October/November Trip
NOVEMBER 6, 2018
Remember Joidley needed his tonsils out? Joidley had his surgery and all went well! He will stay in the hospital tonight and if all goes well will go home tomorrow. Thank you for your prayers! Pray for rapid complete healing.
NOVEMBER 2, 2018
Have you been wondering what happened to the shuttle bus? Well, it’s in the port of St Marc now! It arrived late on October 30 and we had to wait for the manifest before we could get it. Then we had two holidays in a row here. All Saints Day Nov 1, and All Souls Day Nov 2. Why couldn’t we get it Oct 31? Because typical Haiti style they take the day before a holiday off too. And then of course there is the weekend and nothing gets done on the weekend. So you would think we could get it on Monday. NOPE! I HAVE NO IDEA WHY! So we expect to pick it up on Tuesday. That is 6 days it is sitting in port. I’m just praying nothing has happened to it. Will I even have a bus left? Please pray it is ok and nothing happens to it. The Lord has got this!!
Hurry up and wait! And so the chaos begins. We are at the hospital with Joidley to see if he can have his surgery today. As we are waiting for the doctor I see he still has a runny nose and a little cough so I’m not sure if it will happen yet. They can not find his paperwork so we are hoping the doctor kept it. Pray for the paperwork to be found and for wisdom for the doctor.
We also have two children from Kay Timoun yo with us. Moise has a club foot and he is waiting to see an orthopedic specialist to find out what can be done for him.
And our newest member of the home is Christie, a 3month old baby with a LOT of issues. (More on her later) She is here for tests, not sure what kind.
Please pray for each of these children as we wait on the doctors. Joidley especially as he is very hungry but can’t eat until he sees the doctor. ��Pray for wisdom for the doctors and provision for each child’s needs. Mesi anpil! Thank you!
OCTOBER 28, 2018
Another week has gone by and what a blessing it has been. Buzzy has a passion for education and this week was full of it. Monday Buzzy brought Titi a French/Portuguese dictionary and was helping him learn some Portuguese while Pastor Joel picked cherries from my tree. We went to visit Titi’s family and see his son Gustavo returning from school. Barbara was arriving later.
Then we picked up Buzzy’s sponsor child Fladens and took him to lunch. They spent the afternoon playing cards and talking about family and future.
Tuesday we took computers, my router, generator and a fan up to Pastor Joel’s house so Buzzy could work with the girls on the internet. His three oldest, Tabitha, Bilah, and Hannah, have graduated high school and are preparing for college. Buzzy has had a lot of experience in this area and she was able to bless Pastor Joel’s girls with her knowledge. While they worked on that Pastor Joel and I went to St Marc to get medications needed for Joidley and supplies for truck maintenance.
Wednesday while the truck was getting its quarterly maintenance, Buzzy and I worked on sanding and repainting our chalkboards, with real chalkboard paint this time. We had a visit from a couple of boys, from some of the sponsored families, that knew Buzzy.
Thursday we went to visit A Light of Hope Discipleship school. Pastor Joel and our carpentry class had done a lot of the renovation work and built the beds and a desk there. Buzzy wanted to see the work they had done, and I wanted to see the school in action. It’s beautiful and it was a blessing to see these women learning the word of God. In the afternoon, Buzzy was hard at work again working with Pastor Joel’s girls. This time at my house. We set up all the computers I had and they took TOEFL practice tests. While they were doing that we had men working on the wall in the back of our place. I noticed that where the outdoor toilet was the wall was considerably lower. So they raised the wall higher to prevent anyone from attempting entry. We also had them cut the trees back in preparation for the shuttle bus arrival. which should be next week sometime. My heart broke to see them chopping off branches from the cherry tree and mango tree. But the driveway is ready and they saved the mangoes!
Friday they were still working on the wall, adding a beam over the top of the cement blocks. Pastor Joel Museau demonstrated how to make the triangle pieces for the rebar beams. We drove Joidley to his follow up appointment with the doctor to see if he is improving. The doctor said he needs to continue the medicine but there is a good chance he will be ready for surgery next week.
