SUMMER IN THE STATES PART 1

This is the trend for our summers: blog updates get lost in all the commotion of ...

TRAVEL



 SPEAKING



CATCHING UP WITH FRIENDS AND FAMILY

and EATING. 
Lots of eating. Mostly ice cream and pizza.

After all, our first stop, Le Mars, is known as the "Ice Cream Capital of the World".

I have internet access available today, so I thought I had better post a few photos and a quick update.

This is our fourth summer back and I am finding there are things I can expect to experience upon each return.

Like being overwhelmed by the abundance of choices in food and snacks.

So much salt water taffy...

Being puzzled by some weird aspects of American culture.

Keep it classy, Walmart.

Enjoying a happy reunion with Oreo, who has been living with Grandma Trudy since we moved to Haiti.

Her expectations for our summer together: belly rubs 24/7.

Participating in special events that happen at the right time for us to enjoy being a part of them.

Dixie and Calvin (some of our kids' "extra" grandparents) celebrated their 50th Anniversary. Wishing this wonderful couple many more together!

And visiting some unusual places.

BUT this summer has been full of changes, too.

Some come with our kids growing up. This summer Caleb (16) took the SAT in Iowa and Hannah (15) took the ACT in Indiana. It was strange to drop her off at the huge high school here in Columbus that she would have possibly attended if the Lord hadn't moved us to Haiti.

By the way, she got a 29 on her first try. Not bad!

Even Iowa was different for us this year. Our good friends, Phil and Connie, have hosted our family for several years now in the spacious parsonage of the Grundy UM Church. But Phil was in the midst of retiring and all their belongings had been moved to Des Moines. We still stayed in the Grundy Center parsonage, but it was bare bones.

Phil and Connie hosted a cookout for us to have an opportunity to share about Haiti, and it was all folding chairs and collapsible tables in the empty living room.



Caleb and Samuel spent a bit of time one day helping to clear out the last of the odds and ends from the basement.



And Samuel enjoyed rummaging through some final garage sale items and playing dress up.

And when it came time to say goodbye, it was hard to imagine we won't ever again be staying with Phil and Connie in that house.

But the biggest change of all was also the toughest.  For years now our Iowa pilgrimages have ALWAYS included several days at the home of dear friends (and our kids' extra grandparents), Bill and Jodee. 

I have known (and LOVED) their family since my first days as a youth pastor, fresh out of college, transplanted in Le Mars, Iowa. (And that was over a quarter century ago now!) 

Bill was a big, loud teddy bear of a man. And one of these guys who never met a stranger in his life. He was one of a kind.

So when their youngest daughter called me the last Thursday of our school year to let me know that Bill had lost his battle with cancer, I knew that Le Mars would never be the same. 

It wasn't feasible for our whole family to bump up our flights to the States, scheduled for a week later.  But I knew that I, at least, needed to be at the funeral. Melissa was willing to take on the monumental task of packing up the house and closing out the school year and getting the four kids out of the country all on her own. (She's tough like that.)

I was given the privilege of speaking at Bill's funeral and the whole process was just as difficult as I had anticipated.  

This church building that holds so many memories for me became the place where we celebrated Bill's life and said our final goodbyes.

Melissa and the kids showed up a few days later.  Everything had changed and Bill's absence from the house was now somehow just as prominent and widely felt as his presence always had been before.

My heart breaks for Jodee and her daughters. But they are three of the toughest ladies I know. I believe the Lord has them in His hands and I believe Bill is waiting for them in a better place...  

Better than Le Mars, the "Ice Cream Capital of the World"? 

INFINITELY.

"Precious in the sight of the LORD is the death 

of his faithful servants." - Psalm 116:15

A happier reunion - last summer, Bill and Jodee visited us in Indianapolis for a day.

"NOT YET"

Many thanks to all who prayed for visas recently for our Haitian friends.

I am sad to report that our trip to Port-au-Prince did not yield the visas we had hoped for. Ruysdael, Johnny and Mikken were disappointed by the results, but they remain optimistic about the future and PATIENT in the present.  They know that sometimes God answers our prayers with a “Yes”, sometimes with a “No” and often with a “Not Yet”. We are hoping this is simply a “Not Yet” and we trust the Lord’s timing.

