fun!

A friend who is in the process of fund raising to go to the mission field told us that one of tips his organization gave them was to never mention doing anything fun.

I guess that makes sense--no one is supporting our little family so we can party :).  But we work hard...not just day-to-day, but also to be transparent, to share the good, the bad, the joyful and the painful.   And well, we're no superheroes who never stop, nor has He asked us to be.  

Besides, what kind of family are we, family, if we can't share fun for fear that you won't want to be a part of His work here through us because we took a break on Easter Break?

SO, we're delighted to share with you that tomorrow we get to see some of our family and eat some ice cream!  (Did I say "some"?  I meant "a LOT".)  My dad is flying the four of us up to Fort Lauderdale so we can spend a few days with him, my sister and brother-in-law, and we are EXCITED!  

We've got some errands to run (my laptop ate a Dora DVD and now I can't use the drive at all), some things to buy (yep, the students want more USBs), some prescriptions to refill, some phone calls to make (get ready, grandparents!), ever-growing-girls to share (especially at 5:30 am), and lots of catching up to do!  It'll be fun to be in our first culture, to wear some pants, and to be with my family for a few days!

We'll be back home on Good Friday morning, and right in time for annual field council meetings on Saturday.  

We're praising the Lord for this opportunity!  

Meanwhile, here's some pix from the last few days...

Phil, Don and Maxi got a CRAZY amount of work done...like this entire bathroom and shower, tiling, grouting, sinks and all!

Lily is REALLY into getting her hair done now, though she says Noel is "way better than Mommy".  

 Ryan and Junior climbed the tower to get some pix for me...

Then Uncle Don turned Lily's swing-set into a double...gettin' ready for Azi, Gideon and Abigail in just a few days now!

powerful prayers

When I asked for prayers this morning for our trip to Milo, I didn't know.


Didn't know how much we were going to need them.  


When I said we were off for an adventure, well, I didn't know how true that would be, either.


But it was.  And whether you were praying or not, He answered!


Sharing details is just going to be upsetting, so long story short, we got pulled into the start of manifestations (riots) on our way through town to Milo, which the girls slept through and the ladies and I prayed through.  We couldn't turn around, so we had to keep pushing forward.


We finally made it to Milo, and we had a good visit with Gertha, though she was in considerable pain, the conditions were not excellent, and her hip-to-hip scar was gruesome.  She has very little understanding of what has happened except that the doctors "cut out the bad stuff."  Visiting people when they're sick is such an important part of this culture, and I can't help but think that part of it is because there is so much uncertainty in medical care.  


However, it was really good to see her and pray with her, and I'm praying that this surgery was the start of her feeling much better.  She's missing Thalia something awful, and seeing Lily and Sofia through the window was the only thing that made her grin (kids weren't allowed in, which I came to see the wisdom in).


Grateful for the chance to see Gertha, we grabbed some rice and beans, ate lunch to keep the girls from getting grouchy and headed back home, sure that the riots from earlier would be long dispersed by the UN and by time (there is only one road through town).


However, things had only drastically heated up, and in the wrong place at the wrong time, I didn't know what to do but trust and pray, pray and trust.
  
As I've shared recently, there is just no place that God is not...NO place, and I praise Him that that was resoundingly true today, with my babies in the backseat and dear friends around me.  


Lily and Sofie are HIS, Micheline, the baby in her belly, Noel, Naomi, Peninah and I...His.  I couldn't take care of us...a powerful reminder that we're not IN my hands, but HIS.


When we finally found ourselves almost home quite a while later, I asked Lil to sing us a song, and for the last 20 minutes she sang, "Hakkuna Mattata, it mean no worries, for the rest of your days!" at the top of her lungs in her party dress (turns out going to the hospital is quite the dress up event) and I couldn't help but be blessed by her childlike faith.  Never occurred to her to be scared, and the message on her heart was "no worries for the rest of our days" :)  


I could not have known.  There was nothing I could have done beyond what I did.  But He knew.  And He did what only He could do.  And I'm so incredibly thankful.


