Today I'm thankful for,

Roads that I can drive on without bumping up and down and running into electricity poles.

A house to live in, with four walls and a heater.

 

Food to eat, plenty of it.

Safety, without the need for so much barbed wire.
 

Space, to breath fresh air and walk and live.
 

A place to clean and dry my clothes.

Counting my blessings today. 

Blessed is the man

Who walks not in the counsel of the ungodly,

Nor stands in the path of sinners,

Nor sits in the seat of the scornful;

But his delight is in the law of the LORD,

And in His law he meditates day and night.

He shall be like a tree

Planted by the rivers of water,

That brings forth its fruit in its season,

Whose leaf also shall not wither;

And whatever he does shall prosper.

Psalm 1:1-3



School has begun.  A prime minister has been elected.

To see some of the day to day things of Haiti, check out these blogs:
http://corneliusandmindybroersma.blogspot.com/
http://www.randyandkarenlodder.blogspot.com/

Thank you!

I'm not done posting about Haiti, as I think it will always be on my mind and in my heart.

But I do want to take a moment to say thank you.

Every once in a while you meet someone who touches your life.  They make an impact by the things that they say and the actions of their daily work.  Coming home from Haiti that is how I felt. 

Cornelius and Mindy, Randy and Karen, thank you.
Thank you for opening your homes to us for 10 days.
Thank you for the meals and clean clothes and a place to sleep.
Thank you for answering our many questions.
Thank you for fellowship and for letting us see into your world.
Thank you for the laughter and fun.
Thank you for showing us your country and the things that are good and the things that aren't.
Thank you for sharing your hearts with us.
Thank you for sharing your lives with the people of Haiti on our behalf.
Thank you for countless rides in the back of the truck.
Thank you for listening and understanding and helping us process what we saw.

From the bottom of my heart, thank you!

You have beautiful families and you are doing a beautiful work.

We will pray for your country, for your work, for your families, for the people.

THANK YOU!

Teaching Teachers

One of our goals while in Haiti was to run a five day seminar for the teachers of Adoration Christian School.

There are about 13 of teachers there, and most, while very intellegent, have little formal education in how to teach children.  Our goal was to present them with some ideas that have worked for us over the past years in presenting interactive lessons. 

What a blessing to us!  A room full of beautiful people, eager to learn and improve. 


We brought with us as many supplies as we could carry. Thank you to those who donated to our cause!  Special thanks to Beaties Basics for donating the supplies at cost.

I was in charge of math manipulatives - two sided counters, base ten blocks, etc. and art.
As I said on my first day, "In this session we get to have fun!"

We did self portraits - loved it!!!!  One lady coloured her whole face pink. When I asked why she responded, "Because I like pink."  They had to introduce themselves after they were finished drawing, telling us about themselves.  Lots of fun and laughs!

I did paper mache soccer balls in conection with a book study we were doing.  Getting our hands dirty!

Since I don't know French, this is Pastor Tav. He translated for us all week. What a talented man - he is fluent in three languages!

At the end of the week we received a certificate from the principal as well as a plaque with a map of Haiti.

At the end of it all, I'm not sure who learnt more, me or them. Sure I was able to share with them some new information, but their ability to make do with so little, to be cheerful in any circumstance, to be so open and willing to try new things was an eye-opening experience. I guess at the end of the day, we all learnt something.  May God be praised!

Broken and Beatiful

I'm not sur how to describe the country of Haiti, but everytime I think of it, this song pops into my head.

There is so much contrast in this country.

It is broken.

It is beautiful.

As I sort through the pictures (all 1300 of them) there is such a difference.

Here, a collection of the broken and the beautiful.

On our first trip, fresh arrived from the airport, we encountered this situation.  Power line down, electric lines strewn across the street. We tried to fit underneath but did not succeed. Broken.

If you have something nice, you protect it.  Barbed wire, gates, locks on everydoor and then some.  Broken.

The view from Adoration school.  The airport, some well built homes, vegitation, and a tent city. Broken and beautiful.

On our way to buy some coke we walked through the closest tent city. Some children were playing with stones and a drawn square.  Beautiful!

This lady asked me to take her picture in front of her house and then told me to pay a dollar.  Broken and beautiful (doesn't that little boy just break your heart?)

A road side grocery store. These are very common in Haiti. Everyone is trying to sell something in order to make a little. Here some rice, oil, beans, fruit. Beautiful.

On that same table, clay.  For eating.  Broken doesn't even begin to describe my feelings.

The school supplies we brought with us, the result of many donations.  Thank you!  Beautiful!

