a different kind of church

Yesterday we took a group from Colorado to this church, which was way out in the country. It is very common for churches to be brightly decorated with fake flowers, toilet paper streamers, and colored string. It was one of the elders birthdays, so we had an especially happy worship time. Three-fourths of the congregation was children, and just being able to sit back and listen to dozens of children sing praise songs at the top of their lungs is ALWAYS a powerful worship experience. We passed literally thousands of lost and hopeless people on the way to church, but when we found 100 believers worshipping the Lord with all their hearts, it gave us continued hope for the country of Haiti.

Happy Birthday, Matt!

Matt had a wonderful birthday yesterday! He "fun" studied, played his guitar from his parents, opened presents and cards, had Chicken curry for dinner and chocolatey fudge cupcakes. We watched a movie last night, and he was able to speak to his family and Stacey's family! It was an altogether good day, and with gifts of TastyKakes, Reeses Cups and a specially purchased Diet Coke, it felt quite American. Somedays, we're finding, it's ok to feel American :) We spent the day talking about you each, and what we would be doing if we were with you, even down to what our cat would be doing if she had been here! We're continually grateful for you each, even from so far away!

dirty work

Every day Monday through Friday Matt and I meet with a language tutor. She is not a Haitian, but is married to a Haitian, and has lived in Haiti for the last 33 years. Therefore, she has become not only our language teacher, but also our cultural studies teacher. Each day we come to her and talk for an hour, and lately, we have brought of a lot difficult cultural questions to her as they are beginning to arise in our own life.

Last week, we had come into contact with a Haitian pastor, not one from our Seminary, but a pastor, nonetheless, who was clearly financially minded. Only financially minded. He showed us his church and told us how much everything cost, explained to us the many ways we could fund (entirely) the church and himself personally. Several things, throughout the day, revealed his character as being one that was completely self-serving. We were so discouraged! Here was a man, claiming to represent God to people who never heard his name, and yet it was all for his own selfish motives. We brought this burden to our language teacher, and after a while she said this. "In the past 33 years, I have seen the moral standard in Haiti decline steadily. There is no longer a moral standard in Haiti. If it is good for you, it is good. Nothing, neither selling drugs or sharing AIDS is wrong. The immoralilty in Haiti is a WALL built into society here."

Again, yesterday, we went to her with a heartbreaking realization that a Christian Haitian whom we felt like we had known pretty well had just taken their sick child to a witch doctor...after we had given them some money to take the child to a clinic or a hospital. We were devestated, and confused, because this person is a Christian and because we had trusted them! We asked our language helper about this, and her answer was so discouraging! "It is IN the tradition. To ask a Haitian not to go to a witch doctor whenever their child is dying is to ask a child to not be a child or a horse to not be a horse. They learn about God, they love God, and then they are put in a difficult situation, and they go to a witch doctor, even though they KNOW it is wrong and are so ashamed and guilty about what they did. It's engrained. It's built into the wall that is Haiti, that they started to build over 200 years ago when they commited the country to Satan."

"Tell us," we demanded. "Tell us what in the world we are to do as new people here! What hope do we have if all that is evil and wrong here is such a solid part of the DNA of these people, if Haiti is such a brick wall of immorality and voodoo? How in the world do you change that!?"

She grew quite serious with us, and said, "For years people have been trying to help Haiti. And there are things that you can do to help an individual have a better quailty of life. But there are few things being done that are CHANGING people, that are chipping away at that WALL. This is what it takes: You find ONE pastor in ONE class who believes and lives and would die to preach the truth, the truth that you MUST teach him, THAT is how you break down that wall. You have to get up every day and run full force at that wall, and you raise up these pastors to do the same. And a lot of evenings, you will feel like all you did was run into a wall all day long. But you have to get back up the next day and do it again and again and again."


Needless to say, we need your prayers. This is exacltly what we have committed to do, and as each day passes, we realize more and more what a difficult committment this is. There is a different wall in America, in Africa, in Canada, but the people are the same: LOST. We all have so much work to do! Please continue to lift us up, and we will continue to do the same for you. It is dirty, painful and exhausting work, chipping away at walls! But we have One who refuses to quit within us...
Be of good courage!

