Friday, August 31, 2007
So...Pastor Brad left today.
Its just me again. Well that is not so true anymore because Rachel returned on Wednesday. Rachel’s title is Hope House Activity Coordinator. Also, there is a young couple here for a week but will be returning in 2 weeks to stay through December. They work for Convoy of Hope. Its an organization that will be donating enough food to feed our school kids 2 meals a day (that’s over 1100 kids) plus we will be sending food out to surrounding schools and orphanages all over this part of Haiti.
Since the last time I posted, we’ve had 2 groups come through. Harvest Time Church from Midland, TX was only here a short time. They were a fun group and I think they plan on returning next summer. The Grove from Riverside, CA was here a week. They accomplished a lot in that one week. My favorite part was the Community Fun Day. It was a ministry day designed just for kids.
They also painted the preschool building (inside and out) while a few of the group members passed out reading glasses. It was a big success. In the afternoons they went out for village ministry, VBS. At the end of their trip, they went to Kaliko like every other group, but...they invited like 20 extra people from the mission to go. It was a nice and relaxing time with everyone.
I enjoyed having them here because they were familiar faces and also made new friends.
Both teams were here during Hurricane Dean. The outer edge of the hurricane passed over the island on Sunday. The mission is protected by the mountains, but we still received strong winds and lots of rain. It was funny to see how cold everyone was at church that morning. It forced us to cancel all our plans for that afternoon because of all the rain, but everyone seemed okay with it and we just hung out on the mission. Harvest Time left that next day, but The Grove was able to enjoy beautiful lightening storms for the next 4 or 5 nights. It was amazing to see how the entire sky would light up. The Haitians say that it is God taking our picture. (Speaking of Haitian sayings…when its raining really hard, they say “Its raining so hard that the dogs can’t breathe.” I thought it was funny how similar that is to “Its raining cats and dogs” but makes much more sense.)
This past week was spent in the office. It was a good time to be able to catch up with Brad. He has been here since last Saturday. I feel like I got a lot accomplished. I did get one day off…last Sunday I went to the local, public beach with Mike and Laura (the Convoy people) and then to a soccer game in Source Matelas. They enjoyed seeing the real Haiti. We plan on going back to the beach this Sunday too, there is supposed to be a big festival with lots of food and music.
Well I hope everyone is enjoyed their summer and will post again soon!!
Since the last time I posted, we’ve had 2 groups come through. Harvest Time Church from Midland, TX was only here a short time. They were a fun group and I think they plan on returning next summer. The Grove from Riverside, CA was here a week. They accomplished a lot in that one week. My favorite part was the Community Fun Day. It was a ministry day designed just for kids.
They also painted the preschool building (inside and out) while a few of the group members passed out reading glasses. It was a big success. In the afternoons they went out for village ministry, VBS. At the end of their trip, they went to Kaliko like every other group, but...they invited like 20 extra people from the mission to go. It was a nice and relaxing time with everyone.
I enjoyed having them here because they were familiar faces and also made new friends.
Both teams were here during Hurricane Dean. The outer edge of the hurricane passed over the island on Sunday. The mission is protected by the mountains, but we still received strong winds and lots of rain. It was funny to see how cold everyone was at church that morning. It forced us to cancel all our plans for that afternoon because of all the rain, but everyone seemed okay with it and we just hung out on the mission. Harvest Time left that next day, but The Grove was able to enjoy beautiful lightening storms for the next 4 or 5 nights. It was amazing to see how the entire sky would light up. The Haitians say that it is God taking our picture. (Speaking of Haitian sayings…when its raining really hard, they say “Its raining so hard that the dogs can’t breathe.” I thought it was funny how similar that is to “Its raining cats and dogs” but makes much more sense.)
This past week was spent in the office. It was a good time to be able to catch up with Brad. He has been here since last Saturday. I feel like I got a lot accomplished. I did get one day off…last Sunday I went to the local, public beach with Mike and Laura (the Convoy people) and then to a soccer game in Source Matelas. They enjoyed seeing the real Haiti. We plan on going back to the beach this Sunday too, there is supposed to be a big festival with lots of food and music.
Well I hope everyone is enjoyed their summer and will post again soon!!
Monday, August 13, 2007
my week off!!!
