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!

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!