Soccer, funeral, book and roof.

Cory reports that the football(soccer) game went well with no injuries. No goals.

He estimates that around 150 folks came out to watch the fun.

Currently he's attending the funeral of Jean Pierre's mom.

Jean Pierre supports us in more ways than we can count.

His oldest daughter attends high school in the USA and I'm sure is missing family.

Cory provided rides both to the game and to the funeral, both in Port Margot.

The work on the agricultural book continues at a good pace.

The internet part arrived on Tuesday, however it did not fix our problem.

Thankfully when he called Haiti Satellite to ask about a technician coming to work on it he found that one plans to travel to Cap Haitian for other business on Saturday.

This will cut down our cost for the visit. Praying we can return to high speed, reliable internet soon.

School continues to add to our knowledge base and fill our days.

Pastor Jonas's new roof looks nice.

Going to assume that it will keep the family drier than the old rusty one.

Thankfully almost all the wooden beams hadn't been damaged by leaks or termites so very little needed to be replaced.

Second picture after day one.

Obligated to Play....

I can think of several times in my missionary career when I felt obligated to do something outside my comfort zone: cutting the hair of missionary women being one!

Today will be one of those times for Cory. The married men of our Fauche church will travel down the road to Port Margot to take on their married men in a friendly soccer match.

Following the first announcement in church Cory didn't think he would participate being very busy with the book, not knowing if all the physical effects of Chikungunia were gone, not being very athletic.

But in a small church one often feels obligated to participate. Then there's the fact that we own one of the few vehicles that could transport the team to the game.

But the final point is the most important. Kingdom Building!! The major reason for the game - to evangelize. Now Cory will not be the best player, the youngest or the oldest player. But he will be the only foreigner.

Our French tutor, who lives near Port Margot reported yesterday that the pre-game talk and publicity centered around Cory playing!

So we pray for safety and for more folks to enter the Lord's Family.

Haiti celebrates today the Battle of Vertierre, the final decisive battle in their war for Independence, 211 years ago.

Pastor spoke Sunday of all the people still in bondage to sin, fear, and Satan. Please pray for Haiti.

Today some areas of Haiti will be filled with angry people protesting the recent increase in fuel and food prices (beans went up 25% here this week due to govt. tax on food imports from the Dominican Republic),  lack of national elections, current government policies and more.

We rejoice with the Haitian church for all those who put their trust in the Lord, breaking the chains of sin. We join them in praying for the Haitian church, the campus, district and national ministries, for the country and Haitians living abroad.

Please remember to pray tomorrow for the LaGonave Nursing School as government officials will be visiting to determine accreditation.

Weekend report.

Started out the work week with the temperature being less than 80!! In the summer! 

Sunday afternoon a thunderstorm rolled in sharing the abnormally cooler temperatures along with over 1 inch of rain.

Thankfully, it moved on in time to turn the inverter back on to provide power for the last activities of the Youth Conference.

We turn off the inverter, unplug all electronics and isolate the house during electrical storms to protect everything.

Not sure what time the young folks went to bed, or if they did on Sunday but they were wound up and chanting loudly around 11 p.m. Hope the neighbors enjoyed it.

One thing not cool is Anna's temperature. She left the morning church service a bit early on Sunday with a fever and headache.

Anna continues with a fever this morning. Yesterday, she worked well during school in-between four naps. Other than the fever and occasional head aches, she's fine.

Sunday service went well with the installation of the new leaders.

Pastor Rigo stepped down as president after seven years of dedicated service but will remain on the board to provide advice and leadership.

 

We start our second month of school this week, and everyone continues to do well.

Plans for this week: review Eli's transcript, college essay and paperwork; continue with our school work; get July's thank-you letters written; continue to work on the agricultural book and whatever else comes our way.

Please remember to pray for the National Conference [Aug. 7-10] and leadership. 

Women's District Church in the New Church.

First we knew we'd be to late for a pew seat so took our own.


