THE WAITING GAME

Ti Boone (new security dog)
waits most mornings for his pat
on the head

This week has been a waiting game while we continue to do things around the house to make the professors feel at home:  doing the final laundering of sheets and curtains in their rooms, laundering towels and sheets from the smaller home on the compound as we will have 4 more guests coming in next week and two will have to sleep in that home; baking cookies; baking muffins, and revising the 4-week menu planner to reflect what is currently in the cupboards and the number of guests.

Dorothy waited for her tooth to start feeling better while the amoxicillin took away the inflammation of an abscess and we ask you to pray this week that it is cleared up and that she can wait until we come home during the first week of December to see a dentist.  She has been advised by our dentist that she will likely require a root canal and would prefer to have it done at home and not in the US. 

Dorothy waited for her birthday this week.  She is now officially an old age pensioner (So now you know how old she is, you can immediately forget it!).  Stacey and Matt had a lovely supper for her on Tuesday night with candles and all. 

Water pounding in at
Black Beach last yaer

We waited for water on Thursday morning.  We lost power around 6:00 a.m. in the middle of someone’s shower (not saying whose shower).  When the power goes out the water shuts down.  The generator was turned on about 10 minutes later too late, however,  to get the rest of the shampoo rinsed out.

We both waited for our anniversary on Friday.  Unfortunately, we didn’t fly away to a tropical island because we are already here, we didn’t have pork tenderloin for supper because that is nearly an impossibility here but we did both remember this year to bring one another lovely cards and we reminisced about our lives together.  We are so, so happy that we both love the Lord and that He is the centre of our marriage.

One of John’s older sisters, Buffy, had triple by-pass surgery on Monday so we waited for news of the outcome on Tuesday.  Her husband let us know through e-mail that all went well and that she looks good even with all the paraphernalia sticking out of her.  We, along with others, have been praying for her and we ask you to pray along with us that her recovery will be quick.  We always want things in our time, don’t we, not His time?  It takes a lot of patience often to wait for His perfect timing.

We waited for the first day of returning to class for the students this past Monday. It was so great to hear the first swell of a hymn from the students, Oh happy day when Jesus washed my sins away.  We have a very special friend who is a student.  He came over to see us following classes.  His English is much improved since we first met him in the fall of 2007.  He asked us how we “passed” our summer and we asked him what he did on his school holiday. Some holiday he had!  He preached, lead Bible study classes with several different groups each week, tagged along with Pastor Job (whose school St. Andrew’s supports) up to Grison Garde where they did some evangelizing taught Sunday School, sang in the choir and the list went on and on.  After hearing his list of things he did on his summer vacation we felt bad after telling him we were in Ireland for two weeks.

And lastly, we have been waiting for the ants to retreat.  There seems to be a plethora of them.  They were in the cupboards, in the drawers, in the bathrooms and almost everywhere else.  We sprayed them with “Baygon”, a product that is available here, (We’ve been told it has Agent Orange in it.) we’ve washed them down with bleach and squished them.  Dorothy remembers asking a question last year about the same time.  Why did God put ants on the ground?  The answer comes in the Bible, Proverbs 6:6.  “Go to the ant, O sluggard, observe her ways and be wise, which, having no chief officer or ruler, prepares her food in the summer and gathers her provision in the harvest,” and Proverbs 30:25, “The ants are not a strong people, but they prepare their food in the summer.”

In closing, Dorothy noticed an advertisement in a magazine she bought in the US to poke through while on the way here.  Picture this – in very large print, “be well”.  Underneath is a bottle with a lot of soap bubble floating around it and on it.  The words on the bottle say, “Every day give yourself a good mental shampoo.”  At the bottom of the page in the right had corner read the name Sara Murray Jordan, MD, Physician, 1884-1959.  Dorothy thought the words on the bottle should read, “Every day give yourself a good spiritual shampoo by reading God’s word.”

Now may the Lord of peace Himself continually grant you peace in every circumstance.  The Lord be with you all!  1 Timothy 3:16

www.jdmblogspot.com

PRAISES ALONG WITH THE USUAL "STUFF"

Sunrise this week

So much is happening in Haiti, but so little is happening in The McCluskey’s little world on the Emmaus Seminary campus where the students have been on a two week study break. Classes begin again on Monday.  This past Monday was a national holiday in celebration of one of the heroes of the revolution of 1804.  I am sure that Haiti must have more statutory holidays than any other country I can think of.

The week before saw the start of the public/private school academic year and we understand that the government has provided funding for additional students.  However, there was some confusion as to where this additional funding was being allocated.  We are told that each of the departments (provinces/states) was given funding for 20,000 student places.  This, in turn, caused some delay in the start-up of the private schools such as those that are supported by St. Andrew's Presbytrian Church that fill the gap between government schools and no school. 

All this is in addition to the more than half a million people who are still living in make-shift camps in and around Port-au-Prince waiting for accommodation so that they can regain some semblance of their former lives.  Two nights this past week we had torrential rains and you could not help but think about how the people in these camps are surviving in such conditions.  OMS is trying to do its part building housing with the the monies that were donated to earthquake relief.