"Although the Lord has given you
bread of privation
and water of oppression, HE
Your Teacher, will not hide himself from you.
Your ears will hear a word behind you,
"THIS is the way! Walk in it!"...
And you will scatter all your impure things,
and say to them, "BE GONE."
And on that day He WILL give you rain...
and bread...and it will be rich and plenteous."
Isaiah 30:20-23

Birthdays and Baptisms

Yesterday was Matt's Dad's birthday...wish we could have been there to help celebrate! Matt's birthday is coming up next...he will turn 24 on Saturday! All he wants to do, he's decided, is eat good food, play the guitar his parents sent him for his birthday, and read :) It will be a nice day, though again we wish you could be with us to celebrate!

Last Friday was "Baptism Day" at the Seminary, which is something like Freshman Initiation, we guess :) All the the first year students got "baptized" by the 4th year students (who were decked out in some 80's choir robes ) and then everyone drank Tampico (something like Kool-Aid). It was a little bit bizarre how much it reminded us of OUR college days (LONG, long ago) :)
The students have really become a joyful part of our lives. One of the questions that arose in my English class today was about why is is so easy for Americans to come to Haiti but so difficult for Haitians to come to America...They were appeased, however, with my assurance that it is very hard for a lot of people to get into America, not just Haitians! Matt's class, on the other hand, has told him that IF he would teach them something they already knew (like, NOT Hebrew), then they wouldn't have to ask so many questions :)

Our daily Creole lessons are coming along really well...though we are both wishing someone could just open our heads, pour all of Creole in, and away we go! It is a lot of work, and will probably take a year or two, even after we become fluent, to really have it become second nature!

We are preparing for a new team to come in today from Colorado, and tomorrow evening we will have a special time with them in which we can talk about the Seminary, the students, and student sponsorship. We embrace any chance to talk about this truly unique and invaluable school!

Isaiah 25:4
"But You are a tower of refuge to the poor, O Lord,
a tower of refuge to the needy in distress.
You are a refuge from the storm
and a shelter from the heat."

Happy Fall!

We are attempting to joyously celebrate fall despite the very steady un-fall like conditions down here in Haiti! Autumn is Matt's very favorite time of year, so we are trying to close our eyes and pretend football games and hot apple cider, sweatshirts and pumpkins and crispy crunchy leaves. I keep telling Matt that we can build a fire and he can wear a sweatshirt if he wants to, but I don't think that's going to happen any time soon. We have this first picture as our screensaver with our pumpkin pie candle burning, and this second picture in our front yard...those palm fronds might be looking a little bit yellow, don't you think? :)
We've had a lovely weekend of catching up on things and trying to get ahead for this next week. Matt is full swing into Hebrew now that he's taught the alphabet and some basic concepts, and my English class is launching into places and question words this week, now that we have completed people and family. 100% of my class has never left the island, so this will be an interesting unit! I have collected a few old National Geographics for the task of broadening world-view!

The first big team since we have been here arrives on Tuesday, and we will take turns with the other missionaries eating with them each night, taking them to church on Sundays, and leading a "Ministry Showcase" type program on Wednesday night. We will pretty much have a solid booking of teams from now until after Christmas.

We have also just found out that Matt's parents have booked their tickets to come and spend a very different kind of Thanksgiving with us, and we are very excited for that! They will be our first guests, and we are so thankful to have some family around us for the holiday (though it is not at all a holiday in Haiti!)

Enjoy your Sunday and the changing season!

"For it is for this
we labor and strive,
because we have fixed our hope
on The living God."
1 Timothy 4:10

one month in!

When we woke up this morning, Matt said something we all thought we'd never hear from him again! "I'm cold!" It was beautiful! The mornings and evenings really have started to cool down a little, and because we don't have closed windows (they are just open windows with screens) so the cool evening air comes right in! It's still in the 100s during the day, though!

This week we both started with a new language teacher (in addition to the language helpers that we currently been using). While this is adding quite a bit to our daily schedule, and a lot of homework, she is an excellent teacher, and we feel like we are learning so much! We are sincerely hoping, praying and striving to be able to be finished with all classes and "fluent" by Christmas...we'll see!

This first picture is of the "methodology" class, which is made up of Stacey's English class, and the second is of the view from the new Seminary compound. It is going to be an absolutely beautiful answer to prayer when it is finished...the mountains paint such a serene backdrop!
This weekend is going to be another extreme catch up weekend! We have lessons to plan for next week, truck loads of Creole homework, several things that need buttons sewed back on, materials about the seminary to complete before a team comes next week, and some serious cleaning to do! The lack of glass in the windows means EVERYTHING is dusty and buggy pretty much constantly. Nonetheless, we are very much looking forward to 2 days "off". We have truly been able to feel your prayers and love this past week (a week where we needed this!) and we are so grateful! Thank you for taking the time to write, email and pray for us...