I prayed that the Lord would give me life-on-life chances today to be Jesus with the women around me, and I praise the Lord that He gave me His peace and presence...and protection!


THANK YOU for your prayers, and please never think that we don't need them, that He doesn't listen or that your prayer support of our family and His work in Haiti isn't SO vital!  We are standing on His faithfulness and on the faithfulness of your prayers...


Thank you!

milo

Gertha had surgery late last night and therefore this afternoon the girls and I are off for another bound-to-be-adventure.  Please pray for safe travels (Milo is 2 hours from here), good life-on-life time with Gertha several of her friends who are going with us, and for healing for Gertha!

put armies to flight...and were sawn in two

My "making space" time this Lent has been challenging my socks off (if I ever wore socks) in the Word.  Hebrews 11 a few nights ago is still resounding in my spirit as it reality checks my life.  

Make a space today, pull out Hebrews 11 and see what He brings to your heart and mind...you can read what He's bringing to mine below.

Hebrews 11

BY FAITH (the assurance of things hoped for and the conviction of things not seen)...

     men of old : gained approval

     Abel offered better than Cain

     Abel still speaks : though he is dead

     Enoch : taken up

     Noah prepared : not seeing

     Abraham went : not knowing

     Abraham was an alien

     Sarah received : the ability to conceive

     Abraham offered his only son

     Isaac blessed

     Jacob blessed and worshipped

     Joseph gave orders concerning his bones

     Moses : hidden

     Moses : chose to be mistreated

     Moses left : without fear

     Moses kept the Passover

     Jericho : fell

     Rahab : lived

     prophets :

          conquered kingdoms

          performed acts of righteousness

          obtained promises

          shut the mouths of lions

          quenched the power of fire

          escaped the edge of the sword

          became mighty in war

          put foreign armies to flight

          received back their dead

          were tortured

          were mocked and scourged

          were chained and imprisoned

          were stoned

          were sawn in two

          were put to death by the sword

          were destitute, afflicted, ill treated

          wandered in deserts, caves and holes

All these died in faith, without receiving the promises, but having SEEN them from a distance, and having confessed they were strangers and exiles on this earth.  

They made it clear, by their faith, that they were seeking a country of their own.  A better country, a heavenly one.

Therefore, God was not ashamed to be called their God.

Without faith, it is impossible to please Him, for he who comes to God must believe that He IS, and that He is a rewarder of those who seek Him.

As I continue to work through this passage, here's some of what's running through my heart:

All I ever want to talk about is the power to shut the mouths of lions.  To quench the power of fire.  To obtain promises.  I want to have faith in Him to do those great things, to manifest those great victories through me.  

But what about the rest?  By faith, do I rejoice in the Lord to be killed with the sword?  Destitute?  Ill treated?  Stoned?  Exiled?  Why do we think following Christ (and HE, crucified) should only offer "good" and easy things?

Do I come to God believing that HE IS?  Or do I come to God with my wish list?  Do I come to God with my set of requirements and demands for what I believe I need and want for my lovely little life, or do I come to God seeking HIM?  Just Him?  The Him that can give me back my dead...The Him that can be my God while I'm TORTURED.  

From those who shut the mouths of lions to those who were stoned, not one of them received their promises.  They didn't live in the promises.  They lived in faith that HE IS, trusting Him, and therefore they SAW what truly mattered from a distance.

Those who put armies to flight AND those who were sawn in two made it clear to everyone that they didn't care about their own heads.  That they didn't care about their own homes.  That they didn't care about their lives!  They didn't care about their lives!

They had their eyes set on a different kingdom than their own...Had their eyes set on HIS kingdom.  Which they never received on earth.  But they saw it, and lived for it.  

And He was not ashamed to be called their God.

Stacey, Stacey.  

"By Faith, Stacey...."  WHAT.  What?  

Is it obvious to everyone, to anyone, that I do not care about my own life?  Is it TRUE?  Where are you set, Stacey?  Where are you set?  Are you seeking HIS promises, or the promises of the world?

