Back in Haiti

We have spent just over 24 hours in Haiti now, so I thought I better get on the ball and post some pics.   A lot can happen in a few short days.

This is Dats at school this past Monday with the food and formula and other supplies his classmates donated for the orphanage.  We had to take two extra suitcases with us to accommodate it all.  AND the students donated money to help pay the extra costs of added luggage!

The two of us at the Indianapolis Airport Tuesday evening.

Our ride to Miami.

 

Wednesday morning our flight to Haiti was delayed by two hours, giving us enough time to go for a swim at the hotel.  Dats' swim trunks were packed away, so I told him to swim in his pajamas.  Turns out that outdoor swimming pools in Mid-February are COLD even in the Sunshine State.

The approach over Haiti.  Wish I could have captured the look of sheer excitement in Caleb's eyes as we landed...

Most of the missionaries were in a prayer meeting when we actually arrived at the mission, so Dats took some time to play with some puppies who were getting a good, thorough loving from Lily and Sofie.

By the way, we were shocked by the fact that the ride from the airport to the mission took less than twenty minutes!  The roads have all been paved recently because Cap Haitien was hosting the national Carnival (Mardi Gras) celebration this year.  Nobody is too hopeful that the improvements are permanent - new pot holes are already developing!

Wednesday night we got to Skype with some very enthusiastic kids from Grundy Center, Iowa UM Church.  They asked a variety of great questions:
"How cold is it there?"
"How hot is it there?"
"What's it like to ride in a tap-tap?" (2 times)
And my favorite:  "How big are the curtains there?"

This morning Dats prepared himself to go to Cowman School.  In order to blend in as best he could, he wore a school uniform.  Until one of the Bundy girls told him that in honor of Valentines Day, all the students would be wearing red or pink or purple.  So Dats went back inside and put on his new red soccer shirt.

Which worked out well since then at recess time Dats was prepared to impress the locals with his soccer prowess.

After school, we stopped by the radio station to see Storly.  The stations is at the heart of why the mission exists - to broadcast the love of Christ across Haiti.

Unfortunately, after dinner and an unsuccessful tarantula hunt and a much needed shower, Dats' day ended like this:

But we're thinking it might have just been a reaction to the anti-malaria pill I gave him.  He maybe should have taken the medicine with dinner instead of a few hours later.  My bad!

P.S.  I am pleased to report that after careful observation, it is our conclusion that the curtains in Haiti are normal sized.  Pass the word to the kids in Grundy Center!

New Year's Resolutions and Self Discipline

[Dats and I are in a hotel room in Miami with our friend Storly preparing for our flight to Haiti tomorrow.  I had started this post a few days ago and wanted to finish it up before Ash Wednesday to clear the way for upcoming posts about our time in Cap Haitien.]

I know - it's February.  So why speak now of New Year's Resolutions?  Because I made three this year and I've kept them for 40 some days now - and that's maybe a record for me.

And I have to admit: it feels pretty good.  Especially when everyone seems to diss the whole concept of New Year's Resolutions.

Even our local Christian radio station has been running a self-promotion ad this past month about the start of a new year and making the most of it.  This ad trumpets the claim that New Year's resolutions have an 88% failure rate.  (The source, I have discovered, is a 2007 study of 3,000 adults.)  The implied message of the spot is to not bother with resolutions - listening to Christian music throughout the year will be just as beneficial ... and less painful.

And just after the beginning of the year, I came across a video clip online of a well-known Christian pastor (whom I like and respect) warning his congregation about the pitfalls of making resolutions.  His caution was this: when we make resolutions, it feeds into our pride - because it encourages us to think that we have power in and of ourselves to make changes.  God alone is sovereign and we can accomplish nothing aside from Him!

