Electricity

When I was young there were several times while living down on the farm that we would lose electricity. It was an adventure in those days. Mom had a big old kerosene lamp and we would get it out and play games by its light. But then we didn't have to worry too much about the food in the refigerator spoiling. Perhaps we might get cold, because, invariably the electricty never went off in the summer time! Only one time do I ever remember that losing electrical power was a major inconvenience. Christmas Eve, 1973. I had a huge dinner cooking in the oven and we lost all our power. I don't remember what we ate that eve, it just wasn't my planned meal. I do recall being enormously unhappy about it, though. Even though our meal was a candle light supper.

Haiti was another story. In the year 2008 they still don't have electricity in the area that we were in. What's more, when it was dark, which was about 6:30 p.m., there were no kerosene lamps or even candles being lit in the little houses of the city. It was just plain dark. No street lights, no house lights, no glowing neon lights advertising the local market. We were out walking around in it on several occasions. Flashlights were called for, but we were even unprepared for that. Here I never even think about such things. The compound had a generator and it ran from dark until about 10 or so. It powered up my camera batteries. But it also meant that there were no cold drinks, no ice cream on those hot 90+ days, and no hot showers. Such a little thing, electricity! On the othe hand, we had beautiful star filled evenings! And a full moon while we were there!

Butler's

Can I tell you how much I appreciate getting to go out for coffee with friends?! I am only a recent coffee addict. For the first 40 years of my life I actually thought I hated the bitter stuff. It was in England several years ago (10 years now) where I discovered how good it could taste. I've been hooked ever since. I've even discovered that it is a Healthy drink! (don't remind me that I'm supposed to be giving up caffine please) But what makes it even more delightful is its social aspect. What could be better than sitting at a table with good friends and a warm cup in your hand! If it tastes good, that's even better. Like today. Sioux Center has a place that could (gasp) rival de Koffie Hoek or the Coffee Mill! It's Butler's. Great atmosphere. Warm. And their cinna-carmel Latte was excellent! So friend, lets make a trip over there for a latte. After all, it's snowing again, and I think coffee is the only thing that will cheer me up!

New Year's Resolution: Gratitude

March is already here and I have been thinking about my New Year's Resolution, to spend a whole month growing in and being changed by one single concept. I would like to concentrate on Thankfulness/Gratitude: "I will praise the name of God with a song;I will magnify him with thanksgiving" (ps 69:30) "rooted and built up in him and established in the faith, just as you were taught, abounding in thanksgiving" Col. 2:7

"Some people are always grumbling because roses have thorns; I am thankful that thorns have roses.”

"You simply will not be the same person two months from now after consciously giving thanks each day for the abundance that exists in your life. And you will have set in motion an ancient spiritual law: the more you have and are grateful for, the more will be given you."

"Gratitude is not only the greatest of virtues, but the parent of all the others" -cicero

Out of Control

My trip to Haiti was framed on both ends by tears. I worried and stewed at the beginning that I wouldn't have anything to offer once I got there. I'm the girl who wants to write the book about "Everything I learned about life, I learned on the back of a Jet Ski" Lesson 1: It's more fun to drive than ride. Be in control, in other words. Well, my first night I lay in bed and wept at the foolishiness of what I was doing. For me, this was an "out of control moment". Everything was unfamiliar, everything was wAAAy out of my comfort zone. I was very distressed. But as you can see from all my posts everything I found and did was covered over by incredible grace. From teaching through an interpreter, to prayer walks, serving children, to the food we ate and the people we dealt with, I learned I didn't need to be in control. God already has this place firmly in HIS grip. This trip was huge in terms of what I learned and of how my faith was strengthened. So that when the time came to come home, just 7 short days later I found myself weeping again. Crying on the plane from Florida to Iowa knowing that I have lived a very selfish, self centered, ungrateful life. It has been an "All about ME" theme. How could I fly back to smooth roads, warm a home, a full refigerator, elecricity, running water (and the list keeps going) and not somehow be changed by all this. I could never end the poverty in Haiti but at the very least I can become a grateful person. I might not ever change a single life in that country even by my one visit, but I can allow God to change me. I can through the power and control of God be different. I'm not sure yet, how that will look. But I'll keep you posted.

