feels like home

We made it, crisis free! We left Columbus, Ohio at 5:45 Tuesday morning, and pulled up to our house in Cap-Haitien, Haiti at 2:34 pm. It was a long day, but wow, has the Lord met us right where we are.

In all honestly, we were not as excited to be coming back as we had thought we would be. We were very ready to see good friends, but weren't at all ready to give up what has been so wonderful about being in the States...being with family, eating out, being encouraged by friends, sleeping in a nice bug-free bed in the air conditioning. But the moment our plane touched down in Haiti, and we looked out the window at this completely different world, we both immediately felt strangely at home and felt true joy at being back.

Of course that doesn't mean the last 24 hours have been easy. We came home to a very buggy house, with no power, no propane (meaning no warm water), a completely dead printer/scanner, no food, and, of course, a LOT of heat and humidity. However, the Lord's been speaking peace to both our hearts, that though it IS difficult being here, He has called us to this, and that there is, therefore, no better place.

And we truly feel that way.

Haiti is in more crisis than it was when we left, with one friend today telling us that life is worse for Haitians right now than it has been for more than 14 years. Food, gas, and supply prices have MORE than doubled just since we LEFT, and they were very high when we left. Our clinic has been empty of patients, because people can't afford to eat AND have medical care. Despair and hunger seem to be rampant, and we have been banned from town today due to more protests. September means school is starting again, a month that was already very hard on the Haitian people as they seek to come up with cost of supplies, uniforms and tuition. This year, it's a dreaded time, as people are so desperate that many don't even have a prayer to send their children to school.

This has all been so difficult to return to...it is HEARTBREAKING to see God's people suffering like this. And at the same time, it has further confirmed that this is where the Lord has us, for such a time as this. We can help...yes, with some food and some funding, but more, we carry the Bread of Life, and it's a time when people are starving for it.

We also were able to catch up with some of our dearest friends today, and it is such a joy to be alongside them again. I think several people were doubtful of our return, saying that many missionaries leave after their first year, though we had promised everyone we would be back.

We spent today unpacking, catching up on bills, fixing everything that wasn't working, and catching up with friends. Tomorrow, we start prepping for this upcoming school year. We are so excited about what the Lord has in store for this upcoming year. Despite such difficult times, almost 35 Haitian men and women have applied to be first year students next month, and we can't help but think that the Lord has a lot in mind for this precious country.

There is much to do, and we are grateful for YOU helping us do it. Having the last 5 weeks to spend with so many of you, and to remember that we are loved, uplifted, prayed for and JOINED on the front lines by you was a deep encouragement and is to be credited for much of the refreshment and renewed energy and desire that we feel today to serve the Lord here.

We know many of you are wondering about the truck, as well...We'll have an update on Friday!!!

Haiti is, as it always has been, God's land, and these are, and always have been God's people...everyone just doesn't know that yet!

"O, satisfy us in the morning
with Your lovingkindness,
That we may sing for joy and be glad
Make us glad according to the days we have been afflicted,
and for the years we have seen evil.
Let YOUR work appear to Your servants
and Your majesty to their children.
Let the favor of the Lord our God be upon us;
And confirm for us the work of our hands;
Yes, confirm the work of our hand" Psalm 90

on the job

One last trip took us all the way to Chattanooga, Tennessee (right by Hixon, Bex!) to check out the job my dad's been working on for the past year and the next few. It was TOO cool...I had had no idea it was such a huge job, and the four of us had a great day together! Matt had a final round of golf this morning with Dad, we have today with my sister, who is home for our last weekend, and tonight we're going to meet up with some good friends from college in Cincinnati, Ohio. Monday we pack, and Tuesday morning we leave at 5 am...Next Blog will be from Haiti!

newest addition!

We had our final doctor's appointment before leaving for Haiti today, and WE ARE HAVING a BABY GIRL!!! She is beautiful and healthy, and right where she should be as far as weight and size. We are so excited, and so thankful for this healthy precious gift from God!

Chicago and back again...

This moving caravan left at 8 am Monday morning and we got back to Columbus, Ohio Tuesday night around midnight...It was a busy two days, moving Lisa into her beautiful new 2nd story apartment in downtown Chicago, visiting her new school, getting all of the utilities switched over, and running to Wal-Mart, Home Depot and Target more than a few times!

She started her first day of work today, kicking off 5 weeks of training prior to her first day of school in September. We had such a nice few days together, all of us basking in the clear ways the Lord has opened these doors for her. From the apartment to the city to the school, it has "this is what I made Lisa for" written all over it, and we are SO thankful that we were able to BE there for this major transition in her life!

Today is transition day for us as well, as we unpack from the last 4 weeks, do laundry and some last shopping for toiletries and clothing, and then repack for Haiti. We leave at 5 am Tuesday morning, so we're starting to prepare!

Where has five weeks gone? We have had such good time with so many people, but we truly are beginning to miss home, work, and friends in Haiti!

a few good days...

