HELP NEEDED

Melissa has requested that I use this space to get the word out about Cowman School's staffing needs. And I'm happy to oblige since there are exciting things going on at Cowman these days. 

Simply put: We need help! Cowman continues to grow. Six years ago there were 23 students. Today, 137. There is definitely a growing market for Christ-centered learning in the English language here in the northern part of Haiti. Currently we offer classes for 3-year-olds through 9th grade and we are adding the high school grades one year at a time. God willing, our own Caleb will be among the first class to graduate from "Cowman High School" in the spring of 2019. 

As we grow, Cowman is sending out pleas for teachers - trained or willing to be trained - available for 2 weeks, 3 months or 5 years (and all time spans in between). Today, two-thirds of our teaching staff (head teachers and aides) are Haitian nationals, but very few of them have formal training in education, so it is imperative that we have some extra help to support those who are learning on the job.

The "on-the-job-training" started Melissa's first semester here in Haiti when the Lord sent Rose to be her teacher's aide. At the time Melissa was teaching a combined Kindergarten and 1st grade class. Although Rose had no formal training in education (she had worked at the airport!), Melissa quickly recognized a God-given gift in her. She stopped treating Rose like an aide and started treating her like a student teacher. 


They quickly became good friends and in time Rose became an excellent teacher in her own right.

We want to see that scenario repeated again and again into the future.



Melissa is especially keen on finding more help for Cowman so she can focus on the teacher training. She has been working as the lead 3rd grade teacher this year while also training a dozen staff members while guiding lesson planning and writing curriculum for our four youngest grade levels. She's tired!



Currently, she is also training a young man with potential, Ronald, to take over the 3rd grade position in the future.



Melissa did have a bit of a respite back in November and December when she had a wonderful student teacher named Kacie enter her 3rd grade classroom for a few weeks. (This really freed Melissa up to focus on the preschool program for a time.) 

Which reminds me: we'd love to see more student teachers come to Cowman! If you know of college students nearing the end of a teaching degree, give them our info.



If you - or someone you know - has even an inkling of interest in joining in this incredible ministry, for any length of time, contact us and let's talk! I will put contact info near the end of this post.



Qualified applicants must only have a love for Christ, a love for kids, and the gifts of flexibility and patience. [No prior love for Haiti is necessary as this will develop quickly once you arrive! ;-) And remember that if you have a fear of big spiders, God will watch over you. ]

Here are a few of Cowman's needs - ongoing or coming very soon:

Additional Teacher Trainer - all aspects of teaching, from lesson planning to classroom management - short term or long

Special Education - long term

Music Instruction - short or long term

Art Instruction - short or long term

High School Level Social Studies, Math and Science - long term

(We know of at least one person who is in the process of funding to come fill this need, but we're going to need more help in order to make sure our students will be college ready at the very highest of standards.)

Ultimately, our hope rests in God. He knows the need and we trust that he will bring the right people at the right time. (He certainly has before.)  If his Spirit is nudging yours, don't hesitate to move forward!

I know it will make Melissa smile.

Contact us on Facebook: Steve or Melissa Gross

Contact us by email: steve_gross@juno.com

Contact us by phone: 011-509-3401-5221

Contact us by mail: Unit #1029-OMS 

                                3170 Airmans Dr.

                                Fort Pierce, FL 34946

You'd be hard-pressed to find a better place to serve!

If I could end with a few prayer requests related to our staffing needs, we would much appreciate your help in lifting these to the Lord:

- Our lead kindergarten teacher leaves the middle of this coming week, heading to the States to have her baby. She doesn't intend to return to Cowman until some time in May. We have a dear friend coming to stand in the gap, but she won't be here until the end of February. (Can't wait to see you again, Valorie!) This will leave Melissa jumping between training duties, teaching Kindergarten and 3rd grade, all day every day, for about three weeks. Pray for strength and wisdom.

- The Love family is raising funds to come help at Cowman. Pray that the Lord blesses their efforts and provides for all their needs as they seek to serve Him here. We'd love to see them at the start of next school year. 

- We recently had the pleasure of meeting a retired couple, Bob and Esther, who have experience in school administration (the financial side) and nursing, respectively. They are praying over the possibility of coming to Haiti a few months out of each year. Please pray that God would direct their steps and plans. They would be a great help to Cowman, undoubtedly.

- Finally, construction is moving forward in preparation for greater classroom needs during next school year. The roof on the new dining area is finished and next we hope to start a new foundation for additional classrooms. Pray for safety, funding and timelines!

TIME - DOING WHAT IT DOES BEST

This past weekend we celebrated our little Princess who is now an unbelievably BIG 9-year-old.

I really don't know what to write about the affair because the "time flies" angle has been done to death. I am now at the age when at least once a day one of my contemporaries will Facebook post 
A. Where does the time go?
B. They grow up so fast!
C. I can't believe how big s/he has gotten!
or the like.

It's all so bittersweet. We have a digital picture frame on the shelf in our living room and the pictures get a little more dated each day - and a bit more precious. Sarah is halfway to 18. 

Halfway to 18. And if these 9 years flew this quickly, what about the 9 coming up? And when THOSE 9 years pass, we will initiate the "empty nest" years!  >Gulp!<

I am freaking myself out with these thoughts and need to refocus on the present. Here are some photos to get me back on track...