On a local note, this week we were once again reminded of how much voodoo is a part of the Haitian culture.  There is a river close by that flows into the ocean near Labadee and apparently an especially large fish swam up the river where it was sighted by villagers who immediately took this to be a sign from the voodoo gods.  I am not sure whether it was an omen of good or for bad, but obviously it meant something to someone.  On Wednesday night as we drove past you could see a small shrine that had been built down by the river with candles and other symbols of voodoo.

Ma Bel and her daughter
 with groceries and eggs

Maxi bringing in Supplies

The Penny Inn

The Penny Inn Gallery

Our concerns seem so petty when compared with what the average Haitian must deal with on a daily basis.  We continue to work away preparing for next weekend when the first of our guests arrive.  The house is clean, the shelves and refrigerator are stocked with food, and all is ready or is as ready as it is going to get.  The heat and humidity, 87 degrees F., can be a little overwhelming so we have been pacing ourselves trying not to do too much all at once.  As it is we take two and three showers a day, and many times our clothes are so wet with perspiration you would think we had just been caught in a rain shower.  (I’m sure you needed to know that.)  We can’t wait for the cooler weather when it gets down to 60 degrees F. overnight.  Unfortunately, that doesn’t happen until January and February.

Wednesday we attended the missionary prayer meeting and heard about what has been happening around the compound.  A huge Praise the Lord is for Dr. Rodney, the Haitian doctor overseeing the Bethesda Medical Clinic on the compound.  About 3 weeks ago he had a burst appendix and was taken to the hospital at Milot in very serious condition where emergency surgery was performed.  He spent several days in the hospital, and then returned to stay on the compound at the home of the OMS interim director.  His own home is on the compound with his wife and children but he needed rest and would not get it there.  The interim director has been able to “police” the number of people visiting and the amount of time they spend with him so he does not tire too easily.  Dr. Rodney had his staples removed this week and is well on the way to recovery.  He has attributed his recovery to all the people praying for him in a very eloquent speech at his church last Sunday. 

Our friend and neighbour, Stacey Ayars, has been very sick this week but is feeling a whole lot better. This is a Praise the Lord because He provided a doctor from Erie, PA on the compound just at the right time to make a house call and give Stacey the appropriate med she needed.

This week for several nights now Dorothy has had a very bad toothache.  The right side of her face just seems to flare up.  She was able to contact her dentist by e-mail at home to see if we might be able to figure out what is the problem over the net.  It appears that in all liklihood the problem is an abcess for which antibiotics were prescribed.  Hopefully, the Bethesda Medical Clinic will have the antibiotic or something similar to address the infection, but we won't know until Monday when the clinic pharmacy is once again open for business.  One of our devotions this week talked about casting our burden on the Lord and went on to say that God invites us to burden Him with what burdens us. Please pray for Dorothy this week.

As Paul says in Ephesians 6:23-24:  Peace be to the brethren, and love with faith, from God the Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.  Grace be with all those who love our Lord Jesus Christ with incorruptible love.

www.jdmblogspot.com

BORING, BORING, BORING. IT READS LIKE A TRAVELOGUE

Loaded to the top

October 6, 6:06 a.m., pulling away from Tim’s in Elora evoked a strong feeling of “let’s get on with the long drive to Florida”.  Our early morning prayer was for the Lord to meet the needs of those we hold dear at home while we are away and for safety on the road as we drove. And drive we did, 2,800 km to Fort Pierce.  The direct route is 2200 km, but we broke up the normal 2-day trip with a stopover in Williamsburg, VA (13 hours later) at the Powhaten Resort for two days before we picked up the trip again Sunday morning and drove to Orlando, FL for another two day layover arriving in Fort Pierce on Wed to stop at the MFI, unload all the totes and our luggage to be weighed in for the trip into Haiti on the 13^th.

Powhaten Resort

Powhaten grounds

The Long Drive

Those of you who have driven long distances with others in the car know that you play games, listen to CD’s (We don’t have anything more exciting than that.), try not to bug the driver or drive for him/her (Dorothy finds that very difficult!) so yes, we watched for licence plates. We are up to 41 states including Alaska.  We listened to the first Jan Karon book of The Mitford Series, At Home in Mitford.  I know many women will have read this series but I doubt very much that you men have been convinced to do so.  John quite enjoyed it because of its message.  It is written in a folksy style with a very clear, simple message, the message of salvation, ask our Father for forgiveness of your sins and ask Him to enter your heart and be your personal Saviour. Live for Him daily and become better acquainted with Him each day.



Orlando Resort Thanksgiving afternoon R &R

During the drive to Orlando a very bad rain storm was passing through Georgia and North Florida with flooding in some low lying areas.  We saw one accident that looked rather nasty and entrusted those folks to the Lord.  We did see another as well just outside Washington and could only pray that no one was in the passenger seat as that car had crashed sideways into a utility pole.  

We spent Thanksgiving Day evening having supper in an “Olive Garden” – not much turkey on the menu!  However, Dorothy did ask if there was any dessert that was made with pumpkin and was assured there was pumpkin cheesecake.  It was pure delight.  As we were chatting over our meal John made the comment that the GDP of Disney World in Orlando all by itself probably exceeds that of Haiti.

