Pictures...

Cory's shopping in Port-au-Prince today. So Fritz and I finished our school day, unpacked more, and are checking e-mails while trying to connect with Eli and Anna.

House just to the right of center. 

Home

Bedroom before

After

First sunset.

Monday on the Mountain.

We made it up the mountain without any problems on Friday. We started at 7 a.m. and finished at 6 p.m. About all we did was unload some of our bags, set up our beds, ate a bit of supper and went to bed.

On Saturday we started to organize and move stuff. With some help from Leon, Cory moved the refrigerator and stove to their places as well as our large sectional couch.

Cory and I then put back together the three large storage boxes that make up the base of our bed. My dad made it a couple of years ago. We had to move a lot of boxes out of our room to make space but it was nice knowing we would be sleeping on our bed.

We hiked to the neighbor's Saturday afternoon to connect on internet and get some drinking water.  We continued unpacking and hung our bedroom curtains on Saturday as the full moon kept tricking us into thinking dawn was coming.

Meals: avocado, bread, granola bars, bananas, small fried pretzel-like dough called ti sheries, peanut butter, jelly, jerky, and some chocolate.

Sunday we did some little things like put a couple chairs together, unpacked a bit more, mostly looking for things. Cory couldn't get our small generator to run-to treat more drinking water with our ultra-violet "filter".  So Kris went to the neighbor for water and downloaded emails, messaged with Mom and Eli a few minutes.

Hard rain last night so we identified where the roof leaks. Then I had a medical consultation, gave care, prayed, and advised to go down the mountain for additional treatment and testing. Heard today that the patient was brought down for care.

Having no electric and no internet at the house...means that we go to bed earlier. So we are getting caught up on sleep. This morning we were up continuing to organize the house. After setting up some office space Fritzlin and I did our school work.

Then some office work-getting emails ready to go before the 15 minute walk to the neighbor's. Then the 15 minute walk for internet.

Cory did get the generator working and treated water. Tomorrow he plans to head to Port-au-Prince to shop for items needed to get our power system and stove working. Fritzlin and I will do school and continue to organize.

Heading up the mountain.

Tuesday morning we repacked our bags and then had breakfast with the team and Deep River folks. After the team left we posted the blog and chatted a bit before prayer and heading out.

We stopped for a SIM card for our phone after which I tried to text and Cory went to a store to exchange some money. 

The phone internet did not work so we stopped at a second phone location to get help making it work. Very thankful to receive texts from my folks and Anna assuring us that we can communicate while on the road!

Then we stopped at a mission where a mechanic teaches Haitians as they repair cars together and he checked our Land Cruiser. They switched the front and back tires for us to try to fix a shimmy. We will need to have a gear in the back axel replaced next spring..but it should be OK until then.

We will also be buying new belts soon but the rest looked OK.

We then headed to Fauche. Most of the crops this summer were lost in the drought and many fields were never planted this spring. All the animals were let loose which caused even more problems. Our oldest employee, in his 60’s, says it is the worst he has seen. Some of the area’s cacao trees died and most had large branch dieback. Breadfruit and bananas are also major crops around Fauche and lost most of the production, many of the banana plants sacrificed or stolen to keep livestock fed.

Cory’s plant/tree nursery looks better than we’d hoped it would. Some items damaged by a hungry goat recently but nothing of significance died.

We unloaded our bags and started to think about what we will pack.

Thursday..I enjoyed attending the early prayer meeting. Cory walked to the gardens across the river with the guys. Fritzlin and I took apart the boxes that make up the base of our bed. His aunt and mother came for a visit just as Cory arrived back from the gardens and we had a good visit. Lunch. More packing. So thankful for our Land Cruiser! Solar panels, a tall bookshelf, the entertainment center, 2 big mahogany boards (1.5”x22”x4’!) that we plan to use for bathroom counters; Lots of smaller things stuffed down between the shelves, the items from our 3 checked, 3 carry-ons and 3 personal bags. We also organized the remaining things for pick up. 14 years of curriculum take up a lot of boxes! As well as favorite books. 

Thankful for Jean Pierre’s family who provided us with stew, eggs and bread, rice and beans with chicken & sauce- what good friends we leave here. After dark his family came to pray with us and send us off well. Continue to pray for Jean Pierre’s health as he’s doing much better but still struggling with his diabetes and high blood pressure. 

Friday’s plan is to leave around 6:30 [left at 7] and slowly drive south to Ortlip [made it at 2]. Stop in to see our teammates and hopefully check e-mails and post this blog. Then we will continue up the mountain. [another 3-4+ hours] If the internet at the neighbor’s is working we will post on Facebook and I’ll put a praise on the blog.

Thanks for the prayers. A few delays..and Anna's cat not happy but small things. 

Return to northern Haiti.

Greetings from Cap Haitian.

So very thankful that the Lord blessed us with children who travel well.

This trip Fritz enjoyed the planes, not being sick and was very happy to finish the movie he had started on the plane when he left Haiti.

We enjoyed our visit with Pastor Ray and Mary in Hollywood, FL on Monday night.

