Life Update.

Small corn sheller in background.

Looking back I realize that for those not following the Thede Seed over on Epistle I'm tardy writing this update. I hope you've enjoyed the last posts on how the Lord led and provided for us. 

So since mid-May the harvest has been completed and all the project corn shelled in one day by a hired machine. 

Weeds were more of a problem this year due to the good rains. Oxen were too slow getting many fields planted, so the weeds were too tall to be covered during plowing and planting and kept growing. Next year we look forward to using our own oxen instead of waiting for the neighbors to have free time for hire.

Winnowing soybean after beating piles of the plants
 with a stick. Sacks of corn on the cob can be beaten
 to shell it and then winnowed the same way.

The soybeans required extra hired help to weed and the weeds still caused reduced yield. The sunflower crop was damaged by cattle so it mostly failed. To avoid the neighbors livestock problem next year, production will be shifted to fields closer to the mission and the farther fields will be rented. The cattle problem was not anticipated to be so serious, also damaging the corn and soybeans. The reason is the offending families are all related so enforcement by the local headman has been hindered and the families even complain about cattle damage from eachother. 

Nam Doc Mai, one of our new mango varieties
blooming. Still small to allow fruiting but providing budwood.

The students harvested the small soybean yield from the orchard. It mostly failed due to using old seed, dry weather after planting, bird pests, some rabbit damage and weeds. Each problem magnified the next.  

The fruit trees are doing great with irrigation, many growing vigorously even now in our cool dry winter.

Fritz and I finished up 9th grade and took a few days break before slowly starting on our 10th grade work.

Pummelo, like a thick peel, non-bitter grapefruit.

July 18, we celebrated with Jembo Pilgrim Wesleyan Bible College their 59th graduation sending out seven married couples and six single men into full time service. That same week the Jembo Wesleyan Church celebrated Pastor Paul's serving Jembo nearly 7 years. We join the church in praying for a new pastor as Pastor Paul is now serving in Kalomo.

Dry season means few clouds, more dust, and at the start cooler temperatures. As we head into August the temperatures are already climbing. The orchards are benefitting this year from the sunny days and irrigation project allowing continued growth and healing from the grafting that Cory did at the end of rainy season.

Mango still growing well with
beautiful new leaves in winter.

Anna moved from California back to Michigan in mid-June by driving across the country with Cory's dad who flew out to accompany her. She's studying for the Universal Bar exam that she will take July 28 and 29. We join her in praying for the Lord's direction for her next steps in applying for a new job.

Kris' mom continues to recover after having her left shoulder replaced in June. We are very thankful that both Eli and now Anna help her out when needed.

A puppy joined the agricultural project two weeks ago. At this time Teeg is putting on weight, learning the campus and barks at strangers and cattle on the campus. Hopefully in time he will also chase any monkeys that wander into the orchards.

African Weslean University

We enjoyed a weekend in Livingstone in early June. On the way we stopped at the new African Wesleyan University College and Dr. Smith gave us a tour. We were joined by a GP friend and together visited the rhinos at the national park, a couple restaurants, then went shopping before taking her to the airport. 

A sad note to add concerns the unexpected death of our niece Mical in July. Thankfully Eli and Anna represented the family but it was/is a hard time to be away from family. Such losses remind us to appreciate every day as a precious gift from God. Don't delay or put off telling people you love them: connecting, forgiving, confessing, apologizing, or encouraging. Make a difference today. Point folks to Jesus and let them know you care. 

Recent Haiti Photos

Kids Clubs are doing well. Jean Pierre recieved a welcome celebration this spring for his return to Fauche.

Limbe Kids Club

Delice, The house is full with teachers.

Native pine

Lychee

Macadamia

Mango

Avocado

Mountain Vehicle..

 After the first couple of trips up the very bumpy, curvy road the benefits of a different vehicle started to come to mind. 

Our truck worked OK in the north and if we needed larger loads it was not to hard to hire a truck to make the relatively short drive from Limbeé to deliver to the Fauche Campus.

Now the 16 miles off paved Route National One took 3+ hours with 4-wheel drive. 

