Late Delivery

So… as I attempt to start this blog, the only thing I can do is hang my head in shame.  I am more aware than you know that it has been over 6 months since my last blog.  While Paul and I were home for Christmas, I would try to divert any questions or references about the blog that would come from those we were visiting with, just because I couldn’t even make a defense to Paul’s gloating eyes.  So please consider this a public apology.  Now down to business.

 We have had a great last 6 months in Haiti.  The majority of our effort and time has been poured into the new Jean Alexis Kuislin Christian Academy that Mission-Haiti has opened this year, that Paul is director of.  As with any pilot year, there have been a lot of learning and mistakes made but we are so excited about the progress of this school.  What makes this school different from the other schools Mission-Haiti is involved in is that opportunities given to these children, some of them very rare for Haiti.  We felt to start this school off on the right foot, we had to start young to create a new culture of education for these students, one that would be very difficult for older students to succumb to.  For example, the expectation of attendance and promptness is higher than most schools in the area.  We have three grades (Pre-Kin 1, Pre-Kin 2, and Kindergarten) with 72 students in all.  The children are taught in both French and English. They are fed twice a day and have opportunities of crafts, play time with toys, and even learning with iPads!  Because of the higher-lever of education and investment we have in this school, sponsorship of students in the JAK Academy is $35 a month, as opposed to $100 a year for elementary students in other schools within the program.  If you are interested in sponsoring a student, please contact Mission-Haiti at info@mission-haiti.org, we have plenty that need to be sponsored!  Anyway, we have 4 excellent Haitian teachers, two in Pre-K 1, one in Pre-K 2 and Kin – both of whom are team-teaching with our missionary teachers from Canada, Cassie and Kristen.  Cassie and Kristen are sisters that come from Canada and have been such a blessing to our team here in Haiti.  They get the joy of living right next door to Paul and I, and are fun to have around.  Feel free to check their blog out too: twoheartsforhaiti.blogspot.com (They blog more than I do, that’s for sure!)

So while Paul isn’t pouring his heart and soul into the new school, he’s running around the rest of the mission making sure things are running smoothly.  He certainly fits the role of Executive Director: Haiti like a hand-in-glove.  Being so personable and likeable, the village loves him; but yet he can command respect and the village responds to that too.  He sure does a great job of bridging the gap between the states and Haiti.  I get so proud when I watch him.  Sometimes I have to remind myself that he’s mine, forever.  He was certainly put in this position as part of a greater plan we did not foresee when we first arrived here.

So needless to say, we are happy here.  A while back, I was sitting up on my rocking chair – working on the seemingly never-ending Master List of sponsors for the student sponsorship program.  Below the balcony I was working on, I hear the sounds of the compound below.  Emmanuel playing early 2000’s worship music and singing at the top of  his lungs in impressive English, Kenold cooking on the gas burner and laughing so hard at the banter going on, he’s reminiscent of Betty Rubble from the Flintstones, and it was then that I realize that my cheeks hurt and realize I’ve been smiling at my life.  Now, I don’t want to give you all any false idea that life is is all roses and Betty Rubble-laughs, sometimes it is hard, many times it is frustrating.  But over all, it is where we are supposed to be.  But it must be a calling to be here.  And we feel, as one of our board members wrote in an email this week, that we are called “for such a time as this.”

Anyway, looking forward we have a very busy spring ahead.  This past fall we haven’t hosted any short-term teams due to the contested election process that has been going on in Haiti this fall, which can cause unrest and unpredictability with traveling to and from Port-au-Prince.  However, things haven’t quite worked out yet, as they still haven’t elected a new president.  The law states the current president needs to be out of office by November 7^th.  So as for now it looks like Haiti may be lead by the parliament.  Could make for an interesting time.  Please be in prayer for this country during this time of transition and uncertainty.

But nonetheless, we are going to start bringing teams back to Mission-Haiti and sure do have quite the schedule set up for February and March especially.  This will be the first time we will be hosting teams, while still having the new school going, and Paul and I the only missionary-leaders on the ground here.  You couple that with being mid-term pregnant (and, yes, for those that are wondering, we plan to deliver back in the states), and it could be a very tiring time for us.  But we’re excited to welcome teams back to share in our life for a week at a time, to see what we are doing, to partner with us, and to return to the states and tell the Mission-Haiti story.

One of the recent excitements I’ve had here in Haiti is just starting to get the vision clinic off the ground.  I hope to grow it into something a little more structured, but for now, I’ve gotten to fit a few people with glasses.  Like last Friday, a lady came in our compound seeking help with vision.  Using a hand-held auto-refractor (fundraised and donated with the help of Shalom Christian Reformed Church and Dr. Jeff Sayler) I found her a pair of glasses (donated by Dr. Jeff Sayler and the Lyons Club of Sioux Falls along with my old stomping ground of the Eye Institute of West Florida) that took her from 20/70 to 20/20!  She was ecstatic.  At her age, I can’t imagine what it would be like to be able to see well for the first time in her life.  And, needless to say, it pumped me up quite a bit too.  I don’t expect 20/20 for these people, I just want to help improve as much as I can, so this was an unexpected slam dunk!

Other than that, not a whole lot has been going on lately.  I feel like I’ve spent more time stateside than in Haiti recently as my whole month of November was spent in the states, starting out as a little vacation which turned into the passing of my grandmother.  And then again another month from Mid-Decemeber to Mid-January.  It was sweet time getting to spend with some family and even friends I haven’t seen in many years.  But much of this time Paul and I were apart.  I tell you, long-distance marriage is not for us.  On the sweet occasion that the Internet would permit Skyping, Paul and I would just giggle like teenagers when we got to see one another’s faces.  We know that we have another episode of long-distance marriage coming up for us later this spring, so we are trying to enjoy the moments we have together now.

Well… I think that’s all I’ve got for now.  Thanks for taking the time to read, support, and pray for us.  Again, we can’t do any of this without you.  I’ll try to do a better job of keeping you all in the loop as you all are a big part of this.

Thanks and we love you all.