OK. But it seems to me that God is all for us working on self-discipline!  His Word speaks positively quite often of discipline, both physical and spiritual.  It seems to me that self-discipline is the sort of thing we should be encouraging in each other, rather than simply dismissing:

"But I discipline my body and make it my slave, so that, after I have preached to others, I myself will not be disqualified." - (1 Corinthians 9:27)

"For even though I am absent in body, nevertheless I am with you in spirit, rejoicing to see your good discipline and the stability of your faith in Christ." - (Colossians 2:5)

"But have nothing to do with worldly fables fit only for old women. On the other hand, discipline yourself for the purpose of godliness."  - (1 Timothy 4:7)

"For bodily discipline is only of little profit, but godliness is profitable for all things, since it holds promise for the present life and also for the life to come." - (1 Timothy 4:8)

"All discipline for the moment seems not to be joyful, but sorrowful; yet to those who have been trained by it, afterwards it yields the peaceful fruit of righteousness."  - (Hebrews 12:11)

"For God has not given us a spirit of timidity, but of power and love and discipline." - (2 Timothy 1:7)
 
So here are my three resolutions for 2013 - and I tell you in order to encourage you towards self-discipline and so you can hold me accountable on days 44 and beyond:

1) Exercise six days a week - push ups and sit ups.  I have been doing this off and on for a couple of years now but this is the first time I am pushing myself to be consistent and not to just let it slide when I don't feel like it.  I need to be strong enough to continue carrying around a six year old who is growing up fast.

2) Read the Bible and pray daily.  And I am trying to make sure I am really meditating on what I am reading and not just skimming.  This is one of those things that when I do it consistently, I get so much out of it that I end up wondering why I would ever allow myself to get "too busy" to do it.

3) Journal every night before bed.  I have journaled off and on (mostly off) since I was in high school.  This is the first time I have set the goal to do it daily.  And even though most nights I am just recording the basic events of the day, it is still really useful for a bit of reflection before falling asleep.

So those are my "big" resolutions for the year: things I should be doing anyway, and have done to a certain extent in the past, but now I am striving for consistency.  I am disciplining myself to do things even when I don't particularly FEEL like doing them.  And that is a very useful muscle to develop.

P.S.  The other reason I bring up New Year's Resolutions at this late date is because tomorrow is Ash Wednesday and the beginning of Lent.  I have grown to appreciate the practice of fasting - from something - anything - during the season of Lent.  So if you didn't take the resolution challenge this January, it's another great excuse to exercise a bit of self-discipline.

I've got to settle in my mind what I am going to fast from for Lent by tomorrow morning.  In past years I've given up meat, ice cream, and even chocolate.  I'm thinking of giving up something really radical this year, but I've got to sleep on it before I commit.  It's something that will take a whole lot of self-discipline for me and I want to make sure I am up for it. 

How about you?  Are you fasting this Lent?  How does that discipline strengthen your spirit?  I'd love to hear some stories ...

I'm Beginning to Think He's One of Those...

... one of those kids you read about in news magazines or see on TV.  The kind who gain notoriety for all the right reasons - they have collected big money for a sick friend's hospital bills.  Or they have started a new ministry like distributing blankets to the homeless during winter months.  Or they raise awareness regarding some often ignored problem or injustice. 

The circumstances differ but the stories always have some things in common: 1)  They arrest the attention of even the most cynical adults - who, even in spite of themselves, feel a glimmer of hope for the future.  2) The kid is the humble-type who never sought attention in the first place.  And 3) The actions spring from a motivation which is others-centered and pure. 

I'm beginning to think my oldest is one of those. 

This is not to detract from any of the other three - who are each wonderful and faithful and self-giving in their own rights, but I have to share what "Dats" - at 11 years old - is teaching me these days.

(By the way - I call him "Dats" here because that was his first nickname.  It's what his one year old sister called him when he was two.  I've been trying to make it stick ever since.)

My new understanding of Dats hit home this week.  For months he has talked about doing a talk about Haiti at school.  He worked on a PowerPoint for it several weeks ago.  To my shame, I never really asked him much about it.  This past week the time finally came for him to present.  (It seemed to be good timing since just a couple of weeks ago, Melissa and I had decided he should go with me to Haiti - but more about that later.)

I guess I thought his presentation was some long-term project or something - just another school assignment.  It didn't even hit home Wednesday night at dinner when he announced that he had given his presentation at school. 

"That's nice.  How did it go?" 

"OK."

Later that evening Dats asked if he could take some prayer cards to school on Thursday to pass out after his presentation.  "I thought you spoke today."

"I only spoke to the first half of the 6th grade class today.  Tomorrow I speak to the other half." 

It STILL didn't hit me.  I didn't give a thought to the fact that he goes to one of the biggest grade schools in the state - I think there are something like 120 or more students per grade level.  He had voluntarily given a speech in front of 60 to 70 of his classmates that day and was preparing to do it again the next day with a new crowd!