Am I a foreigner...not just in Haiti, but on this earth? Am I ready to become mighty in war?  And to offer my children?  Ready to conquer kingdoms and to be be chained and imprisoned?

MORE, am I ready to NOT CARE which or what?  

As with everything, it comes down to this:  Who is my life about?

Is it about me?  Or is it about Him?  Because if all I am is HIS, and if all I want is what HE wants, and if all I'm about is HIS glory, well...there's my faith.  Faith that whatever comes, HE IS.  Faith that whether I hold the promises, live the promises or just see them from a distance, that HE IS.  

That He not be ashamed to be called MY GOD.

By faith, _______________________(your name)....  What??

what a day!

From the beauty of His earth to the joy of worshipping with our brothers and sisters on top of a mountain, going to church at Coup-a-David was a joy.

The hike, especially with two little ones, was not a joke.  Lily LOVED it and reminded us of a baby goat, wanting to walk by herself almost the entire way, skipping and singing along the trail.

My favorite part about going to mountain churches is having the chance to enter into people's lives along the way.  We walked past hundreds of homes and hundreds of people, giving us lots of chances to connect, share a laugh or some encouragement, and of course learn more about Haiti's culture and people.

We got to talk with little children, old men, cock fighters, nursing mothers, women doing laundry, young men gambling dominoes, farmers, church goers, a blind woman and sheep herders...Imagine if you were able to walk through people's yards to get to church each Sunday!  

Once you finally see this prayer hut, you know you're getting close.  This hut was built for people to sit with God and speak to Him apart from their every day lives...you can see for miles, and as we approached the church, you could see dozens of others heading to worship on all the surrounding mountain ridges.  Many people walked far longer than we did to get to church yesterday!  What a ministry...

At the last river crossing, everyone stops to put their shoes on, as that most everyone hiked to church barefoot to save their Sunday shoes.  

 Upon arrival, exhausted Lily promptly fell fast asleep and slept through the whole service.

If you hike for hours to get to church, it turns out that you really wanted to be there.  The lively worship and rapt audience was a great tribute to this community of believer's great desire to grow and worship together.  After an awesome time of worship and a singing group, one of our visiting professors, Leroy, preached a great sermon from 1 John 3.  

He talked about leading a life free from sin, sharing from John that "everyone who practices sin practices lawlessness.  You know that He appeared in order to take away sins; and in Him there is no sin.  No one who abides in Him sins; no one who sins has seen Him or knows Him.  Little children, let no one deceive you; the one who practices righteousness is righteous, as He is, and the one who practices sin is of the devil." 1 John 3:4-10

For Matt and I, one of the greatest blessings of the day was to be able to be a part of this work that Enick has given his life to.  Working on top of a mountain among the poorest and least prestigious in the world holds no worldly incentive for any man.  It is for the Lord that he pours himself out like a drink offering...there is NO other explanation.

He sleeps in a classroom, hikes the hike several times a week, serves endlessly, prays and works and ministers and disciples hundreds of people from all the surrounding mountains...never ceasing to preach and teach and serve and pray and lead everyone from the children to the elderly.  He is constantly using what little money he has to buy medicine for so-and-so, a Bible for such-and-such, a sewing machine to help someone's family provide, English lessons to help a youth get a job.

Every time I see Enick...EVERY time, he is on his way to or from Coup-a-David, and at any time that you ask him to hold out his hand, you will see that it is shaking.  

"Enick," I always ask him.  "When was the last time you ate something?"

"Oh," he always says grinning.  "It might have been a little while, but come, let me tell you about something that God is doing!"

He was in our first graduating class, and we have seen over the last five year him lay down all of his dreams to get his masters, to work in the Dominican, to be married and to make enough money to provide for his parents (it was Enick's mother who died last month) and little brothers and sisters at Jesus' feet, committing each day to do whatever work the Lord put in front of Him and trusting Him to provide exactly what he needs for each day.

