May God bless you and yours in the coming year. We are so grateful for all who support our family and the ministry in Haiti through prayer and financial gifts.* And we are thankful for the Lord who loves and guides us all. May He bless you with abundant life, faith, hope and love in 2017.

In Christ and For His Kingdom,

Steve and Melissa Gross, 
Caleb, Hannah, Samuel, and Sarah

* Monthly support and special year-end gifts have kept us on the field over the past few years. If you are so led, either can be initiated easily by visiting onemissionsociety.org/give/TheGrosses and following the prompts. To all who have given so generously in the past, we can’t tell you how grateful we are for your support!

"A CHRISTMAS TO BELIEVE IN"

Last night was the fourth Cowman Christmas program my family and I have been a part of and it struck me as the best so far. The junior and senior high students (with a sprinkling of younger classmates) put together a fantastic drama for the night and all the students joined in on singing some special songs. Kudos to our principal Angie Bundy who pulled it all together.

As a school, we've gotten too big now for any of the local auditoriums, so this year we went a half hour down the road to Pilatre Christian Centre in Sacanville. Apart from the condition of the road to the church, it turned out to be an ideal location for us. 

It even had fantastic lighting for picture taking!

An early arrival, Maxiane is a 9th grader who has been a Cowman student since kindergarten.

Mister Junior looked sharp in Santa hat and bow tie. He's been a fantastic new addition to our staff this school year.

Three of our lovely pre-school teachers, Julianna, Rose Carline, and Kettia.

The one and only Ms. Rose!

Believe it or not, this is "Baby Sammy"! He's growing up.

Sarah and Kristina as angels.

EVERYBODY gets dressed up for these things.

Olivier as a shepherd.

Caleb was less than thrilled with his Roman soldier costume. 

Brandon, our "Joseph", gave me his cell phone before taking the stage. I guess he didn't want to be tempted by it during the production.

A couple of our new junior high students this year, Gashly and Sephora. Sweet young ladies.

Patient angels.

Brianna is ready to go as our "Mary".

Helping each other out with costumes.

Another of our new junior high students, Samuel was a wise man.

Gabriel (Fabio), Joseph (Brandon) and a wise man (our Samuel) take a selfie as an angel watches on.

"Elizabeth" (Joulkania) and an angel (Alanna) helping to bring "peace on earth". 

Our fearless leader, Angie Bundy, emceeing the program.

Mr. Johnny with the 3 year olds.

The big manger scene with the visit of the magi.

Mr. Reggie with the 5 year olds.

Samuel with his gift for the King.

Maxiane and Hannah did a great job as the narrators.

Cookies and sandwiches and Cokes afterwards.

Samuel and his new buddy Camden.

And a glimpse of Camden's personality...

Now that school is officially out until January, Melissa and I are finishing Christmas cards and packing for a few days away in the Dominican Republic with friends from Emmaus Biblical Seminary. It's a wonderful time of year, to be sure. Wishing you and yours a very Merry Christmas!

FRIENDS OLD AND NEW - OUR GRUNDY CENTER TEAM

Sure, NOW we've had several sunny days in a row with only (relatively) moderate rains at night, but for the first three weeks of November, it was non-stop rains and the resulting floods around the Cap Haitien area.

Here's what the rains did to the potholes on our road to school:



Our friends from Grundy Center, Iowa joined us for what turned out to be the final week of the soggy weather. Pastor Phil and Connie Dicks brought along 11 eager, fun-loving, hard-working, challenge-meeting team members for their church's second annual Thanksgiving week mission trip. Phil had obviously done some extra pre-trip planning with the team on FLEXIBILITY ... and it paid off. 

Plus, Phil and Connie bring loads of extra JOY with them when they come to Haiti ...

... Not to mention, suitcases full of goodies, too. (We are always dumbfounded by the generosity of these two and of the entire Church!)

Johnny, Ruysdael and Mikken couldn't wait to see Phil and Connie again and Phil brought along special gifts for them too.

Our first morning together was Saturday and the original plans for the day - to host a party for the kids in Daniel's neighborhood - got scrapped completely. Daniel said there had been so much flooding that many families had left the neighborhood to visit relatives in the countryside. And those who remained behind were in survival mode and in no mood for parties. 

So we gathered outside the holiday house and came up with Plan B: we would deliver some peanut butter and crackers to Daniel so he could share some ready-to-eat food with water-logged neighbors and then we would take him shopping downtown to gather up some REAL food (rice and beans!!) that could be divided up among needy families. 

