a BIG thank you.

These last few days we have been particularly struck with a desire to write every single one of our supporters a thank you card!

What we are living right now is what your support is all about! You all started supporting us when we were only able to talk about what we were going to do in Haiti. But this very day, we are doing it, and it is because of you.We longed to move to Haiti so that we could entwine our lives with the lives of many Haitian people...telling them about and showing them the Lord, showing them a life transformed by grace, living alongside of them and bringing His change and His light to their lives.

And that is what we are doing! We are getting to know people and setting up ways to live alongisde of them for A LONG TIME....already we can see so many ways, big and small, that we can help them, bless them, share Christ with them and allow Him to change them. On Monday, 65 students will move onto the Seminary campus that IS our backyard, and we will be able to entwine ourselves with them, as well.

We are just SO THANKFUL to you for making this possible.

In just a first small and concrete way, this week we gave a job to four different people. One man, a father of 8 children, will help us by watering our plants. In turn, we get to work with him everyday, talk with him, share with him, help him send his kids to school, and help educate the upcoming generation of Haiti! We were also able to hire a 30 year old woman to help me learn how to cook Haitian style :) Everyday she will be in our home with us, allowing us to work with her and share with her and pray with her! We also each hired a lanugage helper, two young people who we get to sit and talk to for 5 hours every single week! Life on life...

Not only do we love it, but it is a true fulfillment of one of the things He has clearly called us to here in Haiti.

THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU for living your lives up there in a way that allows us to touch lives down here! As you go about your day today, KNOW that YOU are making small changes in Haiti, one life at a time.

All for His glory.

a good day

When I see things like this in Haiti, I wonder what crazy things Haitians would choose to take pictures of if they came to America! We're not sure whether this fridge was supposed to be going up or down, but we ARE sure that we would NOT be standing under it holding only a 2x4!!!

This second photo is from our compound. Majestic mountains rise up all around us...they seem to be almost surreal when you stand in the dusty streets surrounded by threadbare goats and women selling fruit and begging children and then look up to see such glorious cliffs.

It was our true joy yesterday to join the other teachers for our first staff meeting at the seminary. These are men and women whom we have been praying for for such a long time, people we have longed to work alongside for over a year. It was a joy to get to know them and their hearts just a little bit. We are now united as we prepare for a new school year with 65 students wanting to know how to better bring Hope and Christ to their people...It is a good day to be in the body of Christ, family!

"All nations whom You have made
shall come and worship before You,
O Lord,
And they shall glorify Your name.
For You are great and do wondrous deeds;
You alone are God.
Teach me Your way, O God;
I will walk in Your truth;
I will give thanks to You
with all my heart."
Psalm 86:9

shopping & driving & church...oh my!

What a busy weekend! (yes, already!) Yesterday we went grocery shopping for the first time. I wish I could accurately describe what this is like! It took around 4 hours to go to 3 small stores that are literally 4 or 5 miles from our house. We went to two "stores" and one bakery. On the way we passed this man, who was, with the help of only one person in the back, pulling all of these mattresses to town!

The stores consisted of a small dark room, with several shelves, and mostly expired products from everywhere BUT Haiti. My "grocery list" quickly became a joke. Instead, you walk around the store trying to think of what you could make with the food items you saw there! Our mayo jar is in Arabic, and we found 10 different spices but no baking soda, and a few old cans of Slim-Fast, but no fruits or vegetables. I will have to start thinking more creatively. I was suprised to find that the prices were the same or higher than they are in the US. A regular can of Crisco was $13 US!

However, the stores were right on the water, and though the bay was filled with garbage, for a moment it was truly enjoyable to feel the breeze and smell the salty air and watch the palm trees sway! The Lord designed that special moment just for us, I think, to keep us from getting too overwhelmed.

Today we picked up our Seminary Director, Dr. Bill Cooper, from the airport and headed to church. The church we attended was in the middle of one of the poorest areas in Cap-Haitien. Once we entered the church, however, we were blessed by the strong choruses of over 300 Haitian brothers and sisters. Church lasted 3 hours, after which we were able to meet up with about a dozen other missionaries and missionary kids for lunch.

Tonight we have dinner with the doctor who runs the OMS medical clinic on our compound. Tomorrow we start staff meetings for the new school year!