What an example of Jesus for Matt and I...to be more like Christ in Enick.

(chocolate beans, drying in the sun to be pounded and turned into balls of bitter dark chocolate, which can then be sold and melted in cups of milk)

 Another huge highlight for me was getting to hold these triplets! (Sorry about the angle...it was hard to get a picture of all three while holding two.)  

I have NEVER seen triplets in Haiti.  Survival of two twins alone is so rare that to see triplets thriving at one month old was a miracle in itself.  As soon as I saw the mother holding one of them, looking too tiny to possibly be a real baby, she shared with me that the precious girl was a month old, and that there were two more. 

Quickly, grinning siblings ran in the mud house and returned with two more little ones, all three sound asleep in the warm sun and all three seeming to be in great health.  She delivered them, of course, right there in their mud hut with no doctor and no midwife, and I was just overwhelmed not only by the miracle of their safe pregnancy and delivery, but by the families obvious joy and love for the three...something very rare in this culture due to the fact that one child is already such a burden for families that have so little.  Two are typically seen as some kind of a curse...so three could have merited quite the complaint!

I can't wait to watch these little ones grow up as we visit Coup-a-David every few months.  

I have far more pictures than I can share!

Though we're all a bit exhausted and sore today, yesterday was such a huge reminder for us of the power of His hand, the joy it is to be in His service with others, and the great need Haiti and I have, NOT for electricity, not for running water, not for nice roads, not for financial gain, but just for Him.  

Just for Him.

Come see us, and we'll take you!

Having more internet issues again...


Quick update on Gertha...She is doing ok.  She received two bags of blood yesterday from two family members and two more today from two other family members.  The swelling in her stomach has gone down some and she seems to be feeling a bit better.  However, the doctors say she's not going home anytime soon, and conditions in the hospital aren't great...no meals, no chairs in the rooms for family members to sit or sleep on, six or more patients in a room, etc.   We're praying for continued healing and that she can come home, and be with her daughter again, soon.


We spent today in town and tomorrow are hike-heading to one of our favorite churches, Coup-a-David.  We haven't been able to go since I was six months pregnant with Sofie because the hike is a serious one, but we think Sofie and Lil are up for it!  Plus, Uncle Don and Phil will be with us as spare pack-mules, if necessary :)  We are really excited to be able to worship with our brothers and sisters on top of this mountain again and to be with our friend Enick.  


Great pictures and some sure testimonies to share tomorrow...

no blood.

I have a rather urgent prayer request that we would greatly appreciate your prayers for.  


Our friend and the girls' nanny, Gertha, was having major stomach pains and swelling in her abdomen last week that were diagnosed locally as gas.  After a few days, she got better.  But then this past Sunday she started having excruciating pain again, and her stomach started to get bigger and bigger and hot to the touch.  By Tuesday, she could not get out of bed, her stomach looked like she was 6 months pregnant, and she was in so much pain that she couldn't speak to me, much less sit up. 

Wednesday morning we sent her to the hospital in Milo, which has the reputation of being the best hospital in the North.  They immediately admitted her, noting that her condition was serious. 


I spoke to her husband last night who is staying there with her, and he shared that she is on IVs.  When I asked what the doctors had diagnosed her with, he said simply, "No blood.  She has no blood."


Blaming blood (too much blood, not enough blood, sour blood, sweet blood, black blood)  is a rather cultural norm-explanation for sickness, so I persisted.  "What do you mean?"


Wislin explained to me that it had been explained to him that every human has 5 Liters of blood in their bodies, and that they had determined somehow that Gertha only has 1 Liter of blood in hers.  


He could not tell me how this is resulting in a swollen stomach and intense pains, but explained that today (Friday) she is to receive the additional 4 liters that she is missing, and asked if I could send more money so they could buy the blood.


"What kind of blood?" I asked Wislin, fear starting to creep in.


"Um, they said they'll take her parents blood for $100 Haitian, and then give her that, for another $100 Haitian."  


gulp.