Yet another great weekend with friends and family! Today was spent at Kennywood, the "Coaster Capital of the World" with our Aunt Patty. It was SO much fun...we ate awesome food (fries, corn dogs and candy apples :), Lisa and Matt rode some rides, and we had such a good time with our aunt. She showered us with love, Bath and Body Works and awesome snacks. We got back on the road, and made it to Columbus, OH by 8:30 pm. First thing tomorrow (Monday) morning, we leave for Chicago with the U-Haul, moving sister Lisa into her new apartment in Chicago.
Saturday we stopped in for a final visit with Stacey's grandparents, and had a really nice time. We are so blessed by ALL of our grandparents, and so thankful for their wisdom and love in our lives.
Friday night and Saturday was spent with two of our very best friends, Maria and Elisa! They are great friends from college, were both in our wedding, and drove all the way from Georgia to meet with us in PA at Maria's family's home. We had so much fun with them...just good to be with old friends and catch up on the last year (well, try, anyway!)

saying hellos and good-byes

We always hate this part...saying goodbye to people, especially when it's so long until our next visits and we can't help but feel like we just got here! Today we are leaving Delaware, saying good-bye to all of Matt's family. We have had SUCH a good time with his parents, brother and sister-in-law and with his grandparents and many different dear friends.

My sister, Lisa, joined us from Ohio yesterday, and today we are off for Lebanon, PA. Matt and I were married there three years ago, and it is also the hometown of one of our best friends. Maria and Elisa live in Georgia now, but they drove up to Lebanon for the weekend to spend a day or so with us there. We'll then be heading back through Somerset, PA to say good-bye to Stacey's grandparents, and then through Pittsburg, PA to spend a day with Stacey's aunt before returning to Ohio for our last few days in the states! Whew! Please be praying the Lord would continue to protect us as we travel...

We're just praising the Lord for all of this time...for how faithful He has been to meet our needs, even needs we didn't know we had!

3 years and counting...

We FINALLY celebrated our three year anniversary from June 11th, and had such a wonderful day! We did whatever we wanted, all day! We went to Mi Mi Maternity, Borders book store, the Christian bookstore, a coffee shop, and then finally ended up at Gelato's, a fancy restaurant near the University of DE...it was so nice! We had a GREAT time, and it was our first date in a really long time. It was wonderful!
Tuesday night, Matt's Uncle Ang, Mom Mom and Pop Pop came over for dinner. It was so good to spend time with them...We are so thankful for these three in our lives. It was really difficult to say good-bye...but only for 6 months this time! My sister is joining us here in Delaware on Thursday, and then Friday we are back on the road!

flowers, friends and families

We had a busy but wonderful weekend! It started off Saturday morning with picking up Matt's grandma and Laura's mom and sister and heading to Longwood gardens...a GORGEOUS flower and fountain conservatory that had some awesome landscaping and displays. It was SO beautiful...Matt and I couldn't get over how clear the air smelled, how gorgeous all the colors were, or how nice it was to spend some time with his family.
Saturday evening we shared at Cornerstone Church, and then shared again in their four Sunday morning services. So many friends came out to hear our presentation, and the church also raised $6000 for our truck, just in this weekend!!! It was unbelievable. It's just such a joy to share with people what God's doing in Haiti, and also to finally have the chance to thank them (thank YOU) for their huge part in that. We are blessed to be a part of such a body of believers.

Monday Matt has promised that we can finally go out and celebrate our three year anniversary (June 11th). I've been waiting and waiting to go to a favorite restaurant, and it's finally time! As we walked through the gardens Saturday, Matt's grandmother was very quite, taking it all in. At some point, she grabbed my hand, and said, "be sure to remember all this when you're in Haiti." We are clinging to all these things, all of your encouragements and the joy of seeing you all, and storing them up in our hearts for this upcoming year in Haiti. "I'm just so thankful" she kept saying, and...wow, so are we.

Seeds of Greatness and Good Friends

We've had a great couple of days! Wednesday night we shared with our brothers and sisters at Seeds of Greatness, which was SUCH an uplifting time! They showered us with lots of love and prayers, and it was so fun to share with them just some of the ways God is using them in Haiti. It was wonderful to be back with them, and hard to believe a whole year has passed since last time we were there.

We have also had some great opportunities to spend time with some great people. Matt's grandma has had a lot of health problems this past year, and we got to have a really good visit with her on Wednesday (pictured). Thursday we drove out to the beach to be with Matt's other grandma and grandpa. He's also had a lot of health issues, and spending the afternoon with them was a long awaited answer to prayer.


