? 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. 

Stories about Hearing God.

 While I intend to continue to once a month post a general update here I'd like to start a different kind of post that will fall more under the reflection category.

As suggested by the title this will be a telling of stories of times in my life where I clearly heard God's direction and answer to prayers. These will not be in any particular order.

While some people hear God audibly I have not.

Some stories will be longer than others due to the timing involved, important details, and general complexity. I hope that they will encourage you and point to the faithfulness of God.

He is interested in each one of us, every big or little aspect of our lives. 

Mostly I hear from God for as a strong inner prompting or realizing that events are guiding me in a particular direction, directly related to something that I'd been asking the Lord for guidance about. 

Road Signs

You may know I'm dyslexic and throughout my long school journey I often struggled with different subjects and testing. My particular issues fall under receptive language [hearing sounds], grammar, and spelling.

My level of physical and mental fatigue directly affects how much trouble I encounter with writing, learning, and studying.  So as you may imagine, the sheer volume and pace of learning in college, followed by medical school complicated figuring out the correct balance between learning and rest.

During medical school students need to complete and pass two of three separate levels of the United States Medical Licensing Examination [USMLE] standardized testing. The third level occurs during residency. 

 Step one occurs after the first two years of medical school and tests general science knowledge, and basic clinic knowledge. Because this day of testing is based on lecture/book/laboratory learning and not actual clinical experience I struggled to memorize and remember the needed facts.

This exam was a pass/fail.  I did not pass, therefore I needed to take time off of my medical school journey to study to be able to pass and continue my education.

The added time to my educational journey caused me to complete the necessary rotations and graduation requirements in December of 1994. Knowing this as the day drew near I started to pray about what next well in advance. 

Residencies in the USA participate in Match Day in March when 4th year medical students receive an envelope that contains the name of the program and location where they will be continuing their education in the area of medicine that they chose to pursue. 

Interns, or first year residents start working on July 1st in teaching hospitals across the USA.

What was I to do during the time? I continued praying and started to ask questions. **

I decided to go visit a residency in Indiana that had a 'rural medicine tract'. I figured that it would give me additional training that would be helpful when returning to Haiti or some other developing country.

My Grandpa and Grandma DeWent traveled with me down to Terre Haute, Indiana. I toured the residency and talked to the director about the possibility of starting in January vs. waiting for July.

He strongly advised against this idea. He explained that the learning curve was very steep and I would feel very behind. Not only that, for the first three months after the new interns start working a second year resident remains overnight in the hospital to teach and provide backup. This system and schedule is not in place in January.

I left having learned a lot of information and knowing I would not be starting any residency in January. My wondering what I should do with the time while I waited had been multiplied greatly. I remember being in the back seat looking out the window talking with the Lord.

I toyed again with the idea of traveling to Haiti for a few months to help out and learn at the Wesleyan Hospital on LaGonave. The same island and hospital that captured my interest as a 7-8 year old child when we lived there.

However, as often in its turbulent history, Haiti's continuing political instability worried me. I didn't want to have a 3-4 month trip planned and have things fall through in the last minute leaving my plans once again up in the air. 

So watching the flat Indiana roadside slip past I cried out to the Lord silently for guidance. Grandpa was driving through Clay County when I saw a sign post, two green signs with white lettering and arrows. One arrow pointed one way and the second the opposite. The words instantly caught my attention as they flew by: Cory and Brazil.

My high-school classmate Cory worked in Brazil in agriculture. I heard from Cory now and then. I knew that PAZ mission included a medical boat ministry that traveled along the Amazon river and its tributaries. 

That sounded interesting but I don't remember thinking about a trip much at all until I saw the road signs.

Then I knew. 100%. Instant peace. 

I did end up traveling to Brazil. Actually on the same plane from Miami with Cory and the director of the mission's widow and children returning after his death in Brazil from an ultralight accident.

It was during the 3 months in Brazil that Cory and I connected in a much deeper way. Our engagement occurred in the Amazon rain forest with a paper ring. A tale for a different time...

As I wasn't in the USA for Match Day...a phone call with my folks let me know that I would be spending the next three years [along with Cory, a short engagement] in South Bend, Indiana at St. Joseph's Family Practice Residency participating in the International Health Track. 