"Do not let kindness and truth leave you-
Bind them around your neck."
Proverbs 3:3

it must be cultural...

This is "school picture" week at Emmaus Biblical Seminary. Photography is a rather western idea, we are realizing, as that cameras and photos are nearly unheard of in Haiti. Because of this, explaining that we will be taking individual photos of each student for the sponsorship program was quite a task! The students aren't sure why any one would want to see what they look like, but if I must take the photos, so be it. However, whereas smiling in photos in the States is very acceptable, being caught with a smile on your face in Haiti is "ugly." We spent a long time trying to explain to our otherwise smiley students that if someone in New York (the only state, other than Florida, that seems to be known of in Haiti) saw a picture of them glaring at the camera, they would think that the student was unhappy to be studying the Bible at Emmaus. The students thought this quite an amusing concept, but despite our prodding and explaining, we now have 50 photos of 50 glaring, yet very happy to be studying Bible at Emmaus, students.

We left the chapel defeated, walking past the front bushes of the seminary, now freshly strung with all of the students underwear left to dry in the sun.
Our conclusion is, that if it is not culturally appropriate to smile for photos, but is completely culturally appropriate to hang your underwear off the bushes in the middle of campus during school hours, then we will be spending the next 20 years trying to learn about the Haitian culture :)
(pictured: Madame Gisline, the administrative secretary at the seminary and a good new friend of Stacey's...and the biggest smile we caught on film all day!)

around town

We had another busy weekend of catching up on work around the house, laundry, cooking, lesson plans and correspondence! Last night a few missionaries traded some of our chicken sandwhiches for their homemade ice cream, and THAT was a good trade. It didn't taste anything like ice cream from home, but it was something, and that was wonderful!
We went to a church that was all the way across town yesterday, catching some of these new photos. The first photo is from the main bridge in Cap Haitian. Even thought it was Sunday, the streets were BUSY. The second picture highlights public transportation: the tap-tap. The joke is always, "how many people can fit in a tap-tap? One more." This seems to always be true :) Finally, we found the "Media Store" where "everyone in Cap Haitian" gets their TVs...they had several models in stock, to!
Last night was our coolest night yet...I was actually cold in the middle of the night! Matt wasn't quite "cold", but even he awoke refreshed this morning instead of hot and sticky! Maybe fall is coming here, too!
"Satisfy us in the morning
with your lovingkindness,
that we may sing for joy
and be glad all our days."
Psalm 90:14

the wide array of 'normal'

Now that we've been in Haiti for almost a month, "new" things are starting to become normal. I wish we could say that having lizards hanging out inside our house wasn't normal, but it is! Even though it is quite hot, walking out our door in the morning reveals an absolutley cloud-free beautiful day EVERY single day. Every day for lunch, we eat at the seminary with the students. One day we have rice, and the next day we have corn mush. And then rice, and then corn mush...you get the picture. On Mondays and Thursdays Stacey does laundry and then hangs it all out to dry in the sun...which takes an hour to wash and hang, but only 15 minutes to dry! The power goes off every single night at 10:00 pm, so that has become our normal bedtime, and the roosters crow the loudest at 6 am, so that is when we get up (even on Saturdays!...so sad :) Several times a day several people come to your door: our dear fruit selling lady, a language helper, someone asking for money or a place to plug in their cell phone for a few hours, or another missionary needing or having some answers. Because of this, it has become normal to be dressed in the culturally appropriate skirt, pants, and shirts with sleeves from 6:30 am until dark.

In the classroom, we are starting to adjust to normal responses. In a country where a lack of money dictates almost every part of every day, talking about money is very common. When Stacey asks a student to finish this sentence: "I am..." the answer is usually "very poor." The sentence "I have..." is usually answered by "no money." When we take prayer requests in the classroom, it is common for EVERYONE to have a prayer request, and for all of them to be very real issues, for dying family members, for desperatley sick children, for the money to continue coming to school everyday, or for a job.
The phrase, "si Bondye vle" (if God wills), is a normal part of every conversation. "See you tomorrow!" We will say. "If God wills," is the constant response. Tomorrow is no garuntee. In Haiti, that is normal.