The next morning Melissa called just after the start of school to say Dats had forgotten the prayer cards.  Truthfully, I was a little irritated to have to make an extra run to school.  It wasn't until I actually stepped into the school building that I felt a nudge - I believe from the Holy Spirit.

He seemed to be saying, "Hey, Knucklehead - wake up!  Pay attention!" 

My dimwitted first response was "Wow ... I almost missed a photo-op.  I need to find out what time he is giving the speech so I can take some pictures for the blog or Facebook."

His teacher assured me that Dats wasn't speaking until 2:10.  When I returned in the afternoon with my camera, I was still clueless about the significance of the moment. 

When I walked into the room to witness Dats being introduced as their guest speaker for Social Studies, it started to sink in.  He turned the projector on, brought up his slides and confidently jumped right in.  He showed maps so the kids would know where Haiti was located.  He talked about the poverty entrenched in Haiti and he showed a picture of a malnourished baby - Sammy, who is now being nursed to health by some missionary friends of ours.  The picture came from their recent newsletter and it is shocking.  At one year old, Sammy was only about 8 pounds.  Dats explained how these missionaries, Bud and Jane, were helping with a local orphange and that we would be taking some supplies to them next week when he accompanied me to Haiti. 

Well, his classmates asked some great questions after Dats finished his presentation.  They were genuinely interested and very curious.  One little guy's question: "Aren't you going to miss us when you move down there?"  (I wanted to hug that kid.)  A young lady asked: "Do you need any help with raising funds for your family?"  (I restrained myself from yelling, "YES!  Give me your name and phone number!")

When all was said and done, Dats had had about 40 minutes of class time and as school dismissed, one classmate gave him a five dollar bill "for Sammy" and another was talking to Dats' teacher about planning a big fundraiser for our family.  His teacher told the class that she hopes we can Skype from Haiti during one of the school days we are there.  The next day Dats and another student were given time to type up a "newsletter" to send home with all the 6th graders about voluntarily collecting some baby food and formula and soap and sheets for Sammy and the kids at the orphanage.  They are even going to try to raise some cash donations to help pay for the extra luggage!

And to think I almost missed witnessing the whole thing because I wasn't paying attention to what God was orchestrating right under my nose!

Dats shows the class where Haiti is located in relation to Florida. 

All in a day's work - Dats had to rush off after his presentation in order to man his post for safety patrol. "Keep to the right, please."

P.S. One of our small group leaders invited Dats to give his presentation at small group to his peers last night.  Through their generosity, he raised $61 for the orphanage!

"Don't let anyone look down on you because you are young, but set an example for the believers in speech, in life, in love, in faith and in purity."  - I Timothy 4:12

In Praise of Our Kids

          As I was recently writing our annual Christmas letter (I know it’s January 26th ... don’t judge!), I arrived at the traditional “run-through-the-ages-and-characteristic-activities-for-each-child” part of the letter and I got to reflecting how great our kids have been about this whole “preparing for the mission field” life that we’ve dragged them into. 

        From day to day it's just ... life - and I don't always give them enough credit for what they endure.  We’ve taken them from their own house and moved them into Grandma’s house ... where there is ONE bathroom and three bedrooms total:  Melissa and I in one, Grandma and The Princess in another, and the three older siblings together in the smallest of the three!  We have dragged these poor kids around on long weekends and extended trips to meet strangers (to them) and sit through worship services in strange (to them!) churches.  And there have been bigger adjustments: when I quit my job this past summer to pursue funding full-time, it necessitated a school change for them, and all the stress and uncertainty that comes with such an upheaval.  Furthermore, because of time and budget restrictions, extracurricular activities have often been severely curtailed.  (Dats hasn’t gotten to play on a soccer team for a while, for instance.  And he loves soccer.)

        I'm not saying that it has all come easily to our kids, believe me.  At times they have dragged their feet about certain necessary steps - like downsizing the number of toys they have.  And I'm sure each has now and then coveted a friend's possessions, activities or house.  And arguments about privacy for dressing or whose turn it is to use the bathroom occur daily. 

        Literally. Daily.

        But all in all, they have not only endured all the challenges, they have flourished.  And they know WHY we are doing this and they are all on board 100%.  And we couldn't be prouder.