Friday celebration at Cowman with chocolate cupcakes. (The recipe on the side of Hershey's cocoa makes a better cake mix than anything you can buy in the store!)



Late Friday night, after Sarah went to bed, the three older kids decorated the living room to surprise her in the morning.



Saturday morning Skyping with Grandma Trudy while Sarah opens one of her presents.



Friends over for a party with a Lego theme. Floor very dangerous!



Afternoon on the new zipline with her friends.

Sweet card from brother Caleb.

Lots of Lego presents. She doesn't need much help these days, after all, she's 9.

Sarah CAN'T BE 9!

OK. I'm going to work on accepting reality and, in the meantime, try to remind myself daily to treasure any moment I get to spend with this little lady (and her siblings). 

(Yes, even when it's helping with homework.)

Time DOES fly. But I want to pluck handfuls of beautiful feathers as it passes...

The morning after...

A DAY TO CELEBRATE - DANIEL'S 2015 CHRISTMAS PARTY

Many thanks to Phil and Connie Dicks and the rest of the November Grundy Center UMC team for financing this year's Christmas party - it was our third year and, in many ways, the best yet! (Every year we learn a bit more about what in the world we are doing!)

This time we had a bit of trouble nailing down a location for the party - an inexpensive place with bathrooms and running water and plenty of space to run and play. I'm not sure why we never thought of it before, but Melissa suggested Cowman School in the 11th hour of our search. Our gracious principal, Angie, said, "Sure!" and we were set to begin shopping.

Ruysdael, Mikenn, Johnny, Caleb and I drove the pickup into Cap Haitien on Tuesday morning with Daniel to buy rice and beans and chicken and oil and spices for the meal. And charcoal. And balloons. And suckers.

Since the cooking was not going to be done at Daniel's house, I decided to take the supplies and his large pot and Haitian "stove" on to our house. 

Around 4:30 pm, I arrived home to uncover a slight communication problem: I had assumed Melissa would be cooking the chicken again at our house like last year. She had previously told me - at a (rare) moment when I wasn't listening too well - that she was NOT cooking this year. She explained to me (again) that she doesn't know how to season the chicken and fry it the Haitian way. She felt that her baked chicken last year had disappointed the kids.

So ... I'm scratching my head at 5:00 pm and wondering where I can find someone to cook a full meal for nearly a 100 people and have the food ready by 9:00 am the next day.

Johnny and Ruysdael spoke up - "Our mothers will do it."

So we took the supplies up the mountainside and I watched fearfully as Ruysdael explained to his mother what he had volunteered her for. 

She looked at the supplies and simply said, "I'm going to need a few more beans and more oil." Her only hesitation was over determining measurements for 100 people. I told her, "Better to make too much than not enough." And the deal was done!

Back home, Melissa didn't completely dodge cooking - she helped me bake a hundred cupcakes and decorate them with candy canes.

By 8:30 the next morning, I was up the hillside to collect the food. The guys were quite proud of what their families had accomplished (with their help!). And everything was cooked to PERFECTION.

Heading down to the pickup for delivery to Cowman...

With Coach David driving the mission's "15" passenger van and me in the big white flatbed truck, we arrived in Daniel's neighborhood around 9:30 to find him swarmed with children, all eager to get going. Daniel had his list and he checked it twice and when all was said and done, we had 85 kiddos on board.

By the time we reached Cowman, Melissa and some other volunteers had plated the food and decorated the tables.

The rice and beans and chicken and cupcakes were all hits!

After the meal, the kids spread out all over the Cowman grounds. Some played soccer.

Others enjoyed the teeter totters, swings and jumping ropes.

 This little guy took on Samuel in a game of slap hands.

Just look at that face!

These are kids whose day to day surroundings are all dust, cinder block buildings, and refuse. They just love having a place to run and play. And that's one of the best gifts we can give them, after a knowledge of Jesus.

And Daniel is already working on that from week to week. As the kids climbed back into the vehicles for the return home, Melissa handed each one a little treat bag with some candy, a balloon, and a toothbrush and toothpaste. As they settled in, Daniel led the kids in reciting a prayer in English and they sang all the way home.

As for me, the highlight of my day was sitting on the sidewalk, chatting with a 14 year old boy named Matdonal. Somehow I didn't get a photo of him. He's small for his age and he's bothered by some sort of cyst growing on his left eyelid. He didn't care to join the other boys for soccer. Instead, he was hoping to find a book in English to practice reading. I tracked down Melissa and she gave me an old Highlights Magazine from her 3rd grade classroom. Matdonal loved it and showed me some of the words he recognized. 

Out of the blue, Matdonal offered to sing for me - and then quietly but confidently shared a few lines from a simple worship song. Then he asked me to return the favor and I sang the first verse of Amazing Grace. Beyond that, there was nothing inherently dramatic about those few minutes with Matdonal, but a nearly tangible recognition of Christ's presence in the midst of all the behind-the-scenes craziness of the party preparation. And a sacred reminder that these kids are unique individuals, created in His image, and loved more than they currently know.

Again, a heartfelt Thank You to all who had a part in making this celebration happen! You are a blessing to us and to these children. God bless you!