After working hard all night to give my worries, my many concerns with this diagnosis and remedy, and dear Gertha--mother of adorable 4 month old Talia--to God, this is what it comes down to...

Doctors, whatever I think of their abilities, are the highest form of medical expertise in this country.  People have great confidence in them, just as we have great confidence in our doctors Stateside.  We do what they tell us.  So do our brothers and sisters here.  There is no WebMD.  No "Let's Google that!"  There is widely no general knowledge of how our bodies work, and many understandings about biology and anatomy are traditions/superstitions based.


After going a few local places, we sent Gertha to the best place available.  We can't take her out of there because things sound crazy when everyone else thinks things sound spot-on.  I'm no doctor, either, and the reality is that I have no place to take her nor the knowledge or ability to figure out what she needs.  Despite my strong desire as an American to swoop in there and take care of things myself...I can't do that.  

baby Talia

So, do I believe that God is the one ultimately in control, or not?  Do I trust Him, or don't I?  We have done what we can do, we are supporting what her family desires to do, and we will keep helping them pay for whatever the doctors are telling her she needs...and I have not stopped praying, trying to lay down all my many thoughts about this situation and instead, by faith, say (over and over, it seems)... 

You know what is wrong.  You know what she needs.  Lord, please heal Gertha.


Please pray with me, and I'll keep you posted.  Thank you...

pale kon RAT

When you learn to speak Haitian Creole, I mean REALLY learn to speak it, people will start to tell you that you pale kon rat, literally, "speak like a rat."  You don't just communicate...you can chatter!


At our house, Matt pale kon rat, and we always joke that I pale kon sourit...like a mouse.  When I came home from work today, Lily was singing away in Creole, and ran to me, yelling, "Mama!  Ou zanmi mwen!"  (Mama, you are my friend!)  She'll be speaking like a rat before much longer.


However, at our house, it is our rat that talks most like a rat.

And he's driving me crazy.


For a few weeks now, he has been messing with me...living behind our oven, eating our bananas and oranges in the night, scurrying about every time I enter the kitchen, chewing holes in my screen, leaving muddy rat prints on my counter tops, and banging about when the oven gets too hot for him, scurrying over my dinner and running out the screen holes, scaring me every time and grossing me out.


A few mornings ago, I had had it.  I made muffins to justify turning on the oven, heated her up, masking taped over all the holes, blocked the countertops leaving only a small pathway to a huge bucket barely propped open so it would fall over the rat when he ran in, and armed myself with a long wood spoon.  


Lily and I waited 30 minutes, and just as Noel joined us, he popped out, ran for his hole, found it blocked, and started darting around the kitchen while I whack-whack-WHACKed with my spoon, screaming all the while (I just can't help it...I've been a girl for too long) while Lily screamed and jumped up and down and Noel looked on, amused.


A few moments later, he pushed through my taped-over hole and leapt to his freedom.  


Infuriating.  


Noel of course started laughing, and I said, "What?  You don't have rats at your house?"


Oh no.  I learned that Noel has dozens of rats in her woven stick home.  So many rats that they aren't afraid of people, eat their food, and even nibble on Noel's feet and fingers while she sleep.  


However, Noel shared with me what her family does for fun in the evenings...a game they call Smash.


Because tons of bugs, mosquito and dust can come through the woven stick walls, her family has papered the inside of their walls with newspaper, magazine pages, etc.  So, when the rats come in at night, they run between the paper and the walls, and pop out the bottom to enter the home.  


Noel and her family (8 siblings and her parents), while hanging out at night or while lying in bed, try to predict the paths the rats are running and win points by smashing a rat between the paper and the wall...10 points for an injury and 50 points for a kill.


This would have grossed me out five years ago.  By now, I was laughing hilariously, picturing Noel's very serious and mild-mannered family playing this family game...wishing I could find a way to SMASH my rat!