        Having said all that, here's a little paragraph The Drama Queen (age 10) wrote for a class assignment recently (to practice using prepositional phrases!):

            A Great Dane has more space in a dog house than I have in my room. In my bedroom in the corner is a white wicker bed which is the only thing in my brothers’ and my room that I don’t share with them. Next to my bed stands a tall two-door cabinet stuffed full of our clothes. On top of the dressers is where we keep my sister’s and my hair bow container crammed full of thousands of hair bows that spill out on to the dresser or floor when we open a drawer. In the middle of the room lies our small rug in between my bed and the bunk bed. By the window sits our little, teeny, tiny table which is the only thing separating my bed from my brothers’ bunk bed. Under my bed are my many crafts because there is nowhere else to store them. In our closet my purple, leopard patterned volleyball has been squished in between our shoes. On top of my bed is my dark blue blanket, covered with my pajamas, Bible, journal, camera and a hat. On the ceiling is our ceiling fan that almost hits my brother in the face when he climbs up on to the top of the bunk bed. Someday I hope I will get a bedroom I don’t have to share with my brothers and sister.   

The room ... and the roommates.  I used my plug-in web cam to take this picture because it meant I could stretch the cord all the way into the very top corner of the room, just above the door, in order to snap the picture.  But it still doesn't do justice to the TIGHTNESS ... for the past 18 months now ... and the next six.  They are troopers. (And Grandma is a REAL trooper for letting us stay with her!)

P.S. If you are on our mailing list, you should be receiving our Christmas (in January) letter by snail mail within the next week or so.  If you don't receive one, but would like to receive regular updates by mail and email, just drop me an address at sgross@onemissionsociety.org and we will gladly add you to our mailing list!

The Princess Turns Six

At one point today Melissa and I watched a woman wrestle her screaming toddler out of the kids' museum where our little princess was hosting her birthday party.  The diaper-clad boy was tucked under his mother's arm and was wailing, kicking, and wearing only one shoe - the other shoe was clutched tightly in mom's free hand.  Mom marched as quickly as possible down two flights of stairs and toward the front door while her son let EVERYBODY in the place know exactly how upset he was. 
 
Melissa and I were sitting on a bench while our kids were scattered all over the building - without need of our constant supervision.  We watched the frazzled mom and screaming toddler and agreed that we don't miss those days.
 
But as I write this at the end of the day, I have to admit that I made sure I found reason to cuddle a few quiet minutes with The Princess tonight - who, even at six, is not yet too big to curl up on my lap. Not yet.  And I found myself missing those toddler days ... at least a smidgen.



This was Wednesday, The Princess' actual birthday.  One of our birthday traditions is the chance to open one present at the breakfast table.

 

Followed by a super healthy breakfast.  That there is called a birthday pancake.

Her party was today (Saturday) and she chose the local children's museum as her party site and got to invite a few friends.  This place is very hands-on and educational. And the best part is ... it's not Chuck E. Cheese.

There are lots of fun activities - like the bubble room.

And - inexplicably - a giant toilet.  It makes a flushing sound when you go down the drain into the room below!

Melissa even scored a private room for pizza and cake... at no extra charge ...

And a giant cockroach on the counter to watch the proceedings ... also at no extra charge.  Next year, God willing, The Princess will be celebrating her birthday in Haiti - and the cockroaches will be allowed to roam free.

One of my best cakes, if I do say so myself.  I had never worked with fondant icing before and found it wasn't as difficult as I had always assumed.  This is supposed to be one of the "Lego Friends" - the new Legos being marketed to girls.  She turned out a little beefy, but a fairly close representation overall.  The Princess was duly impressed and remarked, "It's kinda sad we'll have to put a fork in her face."

Lunch was followed by some craft time - which even the big brothers participated in.

The party girls were still doing crafts when the parents showed up to collect them.  These girls loved their crafts.

 

 But my favorite part of the day, hands down, ended up being those quiet moments I cuddled my big old exhausted 6 year old before bedtime.  I am so blessed.

Bon Voyage to Our Missionary and Friend

Today is a bittersweet day.  Our friend (and our missionary) Beka is on an airplane bound for the Philippines and she does not plan to return for at least 20 months.

I first met Beka in October of 2010 during my own introduction to Haiti.  At the time, Beka was a One Mission Society missionary working at headquarters in Communications - writing for the official OMS website and the agency's various newsletters and magazines.  She joined our church's mission team just before we headed to Cap Haitien, going with the purpose of researching the work occurring in Haiti in general and the "Homes for Haiti" program specifically.

