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!