Saturday we drove to Port au Prince at 5 am to get Buzzy to the airport for an early flight home. Then we went shopping for truck needs. We bought a new battery that cost way too much! Then we went to the auto parts section of downtown Port au Prince to buy a new windshield. Our windshield was cracked and so badly scratched you could hardly see out of it. I hung out in the junkyard/”repair shop” while we had it installed. My life is full of strange adventures and that was one of the more fascinating ones! Really, how many of you can say you spent the day in a junk yard in downtown Port au Prince?
We returned early enough in the afternoon that I got ambitious and chopped some of the plants around the house that were growing too tall. It was fun learning to swing my huge machete!
Today was a day of rest. I skipped church to spend the day with the Lord in prayer. I needed to get refocused.
OCTOBER 21, 2018
Sunday to Sunday, this week has been amazing! Last Sunday I enjoyed worshipping with Pastor Joel’s Home Church. Then after church Pastor joel and I delivered food, backpacks and water to Marie Nicole’s family in Troufonban. The girls were so excited to get new backpacks for school. Then they helped bring all their jugs to the truck to fill them. We filled lots of jugs (with a tiny little pitcher) and hauled buckets of water to fill Marie Nicole’s barrel in her house.
We did more food deliveries and sponsorship funds on Monday to the orphanages. We had to cross the river to Pierre Payen again. �� Tuesday was a medical day. We spent almost the whole day at the Pierre Payen hospital with two boys who had ear issues. Paulson had his ears cleaned and has medicine to help heal his ears. He will need a CT scan to get a better idea of what is going on in his left ear. He can’t hear in his left ear. Joidley will need his tonsils out. Please pray for healing for these boys.
Thursday Buzzy Gogny arrived from California to help me out this week. As we were arriving home we came across a lobster fisherman and he sold us 5 lobsters for 1600gds, which is the equivalent of about $22. We called Marie Claude our cook and had a delicious meal of lobster in creole sauce with beans and rice. To make the meal we needed coconut so Pastor Joel used my machete and chopped one down from my tree and cut it open for her.
Friday Pastor Frito and Madam Frito came over to talk schooling for the children. Pastor Joel wasn’t there at first so I had to do my best to talk with them in creole. I didn’t do too bad. But I didn’t understand everything so when Pastor Joel arrived we got it all figured out. During that time, David Ferdinand, Pastor Frito’s son, came and talked with Buzzy. He is a musician and also directs the orphanage’s little orchestra. They are involved with Blume, and organization of musicians that bring instruments to poor areas and teach children how to play them. David is very involved with the organization. She brought him sheet music, and a clarinet of his own!
Saturday we packed up Manna Pack meals for the families. We were given a few bags of beans from Help for Haiti so we divided up a 50# bag and gave some to each family too. After we got them all packed up we went to the homes and delivered them to the families.
Sunday we enjoyed worshipping with Joel’s Home church again. I was asked to pray the closing prayer! I prayed in Creole and I did pretty ok! After church we went to Pierre Payen orphanage and enjoyed a concert by the children. They use borrowed instruments and have to share some of them. We are hoping to get them instruments of their own someday. It was a good week!
OCTOBER 16, 2018
The last few days of the team’s trip were busy and a blessing. Thursday especially, we packed a lot in starting with Pastor Ron teaching a CPR class to the caregivers of all three orphanages. We now have 9 more people in Haiti who know how to save a life if they need to. While Ron was teaching Jani prepared a wonderful lunch for everyone.
In the afternoon we followed our traveling nurse, Sister Joel, as she made her rounds to the orphanages. The men measured itty bitty feet at Kay Refij while Jani and I played with little ones. They got a good look at the orphanage and Kay Plant. Then while Sister Joel was nursing at Kay Timoun yo, Jani and Ron shopped for souvenirs. When our teams purchase souvenirs from Mackencia, they are helping her earn money to care for the children. It’s a win win! Scott was passing out m&ms to the children while Sister Joel was checking them out.