** Before the Match each medical student decides which medical area they would like to specialize in for their career.

 I knew since being a child in Haiti watching surgeries, clinics and hospital patients that I wanted to return to Haiti and be a doctor like Aunt Marilyn, Dr. Emmett, Dr. Jackson, and the others I saw helping people.

Then one would apply to residencies in that speciality for a position. Visit, if invited to learn more about each program, meet the staff and residents, tour the hospital[s], clinic and answer questions.

Once you visited the locations each student submits a list ranking in order their preference from first choice on down of where they would like to train. Each residency in turn ranks all the candidates from top to bottom in order of their preferences.  A scientific algorithm is then used to figure out where each student will go- depending on how fast the available positions fill up in each specific residency. 

If your top pick is full before you're in then the algorithm looks at your second spot and so on.

Live every day... thoughts about the end of life.

With lots of natural extremes around the world in addition to manmade chaos, many Christians are thinking and talking about the end times. A friend posts on Facebook about nuclear attacks on USA soil that the Holy Spirit has warned her about with dates of July 4th, August 3 and September. 

A recent post encouraged the following: 

'If you had 55 days left to live, how would you spend them for the biggest KINGDOM of HEAVEN impact?"

The first thought that came to me and continues to reverberate in my thoughts is that none of us are promised 55 days or 40 or 30 or 10 or even the end of today.

She wrote:

"Who would you share the gospel with?

Who would you spend your time with?

Who would you forgive?

Who would you make amends with?

Who would you call to encourage?

Who would you visit?

What would your evenings look like?

What would you read?

What would you watch?

What would you listen to?

What would your conversations around the table sound like?

What would you talk to your children about?

What would you say to others, to leave nothing unsaid?

How would you spend the next 55 days, if they were your last?

Do those things.

Do them from a place of genuine love.

There is no room for the counterfeit.

Walk in love.

1 Corinthians 16:13-14

Watch, stand fast in the faith, be brave, be strong. Let all that you do be done with love.'"

Yes! These questions should always be on the forefront of our minds. 

We don't know how much time remains for us or the one we should apologize to, forgive, encourage, visit or talk to. 

Sometimes folks have an idea, as my father did that his days were short. Many others do not know they are living out their final minutes on this earth.

Lord, help us to listen to Your voice at all times.  Turn fears into faith. Replace lies with Your truth.

    When You nudge us with a thought about something we need to do or deal with may we take care of it as soon as possible. 

    Don't let us get distracted by things of this world and put off being obedient to You. If it is a hard thing or easy help us prioritize being obedient to You. Give us the wisdom, courage, time and focus to get it done. 

    Remove procrastination far from us. Don't let us forget. 

    Walk with me, guide me, encourage me, strengthen me, equip me and protect me. 

    Do the same for my family, friends, and other humans in Your family.

    For those not yet following Your truth- open their eyes, soften their hearts. Amen

Mid-May Update

 In one month's time the green of rainy season is fading into the browns of fall.

Thankfully with the irrigation working the trees and areas directly around them should remain green and growing.

The slashing of the lawn and a lot of the weeding around plants and campus will slow down considerably, however with the watering of the nursery plants the weeding there will continue.

Both the Bible College students and the Jembo boarding students returned and classes resumed for the final trimester of the academic year. Graduation should occur for the Bible students on July 18th.

Cory's first agricultural class was to visit the orchards and learn about the irrigation project.

Praying that soon the date for completion of the 'Farming God's Way' training can be set for the leaders to travel here.

Fritz and I draw near to completing his freshman year of high school as less than a month remains. We plan to celebrate with a short break and weekend trip to Livingstone in mid-June. 

Rev. Patrick organized the harvesting of the project's corn crop this week, complicated by his needing to be away for several days.

A neighbor's corn waiting for a truck to transport.

Fall weather is dry with cool nights and warm days. Clouds are becoming less frequent as moisture lessens. 

The huge lake Kariba to our south continues to fill (now at 40%, one year ago was 16%) due to rains in other areas. 

 This is a good thing as most of Zambia's electricity comes from hydroelectric power plants. 

Thankful for our solar panels that provide power for our electronics including the water pump.