The night before we'd gone down to service to find out it was a competition time between the churches so after watching a while we left early but left our plastic chairs for ladies without a place to sit.

Those chairs were already being used in service so we brought down some more.

The ladies wanted so much to all worship together -not some inside and some outside- that they worked very hard pulling weeds, piling rocks, moving pews, decorating and smoothing dirt to make a service possible in the new church.

Some of the children worshiped in the gazebo.

Not sure if it's ever been that crowed!

The music and worship inspired one's heart despite the sun and heat.

After the normal title and offerings for the church the presidents of each church's women's missionary society came dancing and singing in like Daniel with their offerings.

Throughout the service folks needed to move around a bit as the sun continued to move across the blue sky reducing the amount of shade.

The sermon reminded us to follow the Lord and end well.

Many examples from the Bible of men and women who finished well as well as some that did not.

Two young ladies accepted the Lord and the whole group prayed for them.

A new committee was introduced to care and encourage the district pastor's wives in their ministries.

These ladies also received special prayer.

Many thank you's were voiced including our family, especially all the work that Cory did to help and the fruits shared.

In the afternoon a wedding was held in the gazebo and a music concert before the evening service.

Cory drove the six ladies returning to Port-au-Prince to Limbée early this morning to catch their bus.

They headed out with bags of star fruits.

We join the women in prayer that by some miracle the church can have a roof and floor by next year's conference.

End of women's conference.

This week Cory and Anna prepared 3 jackfruit to share with the visiting ladies.

Today I prepared some starfruit seeds and packaged 3-4 seeds in a small bag with one  jackfruit seed.

Before they return home 240 women will be given these seed packets.

As over 350 ladies are attending so we handed over the packets to the leadership so they can make sure that the ladies with goat free land and best chance for the trees to grow will get the available seeds.

In a few years we hope to hear that other locations like the mountain village on LaGonave are enjoying fruit from their star fruit trees and a couple year after that from jackfruit trees.

Hot and humid with daily afternoon thunder in the distance make up our summer days but very little rainfall means the campus continues to be on the dry side.

A nice long soaking rain would be great.

We finished up a good week of school and Eli started on a college entrance essay.


Cory made good progress on the agricultural book translating this week.

The women’s conference will end tomorrow with the ladies leaving for home on Monday.

District conference will start on Tuesday.


New post about Haiti's adoption process here.

Women's Week.

A few hundred women share campus with us this week as they attend the northern women's district conference.

Yesterday we invited the ladies on either the national or district committees over for a time of fellowship. Five ladies joined us for cookies, bananas and passion fruit juice.

Sorry, I forgot to take pictures. One of the ladies we know from our time on LaGonave. Nice to hear her say how she sees the Lord using us in the north after being upset when we left LaGonave.

She also reported that in her village up in the mountains of LaGonave they have a fruiting star fruit tree that Cory had sent up years ago! YES.

With the tree producing fruit the people will have a local source of seeds for additional trees. If they could produce enough fruit they would be able to find a market for the starfruit on LaGonave.

One of their prayer requests is that the Fauche church can be completed so that more ladies can come next year [the current meeting place of the church will be a dorm that can house visitors.]

Yesterday morning for breakfast we shared a couple buckets of bananas and a large bowl of jackfruit. Anna and Cory prepared the jackfruit Tuesday night.

 The ladies shared with us a nice piece of fresh beef at the start of conference.

Before the ladies leave they will be give the chance to take a jackfruit seed if they wish and if they know of a goat free area to plant it.

Tuesday after supper Cory drove to Limbée to pick up the ladies coming from LaGonave and Port-au-Prince.

Surprisingly with a current gasoline shortage we've enjoyed government electricity more than normal this week. With church services continuing late into the night and starting before 5 a.m. the additional power is greatly appreciated.

During conferences Cory helps to keep the guests supplied with water and electricity in addition to sharing fruit.

