The sun brightens the many different shades of green that surround our lives here. A slight breeze starts up about 10:30 a.m. and generally builds to the afternoon when thunder may or may not herald an afternoon thunderstorm.

Emperor Jacques I-wikipedia.

I'm not sure why but the quiet strongly suggests that no school, other than my two students, occurred on campus today. Oh, yes the cook reminded us that it is a Haiti holiday today, Dessalines Day. Jean-Jacques Dessalines lead during the Haitian Revolution and became the first rule of an independent Haiti in 1801. He declared himself Emperor in 1804 and ruled until his assassination in 1806.

In the House of Hope the pastors of the Northern district discuss the various items on the agenda for their meeting. Cory hopes to offer each pastor some of the Creole health books to take back to their church making the books more accessible to the church members not in Cap Haitian near the book store.

I visited with an older lady with high blood pressure problems, the adult daughter who accompanied her as well as a young mother with a cute, chubby 5 month old who lost a big patch of hair when another child picked at his case of cradle cap. Before returning up to continue school with Eli and Anna, I prayed with each of the 7 patients in the cholera area. The staff thanked me for praying for their protection as well.

Cory's gardener on LaGonave called yesterday to let us know that his grandmother died from Cholera. The seven current patients include: one child, one teen, four elderly men and one old lady. Because of the rapid speed that this disease can cause one to become critically ill, the number of patients can jump rapidly. Please keep praying!

Yesterday we watched a DVD about the life of Mother Teresa. I too want to 'be the Lord's pencil' letting Him use me as He wishes. May I learn to see every one and treat everyone as I would the Lord. How easy it is for me to forget that each person contains the image of God because that is how we were created, in His image.

Thankful: Freedom of sharing the love of God publicly. Medical staff and supplies helping others.
Prayer: Cholera patients. Impact of the health books. Leadership.

12 Oct. Cory's Birthday and trip to Bory

Today is Cory's birthday which unfortunately he has spent printing out newsletters. I promise to do my best to get him out in the garden later. We did have yummy lasagna for lunch and I plan on making his oatmeal cake as soon as this blog is done.

Yesterday we visited our 20th church in the district. Bory is 4 miles [40 minutes] to the West of us. Last mile or so is off the 'main' road on a two track that has grass because trucks so rarely go that way. We past a couple of VooDoo temples on the way and lots of families are raising turkeys.

Having had close to an inch of rain from Tropical Storm Henri the night before Cory was a little worried about making it but thankfully we have the 4-Wheel drive. When we got to Bory-they were surprised to see us as they were expecting us the following week. [Hard to do any more with all the cell phones about]

The Bory elementary school has 250 students. We didn't pass that many houses so makes you wonder how far the kids walk to school. The church and school are on the edge of a hill with a valley on the other side.

The church was very warm with only block windows. Thankfully during the service the Pastor's must of decided we needed the fan more than them and turned it our way. [Remember they all had suit coats on!] We greatly appreciated their sacrifice on our behalf.

Once again we enjoyed some great acapella singing. Haitian singing is something you really have to experience first hand to understand the impact it can have on you.

Following church we walked around the school a bit and then went to visit the colonial runes that were just across the street. We were told that part of the church was built on the stone foundations. It wasn't hard to imagine the ancestors of the Haitian congregation working on the sugar plantation that had once stood where we were standing. Now the land is planted with bananas and rice.

The folks in this area appear poorer than most. Most homes in Haiti any more have tin roofs and not the thatched roofs. Also this house wasn't built with blocks but mud on sticks. We were able to share Moringa trees with the church and some of the members are planning to come to the gardening class next week.

Others are interested in English classes as well but will need to wait for the January class.

Interesting to think that just over 200 years ago this was a thriving sugar plantation. Haiti was the most profitable colony in the Caribbean.

Sept. 11 - Reflections

September 11, a day people remember where they were 7 years ago. My family also remembers 10 years ago and 2 years ago.

Ten years ago on the 11th of September Cory, Elijah and I traveled to LaGonave having just moved to Haiti. Looking back I would not have willing gone though all the experiences that we have had in the last 10 years but I can see how most of them have helped me grow in faith.

Seven years ago we were shocked with the rest of the world with the horror of the terrorist attacks on the USA. We were on LaGonave and for the first time in our lives effectively locked out of our birth country. Our American passports, normally a passageway into America, would not of worked should we have attempted to return to the USA. A scary time. A time to turn to God.

Two years ago I left Cory, Eli and Anna on LaGonave as I flew on the MAF plane to return to Michigan for my grandfather's funeral. I remembered how he and Grandma were with my family on our first trip to Haiti over 33 years before. I remembered other trips when he came to bless the people with his laughter and carpentry skills.

Each of these times were hard and accompanied with tears. With change comes pain. But growth doesn't happen without change or pain. I am not the person I was 10, 7, or 2 years ago. Thankfully with the Lord's grace I think I've learned some lessons. I have a better perspective on life. "God is still working on me" And I'm thankful that He is always near.

TOMORROW-LAG 1 WEEK-USA

Excitement is building as is the pile of suitcases and stuff by the door.

I don't ever remember taking a trip before an international trip. Interesting-will leave some items on LAG to pick up on our way back North. So have to think of things for LaGonave as well as Stateside.

Power points are mainly ready to go-know the visitors and staff on LaGonave will be interested in them as well. Here is a photo of Eli with the Moringa tree he brought from LaGonave. The small one in his hand is similar in size to when he planned the larger one, now in the ground for 10 months.

