HOW'S YOUR CONFIDENCE?

I did a double-take and then had to snap a picture of this sight on a side street not far from our house while I was on a morning run a few days ago.

Haitians often decorate their passenger vehicles with slogans in Creole or French - "The Blood of Jesus", "Only God", etc. My single year of college French from 30 years ago aided me in recognizing the meaning behind this once boldly painted inscription of "CONFIANCE EN DIEU".

Yup, "Confidence in God".

I still can't decide if it's funny or sublime.

How's YOUR confidence in God? 

A little banged up? Riddled with holes? 

Wheels fallen off?

Going nowhere? Stuck in a rut?

We live in a fallen and broken world, ambushed all too frequently by pain, discouragement and fear. Confusion. Uncertainty. Depression. And sometimes life's path cuts unavoidably straight through the valley of the shadow of death itself.

Today, if you are one of those whose confidence in God is fading, ebbing, lagging, gasping for breath, know that I am praying for you. 

This past week Cowman's Scripture memory verse was from John 6. The entire chapter is so fascinating. It begins with Jesus feeding the 5,000. Then they want to make him an earthly king by force. So Jesus slips away and later walks three miles across water to catch up with the 12 disciples. Then some of the 5,000 pursue him to Capernaum. And there he talks about their need to eat his flesh and drink his blood and they are offended by this and by his claim that he "came down from heaven". 

The gathered crowds disperse. Grumbling, they walk away from Jesus. 

And Jesus turns to the 12 disciples and asks, "Are you guys leaving too?"

Peter's response is one of my favorite lines in all of Scripture and one I have often pondered when life has gotten confusing and God doesn't seem to make sense:

"Lord, to whom shall we go? You have the words of eternal life."

In other words, as the idiom goes, "Lord, you've got me over a barrel. I don't see the way forward, but I know there's no turning back."

In that moment, the act of following Jesus generated more questions than answers and it wasn't easy to believe, but Peter dismissed alternative paths as utterly untenable, preferring to cling to Jesus because his words had the unmistakable ring of truth. The ring of eternal life.

When you're over that barrel, where you don't see the path forward in the present darkness, I pray that you too will recognize there's no going backwards, and as difficult as it may be, cling in the darkness to the One who speaks the words of Eternal Life.

And someday your confidence will be sight.

"Now we see but a poor reflection as in a mirror; then we shall see face to face. Now I know in part; then I shall know fully, even as I am fully known." - I Corinthians 13:12

Hang in there!

DECEMBER IN PHOTOS

December is now a blur, but I didn't want to let slip the opportunity to post some pictures from last month. So here are a few, with limited commentary!


Caleb has been working on his guitar skills and has played at several Friday morning chapels now at Cowman.

A bit of warm-up with Frantz before the start of chapel.

The big news for junior and senior high students was the return of Chris Love to the science classroom after weeks of mystery illness. We were so glad to have her back! The paparazzi came out in full force.

By the time our staff Christmas party rolled around, she seemed to be back to her old fun-loving and energetic self.

The highlight of that party was the white elephant gift exchange. Here's Johnny sporting a lovely purse.

Miss Suzie seemed a bit interested in the contents of the purse as she decided whether or not to steal it away from Johnny.

Here's Rose anticipating what might be inside the gift she has chosen. (It was a clock ... and Melissa stole it from her!)

(But then Melissa wrapped it up and gave it back to Rose on Christmas Day.)

Our principal, Angie Bundy, showing some Christmas spirit.

Meanwhile construction continued on the second floor of Cowman High School right above my classroom. We are grateful for the progress, but tiring of the noise...

Sarah spent a lot of time working on some wall art to give as gifts to her friends Kristina and Faith.

One afternoon a gusty wind came up and Sarah and Kristina watched the trees sway while sitting atop the pickup truck.

These two are such tight friends! Can you tell?

The breeze was a bit chilly (for Haiti). And, remarkably, a tree fell on top of Mikenn's house as I was videotaping the girls, but no storm ever materialized and their was no property damage, thank goodness.

One morning I was called on to dispense with a family of rats that had made a nest in the light fixture in Melissa's office. I only managed to snag two of the youngsters as mama was moving the family to a safer location. The rest are still at large.

Among other things, December means Mr. Mikenn's birthday. Melissa baked a pan of brownies so Mikenn could celebrate with his first graders and his lead teacher Mr. Ben.

At home we do our best to make things look Christmassy - a tall order when the fans are working hard to disperse the heat as the sun streams through the mosquito screens. It's always bittersweet to hold special ornaments in our hands again, knowing another year has passed.

Sadly, this December meant saying goodbye to our friends the Mokmas, who spent the last year and a half working at nearby Children of the Promise orphanage. Their kids were our students at Cowman for the time they were here. Hard to see them go, but praying God's blessing on their journey.

Melissa's annual women's Christmas Brunch happened on Saturday the 17th and this year 17 women attended as well as ten young ladies.

The next day we drove to Puerto Plata in the Dominican Republic for a few days away with the Heckmans, Ayars and Edlers from Emmaus Biblical Seminary. A truly refreshing and relaxing time.

Our three oldest doing a bit of exploring with their pal Ethan.

If you have to play basketball, this is a beautiful spot for it.

Melissa and I enjoyed a cup of coffee on the beach our last morning as we watched the sunrise. Now one of my favorite memories of 2016!