I enlisted Phil and Don (a record-holding rat killer) last night to take the smart guy out.  Extensive conversations about 99 ways to kill a rat led to Phil's desire to start a rat-killing ministry for the people of Saccanville, and then led them to borrow some traps from Dodo and Bubba (who also have a rat or two living behind THEIR oven), rigged 'em up, and we went to bed expectantly.


This morning, both traps were licked clean with not a hair to show for it, and I must admit to giving them quite a bit of sass today about their failure.


After more plotting, this evening they rigged up a salami-bundled-in-saran-wrap-rubber-banded-to-the-trip-tray system, put one trap in the oven and one outside the screen, and not twenty minutes later... >SNAP<  


Sweet victory.  


Twenty minutes later.  >SNAP<  Two down in less than an hour...  Never thought the >SNAP< of a rat trap could be such sweet music.   


I have had several gory photo opportunities with several grinning men.  I have decided not to share.  You're welcome :)


I'll give you a tally in a few days!


Got any good rat stories?

school bus

Best caption submitted for this great photo

wins a bag of our favorite Haitian coffee!

("best" means whichever our group of 7 visitors choose :)

walking without fainting

We have so many friends around us that we have very little internet around us :)  No pix today...  


After a fun weekend with Dodo, Bubba, Pam, Launa, Bob, Ryan, Uncle Don, Phil, Leroy, Gail, Junior, Leandre and Thelo with lots of time outside, football, darts, Scrap Out, puppy time, climbing the tower, making new friends, church in Saccanville...we have arrived at another intensive course.


Pam is teaching 3rd and 4th year Eschatology and is finally feeling a lot better.  Leroy is a first time visiting professor from Michigan, and very graciously came in last minute to teach Doctrine of Holiness when a good friend had to cancel (we miss you, Doug!) Gail of Washington is also a new professor and is teaching first year Inductive Bible Study.


We had the exciting realization last night that Sam and Cammie will be moving here to join us in just a few weeks, giving us some steady friends and help (and kids for Lily and Sof) next door.  Please be praying for them with us as they prepare to move here with their three small children on April 10.


We also had an exciting day with Lily, who wrote her name by herself for the first time, and then fifty times the rest of the day :)  Girly is growing up...


Will have a better post up as soon as the internet allows...if you've been trying to reach us, be patient...even incoming and out-going emails are struggling!


O Chambers this afternoon called a life of faith not a life of one glorious mountaintop experience after another, like soaring on eagles' wings, but a life of day-in and day-out consistency; a life of walking without fainting (Isaiah 40:31)...of faith tested and true, built on the true God...


May I be so grounded in Him!

Satur-just-what-we-needed-Day

Sick, tired and a bit overwhelmed from a very busy week, today was just what we needed.

 Deb, Lily and Launa playing a game Deb made for her.

Then Deb and Lily made Ella a little bed, which Lily loves to stuff with toys and Sofia loves to flip over.

Ella truly thinks Lily is her Mommy, which is good, because Lily's pretty sure Ella is her baby.

Then she helped her friend, "Mr. Silly Bud" fix the oven, which the night started to heat up only to have a huge rat come flying out of it.  Mmmm.

Boone is loving playing with his growing group of friends, as well.

Lily adores Ryan, all the more now that he fixed John's bike and drove her around the campus.

 Sofie adores when Lily kisses her.  Which makes Lily crack up and do it again.  It is hilarious (even though it looks like she's strangling her, here :)

"That's my sister!"

Yeah, missionary life can be a little boring sometimes.  

Lily is becoming Mommy's big helper 

Phil and Uncle Don flew in today, so within minutes the guys were out playing football, which is SO good for Matt!  (please try NOT to notice that Matt is indeed playing football in his underwear.  So excited to play, taking two seconds to change from jeans to shorts just seemed like too much, apparently.  Oh man.)

Not but a few minutes later he, Ryan and Phil are off to the ocean...again, really good un-work related guy stuff for Matt...

While Uncle Don played with his biggest fan.

Good friends also visited us, Sauvelt and his wife...to thank YOU through us, New Bedford! 

It was a GREAT day...just what we needed.