That’s not to say we aren’t frustrated. We took the 2 am bus to Port early Friday and it was BRUTAL. But we made it into town in plenty of time to reach the embassy. Outside the embassy, some dishonest men tried to scam us out of $60, telling us we needed to complete a step on-line before our appointment. We did not believe them and saved our money. At the front door of the embassy, I was told I could accompany my three friends to the interview but when we actually headed to the door, I was stopped and prohibited from joining them. I sat outside and prayed.

A selfie outside of the embassy - I'm praying, eating cashews and looking irritated...

The biggest frustration, though, was the sole reason Ruysdael, Johnny and Mikken are forbidden from entering the States: the U.S. government distrusts their desire only to visit the U.S. for a few weeks and then gladly return to Haiti. These three young men are followers of Christ and as honest as they come. The embassy official did not know them; if she did, she would have had no hesitation in granting the visas.

These three young men had two hopes in visiting the U.S.:

1)     To raise funds for continued construction at Cowman

2)     To visit FRIENDS

Lunch from a local "restaurant" - rice and
bean sauce with okra and a bit of beef.

They do not care about walking through giant grocery stores, eating at fancy restaurants, or riding a roller coaster. It’s not about driving on smooth roads, gazing up at skyscrapers, or visiting a zoo. They have FRIENDS in Iowa and Indiana and Pennsylvania and elsewhere and they would love the opportunity to visit those friends in their homes. It’s all about relationships.

The four of us spent the night in Port-au-Prince at Mikken’s cousin’s apartment before catching a bus back to Cap Haitien the next day. That evening we sat out on the street and chatted through the sunset. At one point, Johnny said, “I don’t really like Port-au-Prince.”

“Oh, yeah?” I responded. “Why is that?”

“Too many people. And they are people I DON’T KNOW.”

It’s all about relationships with these guys. And we serve a God who also happens to be “all about the relationships”. I feel pretty confident that someday these three will get to visit their friends in the U.S. (and make some new ones there while they are at it, undoubtedly). We will continue to pray, and seek, and wait for God’s timing.

A bit down, but far from out.

Until then, if you want to meet Ruysdael, Mikken and Johnny (and you really ought to!), you’ll have to come to Haiti to do it. And that’s not such a bad thing…

Perfect hair takes a lot of effort,
especially when the power is out.
I thought we were going to be late for the bus back to Cap Haitian!

P.S.  We need to give a big shout out and huge Thank You to Phil and Connie Dicks and all the wonderful folks at Grundy Center United Methodist Church for your generosity and efforts toward getting us to the appointment in Port-au-Prince. You all are the best!

RAINY DAYS

There's nothing like that moment when you stop admiring the sound of the afternoon rain and start remembering the laundry is still on the line.

Oh well, minor inconveniences are not the worst consequences of rain! 

One of the things that has characterized our fourth year here in Haiti has been the tremendous amount of rainfall, the polar opposite of the drought of our first year. And it often has made life quite difficult for our neighbors and friends and co-workers. The rains push garbage and mud and sewage through the streets and, if it falls long and heavy enough, the floodwaters rise and bring disease and property destruction. Sometimes even death.

The English idiom "saving up for a rainy day", apparently dating back centuries, means "putting aside money for when a need suddenly arises".  In Haiti, there's no time or means for "saving up" because, figuratively, the "rain" is falling daily. 

I am writing to you today because we are a needy family living in a needy land. 

A few snapshots:

1) Almost weekly, my 14-year-old friend, Melky, asks me for a job. He wants to help support his family. I have no job to offer.

But as Melissa and I serve at Cowman School we are part of the reason the school has grown enough in the last four years to offer at least thirty local men and women meaningful work and a regular paycheck.

2) A young, brand-new father named Charles came to our front door recently, desperately looking for hundreds of dollars because his wife's first birth was complicated and the baby and mother were basically being held captive by the hospital until the bill was paid in full. I was able to give him part of what he needed.