Well, she quickly proved to be a real joy and a valuable addition to our team and when we all returned to Indiana at the end of the week, Beka told me about a weekend retreat she was helping with at OMS headquarters: an event for those considering missionary service.  Melissa and I were just hitting the point where we were ready to say Yes to the Lord regarding serving Him in Haiti full-time.

In the course of that great and valuable weekend, Melissa and Beka got to know each other and before long, they were the best of friends. 

It's been two full years now and we consider Beka a part of the family ... and more. Melissa and I had financially supported missionaries in the past from time to time, so the idea wasn't a new one when Melissa told me a year ago that she thought we should officially join Beka's support team.  (I mentioned in a post a few weeks ago that we are convinced that every believer is called to SEND workers into the harvest field ... and so we do.  The really cool part is that even though we have dropped down to one income, God continues to provide the funds that we have committed to our missionaries on a monthly basis.)  So currently Beka is a friend AND one of our missionaries.  (I will tell you about our other missionary in a separate post!)

Recently, Beka has heard the call to serve the Lord overseas.  She and her friend Lauren will be working in the Philippines among women and children in impoverished neighborhoods around Manila.  The discipling work they will do is aimed in part at stemming the tide of human trafficking and the sex trade which is so prominent there.  And we consider it a privilege to play a part through financial support and prayer.

So today is bittersweet.  Bitter: saying goodbye to Beka, not knowing when we will meet again.  Sweet: rejoicing that she is fully funded and ready to embark on a new chapter in her walk with Jesus. 

By the way, apparently the name "Manila" evolved from an Arabic phrase meaning "God's protection" - and that is what we pray over Beka and Lauren as they leave Indiana today and carry the Gospel to the poor of Manila.

P.S. I so greatly desired to include a picture or two of Beka but there's some blogspot glitch preventing it for now.  Rats!

Newspaper Article - The Bible and Public Education

Here's my December newspaper article - published yesterday in The Republic:

A recent Thursday evening found me in the local school auditorium listening to the 5^th and 6^th grade choir’s Christmas program.  I thoroughly appreciated the program, but not because I could make out my two oldest children’s voices among the 50 or 60 on stage. (I couldn’t.)  And it wasn’t because it helped “put me in the Christmas spirit”. (It didn’t.  I’m a Grinch.)

Rather, my appreciation was for how “behind the times” we are.  In this age of hyper sensitivity and political correctness, when a field trip to watch a production of “A Charlie Brown Christmas” is taboo because of its references to the biblical account of the birth of Jesus, it was refreshing to know that students in Columbus, Indiana were still allowed to learn and perform songs like “Silent Night”.

Contrary to what you might expect, I applaud the existence of the school Christmas concert not as a Christian who is paranoid about the “War on Christmas”.  (In fact, I would not be the least bit offended if the school put up a “holiday” tree or if these two weeks off were called the “winter break”. )

Nor do I applaud it as a parent necessarily.  It’s not the school’s job to “keep Christ in Christmas” for my kids.  (That role belongs solely to my wife and me, if we so choose.)

No, I applaud the concert mainly as an educator - because it gives me just the slightest hope that our culture’s oft misguided sensitivity and fear of provoking controversy have not yet completely eliminated every reference to the Bible from our local public schools. 

During my years at Hauser, I always hoped to teach an elective course called “The Bible as Literature”, but the schedule never allowed. Whenever I discussed the possibility with students, two questions consistently came back at me: “Can you teach that in a public school?” and “What in the world would it be about?”

There was a time in our not too distant past when both questions would have elicited only laughter and incredulity.

A year ago, Marilynne Robinson wrote in The New York Times, “The Bible is the model for and subject of more art and thought than those of us who live within its influence, consciously or unconsciously, will ever know.”  The point is, regardless of whether one reads the Bible as divine inspiration or as mythology, one definitely should be familiar with it.  The Bible remains the world’s widest selling book and a key foundation for much of Western art, literature, ethics and law. Those unfamiliar with what is written there miss out on every biblical allusion present in the books, movies, and debates that surround us every day and an important dimension of meaning is lost.

I have watched episodes of The Simpsons where a good deal of the humor would be lost on the biblically illiterate.  And when our teens aren’t educated enough to “get” a cartoon, a change is due. 

I suggest we need to go even further behind the times.