The Bus

I don't know how many more Haiti stories you all can stand, but there are so many swirling around in my head right now, I can hardly keep from talking about them.
One of the biggest things that happened while we were there related to "the bus". The bus story is in itself rather lengthy and if I actually got all the details right you might be impressed. But I'm bound to forget some important point, So I think I'm better off just giving you the gist. The bus, when it first arrived in Haiti about 2-3 years ago, was happily used for only a short period of time before it was driven into a river and ruined. Completely. As in, if it were in the U.S. it would have been junked out for parts. This was a major disappointment because it was such a widely used part of the ministry. And you'd agree since there's no one who has vehicles there except the missionaries and other aid workers. But instead, for 2 years running, a top notch mechanic (as seen in above photo) went down and worked on it. Scrounging for parts, working 12 hour days and above all, praying that it would be fixed. There were several funny stories that the guys who worked on this were all able to tell, about finding parts, running all over, having the Haitians help yada yada yada. The second to the last day of our visit, they were able to start the bus and actually run it back to the compound. They tinkered some more and It is officially fixed! The point to my story is, I was as excited about having this bus fixed as if I actually did something. When in reality, the only thing I really did was offer up some very half hearted prayers. I really didn't even pray too intelligently when it came to fixing this thing. I have no idea what I was praying about. i.e. "O Lord, help them get the manifold, transmission, transformed." You see what I mean. Good thing God can work in spite of me. Good thing God wasn't waiting for my prayers so He could work in the first place. His business is manifold transformation. I can go join in. God is indeed at work in Haiti!

Modern Haiti

The sun set in Haiti around 6:30 p.m. Once that happened it was dark. Really dark. While there was a generator on the compound and we had lights in the evening for awhile, no one else did. We went out in the evening several times and people were everywhere wandering around in that blackness. No flashlights. No candles. No oil lamps. There were no electrical lines into Pignon or Bo Hoc where we were staying. But one thing that was there: cell phones! It was the most incongrous thing I've ever seen. (They haven't had lessons in cell phone ettiquete yet either) Here are these people with nothing but they all have cell phones. The picture above is of a solar cell phone charger. The guy who owns it charges a small fee and relies on the one constant that Haiti seems to have: plenty of sunshine! But when you think about it, owning a cell phone makes a bit of sense. It certainly saves time. You can check to see if someone has something you might need ahead of time and save yourself a long walk if they don't. Haitian time runs similar to other places where clocks don't abound. Things happen when you (or everyone) gets there. So having a cell phone comes in handy there too.
The one light that we could see at night came from the cell phone tower. Very odd.

Church in Haiti

We held Vacation Bible School in 3 different churches. They were the churches that were in charge of the three feeding centers that the mission runs. They have a big stake in feeding the children of their community. The only thing that outsiders do is provide the money to purchase the rice, beans and cabbage. After that, the churches take over. There were strict standards as to who got fed. Children were weighed and measured and they had to be weaned and not over 10 years old. These kids were brought to the centers by their mothers or older siblings. It was here, at these churches that we did the VBS programs. The contrast was interesting. The first church was pretty nice by Haitian standards: painted and roofed, with a sound system even, and pews. The second was nothing more than an open air pole barn. The kind we might keep an animal in. With some benches. The third was between two rows of trees. Rope was strung up and some sheets were put up. There were a few benches. The first two had "bells". A tire rim that could be beaten to signal the beginning of church. None the less, I was impressed with the pastors and their enthusiasm and excitement about being able to do this kind of ministry. We showed up just in time to pass out a few things, but mostly we were just observers. The real work was already being done.