Eli and Anna are adjusting to our new school subjects. While not much different than last years the start of a year gives them a chance to start new habits and develop new skills.

End of school and the 4th.

Summer break and the 4th of July fell on the same weekend this year for the Thede family.

While we remember those who fought for the USA's Independence we also remember fondly family reunions at the lake, fireworks and ice-cream.

Around our home this weekend the air is not full of fun on the lake or fireworks but the district's conference for the men. Each morning before dawn the air is full of their songs of praise which continue through out the day!

We don't participate in the meetings but help out by providing electricity, making sure water remains available, sharing fruit and praying.

The men showed their gratitude in a practical and tasty way by gifting us some fresh beef.

We enjoyed hamburgers, along with red,white, and blue jello yesterday. The best was homemade pineapple brownies a new favorite.  Celebrated the last day of school Thursday with our first hotdogs of the year, something we rarely buy.

Eli and Anna finished up their school year strong and we honor them for their hard work and all that they learned in the last school year.

Free time means computer and DS games as well as additional movie time.

Cory prepared the new breadfruit cuttings and I spent some time getting ready for the new school year.

Enjoying some family time with everyone healthy. Thinking about family and friends. Wondering how our little one's spent the day. Praising the Lord for our Christian heritage!

A visit from folks from an agricultural conference. A good day. Edited.

Today's visit from some folks attending an agricultural conference based at a near by university in Limbée went very well.

Cory went and picked up one of the two truck loads this morning and returned. First - introductions all around.


Some came from other parts of Haiti and about 1/3 were students in the agricultural program at the university.

A tour of the yard and gardens started off the visit. I tagged along at first until we came to the star fruit tree.

People were interested in both trying the fruit and getting seeds.


I did tell the one gentle man who exclaimed after trying one that the sweetness could be because he had just tried a miracle fruit but his enthusiasm encouraged the other's to try some.

So Evon and Cory picked some and the kid's and I prepared the fruit for lunch and cleaned the seeds, while the other's continued the tour.

Around 1 p.m. Cory called to let us know that lunch was being served at the school cafeteria.

We had not planned on joining the group but the lunch had been ordered for 30 and being about 10 short [some due to Chikungunya fever] our family and Cory's men joined the meal.

We added the star fruit and chaya to rice and beans served with a cashew sauce, beef so tender I thought it was goat meat, fried cooking bananas, beet salad and spicy Haitian coleslaw.

Fresh natural fruit juice hydrated everyone.

In the afternoon I shared some basic first aid information: splinting, transport, wound and hemorrhage care.
After the talk for pictures to report to the other groups back at the conference they reviewed some of the points using my props.

No one was hurt during this lecture!

No don't pull out that impaled stick!

 Then answered some questions and gave every one a health book telling them they were now obligated to share the information with their family and neighbors.

Cory shared a bit more information about plants as well as cuttings and seeds before driving the folks back to the university.

Now the kids and I need to go and prepare beds for the 14 guests arriving tomorrow.

Yes, stabilize and transport. 

My visual aid: impaled piece of metal, and stuff not to push back in and the back side showed an open fracture [cow's bone] and an a avulsion injury of skin and muscle.

A good day.

UCNH Graduation

Friday was graduation day for the Christian University of North Haiti, near Limbe.

Andy, a member of our Fauche church and Agronomy student, and Dieucel, administrator at our Fauche school and Theology student, received their diplomas.

Cory drove our truck, full of their family and friends, to the Event.

The  amphitheater was packed but there was a place to squeeze in and the ceremony started shortly after the scheduled 9am.

 There were many speakers, formal greetings, songs, messages and prayers.

Some of the challenges and problems to be faced living in Haiti were reviewed, along with their potential to make progress.

At 1pm the graduation finished and there was time to talk, take photos, and some of the students had a classroom to provide refreshments for their guests. 

 We enjoyed cake with juice or pop.