In time Cory would make shopping trips to Port-au-Prince only once every 4-6 weeks. 

Having an enclosed, larger vehicle would be very helpful for supply runs, visitors, and team visits.

Personally a reminder occurred every time, multiple times throughout every trip when my head would hit the truck roof after a large bump taken a bit too fast. 

The inclosed back would provide more security during rains or for supplies when parked in town. 

On a trip to visit Fritz, still living at Children of the Promise at that time I suggested that Cory, Anna, and I make a 'wish/prayer' list.

Cory wanted a diesel and white vehicle. Anna's requests was for a hammock in the back for sleeping during long trips. I wanted a Land Cruiser complete with snorkel for crossing rivers-mostly because it looked cool and adventurous. 

We enjoyed our time with Fritz and as soon as we reached the house in Fauche I opened up the computer to check e-mails and connect.

On Facebook I rapidly noted a friend's post, a missionary family also in northern Haiti who were returning to the USA and selling their Land Cruiser. 

It completed everything on our list and in addition we knew and trusted the current owners. 

Not only did it come with a colorful hammock, a way already set up for hanging in the back...but also a fan and camping chair being set up for overnights. 

Within a few minutes we contacted the family and shortly after the Lord blessed us with the Land Cruiser.

Safely up and down the mountain we traveled over the next few years. 

A few teams squeezed in for the trip.

We kept the other 'mission' truck for those times when having an open back helped to move and haul things around the mountain.

Where are they now you ask? The pickup went to the Haitian Wesleyan Church to use and for mutual benefit Director Lukenson uses the Land Cruiser on the mountain to keep it in running order and being useful. 

The Lord does provide our needs! 

? How to build a house on a remote Haitian mountain.

 So in the last post I noted that we had many questions about how we'd move to the Delicé property. This discussion became very frequent especially after Anna proposed moving in 8 months rather than a couple of years.

In December we headed to the USA to see our college student, Eli and to spend the holidays with family.  We continued to discuss the move with our family and friends. 

HOW? We prayed and prayed. 

All our previous moves in Haiti had been to an established mission compound. The young missionary couple, the B's, we'd met who lived on the other side of the fort had done it. 

They lived in a tent while building their house as well as a couple of smaller homes across a small gully for 14 children from a children's home along the coast.  

Being older, and apparently not as adventurous, this did not appeal to us. The mountain could be cool and damp in the clouds. 

We talked about living at the foot of the mountain and heading up to work on the house...the 2+ hours one way did not make that sound very practical. 

On our second trip with a couple of our Global Partners teammates and Anna, one noted 'You guys are a whole different level of crazy!' 

With the new project approved January 17, we started to fundraise to build the house and to prepare the work at Fauche to continue under the supervision of Cory's workers. 

During a trip to Delicé in March we talked with Stephen B about the location of the house, how to put in a driveway, and other helpful information about building on the mountain. 

We decided we could use a similar frame as the children's home and maybe some of the same workers.

 The inside walls could be different as there was a place in Port-au-Prince who sold the supplies for styrofoam walls that you then plaster. 

 Maybe the small, very basic guest houses being built for the neighbors to host teams could be rented for a place to stay for the three of us.

No clear answers came as we continued to pray.  

We don't remember specifically but one day in the spring we received a call from Steven.

 His wife had a medical issue which would mean being in the USA for months and would we consider 'house sitting' and helping out with maintenance issues.

We started to make more trips to Delice starting with a trip in May brining up plants, tools and a few other items.

The B's lived in a big house built to host teams as well as their family [4 children when we met them], along with teachers for the children's home. 

Stephen would come on trips to prepare and host teams that were already planning to come.

So we made trips back and forth for a while between Fauche and Delicé. 

Anna roomed with a couple of the school teachers, one Haitian and one from the USA. Cory and I took single beds in their boy's bedroom and another American teacher had her own room. 

We shared house cleaning, cooking, shopping trips down the mountain. This allowed the building of our home which was a 15 minute walk around the base of the fort to the other side.

First things were getting a 'access' road and driveway in place and building a water cistern because all water came from rain so needed to be captured and stored during rainy season. 