We are now officially in Haiti, and have taken up residence in the “Penny Inn”, the guest house for visiting professors and guests.  We had some major unpacking to do what with the ten plastic totes that we left here last May, the eleven totes we brought with us, plus suitcases, etc.  We wonder how the ordinary Haitian survives when they could in all likelihood pack all their worldly possessions in one or two totes. 

We took some time out to complete the 5 km run/walk on Saturday, and, while one of us completed the 5 km, the other managed only about 1 km if we are very generous in calculating what constitutes a kilometre.  We hope and pray that the run/walk in Fergus was a success and that the weather cooperated and wasn’t too hot!   We thank you so much for participating in all the St. Andrew’s mission to Haiti events.

By the way, if you want to know what happens all around us at the Emmaus Biblical Seminary check out our next door neighbours’ blog, mshaiti.blogspot.com.

May the peace of Christ be with you all,

jdmhaiti.blogspot.com

HO HUM STUFF-NOT VERY EXCITING

Mission to Haiti – October 9, 2011

We are now on our way back to Haiti with the SUV once again loaded to the roof with everything from soup to the kitchen sink, while not quite, but very close.  We are driving to Fort Pierce, Florida where we will board a Missionary Flights International DC 3 (World War II vintage) and fly from there to Cap Haitien with a stop-over in the Bahamas to refuel.

As we did last year we will be hosting visiting professors who have come to the Emmaus Biblical Seminary to teach 2 week intensive courses of approximately 30 hours on everything from the Pauline Epistles to Family Counselling.  However, unlike last year where the time frame as to when the visiting professors were to teach was spread out through the academic year, this year we will have visiting professors for 4 weeks during the month of November, and 6 weeks during the months of March and April.  This will allow us to come home in early December, return to Haiti in mid-February, and return home again in mid-April.

This trip will also allow us to visit the 4 schools and orphanage that St. Andrew’s supports through its Haiti Mission in partnership with the Pastors, School Directors and Orphanage Administration so that we can then report back to the many people both within St. Andrew’s and the wider community who provide the much needed financial support that makes this mission a possibility.  We are still not sure whether you all realize what a great and amazing thing you are doing for the children of Haiti.  Without you the vast majority of these children would never see the inside of a school, let alone learn how to read, write or do their numbers.  Without you the vast majority of these children would be nothing more than one more statistic of Haiti’s failure to address the most basic needs of its children.  Without you the vast majority of these children would lack any hope of a future that was not filled with hunger, sickness and desperation.

This is why we encourage you to support the “Race for the Children of Haiti” run/walk on Saturday, October 15^th.  The $10,000 in revenue that HEARTS hopes to raise from the run/walk represents 25% of the total amount that is sent to Haiti each year.  Get a race form from the church office; find a few friends, co-workers or family to sponsor you.  Or, if you are unable to walk or run find someone who will be and sponsor them. 

We will be doing our run/walk in Haiti very early Saturday morning to avoid the heat of the day.  We have asked family and friends who know how passionately we feel about the children of Haiti to sponsor us and they have been very generous.  Wouldn’t it be great if instead of the $10,000 that HEARTS is hoping to raise, more than $12,000 to $15,000 were raised instead?  With your support, enthusiasm and prayers anything is possible.   Why?  Because nothing is impossible with God.

As we leave Dorothy is still recouping from surgery and tires very easily so we also ask that you continue to keep us in your prayers and pray specifically for strength for us both in order to get the guest house in ship shape prior to guests arriving.

HAPPY THANKSGIVING TO YOU ALL.  We will try to find a Thanksgiving meal on Monday in Florida but if not, we can still celebrate ALL our blessings.  We will find joy in the God of our salvation. 

The peace of Christ,

www.jdmhaiti.blogspot.com

PS.  If I knew how to use our new computer properly I'd have more pics.  Be patient.  Technology is not our forte!

Did the McCluskey’s Disappear? No! Read On

October 3, 2011

Asian Lillies

Small flower bed mid-yard

Bubba with Amelia and Charlotte

Jamie

Bill and Julie

The McCluskey’s have been home in Elora, Ontario since the third week in May.  Summer just started happening immediately. We visited over the course of the summer with family and friends, worked on “McCluskey Park” a lot (our back yard), Dorothy preached one Sunday at the end of July, we purchased a new laptop and have been struggling with it ever since, we travelled to Ireland for two weeks in August for Julie Briggs’ wedding and a “wee” look-see around in both Ireland and Northern Ireland while we were there, Dorothy had some surgery the first of September, and as of today, we have 3 more days before we leave for Haiti again to work with Matt and Stacey Ayars at the Emmaus Biblical Seminary. 

Just another of those castles
 around every corner

This is a bird’s eye view of the last 4 plus months.  We promise to do much better with blog entries that are worthwhile reading.  Check back again.

You will be glad to know something you already know but it’s always worth reading or hearing it over and over again.

God loves each one of us very, very much.