Road Open-thank you for the prayers.

The end of the week flew by-sorry for not updating sooner.

Thank you for the prayers.

By Wednesday the road toward Cap remained open although anyone who traveled to Port Margot for market day got turned back by the Haitian police.

Cory and Scott went to market today and reported [Cory didn't have our camera along] that the police station did mostly burn down along with an old pick-up truck. While the front of the station was brick the back burnt down. They did not see one policeman in Port Margot this morning.

We hear that the police were to release all the folks they locked up following the protests.

No word yet from Mme. Fanny about her son. As of Friday she still was not feeling well.

Cory did pick up Scott on Wed. and with his interests in plants and medicine we've enjoyed talking with him. He plans to go with Cory next week to visit LaGonave.

Eli and Anna worked very hard on school work this week and we're very close to the 50% mark of our school year.

Cory's guys moved breadfruit trees from pots to large plastic sacks getting ready for distribution.

The baby Artemisia plants continue to grow in their trays. 

Stamped 33 new books [mostly bought by Cory on Wed. while in Cap] for the Book Herder project.

Continue to work on translation of additional topics for the Konsey book, the 1st aid handout as well as getting an E-mail update ready to go and some thank you letters for next week's mail.

Lynching.

  Our lives here mostly contain similar life experiences that other locations and people have on a daily basis: school, meals, church, shopping. However at times one remembers very clearly that life here holds differences like today.

Thinking back on this morning, I do remember hearing noises that indicated a group of people were talking excitedly down by the clinic but the noise at the time did not make me stop and think that something noteworthy had occurred. Often we hear groups of folks loudly discussing or arguing down by the clinic as the stress of a medical emergency boils over in attitudes and tones.

I did question why Cory returned just minutes after leaving for a shopping trip in Port Margo. He informed us that Gener, who also works as a night watchmen for the clinic told him to wait a bit while he dispersed some folks from the clinic area. 

The story as we currently understand it deals with a Haitian man who went to the Dominican Republic and earned the equivalent of $500 American. A second Haitian in the D.R. heard about it, robbed and murdered him. 

Family and friends then used voodoo witchcraft to locate the murderer so they could make sure that justice was served. With three serious machete blows to the neck/head, the man somehow made it to our clinic in the early morning hours. 

But the folks found him and he escaped a second time. Gener helped to get the crowd out of the clinic area and a short time later he and Cory headed to Port Margot driving past the clinic where a few hundred people, almost all from Port Margot, stood  along the road.

The next part of the story we learned when Mme. Rosemary arrived a work very shaken up. She reported that the crowd believing in “an eye for an eye” caught up with the man in front of her house and finished the job. Thankfully she shut the door so her small granddaughter did not see any of the violence. 

"Lynching is an extrajudicial execution carried out by a mob, often by hanging, but also by burning at the stake or shooting, in order to punish an alleged transgressor, or to intimidate, control, or otherwise manipulate a population of people." Wikipedia

Both types I believe still occur in Haiti but the ones we’ve heard of in this area, now 3 in the last 3 years were due to alleged crimes. 

This occurs just 11 months after the last local lynching which occurred in the house across the street from the clinic. In this case the son was killed when they could not find the father that they were after. Not something that occurs where I grew up. Today the police did not come until after Pastor Rigo went to Port Margot to get the judge and police to inspect the damage the crowd did to break open the clinic door in order to get to the man inside. 

The first verses that came to mind had to do with letting the Lord take care of any paybacks or revenge. Only He knows how long this can go on as often in Haiti the cycle continues with the second victim's family also wanting revenge. 

I thought how glad I was not to have someone's blood on my hands no matter how justifiable I thought my actions.  The second thought that swiftly followed that one pointed the finger at me. I remembered the verse that talks about how hating your brother is the same as killing him.

 How many people did I become angry with in 2012? No, maybe not the same as hating them but wrong nonetheless. I did not respond in love in many situations. I not only became mad over big issues but little ones when I saw others as infringing on my rights. SIGH. 