I used a program on the iPad to plan the inside of the house.

By summer we were spending most of our time at Delicé. 

Fritz joined us in October. By late spring 2018 the house was livable. We moved the last of our stuff right before heading to the USA for the summer.  

Fritz's adoption had been completed and we needed to be in the States for him to become a citizen,  for the paperwork to be processed,  his new American passport issued, and to transition Anna to college.

On our return that fall we moved into our new home.

Hearing God to move...

 Now I don't want you to get the idea that I always hear from the Lord in very direct ways. I've only gotten road signs once. Often I pray and wait for weeks or months before the doors open and we learn the next steps.

Sometimes God's will is much clearer than others. I know we prayed about serving in Haiti after my residency and moved to the logical location of LaGonave because that was the location of the Wesleyan Hospital. We lived there nine years. 

While living on LaGonave, I occasionally joked if Cory ever visited northern Haiti, where I visited  as a child, that we would be moving because I remember the Fauché mission compound being very green.

Cory traveled north in early 2007 with Pastor Dan Irving.  On their return Cory talked for over four hours straight to me about the trip and I knew that we would be moving.

Our family visited the Fauche campus once before moving there in August of 2007.

Fast forwarding about nine years ahead. We were settled, the Fauché campus area planted with fruit trees, land rented to plant more trees in the area, thousands of trees donated to different missions and local individuals. We were in the process of adopting Fritz from an orphanage a few hours away. Anna enjoyed playing volleyball with her friends, even winning a national title. 

Occasionally over a few years, different leaders would mention that it would be good for Cory to visit some land owned by the church to advise what would be good to plant for agricultural income.

November of 2016, the three of us traveled back to LaGonave for meetings. Eli was in college by this time.  We decided to travel to see the land while Anna remained on the island for a couple extra days after celebrating Thanksgiving with the whole missionary family. We planned to travel with another GP missionary, however his vehicle didn't work so we jumped in our truck with a couple of the leaders and headed off.

Only the first part of the journey traveled over the main paved road, so soon we were on a very bumpy dirt road heading up into the mountains. I remember not very far up  looking out the window and thinking 'I could live in the mountains' this  thought was not just a flitting superficial thought but one that resonated deep within me. I enjoyed the scenery while Cory had the hard work of driving.

A few hours later Cory asked "How much farther?" The leaders pointed to the mountain range across a valley. The 16 miles to the property took over 3 hours to drive and often needed 4 wheel drive. We crossed a thin area of land between two mountain ranges and wound our way up the mountain. Often  very little space existed between the truck wheels and the mountain edge. Soon we looked down the other side of the mountain into the Artibonite Valley (Haiti's "rice bowl").

We stoped in briefly at a missionary's house, introduced ourselves and why we were visiting. The young couple joined us later on the Wesleyan property.

We drove just a bit farther, parking to walk the rest of the way.  There through the thin clouds we saw it....a fort! Fort Dwet. We continued to the other side of the fort to the Wesleyan property.  Rocky, great views- from some spots you can see the east side of LaGonave. Cooler weather...and a challenge.

I knew then that we would be moving. I asked Cory quietly if he could see us living there. His reply was along the lines that he didn't want to drive that road again....anytime soon anyway. Time was short as Cory also did not want to drive down the scary road in the dark. 

We said our good-byes. Drove down the mountian and dropped off the leaders to a spot they could catch a ride into Port-au-Prince because national elections happened the next day and there would be a curfew. On our way back to the Ortlip Center where we were to spend the night we became so involved in dreaming and thinking about details that we drove past our destination and had to turn around. By then Cory knew too.

We presented the surprising idea to Anna. We told her we'd be praying about it and we'd understand if she wanted to finish out high school at Fauché. Long story short: we returned to Delicé two days later with Anna and a couple of fellow Wesleyan missionaries. We walked the land looking for a place to build the house.

Anna told us that she thought we'd move up by June.....June as in 8 months later. WHAT?!?! 

So many questions but never "should we move? Would we be moving? - that we knew. We would be living on the mountain of Delicé in the near future.