Soccer, fun, fellowship. Holes in shoes, a torn ball, pavement.  Beautiful.

The veiw of downtown Port au Prince.  Houses stacked on top of each other. Since Haiti is so mountainous and hilly they start at the bottom and add layers on top.  Most houses have rebar sticking out of the top just incase another layer is needed.  And now imagine the earth shaking. Houses crushing on top of each other.  Broken.

The U.N. has a strong presence on the streets of Port au Prince. From what we could figure just being there prevents violence.  They never seem to be actively stopping people or preventing things except through their presence. Broken.

The presidents palace, more than a year after the earthquake.  Still there. Still broken. There was a gentlemen clearing the rubble with a wheelbarrow. Broken.

The down town core had three main parks/ green space with a statue in each of the four major revolutions.  Now, each a tent city. It is said that at least 50% of the people are not living here, just pretending during the day in case someone comes with food or a handout. Broken.

The three workers at Adoration (who live there as well) put on a soccer tournament that culminated in a final game when we were there. Beautiful!

VBS was also run while we were there (the church and school are on the same property).  Children came, sang, heard a Bible story and were fed. Beautiful!

Adoration also has an education program for men to learn the basic trades of building a house.  Here, the culmination of the days lesson. Beautiful.

It's a country that gets deep inside your heart and stays there. It hurts. It is in dire need of the gospel of Jesus Christ.  It is beautiful.

So, how was your trip?

I can't count how many times I've been asked this question!

I'm not quite sure how to answer it.

I spent 10 days in one of the poorest nation of the world training teachers on methods to use in educating the next generation.

My trip was good.
My trip was life changing.
My trip was interesting.
My trip was fun.
My trip was a success.

All of these answers seem somehow to fall short of how I'm feeling about the trip.

I've spent some time processing what I've seen, and though I've by no means figured it all out, I think I've realized that I've learnt somethings. 

I've learnt to be grateful. For little things like a toilet that flushed whatever you put into it. For running clean water coming out of a tap. For clothes to wear. And shoes.  And more than one pair or outfit.  For family that loves the Lord.  For a church family and friends and people that challenge me.  For so, so many things that I have that the people in Haiti don't. 

I've learnt to be sympathetic. Did you know that 80% of the people of Haiti go to bed at night without having enough to eat?  There is an 80% malnurishment rate!  Astounding.  And here I am, living my life over here. 

I've learnt to be aware.  Of other people. Of how they live. Sure, I've seen it in the news. You know that squalour conditions exist. But now I know know.

I've learnt to praise the Lord.  There is a lot of hurt and sadness, but God is there. There is a Christian school, in fact many of them, and there are organizations bringing His name. And there are Christians praising Him in their walk of life, even if that walk of life includes a dirt hut and a hungry belly.

I've learnt that I can't fix everything. I want to. But I can't. If I thought it would really do good I'd sell my house tommorrow and donate the money.  But, I can also live here and be an advocate and help fundraise and encourage those who live there.

I've learnt that God is in control. He sees everything and knows everything and has a good plan. 

There really aren't enough words to put onto paper all of the things that I've seen.  I'm storing them in my heart and hoping and praying that God will use the things that have changed my life and show me how He wants to use me in His service.

I'm not sure

I'm not sure why I'm having such a hard time motivating myself to write these blog posts.
        Maybe because its been a busy busy week.

I'm not sure why I'm having such a hard time to write down my thoughts.
        Maybe because there are so many of them!

I'm not sure what I'm supposed to do with all that I've learnt and seen.
        Maybe because God's still at work.

I'm not sure how to help the people of Haiti like I want to.
        Maybe because there is so much to do and the list of need is overwhelming.

I'm not sure where I'm called to be working right now and what I'm supposed to be filling my days with.
        Maybe with markets, and adoption, and Bible study, and photography, and family, and church.

I'm not sure of a lot of things right now. But I am sure that I will write about what I've seen. I will blog about them. I will help the people of Haiti. I will work. I will be who God wants me to be.

I will.
        Because He is faithful!

I'm back. After spending 10 days in Haiti, I'm back home. 

And I will write about what I saw and did, but just not yet.

I'm having a hard time putting into words what I saw. 

How much do I say?
How do I portray the country of Haiti?
How will what I've seen change our lives back here?
How do I continue to help? 

I'm processing it all and praying that God will show me His purpose in all of this. That I would be open and moldable to what He wants me to learn. 

For now, I'll leave you with a teaser, a picture of why Haiti is beautiful.

More to come... I promise!