Hear things are busy on LaGonave. We will clean up the house today, finish packing, make sure things are taken care of here. John Pierre and others will take care of the house-to the point that they sleep here very night. We have tried to talk them out of it but they take their responsibility of caring for us very seriously.

The house will be clean and neat as we can get it as we will likely have visitors staying here before our return. We cleaned out the freezer yesterday and today the refrigerator. Both will be turned off while we are gone.

Palace Sans Souci

In 1811 Christophe Henri declared himself to be king of the north. A palace was started in 1810 and completed in 1813. Sans Souci Palace means "without care." This was a king's palace.











Much of the palace was destroyed in the 1842 earthquake that also destroyed much of Cap Haitian and killed thousands of people.




Next door to Sans Souci was the Queen's palace, in between was the stables and carriage house.








The front was said to have a large mirror reflecting toward the gates. This would of been right behind and above Cory's head. There were also said to be two statues of lions on either side of the fountain in the middle. There were many fountains and statues. Aqueducts brought water to and under the palace. There was even a small 'refrigerator' for cooling drinks.

This tree is a star apple or Caimit, and said to be at least 315 years old. As a young tree if was used as a place of execution by hanging. The tree has been stabilized in recent years by the supporting lines.













The Catholic church is said to have a mausoleum in the middle where the head officers and important people were buried. There was also a second church which is now being used as a Catholic school.























The palace is said to be haunted as Christophe Henri [King Henry I] committed suicide in the palace with a silver bullet on Oct. 8, 1820. His son and heir was bayoneted to death 10 days later.

More Citadel photo's

The Citadel, Laferriere, was built between the years 1805-1820 on the mountain Bonnet a L'Euegue about 5 miles up hill from Milot. Christophe Henri had declared himself king in 1811. It is said that 20,000 died making the Citadel. It was never completely finished.

Christophe was partially paralyzed with a stoke in July 1820 from which he never recovered. On Oct. 8, 1820 he committed suicide with a silver bullet in the place.

His body was brought to the Citadel and while some think it was placed in this large lump of limestone others claim that his final resting place is not know.

Map showing layout of the Citadel. The whole complex is said to encompass more than 108,000 square feet. It is the largest fortress in the Western Hemisphere.

Christophe's brother-in-law was killed in an explosion. It is said he was smoking near gun powder. His tomb is white and near the gunpowder storage area in the fort.

Gunpowder storage inside the fortress.

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A cannon's trip from the coastal harbor of Cap Haitian to the Citadel could take three months time.

Areas to catch rain water.

Citadel- March 17

When you pull up to the palace in Milot, you are immediately directed to the information booth. Cory took care of the fees and obtaining a guide while the kids and I put on our sun screen.

The guide, Jean, joined us and we continued the drive up to the second parking lot. The team walked all the way from the palace as their vehical was an automatic and not powerful enough to make it up to the second site. Jean was the same guide as the team had and remembered Gene's name. We take our hats off to the team for making the long walk.

At the parking lot Anna happily got on her horse while the rest of us continued on foot. Taking pictures was a good reason to stop now and then and catch my breath. The guys with the horses followed us for a while encouraging us to ride but after a while they headed back to the start. Many Haitians were also walking up, including school groups. The walk takes about an hour.

After a short break at the top we started the tour. At one point there were 10,000 cannon balls but not one was ever fired in war as the fortress was never attacked. Hard to imagine the slaves pulling 350 cannons, some weighing 4,000 pounds, up the mountain. Also the bricks and other supplies. Some parts of the fortress have been renovated. At it's peak over 2,000 men were housed at the Citadel.

It was windy at the top and cool. You can see Cap Haitian but not the palace. There is a small mountain in between the Citadel and the palace.

Spring Break, Citdel Trip: Part 1

When the team went to the Citadel it took them 12 hours, round trip. The Citadel is a fortress, seen on the mountain to the right.

We decided to try a short cut though the cane fields. Cory looked at the satellite photos before we left so he had an idea of the roads and we asked a senior missionary for advice. With no map or road signs it was part of the adventure. At 6 a.m. on St. Patrick's day we headed out with energy bars, sunscreen, water, cameras and hats.

The cane fields cover the plain between Cap Haitian and the mountains. Most families have their own cane processing equipment. The cane juice is squeezed out of the cane and then boiled down. Most of the juice is then turned into a strong alcohol or rum. Some is made into sugar and a smaller amount into molasses or cane syrup. The large piles of cane stalks [after being pressed] are then used as fuel for the fires to boil the cane juice.

We only had to take one short backtrack, to get to the main road to the town of Milot. The roads were mostly dirt and large bumps. I had the seat with the broken seat belt and hit my head hard once on the roof of the truck. Not fun. We hadn't had rain for a number of days so the roads were dusty not muddy.

John Pierre made the trip with us, his 7 th visit to the Citadel, and first in 8 years. The week before Easter is the busiest of the year for visitors to the Citadel because of the schools being off for Easter. We expect to see many Haitian school kids making the trip up the mountain. Anna was most excited as she really wanted to ride a horse.

Feb. 16

After all the hard work during the week we took some time off to sight see. We split into two groups. Cory drove Gene, Pastor, Pete and Suzanne to Cap Haitian where they met a driver who took them to the city at the base of the Citdel. They then walked up about a 7 mile walk with an increase in elevation of about 2/3 of a mile. The round trip was about 12 hours-from Fauche.

The rest of us worked during the morning-painting, scraping, homework and cooking. After lunch we headed to the beach. The sand was so nice-Anna made a sand angel. I walked down the beach a ways before spoting one piece of plastic-no garbage. Off the coast we could see the island of Tortue-of pirate fame.

Feb. 3-more photos