So last week was a much-needed week off. i feel like i got a lot accomplished.
lets see...where to begin...
the first couple days i slept in til like 9:30 (!!!!) and then off to the office. when there are groups here, i dont have much time to catch up on all my emails, plus i got to googletalk with Cathy and Marilyn, which was nice.
other random accomplishments this past week:
received an invertor, which means i now have electricity during the day...or til around 1pm;
fixed toilet...the handle broke off;
had some men come look at my leaky ceiling...hopefully that will be taken care of soon;
caught 4 mice!!
did my dishes...they were starting to pile up (mom, i know youre so surprised!)
took trash out to be burned...did an overall clean sweep of the apt.
organized the clothes depot;
got my laundry taken care of...i have a lady in the church coming every other week to do it.
tuesday night i had Monsado and Jackson stay the night with me. it was sooo much fun. we had a good time watching movies and eating popcorn. we played a couple different cards games too.
i love those boys!
thursday, jean ronald, bobby and i went to Cabaret to grab some lunch. it was good to get off the mission for a little bit. after lunch j.r. had to exchange some money and buy a few things, so we walked around the market...thursday is market day in Cabaret. we then went to Minnowtree to hang out at a friends house and watch some tv. (bc of the factories in that village, they have electricity, occasionally...not reliable though.) then, about 4:30 we went to a soccer game to watch Leon play for Minnowtree...they were playing Simonet. We had to leave at half time to make sure and get back to the mission before it started getting dark.
friday there was a party for the hope house kids. all summer a lady from port-au-prince has been doing a lil summer camp for the kids every morning and friday was the last day. they just sang some songs and then we ate cake...cant have a party without cake!!! this whole event lasted till about 3pm. by that time i was pooped. i spent the rest of the day up at my apt. then, friday night is always movie night at the hope house. we watched alice in wonderland. (i have to say...im not sure how kid-appropiate that movie is. luckily it didnt play in french, so i dont know how much they actually understood. but really...it shows a walrus eating little, talking baby clams; a catapillar smoking a hooka; a drunk little mouse; a crazy queen that wants to behead everyone who crosses her wrong; the crazy, disappearing cat; and many other things i cant remember.)
"its party time!"
saturday was a day of relaxation! i got up around 9am (really late for here) and headed to Minnowtree to get my nails done. a girl named Neslie did them for me on the porch of my friend David's house. it was probably one of the best pedicures ive ever received especially considering walking in flipflops on this terrain really can tear your feet up! (Myrth, it wasnt the same without you!!!) We then ate some yummy rice and beans before heading to the beach. it was ALMOST too cold to go to the beach bc it was sooooo windy, and it gets pretty cool when coming off the water. After the beach, we all played some cards up until it was time for the soccer game to start. this time it was Titanyin vs. Source Matelas. again, we left at half time...just before Conjac (a driver for the mission) broke his leg!!!!! thats pa bon! (no good!)
yesterday was sunday, so of course i started the day off with a time of worship at the Church of Hope!!! absolutely love this church! after church, a small group of us went to the beach at Simonet (by Ed's orphanage). we didnt actually go swimming, but they had lots of food and music playing. i ate some yummy fried goat with...of course, beans and rice. i didnt get to stay very long bc a man from tx arrived yesterday around 5pm. i needed to be at the mission when he got here. he is here for a week to show the men how to put up a fence. the company he works for donated enough fence to go all the way around the mission!!! thats a lot of fence!
today was spent mostly in the office and/or down at the hope house orphanage. even if a group isnt here...i make it a point to go there everyday!!! i just love those kids...i could never get enough of them! also, today i got to get some of my stuff off the bus that arrived on friday! ill get the rest of it tomorrow or wednesday, when they unpack the whole thing.
sorry this is so long! im going to TRY and post more often so i wont have as much to say each time.
i love and miss all of you!!!!
lets see...where to begin...
the first couple days i slept in til like 9:30 (!!!!) and then off to the office. when there are groups here, i dont have much time to catch up on all my emails, plus i got to googletalk with Cathy and Marilyn, which was nice.
other random accomplishments this past week:
received an invertor, which means i now have electricity during the day...or til around 1pm;
fixed toilet...the handle broke off;
had some men come look at my leaky ceiling...hopefully that will be taken care of soon;
caught 4 mice!!
did my dishes...they were starting to pile up (mom, i know youre so surprised!)
took trash out to be burned...did an overall clean sweep of the apt.
organized the clothes depot;
got my laundry taken care of...i have a lady in the church coming every other week to do it.
tuesday night i had Monsado and Jackson stay the night with me. it was sooo much fun. we had a good time watching movies and eating popcorn. we played a couple different cards games too.