The necessity of your prayers, our great need for His help and wisdom each day, our gratefulness for your support and His peace, and our burden for these beautiful people who either depend fully upon the Lord or pass each day in darkness...Normal. Praise the Lord!

the ministry that's not on our job description...

We were reading 2 Corinthians 5 last night and came upon a rather common verse, "If anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation." But as we really looked at the following verses, we saw something in a different light than we have ever seen it before..."God...gave us the ministry of reconciliation...as though God were making an appeal through us...that we might become the righteousness of God" to the world!

He has given us several different ministries in Haiti. They are not only our jobs, but they are gifts! But He has also given ALL of us the gift of the ministry of reconciliation, the ministry of making peace between man and God, the ministry of re-creating harmony between God and His children. How? By BEING the righteousness of God to the world and by allowing Him to work through us.

If the desparity between God and people was not obvious at home, it is blaringly obvious here. Whenever we are in town, some people look at us with such bitterness in the eyes, bitter towards what they know we represent. Our students daily prayer requests regard family members dying of AIDS, of friends and family struggling to provide for their children. Our new seminary is being built in one of the strongest voodoo areas in all of Haiti. We pass several voodoo temples just getting there, and see the empty stares of the children who are slave to them.

Yes, there is no question of the gap between God and man here in Haiti, and we have been called to stand right there. In that gap. It is a calling, and it is a gift...to BE Christ to a world that does not know Him and the new life that He brings.

Thank you for your prayers as we seek to do this, and KNOW of our prayers for you in the States and in Canada and in Burkina Faso and Niger and in Sudan, as we all stand in that gap together.

"The path of the righteous
is like the light of dawn,
shining brighter and brighter
until the full day."

Proverbs 4:18

yes, we're new here

(pictured: downtown Cap-Haitien)
"A bag of frozen chicken? Of course we'd like to buy a bag of frozen chicken!" we told some fellow missionaries. Beef, we have learned, is bled out before it is packaged in the US. However, in Haiti, it is butchered, packaged and sold. This results in an absolutely gagging smell when it is being cooked (which we, of course, learned the hard way). So, when someone offered us a bag of frozen chicken, we were thrilled. I used to buy bags of frozen chicken breasts at Wal-Mart all the time.

When will we learn that there is no Wal-Mart here? We received a bag of A frozen chicken. I attempted not to be phased by this, and started working on it (which included finishing plucking it). One would think that cutting up a chicken would not be that difficult, but after a good 20 minutes of stabbing and squirming with the slipperly thing, It still looked nothing like any chicken I'd ever seen on a dinner plate.

I set it aside and waited for our friend to come. She is helping us learn how to cook and clean here in Haiti. When she arrived, she expertly sliced away at the bloody hunk of chicken, even slicing off all of the skin and much of the bone, all of which she saved for me in a quart sized bag. When she realized that I had no intention of using chicken skin for dinner, she asked if she could have it.

This is where you can tell we are new! I say, "What could you possibly use chicken skin for?"

She laughed at me, saying, "To cook with cat or dog, of course! That meat is so dry!"

Oh.

If my aunt weren't sending us tuna and pepperoni, I think we might become vegetarians.

Just wanted to share some of our daily joys with you!

"Better is a dish of vegetables where love is
Than a fattened ox served with hatred."
Prov.15:17

the how tos....

We had a day out in town yesteday, shopping for some supplies for the seminary...chalk, mops and machetes, you know, the normal things. Throughout the day I was able to catch some "everyday" pictures of how one does shopping in Haiti. First is the pharmacy, then how to buy soap or plastic bowls. You stand in line, point to what you want, take your list to another counter, stand in line to pay, and then get in a 3rd line to have them fill the orden. Picture 3 and 4 show how to buy pants or schoolbooks. Finally, the dry cleaner! Every store specializes in one or two products, so yesterday took us 5 hours and 6 stores to get 20 things...where is the Wal-Mart!?! :)

chickens, husbands & an abundance of grapefruit...

