MOTHER'S DAY SPECIAL

Mission to Haiti – May 8, 2011 – Mother’s Day

This is our last week of this trip to Haiti, and we are slowly gathering, putting away, and packing things that we will leave here until our return in the fall.  We also need to inventory what we are leaving behind so that we will know what and how much we need to bring back with us.  It’s not a difficult task but one that we must do if we want to keep our lives as orderly as possible.  Added to this we are trying to clean everything before we leave knowing full well that what we store in the cupboards will have a layer of dust when we return and will need to be cleaned and washed before we can start using it again.

Chris on right, John on left

The last of our visiting professors, Chris, left on Saturday for Kansas after a two-week stay with us; however, we will not be alone very long as the Senior Pastor from Chris’ church along with three others will arrive on Monday to overnight here at the Emmaus Seminary, hold some meetings and then move on to the OMS Vaudreuil compound.




Black Beach

This past week we went to the beach for only the second or third time since we came to Haiti last October 1^st.  This time we went to Black Beach so called because of the black volcanic sand that covers the beach area.  Several of us went and among the several were a team of 3 well drillers from Sir Sanford Fleming Community College at Peterborough.  The leader of the group, an instructor in well-drilling, was telling us that he has been throughout Latin America drilling wells and Haiti is by far the poorest country he has visited.

 

Mangoes and Mango Jam

This past week we also made mango jam for the first time.  We brought some liquid Certo with us last fall thinking that we might have a chance to make jam of some kind.  We thought the mangoes here at the Emmaus Compound weren’t suitable for eating.  Once we found out from Stacey how to best attack a mango (peel and slice) we were able to make a pretty good product if all the rave reviews we received from those who have tried it were being honest.  We plan on bringing 3 jars home with us to try out on unsuspecting taste testers.



Soccer Match as part of graduation acitivites
Faculty against students



Pastor Vilmer Paul, goalie for faculty

Dignitaries for Graduation Chapel

May 6th was the Emmaus Biblical Seminary Graduation.  Prior to graduation during the week there was a soccer game, faculty pitted against the students.  What an exciting game.  The victory went to the students in a 1-0 decision.  Graduation itself was beautiful, singers, grads from other years taking the microphone, special awards, an address to the grads and communion all followed by a wonderful Haitian meal for upwards of 200; rice, fried chicken legs, fried goat, a baked pasta dish, beet salad, coleslaw, fried plantain, beans sauce and, of course, the drink of choice, Tampico, a very sweet drink bottled in Haiti.

Stacey and Lily will be leaving on Monday under the watchful eye of her sister, Lisa, and her husband, Adam, who came in the past week to help Stacey close up the house and get ready to return to the USA to have Sophia in late May.  Tuesday the Hubele’s leave for southern Illinois where they aren’t quite sure what they will be returning to as some of their neighbours have been dealing with flooding from the adjacent rivers.  Wednesday Matt leaves to join up with Stacey and Lily in Ohio.  And, finally we will leave on Thursday, the last of the non-Haitians to depart.  There is still a staff of Haitians who will keep everything going from vehicles to generators until Matt, Stacey and the girls return in mid-July to start getting ready for the fall semester.  The Hubele family is hoping to return in late summer, and we will return in the fall before the first of the visiting professors arrive.  Time will fly by quickly and it will feel like we have just left when it will be time to return. 

There is an update on Konpech.  Rachelle Hubele, along with Junior, went to Konpech on Friday afternoon.  She was allowed to take pictures of the women she has been teaching to knit as well as a few other photos.  This is amazing.  Even more amazing is that God is certainly working on Konpech.  Junior and Rachelle overheard a woman of the community saying that she was going to give up the Satanic worship of Voodoo and follow Jesus.  This is a praise the Lord moment indeed!

This Sunday is Mother’s Day and it will be a little different from the norm.  John’s mother will have his 7 siblings gathering around to spend some time with her.  She is ninety-nine, soon to be 100 in mid July and is still quite active for someone her age.  She still manages to play and beat her children at cribbage, will play euchre when she can find a foursome, and will accept dinner invitations providing there are not too many stairs to climb.  She is a remarkable lady.  

Dorothy also remembers her mother this weekend.  She was one of those mothers that respected the Lord as Proverbs 1:7 commands us to do.  Proverbs ends with a description of a woman who continues to fulfill this command (31:10-31).  She thanks God that her mum was one of those women until her death in 2006 at 93 years of age.

Mothers, true inner beauty comes from inner strength of character, and it can’t be bought with expensive creams.  Over the years your beauty increases or will be created during the trials of life as you trust God and obey Him.

We are hoping that the Internet is available so our children can celebrate Mother’s Day by way of Skype with us.  Because of Internet issues we are missing our opportunities to see the grandchildren.  In another 2 weeks we will be able to see them as much as they want to put up with us.

The Lord be with your spirit.  Grace be with you.

