Last Sunday my Aunt Helen and Uncle Bob came for a 2 week visit. It has been so wonderful to have them here and have them join us in various aspects of the ministry.
A phrase that Helen uses often is "That was a God Thing" and there have been many times through out the past few days that we have seen that to be very true.
Some examples are:
Before Helen and Bob came they prayed that God would clearly direct them to know what to bring that would be the most helpful. Among other things one thing they thought they should bring was thread. Wow, what a God thing. The main job that Helen has been working on is making sheets for the bunk bed mattresses that we will be using in Atrel for visitors. When we started I discovered that I had no white thread for this job, but Helen had brought several spools of white thread. God knew I needed white thread before I did.
One simple thing that God provided just for fun was balloons. A school related activity required ballons and we didn't have enough for the project. With their gift of balloons, we had great fun with our school project. It was a great happy "God thing."
Yesterday they spent the day sorting a large shipment of medical supplies. When the hospital administrator came and looked over what they were doing she was very pleased that they were willing to help out in this way. It truly was a "God thing" that Helen was here with great medical knowledge to help the hospital know what they had in this large shipment.
Bob has been a great help with the mission house that we are repairing/remodeling. He has been willing to do anything and a very willing servant.
It really has been a "God thing" that they decided to come and see the work first hand and join us for a couple weeks.
Tomorrow we are heading to Atrel. We will be visiting friends in Anse Rouge and then taking them along as we go to Atrel. Our goal is to decide on the placement of our house along with a small "bunk house" and outhouses. We are praying that God clearly shows us where to have these building.
We are eagerly anticipating more "God Things" during the next 2 days of our trip to Atrel.
Tuesday, March 27, 2012
Monday, March 12, 2012
Truck heading to Atrel and Trusses being built
This morning the dump truck was loaded with building supplies and went to Atrel. Boss Joubert along with some other men will the spending the next few days building posts around our property so that a wall or fence can easily be built.
About 6 weeks ago we started the reconstruction of one of the mission houses that was damaged during the earthquake. It was our plan to do this during dry season since we needed to take the roof off and repair several interior walls. The rains have started now and this is causing several problems for the apartments under the open house. Our carpenters have been working for a couple of days designing the trusses and starting to build them. Knowing that we need to get this roof on quickly, we were thankful that half of the group that is here right now helping to rebuild 2 houses for families who lost their homes in the earthquake, was willing to stay back today and help build the trusses.
Tomorrow the other half of the group is going to help put the trusses up on the house. Hopefully we can get the roof on quickly before the leaks get worse in the downstairs apartments.
 |
| Joas, the driver and Christophe, his helper making sure their load is ready for the long ride. |
About 6 weeks ago we started the reconstruction of one of the mission houses that was damaged during the earthquake. It was our plan to do this during dry season since we needed to take the roof off and repair several interior walls. The rains have started now and this is causing several problems for the apartments under the open house. Our carpenters have been working for a couple of days designing the trusses and starting to build them. Knowing that we need to get this roof on quickly, we were thankful that half of the group that is here right now helping to rebuild 2 houses for families who lost their homes in the earthquake, was willing to stay back today and help build the trusses.
Tomorrow the other half of the group is going to help put the trusses up on the house. Hopefully we can get the roof on quickly before the leaks get worse in the downstairs apartments.
Thursday, March 08, 2012
Wow, What a Week
This has been quite the week so far. Here is an update on what has happened.
"Earthquake"
I must admit that it was very scary to feel the shaking last night around 9:50 pm. Even though it lasted only about 5 seconds it really startled us. It has been 2 years since we have felt that and it brought back many memories. This morning I was talking with a lady and asked if she slept well after the "shake." I loved her response. She said, "Yes, I was scared, but after it happened I prayed and then went to sleep." I love the trust that she has in God knowing that He is in control and it was no use worrying.
Atrel Trip:
On Monday morning Kyrk went to Atrel along with Boss Joubert, who will be overseeing all the concrete work for our house and buildings on the property. Kyrk had a picture in his mind of where he would build our house and the other small buildings. When he saw the land, it was a large piece located above the mission property just like he had requested, but it is divided by 2 roads. Pastor Fritz told us that we could have the road moved to go around the property instead of through it, but we are not sure what we want to do. When Kyrk and I both travel to Atrel at the end of March we will decide together where our house will be built.