We approve of the increased space for arriving passangers and baggage in the Cap Haitian airport!!

Everything went smoothly.

Our friends greeted us at the airport and helped us load up the Land Cruiser.

We then headed off to Pastor Rigo's church in Trou du Nord to meet Dustin and a team from IN who are working this week on the new school buildings.

Then on to Deep River guest house where Fritz practiced his swimming and burned off some energy while Cory enjoyed talking trees and plants with Michael.

It worked out for our national superintendent, district superintendent, and friend, Pastor Denor, to stop in for a quick chat.

Fair parade candy!

Dustin and team are staying here as well so we arranged for some of our stuff to be dropped off from the Fauche house..so it can travel on the truck toward Délice next week.

Fritz likes goats

Today some business and shopping in Cap Haitian before we head to Fauche.  Will not have internet there. Plan to spend the day there tomorrow-packing, visiting [hopefully with Fritz's aunt/family], and checking out the gardens.

New school

IF all goes well will head up to Délice on Friday.

Thank you for the prayers! 

Here we go.

First part the of the week, [today we start] we will head to Fauche, Haiti.

On the way we plan to visit with friends in Florida between flights; see a school build at Trou de Nord; meet with Dustin and the team working on the school; overnight at Deep River guest house; talk about trees and plants while there; look into paperwork for the Land Cruiser in Cap Haitian; get a  local sim for the phone; transfer some of our household items from the Land Cruiser to a truck going to Ortlip next week; and hopefully have a short chat with P. Denor, the new national superintendent.

Then a couple nights at Fauche, visiting with friends; checking the gardens and plant nursery; loading up the Land Cruiser; and visiting with Fritzlin's aunt.

End of the week we hope to be heading toward Ortlip and then up the mountain to Délice. We will not have internet at Fauche so I hope to be able to prepare a blog that I can then post during a short break at Ortlip before heading up the mountain.

We are praying that the internet is still working well in the house that we house-sat, while we built our house. If so then we will be able to stay connected with our family, team, and supporters by frequent walks over to check and connect.

If not we will try to stay connected now and then by phone. We will be leaving a few contact emails with our teammates, Dustin and Nancy. We will also rely on them to post prayer concerns on the AMP Facebook prayer group.

I will try to get a blog out before heading up the mountain the end of next week sharing the first part of our journey home, during a short stop during our travels between Fauche and Délice.

I hope to celebrate the arrival of Fall Sept. 22nd by posting a blog from Délice celebrating our arrival to Délice, having internet, and our move into the house. If you do not see a blog for a while after that please pray for our internet issues.

But if I cannot post I'll do my best to journal about our move and working on the house so that when I do have a chance to blog I can share the process with you: the highs, lows, and surprises.

I'm reminded how thankful I am that we can connect with God anytime, anyplace, and without the need for technology, gadgets like phones, internet or even the need for paper/pen/stamp. We don't even need to be able to say the words out loud to communicate with our Heavenly Father. Wow..so thankful.

So we head off into the next big adventure. Confident in the Lord's love and plan. Thankful for our great support team and the prayers. Counting our blessings and standing on His promises in the face of unknowns and chanllenges.

Signing out for now...

Go tell it on the mountain

In less than a week, Lord willing, three of our family will be back on the mountain at Délice.

So thankful for the prayers during this busy summer and during our transition.

The move should be 'interesting', character building, faith testing, and exciting.

Sometimes missionaries have a hard time finding a honest balance between sharing things in a too positive light vs. focusing on all the hard ugly details.

So I'll confess to finding this blog hard to write and post...not knowing if I hit the right, true balance. Trusting you will forgive me if I did not.

We plan to live in the new house, while pushing to finish up some of the start up tasks....

• Praying to find a workable internet system for the new house. We plan to travel daily to the neighbors to check our emails as our phone reception will likely be spotty. 

• Praying that the neighbor's internet is still working. Putting a back-up plan in place in case it is not.
• Cleaning up from the summer's absence. Getting bedrooms set up
• Unpacking
•  Getting working household and school area set up
• Completing the cement surfacing of the floor
• Continuing school with Fritzlin
• Getting the electrical solar/battery system bought, set up, and functional
• Moving from cistern water hauled up by hand in a bucket to running water

• Once both running water and electric are in place, we will be able to treat drinking water
• [Until then drinking water will be from our kind neighbor's place]
• Purchasing propane tank and pipe for the stove 
• Working on the front retaining wall and entrance way, replacing the rock and dirt ramp
• Getting the fence up the mountain and in place so that trees and garden can be planted
• Terracing the land to help prevent erosion and prepare planting areas in preparation for next year's rainy season
• Find a way to transform the gravel pit into a water catchment area
• Start to connect with the folks from the village and build relationships


• Continue to build relationships with the staff from Together We Can-Haiti and the kids Agape House
• Work on building the AMP team and partnerships

And more.....trying to be realistic without becoming overwhelmed

Only the Lord knows the time-line for these projects. We will do our best to stay flexible and content..counting our blessings.