Finally, Friday night, we drove to Pennsylvania and spent a few hours with dear friends who are missionaries in Burkina Faso, Africa. They have been there a year, and are just home for three weeks, and we couldn't resist meeting up with them...We hadn't expected to be in the same country for at least another 2 years. It was SO good. We got to meet their new son and spend some time with their 2-year-old, Caleb, who we just ADORE. Then, we got a few hours with Dale and Flo at Applebee's (which was awesome for all four of us :). It was such an encouragement and a rest to be with them. Our foreign culture's are similar in a lot of ways, and was great to share joys and frustrations of the past year with each other. We've had similarly difficult first years, but speaking about how faithful the Lord has been, and how much He has blessed us by His stretching and working was moving.

We felt more emotionally rested after that 3 hours than we have our first three weeks home, and it was just plain fun to be with them, as well. Praise the Lord for this little family, for all the ways their friendship has blessed us in the past and present (we met them in French language school in Canada), and for all the ways He is using them in Africa.

Today we are heading off to Longwood Gardens with Matt's parents, brother and sister-in-law, and Mom-Mom, and tonight we'll be sharing at Cornerstone Church!

Sharptown and the Phillies

We've had a wonderful time in Delaware so far...
First we spent some time sharing at Sharptown UMC. It was wonderful to catch up with friends and supporters there, and we were also blessed with special music from good family friend, Pat and Amy (pictured). The children are raising money for tires for our new vehicle for their VBS project, and they had a fun presentation regarding that (also pictured). It was such a creative way to get the kids involved. It was wonderful to be back at our "first church", the first place we ever spoke, the first church to support us, and the church that sent us off.

The same day Matt headed to New York for a good friend's wedding, and then Tuesday night the Ayars family headed to Stacey's first Phillies game. We lost, but it was a really fun time, nonetheless and always good to spend time with Matt's parents, brother, and sister-in-law.

Tonight we are heading to Seeds of Greatness Bible Church to share with our family there, and then tomorrow we'll head out to see Matt's grandparents. Time is flying, but we are really enjoying being with family!

ayarsbaby.blogspot.com

We are having a wonderful time in Delaware...spending some awesome time at Sharptown United Methodist Church on Sunday and with Matt's parents, brother and sister-in-law. We've been speaking quite a bit, and Matt was a groomsman in a wedding yesterday in New York. Things have been busy, but we're getting stretches of rest here and there, and that's been wonderful. We'll have some updated pictures up tomorrow, but wanted to let you know about a new blog site we have started. If you are (or will be) interested in following more closely news about the "Ayars Baby", now and after he or she comes, we have started a new blog dedicated to that: ayarsbaby.blogspot.com

We'd like to keep our Haiti ministry blog dedicated to what God is doing in Haiti, and will keep you posted about what God is doing with the baby on this second blog. Thank you all so much for your excitement, encouragement and prayers!

WOW

We have some VERY exciting news to share with you! We are 15 weeks pregnant! We have finally had the chance to tell all of our family and to have our first doctor's appointment. He or she is due December 26th, which means we'll be home for Christmas! Everything looks good, and my sister, Matt and I were thrilled to see our first ultrasound...we saw all 10 fingers and all 10 toes, as well as the baby's profile, belly, and skinny little legs...The whole thing is such a miracle, and we are truly overwhelmed by the blessing this baby is. We are so excited about being parents together, and praise the Lord for every day with this gift!
Yesterday we had lunch with the whole White/Lind family, including all four of Stacey's grandparents, Stacey's aunt, dad, and sister. It was so good to all be together for the first time in almost a year, and to share the happy news with them.

New Bedford Presbyterian

We had an awesome time Wednesday night with New Bedford and some dear friends there. We arrived with our sister and dog around 5:30, and joined many people from the church for a big cook-out. There was SO much good food, followed by some killer pie. This gave us a good change to catch up with people we haven't seen for a year. We then were able to share with the church what God has done in Haiti this past year, as well as a bit about what we do from day to day.

Lori, pictured below, is the woman who started our relationship with New Bedford. She found us through our blog, and has become a dear friend since, keeping up with emails, prayers, and care packages. We praise the Lord for this group of brothers and sisters and for Lori!

Indy, Chicago, Columbus, Pennsylvania, Delaware

We've been everywhere, man!
Following our wonderful time in Indy with OMS and our families, we headed back to Columbus, Ohio, only to have one day home before getting back on the plane. Yesterday my sister and I flew to Chicago for a job interview and apartment hunting (for her :) and returned home the same day (whew!). Today we are heading north to New Bedford Presbyterian Church for a picnic and time of sharing with our dear friends there. Afterward, we drive to Somerset, PA to be with our aunt and 4 grandparents for the 4th! We're then off to Delaware Saturday night to be on time to speak at Sharptown UMC in New Jersey Sunday morning.

Things have been so busy, but it's been a joy to spend such good time with family and friends and to enjoy so many of the luxuries that we have missed...like gorgeous roads and Bob Evans!

We also learned today, however, of the death of one of our long-time seminary cooks in Haiti. Please be praying for the family of Ma Jano. Her husband works as one of our security guards. Thank you for your prayers...we are missing our friends and family in Haiti...