i love those boys!
thursday, jean ronald, bobby and i went to Cabaret to grab some lunch. it was good to get off the mission for a little bit. after lunch j.r. had to exchange some money and buy a few things, so we walked around the market...thursday is market day in Cabaret. we then went to Minnowtree to hang out at a friends house and watch some tv. (bc of the factories in that village, they have electricity, occasionally...not reliable though.) then, about 4:30 we went to a soccer game to watch Leon play for Minnowtree...they were playing Simonet. We had to leave at half time to make sure and get back to the mission before it started getting dark.
friday there was a party for the hope house kids. all summer a lady from port-au-prince has been doing a lil summer camp for the kids every morning and friday was the last day. they just sang some songs and then we ate cake...cant have a party without cake!!! this whole event lasted till about 3pm. by that time i was pooped. i spent the rest of the day up at my apt. then, friday night is always movie night at the hope house. we watched alice in wonderland. (i have to say...im not sure how kid-appropiate that movie is. luckily it didnt play in french, so i dont know how much they actually understood. but really...it shows a walrus eating little, talking baby clams; a catapillar smoking a hooka; a drunk little mouse; a crazy queen that wants to behead everyone who crosses her wrong; the crazy, disappearing cat; and many other things i cant remember.)
"its party time!"
saturday was a day of relaxation! i got up around 9am (really late for here) and headed to Minnowtree to get my nails done. a girl named Neslie did them for me on the porch of my friend David's house. it was probably one of the best pedicures ive ever received especially considering walking in flipflops on this terrain really can tear your feet up! (Myrth, it wasnt the same without you!!!) We then ate some yummy rice and beans before heading to the beach. it was ALMOST too cold to go to the beach bc it was sooooo windy, and it gets pretty cool when coming off the water. After the beach, we all played some cards up until it was time for the soccer game to start. this time it was Titanyin vs. Source Matelas. again, we left at half time...just before Conjac (a driver for the mission) broke his leg!!!!! thats pa bon! (no good!)
yesterday was sunday, so of course i started the day off with a time of worship at the Church of Hope!!! absolutely love this church! after church, a small group of us went to the beach at Simonet (by Ed's orphanage). we didnt actually go swimming, but they had lots of food and music playing. i ate some yummy fried goat with...of course, beans and rice. i didnt get to stay very long bc a man from tx arrived yesterday around 5pm. i needed to be at the mission when he got here. he is here for a week to show the men how to put up a fence. the company he works for donated enough fence to go all the way around the mission!!! thats a lot of fence!
today was spent mostly in the office and/or down at the hope house orphanage. even if a group isnt here...i make it a point to go there everyday!!! i just love those kids...i could never get enough of them! also, today i got to get some of my stuff off the bus that arrived on friday! ill get the rest of it tomorrow or wednesday, when they unpack the whole thing.
sorry this is so long! im going to TRY and post more often so i wont have as much to say each time.
i love and miss all of you!!!!
Monday, August 6, 2007
My year has begun!
I am going to start this blog off with a quote that I saw down at the vendors, it was carved into a wooden bell. “No one hears the cries of the poor or the sound of a wooden bell.”
I literally hit the ground running. I have had groups (of all sizes) here since I arrived in mid-June. At one point, there were 34 people here that I was looking out for, planning for, and attending to every need. Over the past month and ½ there’s been quite the variety of people come through here…all of which relying on me to help their week go smoothly. I know…that’s a scary thought. But at the same time, I feel completely confident.
We had a group leave today and were supposed to have another arrive tomorrow, but they cancelled. This means I have a whole week off! I plan to go to the beach one day this week but the other days will be spent in the office and organizing everything the groups left behind (clothes, toiletries, toys and candy).
Well…I will have more time this week to write more and add pictures!
Hope all is well!
I love and miss everyone!
I literally hit the ground running. I have had groups (of all sizes) here since I arrived in mid-June. At one point, there were 34 people here that I was looking out for, planning for, and attending to every need. Over the past month and ½ there’s been quite the variety of people come through here…all of which relying on me to help their week go smoothly. I know…that’s a scary thought. But at the same time, I feel completely confident.
We had a group leave today and were supposed to have another arrive tomorrow, but they cancelled. This means I have a whole week off! I plan to go to the beach one day this week but the other days will be spent in the office and organizing everything the groups left behind (clothes, toiletries, toys and candy).
Well…I will have more time this week to write more and add pictures!
Hope all is well!
I love and miss everyone!
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