Thank you Lord for not giving up on me. Thank you for your Word and that still small voice that helps me to keep working on my attitude. Thank you for the folks who prayed for me and our family today. Thank you for a way to wash my sins and cover me with pure robes of righteousness. Thank you for loving me.

Please pray for healing of those involved and the people in the community. Revenge continues to be a problem in Haiti and we know that with the Lord's love and forgiveness lives can be saved and healed even from deep trauma and pain. 

Celebrating a winter day before Christmas

A cool, cloudy, drizzly day in our part of Haiti, winter in the tropics. Returned to Haiti 3 weeks ago and woke up at home for the first time 2 weeks ago to a slower pace but facing a long to-do list.

Today with that list mostly complete, no appointments or travel plans we will spend the day in a leisurely fashion. YEAH for our side!!!

Wednesday morning Pastor Denord surprised us at dawn with the request for us to feed the two Americans who traveled up with Pastor Carl, arriving after our bedtime on Tuesday.

So we enjoyed surprise return visit from Robert and a new friend Dave, who returned to the USA on MFI's normal Thursday flight. Cory traveled to Cap on Wed. to pick up Christmas cargo from a special MFI flight along with mail and to do a bit of shopping. Despite Haitian schools not being in session he still encountered horrible traffic and thankfully returned home without problem.

Pastor Carl and the pastors of the northern district held a training session this week that we hear went well. Despite many nights of voodoo drums before their training the nights the pastors slept on campus remained quiet.

Cory moved some of the baby breadfruit trees yesterday and was pleasantly surprised to find more than he thought because smaller trees were hiding under larger plants. Although their growth suffered they did not die.

The family gifts now wrapped and sitting out help pump up the feel of Christmas in the house. Christmas music fills the air when we're not watching Christmas movies. Will do some baking on Monday for the neighbor's gift bags and our own enjoyment.


Looking forward to church tomorrow even though there are no special Christmas programs. Still know how special it is to be able to freely walk to church without opposition or persecution. Worship without fear, what a huge blessing.

Trust you will each spend some time with the special folks in your lives over the next few days. Make lots of good memories! Merry Christmas.

All Saint's Day and Day of the Dead.

Please remember to pray for our Haitian friends and staff today and tomorrow. Throughout Haiti today and tomorrow many people will gather in local cemeteries to celebrate All Saint's Day and the Day of the Dead.

Drums will fill the air with cleaning of the cemeteries and during the various celebrations.

The Fauche Kid's Club plans to use some Creole children's literature tomorrow to reach out to the local children who do not attend church. Join us in prayer that this outreach can impact many in the area.

Additional Information

Cory Projects

Today being partly cloudy, rainy Cory spent most of the day with Eli and Anna playing a computer game where they each build and run their own civilization.

Yesterday he spent some time grafting star fruit trees so that they will bear sweeter fruit.

One day this week he and the guys drove the truck down to the river to load up some gravel and work on repairing the drive through the middle of campus which continues to erode with each heavy rain.


Lots of work to shovel a truck load of gravel. He's glad his job does not include shoveling gravel onto the back of a big dump truck!

That night while we experienced a thunderstorm it must of rained even harder in the mountains and upstream.

Cory, hearing reports of the river eroding the very path he drove down the day before for gravel walked down with the camera.

The river cut a new main channel and a new 6 foot drop off now exists, right in front of the folks in the first picture.

 Thankfully the campus drive still looks good [gravel on the lower campus].


 Orange flagging in the plant nursery shows Cory's graphs.

One mango tree near the clothes line shows several different colored leaves [will try to get a picture next week] as the truck now supports 6 or so different mango varieties.

Cory also instructed Eli and Anna on planting edible false rosella or cranberry hibiscus. About 150 cups now hold seeds. These tart, tasty leaves can be added to salads or eaten raw.