 But we know there will be trying days and issues, so we ask you to pray for our family. [Remember Eli and Anna at Calvin as well-that they can continue to lean on the Lord while trusing Him]

Another reality is that some of the projects will need to wait for additional funding before we can purchase the needed supplies and hire help. You can read more about the house build funding here.  

While we would love to hire a handful of men from the village during the dry season, [when they don't farm as much], to work on some of the projects, we don't have the funds to pay them. So we will hire just a few or wait until the funds arrive. 

We know what a blessing it was to the village to have so many of the men working on the house last year and early this year. We look forward to hiring some of the same men to work on the land, which will not only bless their families and the community but will help us to continue our relationships with them. 

The faster the start-up/developement funds come in the faster the AMP proprieties will move to becoming self-sustaining and Lord willing, generating profits for supporting the ministries of the national Wesleyan Church of Haiti.

Other approved projects:
Agricultural Training Program
Creole Health Book Project

Coming soon...AMP project for second site.

We thank all who already joined the prayer team for our family, the new work at Délice and for those joining us by giving or praying for the funds needed to move forward.

Together we can make a positive difference.

20 years...

20 years ago we were packed up and transitioning a one year old son to LaGonave.

This week, we pack with an almost 8 year old son to return to Délice, our third location in Haiti, leaving two young people behind to their college studies.

Praise the Lord for the last 20 years. So honored and thankful for His leading and direction. Thankful for those who've supported us step by step through the highs, lows, and in-betweens.

The only things that did not change over the years would be God's faithfulness, grace, love, and wisdom.

Everything and everyone else has changed in many ways.

A few examples..

• We learned to e-mail via dial-up on LaGonave....now many folks can text and send video from their phones.
• We started out focusing on the medical work at the hospital, changed to agriculture focus in Fauche, and will now find a new balance on the mountain.
• Homeschooling changed from something to try to avoid to precious time learning with our kids.
• Global Partners: Logo [a few times], leadership, member care folks, forms, training, location..

The team members changed and continue to change: with frequent comings and goings ever expanding our circle of friends who get our lives from a closer/ more realistic prespective.

We've learned a lot about Haiti, ministry, and ourselves. The Lord continues to use hard and good times to shape and change us.

We now enjoy seeing and hearing about the ripple effects of projects from years gone by and seeing how the Lord allowed us to participate in a positive way in so many other people's lives.

Heard recently how....a change of pace + change of place = a change of perspective. So we know that on our return to Haiti our prespectives will once again shift.

Time also changes how one looks at things... so many blessings. So many blessing started in the messy hard points of life. Interesting how the Lord can transform and redeem pain & suffering into beautiful.

We continue to learn to trust Him through the questions and confusion of this life.

Lots of unknowns remain before us with the new location, new ministry, new team, and new family structure [just the three of us in Haiti]. Will share soon some specifics for those of you who like to pray through lists...

Thoughts turing toward 'home'

First day of school! Eli starts his final year at Calvin studying mechanical engineering; Anna starts her college studies with French, English, and political science classes today; and Fritzlin started second grade this morning.

Now that our oldest two are settled into college and we shared at our last scheduled church, our thoughts and days focus on our return to Haiti. In addition to having tickets to return on the 18th we will celebrate moving to Haiti, 20 years ago on September 11th.

During this time of so many transitions I've become reflective and so you'll be hearing some of my thoughts in the next couple of weeks.

First, I'm so thankful that the Lord arranged for us to attend Anna's International and Freshmen orientation actives just weeks before our move to Délice. I'm thankful we could be together along with the grandparents to celebrate Eli's 21st birthday.

Yes, we basically moved up to Délice in July last year, but due to the building of the house, house setting, and living out of boxes with much of our household items unaccessible, it feels like we are just now moving as we will be living in our new mission house on our return.

So hearing the advice given to Anna's class about 'Thinking Deeply, Acting Justly, and Living Wholeheartedly as Christ's agents of renewal in the world' has been timely for us.

They talked about how it is ok to feel both excited and anxious; normal to have many questions on how things will work and how to balance it all. How to take care of mind, body and spirit in a new place, new roles, new experiences.

   All very timely for us as we look at all the work we need to do to get the household up and running, the start of the agricultural ministry at Délice, the development of the AMP team.

They stressed how important our faith is during times of transition and to be intentional about staying connected to the Lord and family. How to venture out of one's comfort zone and try new things.

Trust in the Lord when you don't know the future or how things are going to work out.... trusting in the Lord as we wait for Fritzlin's American passport so we can travel [So excited to be at the last stage of paperwork!!!!].

     Trusting that the Lord will help us figure out how to get internet on the mountain so that we can stay connected to family, friends, supporters, our teammates, and the world. We were going to move the system we had but it stopped working and is 11 years old. The phone signal at our Délice house is off more than on and is dial-up slow for internet.

To make new friends. I'm so encouraged by the new folks who signed up to receive our email updates and to join our support team, supporting us through prayers and financial gifts!