We stopped at the Babiole Market and bought out all the crackers and a box of bleach jugs.

When we arrived in Daniel's neighborhood, the water was about a foot high and most of the team, unfortunately, didn't have footwear that would allow them to help get the food back to Daniel's house. So they had to be content to observe life from the back of the truck. (Although, the group's resident photographer, Harlen, got down into the muck to get some pictures and ended up stepping in a hole and going into that "water" up to his chest. At that point, most of the others were more than happy to remain in the truck!)

Soon we had Daniel and his brother Romex with us and we headed to the market. We even took some extra time to show the Grundy folks the meat market and to greet Johnny's mom as she was working there. 

After several exhausting hours in the market place, rounding up twelve bags of rice, three huge bags of beans and several boxes of oil, tomato paste and canned fish, we had a short lull while Daniel went looking for some seasoning. Harlen was on the prowl with his camera and he talked this woman into posing for some pictures. This turned out to be my favorite of the pictures I took last week - just look at the expression on her face! (And note that Harlen is wearing Hannah's boots - which is what enabled him to go for the swim in Daniel's neighborhood. Very fashionable!)

On Sunday we worshiped with a church that is meeting currently in Cowman School's "cafeteria". A great service.

Afterwards we headed to the Villa Cana for lunch...

And then a little walking tour of the mission grounds during a lull in the rain.

Harlen kissed a goat for $5.

The goat was traumatized.

In the evening, we got to work filling 150 separate bags with a portions of rice, beans, tomato and etc. for a hardy couple of meals for 150 separate families.

Ruysdael and Sarah working together on the bags:

The finished pile of food:

On Monday, the team was at Cowman much of the day. Daniel came by in the afternoon for the food and we decided it would be safer for him if we loaded up a pick up with the bags and boxes and had one of our Haitian friends, Amos, drive it all with Daniel to his neighborhood. We had heard tales of food trucks being robbed in town recently and felt that a group of Americans accompanying the food would only draw unwanted attention. 

Instead, we took the team to the Potter's House orphanage for the afternoon. Always a heart-turning place.

On Tuesday, one of the team members, Somer, was leading a couple of nutrition seminars for Cowman parents. Here she is with other team members and Melissa at the radio station setting up some healthy snacks for the parents to enjoy during the training.

Much of the team came to my English class later in the afternoon to give my students a chance to practice conversational English. At 5:00, one of my students caught me as everyone was heading home and happily exclaimed, "I just spoke SO MUCH ENGLISH!"

Harlen, of course, was busy taking photos.

On Wednesday the Grundy Center team went out to distribute radios and share Jesus with folks in a small village near the Dominican Republic border. They came home with lots of great stories from the trip. By all accounts, it was a Kingdom-growing day.

On Thursday - Thanksgiving Day! - the group was back at Cowman, helping in the classes in the morning and setting up for an afternoon "Fall Family Festival". 

Phil and Kayden made the rounds reading stories and leading songs with all the students.

It was another rainy day, so all the planned outside games got moved inside. Kayden and Caleb set up hopscotch in my classroom.

Here's Mr. Reggie with a giant sized Kerplunk game that the team brought with them from Iowa.

The day was a great event and the kids and parents had lots of fun and lots of food and lots of special treats.

Phil is not one to waste even an hour, so after school the whole group decided it would be fun to visit Johnny and Ruysdael's neighborhood up on the mountainside. 

Harlen got a picture of Johnny's niece.

And we got a great group picture out behind Ruysdael's house.

Sarah and Kayden became fast friends through the course of the week. They're looking forward to a reunion this coming summer!

All of a sudden, Friday was upon us. Before boarding the plane for home, the team came to Cowman one last time - to lead our chapel service.

Phil led a rousing version of "Whose Side Are You Leaning On?"

Along with several other very active songs. The joy hung so thick in the air that it was almost tangible!

Chapel ended much too quickly and all that was left was a series of tearful goodbyes.

Here's Somer and Scott with Rose and Coach.

And the whole team saying final FINAL goodbyes.

We are so thankful for this incredible team of people willing to give up feasting with family and Black Friday shopping with the crazy people in order to serve the Lord in Haiti. God bless you all! My family and I will surely look forward to visiting you in Grundy Center this coming summer, Lord willing. Thank you for serving God and the people of Haiti with so much love, joy and flexibility!

P.S. The SUN came out bright and beautiful the very next morning!  You guys will need to come back again to see what Haiti looks like with blue skies!