We got a little side tracked on our way home as we were told of a single mother with two children that wanted to give up her children to one of our orphanages. So we went to visit her at home and talk with her. We will be trying to get a sponsor for her family until she can get established again. Watch for more about her soon.
Friday morning we drove the team to St Marc to experience another part of Haiti. We needed to buy some medicine for a family and get a few tools. The team can now say they survived crossing the street in St Marc. What’s the big deal? Ask them…
On the way back we stopped alongside the road to watch Water 4 Haiti digging a new well for a community. Our friend Sammy is the director and Scott wanted to say Hi, while there we were able to see how a well was dug by hand. It was 45 feet deep so they were pumping oxygen down into the hole. Fascinating! When we left the community ladies were already enjoying the benefits of the new well.
This being their last day and the weather finally cooperating with us, we went to the beach so they could do a little swimming in the Caribbean. It was warm and had a little surge, but it was fun!
We were up at 4:30am to get the team to the airport early enough to catch their flight.
It was sad to see the team go. It got quiet around here and I have no one to play dominoes with now. Ti Chat doesn’t play by the rules.
OCTOBER 10, 2018
And the adventures begin again! Sunday the team joined Pastor Joel’s home church in worship and the word. Pastor Ron was asked to preach with very short notice… like that morning!! But he did a great job and it was a very good teaching on “renemn agape.” (agape love) It’s always a joy and an experience to worship with our Haitian brothers and sisters. After church Scott and I wanted to treat Pastor Joel’s family so we took them to Moulin Sur Mer beach resort for lunch. It was quite a contrast to the rest of Montrouis. It was enjoyed by all.
Monday morning we sorted backpacks and school supplies then we went to visit Fondational Kay Timoun, Mackencia’s orphanage. Jani and I brought little games to play and projects to do, while Scott and Ron measured little feet and big feet. We’re preparing for when the bus arrives with shoes. The team got a good look at the conditions of the orphanage and all that needs to be done.
Tuesday was market day! We walked the market, I bought some things I needed and the team got a good taste of the common everyday shopping for a Haitian living here. Richard N Bev Felmey invited us over for lunch and the team was able to see where My Sheep Ministry is based. We had a nice visit with them. We were too tired to go any where else and it started raining so we rested the rest of the day, even played a little dominoes.
Wednesday we spent the morning in prayer. The Lord impressed on me that we need to lift up this nation and its government, the earthquake victims, the orphanages and families we minister to, as well as United Hearts Haiti. It was a blessed time and very powerful. Then we packed it up and headed for Pierre Payen to go to the Jesus of Nazareth orphanage. Due to the rains every evening, we weren’t sure we would make it across the river. But we did! We had a nice visit with the children and Scott & Ron measured feet again. They gave the team a tour of the facilities and once again I cringed at the sight of those horrible bathrooms. Oh Lord they need new bathrooms! But I was pleased to see that they had started some of the work. They are trying little by little to build new bathrooms.
It rained again on the way back home. It sure has kept us cool every evening!
Ron will be teaching CPR to some of the caregivers from each orphanage tomorrow. Pray it all goes well!
OCTOBER 6, 2018
We made it to Haiti! Pastor Ron Eroen, Jani Sue, Scott Schmeckpeper and myself arrived yesterday. We got ourselves settled in and rested from our travels. Today we sorted clothing we brought that had been donated for the children. We distributed several dresses and some T-shirts to some of the neighborhood girls and boys. I wish I had gotten pictures of the neighborhood children, but I was having too much fun picking out what would fit who. Thanks Dawn N Eric Buchanan and Natalie Chavolla for all the children’s clothes!
It’s been raining off and on all day so we didn’t get out much. We did go to Guerschom Charles shop to have him help us with getting our internet up and running. Then we cruised through town to pick up water, bread and go to the National gas station to grab an ice cream. Tomorrow is church at Pastor Joel’s home church.
Please pray for Port de Paix. They had a 5.9 earthquake tonight. That’s way north near Cap Haitian, but we felt it here in Montrouis! I don’t know anymore details. Please just pray for the people of the area.