We are wishing we could be with family this first Sunday, but are grateful for some new friendships and many new experiences. This journey God has called us on is looking to be an adventure, for sure!

Thank you for your thoughts, prayers, support, emails and love!

for such is God...

We are settling right in and starting to learn how things work (or don't :) around here! It is almost like learning everything all over again: laundry and cooking and cleaning and shopping are all completely different than what we are used to! Stacey is learning to make bread and Matt is figuring out how to deal with the water and electricity. Just this morning, I (Stacey) decided to sift the flour before using it because it seemed like the flour was very heavy...It's a good thing I did, because there were several small worms left in my sifter when I had finished! Just another reality of life in Haiti...flour comes with worms!

We are very thankful for this time to figure these things out before we dive into our ministry at the seminary on Monday. The currency is all different, as well, so we're trying to conquer the equation for our trips to the market.

These first four pictures are of our home, view from the front door, and our backyard. The final picture is of what may become our next home! It is one of the first completed buildings on the new seminary compound, and, as you can see, is a beautiful home! The other buildings (classrooms, dorms, cafeteria and library) are all coming along well. It is expected that the seminary will be able to start on this compound in a year or two! It is amazing to picture having such a beautiful place that is completely dedicated to training up pastors in Haiti, as we are!

Thank you for your continued thoughts and prayers...there is still much to get used to!

"For such is God,
our God forever and ever;
He will guide us until death."
Psalm 48:14

home

I don't think it's really hit us yet that we are here, and that we now live here, and that Haiti is now our home! We had a beautiful, if not rather long, day of travel yesterday. Upon finally landing in Haiti, some 5 hours after departing Florida, it took us a little over 2 hours to get all of our things and then get through "customs". This consisted of a woman with a box cutter slicing open anything that looking interesting :) However, all of our things made it through, with just one final trunk coming in on Thursday.

Once we got everything loaded up, we had our first look at Haiti in a long time. Driving through the hot dusty streets of Cap-Haitien was bittersweet...overwhelming and peaceful at the same time. Looking into people's eyes as you bump along reminded us why we are here. Seeing the poverty, smelling the garbage and realizing that this is now our home would have been quite difficult if we had not so clearly felt His hand upon us yesterday.

We moved in yesterday evening and some more this morning, and are almost settled in. Today, we tackle grocery shopping and our first day of language learning.

We have so much to be thankful for! All of our things arrived safely and on time. WE arrived safely and on time :) We have internet in our home, meaning that we had a dozen emails last night from friends and family upon our arrival! We have been blessed by several of the missionaries here who have had us over for meals, purchased some basic food items for us, and have helped us learn how to maintain batteries and inverters and power. We have water we can drink coming right out of the tap, and a shower with warm water! And we have your prayers, for which we are most grateful!

Trust in the Lord and do good;
Dwell in the land and cultivate faithfulness.
Delight yourself in the Lord and
He will give you the desires of your heart.

Psalm 37:3

for His glory

Please pray for us as we travel these next two days and as we begin this next step of His journey for our lives!
This is the verse we pray for you and ask that you pray for us...

"To this end also we pray for you always,
that our God will count you worthy of your calling,
and fulfill every desire for goodness
and your work of faith with power,
so that the name of our Lord Jesus will be glorified in you,
and you in Him, according to the grace of God."

2 Thessalonians 1:11-12

so happy together

It was so good to have time with the Ayars' family in Delaware, and now it is so good to have time with the whole White family. We played our favorite family sport last night and just enjoyed being together.

"In Your presence is fullness of joy;
In Your right hand there are pleasures forever."
Psalm 16:11

she's home...

Lisa (Stacey's sister) is finally home from her summer in Namibia. She had a wonderful summer and has so many amazing memories and stories. Lisa is now fully prepared to come visit us in Haiti.

We are missing our families already :(

"But it is still my consolation,
and I rejoice in any unsparing pain,
that I have not denied the words of the Holy One."
Job 6:10

happy...goodbye

Today is a busy day!

Happy Birthday, Laura! Our sister-in-law turns 24 today...wish we could be there to celebrate you, Laura, but we are so blessed to have you in our lives!