HAPPY NEW YEAR, AND LOTS, LOTS MORE

Mission to Haiti – April 24, 2011 – Easter Sunday & May 1, 2011

Ebed Paul

On Friday, April 15^th, we attended the opening of Tony Paul’s Trade School together with a number of people from the Joy & Hope of Haiti group from Hamilton that funded the building of the school.  It was quite the event with many Haitian dignitaries making speeches.  Among the dignitaries were a Senator, and two presidents of universities in Cap Haitien as well as a guest preacher from Port au Prince.   

On Saturday, April 16^th, 9 men and women plus two children rolled into the campus of EBS in the back of Abel’s tap tap.  7 were housed at The Penny Inn (the new name for The Ville Auberge/Assisted Living Centre), our house, and four at Matt and Stacey’s.  Intro’s made, supper eaten, beds found and a good night’s sleep made for an early rise for the group to be on their way to Grison Garde to attend New Life Church, Pastor Job’s church.  His school is one of the schools that St. Andrew’s support through HEARTS.  Matt preached in Kreyol, and about half way through the service some of the Hamilton group staying at Pastor Tony Paul’s guesthouse in Plaine du Nord arrived for the service.  Ebed Paul, Tony’s son, translated for all the visitors.

Bright and early Monday morning the team started their scheduled work, tiling and grouting and painting in the second floor of the men’s dorm and laying a sidewalk to better connect the houses with the rest of the campus. 

Even after two long, hard days at work, the team was ready to count pills on Tuesday night for a mobile clinic at the Saccenville Church on Wednesday.

  A member of the team was a pediatrician and he, along with Dr. Rodney, a Haitian doctor from the OMS Bethesda Medical Clinic, then screened patients.  Weight was determined and blood pressure taken. Those treatable with meds were sent to the makeshift pharmacy where pills were dispensed.  Although there were illnesses that could not be treated with pills, the clinic was a huge success.

Thursday and Friday were again spent working on the dorm and sidewalk.

Right after breakfast on Good Friday a few members of the team and Matt led in a service while we sat in the shade of a mango tree.  Matt preached about how our sins were soaked up like a sponge soaks up water and when a sponge is squeezed this was how God’s love poured out on us from the cross as the nails were being pounded into Jesus’ hands and feet and up until the time of His death.

Matt, Stacey and Lily ate here all week for evening meals. Stacey and Dorothy shared the making of the meals.  Friday night the Hubele family of 4 came over and we all ate homemade pizza, compliments of all 3 ladies, salads by Stacey, ice cream (Yes, I said ice cream; there are two automatic ice cream makers here and neither one belongs us to.), and cake made by Rachelle Hubele.   It was wonderful to have all the help with the meals.  Stacey is a fabulous pastry chef along with her other many talents.  We don’t know what we would have done without all her help.

At 5:00 a.m. on Saturday morning, the tap tap was pulling out heading to the airport with 10 of the 11.  The leader, Don Hulmes, a personal friend of Matt and Stacey’s, stayed behind to do more work on campus and will leave May 9^th.

The Hubele Family, Rachelle, Jacob, John, Josephine

Pastor Wilber

The Hubele family along with us went to at 6:00 a.m. Easter Morning Sunrise Service at the OMS missionary kids school near the other Vaudreuil compound.  We sang as a congregation, The Hubele family sang, we had a message about the stone being rolled away from the tomb, and were asked to considered what stones we had in our lives that prevented us from fully leaning on Jesus.  We then fellowshipped with other believers, Haitian and white, around a potluck breakfast.  What a wonderful way to start such a special day.  Dorothy likes to think of Easter as the first day of the year for a Christian.  Hallelujah!  He is risen!

Easter dinner together

The three families, plus Don and a Haitian student, Junior, ate our Easter meal together, each family making it’s own but sharing in dessert. 

What did we do while the 11 were here?  Cooked, laundered, cleaned; cooked, laundered, cleaned; and cooked laundered and cleaned some more for 14 hours each day. 

Last evening a new visiting professor, Chris along with another young couple, Jason and Jessie arrived.  They are all from Northridge, Kansas.  Chris is teaching the Pauline Epistles for the next two weeks and leaves on May 6^th.  Jason and Jessie are here until this Saturday, the 30^th.  Jason and Jessie would like to come as full-time missionaries in Haiti and this was a bit of a look-see.  Please pray for them.

We also learned this week that a Canadian couple, from southern Ontario, Carol and Rick Folkeringa, will, God willing, be heading for the Haiti field.  Carol and Rick spent a year here in 2006/07.  Carol was the field treasurer and Rick was involved in maintenance.  In fact, it was from Carol that John and I took over from as field treasurer the last time we spent an extended period here.  It took both of us to do what Carol did by herself.  They are a super Christian couple and are what the field missionaries have been praying for.

We are in the home stretch now and have another couple of weeks or so before we leave.  Continue to pray for us as the time draws near for departure. 

“Go forward on the pathway of service, undaunted by possible future obstacles.  Let your heart be cheered by the certainty that whatever difficulty you may face, God will move the stone.”

From our Daily Bread, Volume 2, April 2.

Happy New Year