We parted ways with the others on Wednesday and drove to Santiago in order to get Hannah to her orthodontist appointment.

AND to take the family to see Rogue One. In English, with Spanish subtitles.

And to enjoy some familiar fast food at the local Burger King.

Melissa was excited to show the rest of the family the local "PriceSmart" in Santiago - a subsidiary of Sam's Club. She and Hannah had discovered it on their first trip to the orthodontist in early November. It was pretty remarkable.

Just like a Sam's Club, this place had a little bit of everything. (And yes, even free food samples!) Caleb dreamed of getting a new guitar.

I posted our Christmas Eve and Christmas Day pictures elsewhere and mentioned that our kids have started summer shopping for each other's gifts. That's how Sarah ended up with this sign that the three oldest felt was more than appropriate:

Like in the States, Christmas break affords teachers and kids alike ample opportunities to relax and enjoy the passing days. Caleb, in particular, used some of his time to further friendships with some of the local boys while also getting practice in speaking Creole.

Also over the last week in December, we have been thrilled to spend time with Kate and Storly Michel, who are not only good friends, they are also the instruments God used to get us to Haiti in the first place. Here their girls, Hannah and Esther, roast marshmallows with Sarah and Samuel in the backyard before a sudden rain shower sent them scrambling back inside for the night.

A couple of final pictures that really sum up December in Haiti:

A homemade Christmas tree at the side of a dusty, pothole-riddled road, set up for all passersby to enjoy - 

And one of the flowers among the landscaping in front of the house in the late afternoon sun.

The weather here in December and January is absolutely gorgeous. Shouldn't you come visit us next Christmas??

We pray 2017 is off to an incredible start for you and that it will prove to be a year abundantly blessed by the Lord!

A FEW CHRISTMAS TRADITIONS

This was our fourth Christmas in Haiti. Haitian friends often assume that we will return to the States for Christmas. That WOULD be great - we would all enjoy seeing family and Melissa and the kids would enjoy seeing snow (No, not me) - but our family budget simply won't allow for it. For the next best thing, these last two years we have pooled funds (thanks, Grandmas!) that would otherwise be spent on physical presents and put them towards a few days away in the Dominican Republic. We all enjoy the sand, the buffets, the endless caramel cappuccinos and having someone else wash all the dishes. 

But we're always back home here in Vaudreuil by Christmas Day because we wouldn't want to miss celebrating the birth of Christ in our adopted home. We've developed a few traditions over the past few years. A few are carryovers from when the kids were small and living in the States, but most have sprung up spontaneously since we moved to Haiti.

We learned early on that cake is considered a very special treat here, so we take a bit of time on Christmas Eve to bake a few cakes to take to some special friends. These last two years, Sarah has worked hard to design the cakes, then Melissa bakes them and I decorate them. 

This year, Sarah put her friend Kristina to the designing task as well:



The finished designs:

The finished cakes:

The following isn't an established tradition because it is hit-or-miss, but this year a man brought a bucket of crabs to our front door for sale. I bought five and then remembered how much work they prove to be. The local crabs have the toughest, thickest shells you've ever seen.

I did remember to build a fire outside to cook the crabs - keeping the smell out of the house for everyone's benefit. I worked alone on shelling those crabs through our entire Christmas Eve showing of It's a Wonderful Life (a tradition from before Haiti). I think I'll wait a year before I buy crabs again.

On Christmas morning, it is a must to get a picture in front of the tree before any presents are opened.

Like I said, our Dominican Republic trip was our big family present, but there were plentiful stocking stuffers and a few boxes for the kids to open, thanks to Grandmas and friends and visiting teams. (Special thanks for what you sent, Kooikers and Millers!) Also, several of our kids have recently gotten into the admirable habit of shopping for special little gifts for each other over the summertime and sneaking them into our Haiti-bound suitcases in August. 

And in accordance with recent tradition, Melissa and I got each other ... nothing.  HOWEVER we did recently buy ourselves a new mattress from some missionary friends who were leaving the field and we have enjoyed more restful sleep ever since. (Thanks, Mokmas!)

Another recent Christmas Day tradition: a trip to the orphanage to play the role of Santa Claus. This year we had the privilege of delivering to each child a drawstring bag embroidered with his or her name, courtesy of our friend Kellie in Indiana and a bunch of her friends. 

We felt a little guilty receiving hugs that rightly belonged to folks back in Indiana.

Here's the tireless director of the Potter's House:

After leaving the orphanage, we headed to deliver our first cake - to Ma Louis, our incredibly hard-working friend who shops the market for us once a week and cooks our dinner twice a week. We couldn't keep everything together without her help.

We also delivered two cakes on the mountainside - one to Johnny's family and one to Ruysdael's. And we were back in time to put finishing touches on Christmas dinner before Rose and David and their two boys arrived. Dinner with this family has also become one of our most cherished traditions of the holiday. 

What a beautiful family!

One last tradition we started years ago and it's not on any particular spot on the holiday calendar: making gingerbread houses. And no, they're not from scratch - we're not pinterest fanatics, afterall. Just straight out of the store-bought kit. This year our friend Dixie in Iowa made sure the kids were supplied for this activity. 

As we prepare to head back to school this week, we are thankful for a restful and productive Christmas break. We hope your holidays were joy-filled and that 2017 brings lots of love, joy and blessings to you and your family.

Thanks again for your support in keeping us here in Haiti! God bless you!