Good-bye, Bexley! Bex, (pictured top row, far left) Stacey's best friend and college room-mate, leaves for her first 3 year missionary term in Africa today. God's sense of irony is displayed here, as that both girls met on the first day of college in 2001, pursued the Lord's call on their individual lives, and leave for full-time foreign missionary service exactly one week apart!

Also, Elisa and Maria (pictured front row) are visiting us in Columbus until tomorrow! It is great to be with them and to be able to catch up before we all head off in the many directions that He's leading us.

Finally, Lisa, Stacey's sister (pictured top row, next to Stacey) is returning from Namibia to the US today, and to Ohio tomorrow. This has been such a life-changing summer for her, and we CANNOT WAIT to have her home and have a few days to spend with her before we leave on Monday!

As you can tell, the Lord is continuing to provide for all of our needs...."only be strong and courageous."

family & friends

The funeral went well, and we were able to spend some good time with Stacey's family before we leave in ONE WEEK. Our friends, Maria and Elisa, are here for a few days, and we are thankful to be done packing and almost done preparing!

several unexpected blessings

Despite the funeral tomorrow morning, there have been several unexpected blessings scattering through our days...

We were able to contact Stacey's sister, Lisa, in Namibia, which has proved to be quite difficult.

Also, we are going to be able to see the large majority of Stacey's family on her mother & father's sides, something that would not have happened before leaving for Haiti.

The travel also sets aside more than 2 full days to be with Stacey's immediate family, something else that probably would not have happened.

Thank you for your prayers during this hard time. Stacey's mom used to say all of the time: "He has not brought us this far to abandon us now!" Once again, she's right...

Grandma Katie

Stacey's grandmother went to be with the Lord yesterday. Please be praying for Stacey's dad and his sister, as that they just lost their mother. The funeral will be Saturday, and we are so thankful to be able to be there and spend time with family. Thank you for your prayers!

the never ending...

...packing job! It is quite a challenge to think about everything you might need and might not be able to get before you even get there :) We are tying up lose ends, working on lesson plans, seeing a few old friends and finishing packing this week. Our lesson plans must all be preapred in Creole, which is proving to be an added challenge! Stacey's sister will finally be home from Namibia, Africa next Wednesday, so we are trying to have everything finished by then.

Please be praying that He would continue to prepare us and give us peace to move to Haiti on August 21st!

nowhere we'd rather be

I (Stacey) am not a "change" person. I've never liked change, even when it is a good change! Therefore, I guess it's pretty natural that as we stand on the edge of moving, changing cultures, jobs, languages and leaving home, I would feel pretty apprehensive.

However, I've been working through the Old Testament for the past 2 weeks or so, and without fail He is daily comforting my soul! Continually He is speaking to my heart...not that I will love every change, or even that I will consistently happy in Haiti. Instead, He's constantly affirming in me that HE commands our destiny, our future, our lives. We are in His hand, come what may, and He wil watch over and guide us.

Just last night, 2 Samuel 24:14 gave such affirmation. We see David facing some severe consequences for sinning against the Lord. A prophet comes to him, and outlines several possible punishments for Daniel's disobedience. In the face of some truly terrible things, David speaks in faith. "I am in great distress! Let us now fall into the hand of the Lord, for His mercies are great, but do not let me fall into the hand of man!"

David was terrified to be under the control of anyone but God. We have peace in His hand today, wherever He leads.

"Till He returns, or calls me home, here in the power of Christ I stand!"

7 boxes. 300 lbs. 5 years!

Our good friend Hugo finally heads home to South Africa tomorrow! He's been in the States attending trainings, seminars, and meeting since May, and we were blessed to have him there for our Commissioning. He inspires us to serve faithfully and to keep our priorities in place, and people like that are such a blessing to us right now.

We heard from Stacey's sister, Lisa, yesterday. Her summer in Namibia, Africa is coming to a close, and while we know it will be hard to come home, we miss her!

We are packing like crazy, and finally are almost finished. Today we are working on getting our clothes together. Stacey will not be able to wear any pants or shorts, or shirts without sleeves. Visible armpits are quite risque in Haiti! Matt will not be able to wear shorts, either, but will be teaching in dress pants, a dress shirt and tie every day. He is thankful for the short-sleeve dress shirt :)

We feel your prayers...thank you!