What a great first week of ministry in Haiti! We are realizing that our time in Haiti is going to be a constant learning experience, otherwise known as an adventure:)

Yesterday was Matt's second day of teaching Hebrew to the fourth year students. He was having a good class, but continued to be disturbed by the loud sound of chickens outside. Finally, he was having a hard time teaching with all of the clucking and carrying on, when a chicken walked in his classroom! A group of them were taking a tour of the classroom buildings :)

My English classes have been going well, too. Most of the students are very eager to learn English and are anxious to show off their English skills. One of my students is a larger and older gentleman who is very serious. In an effort to impress the new teacher, he came to class yesterday and pronounced that he has a "very beautiful husband." It was difficult for me to keep my composer as we all learned the difference between husband and wife. I'm sure I've made much worse mistakes in Creole!

Meanwhile, we have a new friend that helps us with grocery shopping. Every few days or so, she comes to the door for a list of fruits and vegetables that we need. She is in her 70's, but is able to remember exactly everyone's shopping lists. We are grateful for this assistance, and to have someone to work on our Creole with and start to build a relationship with. Because of this, we are rather lax in our "necessary haggling", and mostly just give her what she asks (which, is usually nothing compared to American prices). However, she learned something new this week :) If Stacey tells her we need 2 grapefruit, but she brings, instead, 12 grapefruit, then Stacey will PAY for 12 grapefruit, instead of two.

All this to say that she probably has a Cadillac parked somewhere, and we have 12 grapefruit.

oh my :)

We are grateful to finally be here and be learning so much about the people He's led us to!

Annou Komanse!

"Let us begin!" Orientation has finally finished, >amen< and we are gladly embarking on the long lost practice of keeping a schedule! We are thrilled after 2 weeks to have our ministry in front of us and our times laid out. Beginning Wednesday morning, we will both be teaching from 8-9 am. Chapel is everyday from 10-11 am and we eat lunch with all of the students and faculty at noon. The middle hours will be open for students and for lesson planning. We study Creole every afternoon for an hour or two with our language helpers and then another hour or two on our own, and are filling in the gaps with weekly prayer meetings, church, cooking, laundry and meetings. Stacey is also starting to take over some of the marketing for the Seminary, such as student sponsorship materials and donor correspondence, and Matt is beginning to take over some mentoring roles with the students and preparing for future additional classes. Sunday's we will be able to travel Haiti in order to attend different student's churches (many of our students are already pastors.)

The most stressful part about living here so far has been the inability to escape the desperate need of the people. Everyone has so many very real needs, and trying to know when and what to do to help is difficult. The Lord is stretching us for sure to continually seek what is culturally, spiritually and physically appropriate. Please continue to pray for wisdom for us as we learn how to live in a 3rd world country!

"The Lord WILL accomplish what concerns me;
Your lovingkindness, O Lord,
is Everlasting." (in Haiti, too!)
Psalm 138:8

Congratulations!

We are FINALLY allowed to share that we are going to be an uncle and aunt! Matt's brother and sister-in-law are expecting a baby (though we're arguing over the sex) sometime in April! We could not be more excited! We love you, Casey and Laura!

Stacey's sister starts her final year of college today, and Matt's mom is having surgery on her hand...all a reminder that life continues at home while we are here. It is devestating to us to miss all of this, but we are so thankful for email, some phone, and most of all the assurance that we are all where He has placed us...and all in His hand.

Today is our last day of Seminary Retreat, and tomorrow morning classes start. Matt and I will both be teaching at 8 am, with about 10-20 students in each of our classes.

Please be praying for the students as they are trying to gather up enough money to attend, and for all of the families in Haiti who are especially struggling this time of year. September offers a difficult choice: food or tuition? books or clothes? Being able to pay for tuition AND for daily living expenses is rare, and there are a lot of people trying to provide for their families andprovide their children with an education. Pray for wisdom for us as we try to help wherever we can.

they SAID it was in Haiti...

...but it sure didn't feel like it! Guess that's the beauty of a day at the beach...it feels so far from all of the realities of life in Haiti! The final day of our Field Council Annual Meetings was spent today at a beach a little over an hour away as OMS Haiti bonded as a team. It was truly a nice day, and as you can tell from the pictures, a rare and unique kind of day.

Now we are back to business, as that the Seminary and school for the MK's start this week! Tomorrow we will attend one of our fellow teacher's churches, and spend a final day preparing for the upcoming week. Please be praying with us that we would all start the year on the right foot. Our director's specific vision for the seminary is that the students would not only grow academically this year, but most of all, spiritually. We are excited to see what the Lord is going to do!