But as our family lives and works here at OMS, our support account plays a part in enabling our own Bethesda Medical Clinic and the outstanding (and affordable) work being done there by Dr. Rodney and his staff.

3) In the past four years we have watched helplessly as the Haitian gourde has relentlessly weakened against the American dollar. What our friends used to buy in the marketplace for 42 gourdes now costs 69 gourdes. Our friend Daniel has more and more demand for food among his neighborhood's kids.  

As far as Daniel is concerned, FEEDING those kids is just the first step. They need clothes and clean water. And, if the cycles are ever going to be broken, an education. Daniel gets quite passionate when he starts talking about his dreams for these kids.

We are so glad to be in a position to support Daniel in his incredible ministry.

Melissa and I are also sold on the long-term positive power of a good education for Haiti's next generation. Cowman continues to grow (even beyond what we can keep up with currently!) and, by God's grace, we will be sending out our first group of high school graduates in just over two years. It's an exciting ... and exhausting ... time to be serving at Cowman.

So let me explain what I mean by describing OURSELVES as a "needy" family. I am sure most of you realize that we and our family's work here in Haiti are dependent on the friends, family, strangers and churches who give financial gifts to our support account with OMS. Some give special gifts now and then, some give annually and many even give monthly. 

As we tackle day to day work responsibilities and the (endless) variety of unexpected challenges along the way, Melissa and I always must keep an eye on that support account. (Each time I look it over, I am truly humbled and thank God for all who support us in so many ways!) Those monthly gifts are the bedrock of our support account and the special gifts keep our heads above water. 

Now and then, our account starts to dip into the red. When it does, the repercussions begin to mount. First our ministry-related expenses can't be reimbursed, soon our monthly "salary" gets reduced, and - eventually - the specter of spending extended time back in the States for fundraising begins to materialize. 

We have learned not to get too anxious - the Lord has not failed yet to provide for our needs through the generosity of His people. We understand not everyone we know is in the position to support us, but if the Lord puts us on your heart in this way, the easiest way to send support is through our page at the OMS website - right HERE. 

Soon the school year will end and our family will be back in Indiana (and surrounding areas) for the summer. We would LOVE to sit down with you over a cup of coffee to catch up. Or do you know of a small group, Sunday school class or local congregation that would be interested in hearing about our work in Haiti? Don't hesitate to contact me at sgross@onemissionsociety.org or through Facebook. Finally, how awesome would it be if this coming year would be the year you come visit us in Haiti? Let's talk about it this summer!

As always, we are so very grateful for your prayers and support. God bless you!

(A couple of Cowman teachers shielding students from the rain. How's THAT for a metaphor?!)

At least these April showers bring May flowers...

CHASING WATERFALLS

Yesterday my family joined about two dozen assorted friends driving a bit over an hour over extremely bumpy roads to reach a little known natural wonder here in the north of Haiti: a series of 19 spring-fed waterfalls tumbling through magnificent boulders down a mountainside. 

The road kept narrowing until it disappeared entirely. At that point, we parked and jumped out to hike for the next hour, following the stream towards its source. 

The parking lot:

Johnny in the river. The path criss-crossed the river multiple times.

Selfie with Melissa:

Everything was so very green.

Our destination. The bottom-most falls filled a peaceful, waist-deep pool of refreshingly cool water.

It wasn't long before the kids got the itch to explore the other falls and went scrambling up the rocks to see what they could see.

Johnny was leaping from rock to rock while trying to avoid getting wet. 

For me, just coming off my 49th birthday, it was a day to stop and smell the roses and enjoy some family time. The girls are growing up so fast - and just so lovely.

And our boys are more handsome every day as well.

Bryan and Patti enjoyed the chance to see part of Haiti most people don't even know exists. Even our field director, who has lived here over 15 years, had never heard of this spot.

Many of the pools were deep enough for some great jumps.

Some of the explorers relaxing after their return from the top of the falls:

All two dozen of us were entirely wiped out by the time we reached home in the late afternoon. But it was just what I needed. 

Isaiah 58:11

The LORD will guide you always;

He will satisfy your needs in a sun-scorched land

And will strengthen your frame.

You will be like a well-watered garden,

Like a spring whose waters never fail.