EBS Graduation 2013!

I know I've mentioned this was a very special graduating class, and they proved it all the way through their last moments...planning for their special day with hard-work and humility, supporting the underclassmen and each other with joy, taking the time to thank staff members, write letters of appreciation, etc, and making even the day of graduation such a joy to be a part of!

    Making me want to keep those we were supposed to be sending out all the more!

While several of Junior's brothers and sisters from Port had promised to come for graduation, in the end, none of them did. 

 However, he had joked with me after returning from his dad's funeral that while God brought him into a very large family at birth, the family God has given him since makes his blood family seem tiny. 

 The family who raised him after his father put him out are on the left...Mark, Peggy, sisters Shannon and Abby, and the family who has played an integral part in Junior's life since, and introduced Junior and I when we were 18, on the right: Cathie and Greg.  All missionaries in Port-au-Prince, they drove and flew up to Cap-Haitien to be there for Junior's big day, and that blessed us ALL.

Unless this post takes you 3 hours, 45 minutes to read, then it is not doing justice to the service.  However, the longer the service, the more obvious the importance of the day, and May 17th was clearly a very important day!

After an incredibly scorching graduation last year in the blazing sun, we got smart and decided to hold graduation this year 2 miles down the road at the Pillatre Christian Center.  This is, coincidentally, also where Lily goes to school.  Pastor Mano teaches at the Seminary and was pleased to let us use his church, which ended up being just PERFECT for this kind of event!

The church is huge, and the day was, again, beautiful and hot!

Once the church was packed out, only 30 minutes after the printed starting time, the procession began, as always, with a marching band.

Then, several different choirs.  Then the graduates.  Then, all the staff.  However, right in the middle of the procession, a passing motorcyclist paying more attention to the marching band than the road ran straight into on of our graduates dad's trucks.

...which quickly collected dozens of passerbys.  Johnson's dad was ok, but spent the majority of the four hours trying to work things out with the police, passerbys and the motorcyclist, who had a concussion, at least...kind of marred the day for Johnson, for sure!

Isn't this church just beautiful?  I'm not sure why we'd ever hold graduation any where else!

This was at the start of the service...like, before it got crowded.  By hour 3, the aisles, doorways and windows were packed--and all that for only SIXTEEN students!  Matt and I are not the only ones who think what God has brought to pass in the lives of these 16 is worth celebrating!

By now, everyone was good and sweaty, and it was time to begin...

Here was the program for the day, and even if you didn't take high school French, you'll see there was a LOT of special music and a LOT of speakers, every single one of which greeted every person they had ever met and thanked them, before beginning their lengthy speech.

It was while this choir was still singing that Donnson leaned over toward me (sitting next to the class, as the "godmother") and asked me to get Matt's attention.  I waved to Matt (on the other side of the stage) and Donnson yelled to him the English word-for-word literal translation of the phrase in Creole which means, "I have to go to the bathroom."  Donnson:  "PATOR MATT!  I HAVE PEE!"

Matt: mouthing, "What?"

Donnson, louder: "I HAVE PEE! I HAVE PEE!"

Matt finally got the message and motioned him out, but I was CRACKING UP.

Here was one of the choir's from the Vaudreil Church...

This is Leme, half-way through, still putting some of the finishing touches on his valedictorian's speech, with Johnson helping him out with the French. 

All of these men are basically all of the men listed on the program above...staff at EBS, past president Dr. Bill Cooper, Brett Bundy, Louis Destine, professors...

Lucner hates public speaking, but as the Academic Dean always has to do the big start-out speech, in French.  

Fast-foward 2 hours of speeches, and it was time for diplomas!  Leme, above, came to us after the earthquake and the death of his father.  His mother was badly burned and crippled a year ago when a tap-tap hit her road-side cooking stand by boiling oil, but his only remaining relative, his sister, was here.  What a joy it was, after all these years, to meet one of the two women Leme loves the most.  

After much tallying, he did end up being the valedictorian, with Johnson, Blaise and Junior right with him.

Blaise was the class president, and just a really extraordinary man.  His wife, you might remember, quite traumatically lost their baby boy this year, and yet he has continued on leading and loving this class and the many he's already ministering to through his church and mission.

Junior was the last guy to walk the stage, and when Matt and he skipped the handshake for a bear hug...yeah.  I started to cry.  We are going to miss this young man, so obsessed with our Lord and in love with others.  He continues to be an inspiration to us both.

You won't see many smiling pictures until the service ended, but this is the graduating class of 2013!

After giving them their "charge", Vilmer prayed for the class...

...which is always a really sacred and precious time.  I love how the guys were praying for each other in the same moments they were being prayed for.  

And then it was Leme's turn.  It is the valedictorian's job to introduce each student, sharing a story or nickname or two of who these men are and why they have been dear friends.  Some years, this has turned into a bit of a roast, and we were deeply blessed this year to have Leme's speech true to his character: genuine, uplifting, and full of love and humor.

He had given each student a tag name, such as "The Gentleman of the Class", "The Comic of the Class", "The Friend of the Class"...and expounded upon why.

Ah, Simeon.  He is one of our favorites, and will be a blessing to miss.

After a ridiculously long paren (godfather of the class) speech (so glad the maren doesn't have to talk!), the service was finally about finished, and everyone proceeded out in reverse order...and finally started SMILING.

Like this great reunion between staff Fanfan and Leandre...

Loubens (past graduate) and Fanfan joined by Elizay

Three layers in of sweat...Jean-Alix, Matt, Brett, Bill and Lucner.

Mogene and Vilmer (Mogene works in Vilmer's church).  

I then took tons of family photos, and everyone was just so proud and happy!  It was a great day...

When my mom passed away, I took a semester off at Asbury and went to Port-au-Prince to live with these two.  I still credit Christ in Greg and Cathie as playing such an instrumental role in my healing and in my heart for others, for sharing the Gospel, and for Haiti.  Sharing them with MY girls and sharing this great day with them was precious.

Junior, and the woman he calls Mom.  It was GREAT to finally get to know this family, who has lived in Haiti since 1982, the year Junior and I were born!

Then, the party moved back down the street to Emmaus, where there was a big reception for close friends and family members...all 400 of them.

I will always cherish this maren photo and the years we've had to be working in the daily lives of these dear men.  It is with such joy and confidence in their hearts sold out to the Lord that we send them, already seeing Christ at work in the transformation of Haiti through them!  Praise the Lord!

Simeon and his lovely wife and daughter...

...some of the goof-balls from third year responsible for all the decorating...and hats!

Augustin, Ruphin, and Napoleon

...and more of Junior's adoptive family in Christ...members of an evangelistic club in Cap-Haitian who meet, work, and study only to know how to better preach the Gospel, grow closer to their God, and share Him.  Jodenel, far left, graduated with Junior, and Romual just started in January as a first year student!  

It is true.  By the time the day was over, we were exhausted.  

However, by today, these 16 are back out, better equipped--all over Haiti, working with children, youth, families, orphans, widows, farmers, merchants, hospitals, schools, witchdoctors, politicians, churches--preaching the Gospel, and better yet, LIVING it.  

And THAT, in my mind, makes Haiti one of the most EXCITING places to be in His World today.  No question.

And who EVER thought that?

May He be Praised!

***I want to thank each one of you who jumped at the chance to help Emmaus finish this school year, celebrate graduation, and continue into the future!  THANK YOU for stepping up when we needed you, and for playing a role in this exciting place!***