Today Pastor Fritz took the land papers to the government office in Port-De-Paix to have the purchase legally completed. We are so thankful to his willingness to help us and to do anything he can for us. This is a huge encouragement to us, knowing that him along with the church community of Atrel are really looking forward to having us come and live along side of them.
Tomatoes:
On Monday I received 2 large baskets of tomatoes from an area that has lots of tomatoes right now. Needless to say I have spent the past 4 days canning salsa, spaghetti sauce and tomatoes. I was super thankful to have it all finished and a clean kitchen once again this evening.
"Earthquake"
I must admit that it was very scary to feel the shaking last night around 9:50 pm. Even though it lasted only about 5 seconds it really startled us. It has been 2 years since we have felt that and it brought back many memories. This morning I was talking with a lady and asked if she slept well after the "shake." I loved her response. She said, "Yes, I was scared, but after it happened I prayed and then went to sleep." I love the trust that she has in God knowing that He is in control and it was no use worrying.
Atrel Trip:
On Monday morning Kyrk went to Atrel along with Boss Joubert, who will be overseeing all the concrete work for our house and buildings on the property. Kyrk had a picture in his mind of where he would build our house and the other small buildings. When he saw the land, it was a large piece located above the mission property just like he had requested, but it is divided by 2 roads. Pastor Fritz told us that we could have the road moved to go around the property instead of through it, but we are not sure what we want to do. When Kyrk and I both travel to Atrel at the end of March we will decide together where our house will be built.
Today Pastor Fritz took the land papers to the government office in Port-De-Paix to have the purchase legally completed. We are so thankful to his willingness to help us and to do anything he can for us. This is a huge encouragement to us, knowing that him along with the church community of Atrel are really looking forward to having us come and live along side of them.
 |
| Walking on our property. It goes all the way to where the truck is parked and beyond it. |
 |
| Looking back on the property they were walking on. |
 |
| The property that is directly above the mission property on the other side of the road. |
 |
| These girls came through as they were checking out the land. |
 |
| The hill in this picture will hopefully one day have a training center built on it and our house somewhere at the top. |
On Monday I received 2 large baskets of tomatoes from an area that has lots of tomatoes right now. Needless to say I have spent the past 4 days canning salsa, spaghetti sauce and tomatoes. I was super thankful to have it all finished and a clean kitchen once again this evening.
 |
| I had just emptied the first basket when I took this picture. Keep in mind these baskets are about 2 feet tall. |
Thursday, March 01, 2012
New Jewelry Project
A few months ago Chelsea approached me about starting to do something with jewelry. I had heard about a great project called the Apparent Project, so we went to visit it and we were very impressed with what we saw and wanted to start something similar in our area.
Chelsea has really put many hours of planning and preparations into this project and approached the ladies group from the Thomassin Church who chose 3 people to learn how to make paper bead jewelry. Following a day of training at the Apparent Project, we have been meeting each Thursday morning to continue learning together. Finally today we were able to put together our first necklaces and bracelets.
Next week each of the ladies will bring the beads that they will make this week at home and once they have made some necklaces and bracelets we will begin selling them to visitors. A large portion of the sale of the jewelry goes directly to the ladies who make them. These ladies are very pleased knowing that they will soon be able to make some much needed money to help support their families.
For more details on this project you can check out Chelsea's blog
Chelsea has really put many hours of planning and preparations into this project and approached the ladies group from the Thomassin Church who chose 3 people to learn how to make paper bead jewelry. Following a day of training at the Apparent Project, we have been meeting each Thursday morning to continue learning together. Finally today we were able to put together our first necklaces and bracelets.
Next week each of the ladies will bring the beads that they will make this week at home and once they have made some necklaces and bracelets we will begin selling them to visitors. A large portion of the sale of the jewelry goes directly to the ladies who make them. These ladies are very pleased knowing that they will soon be able to make some much needed money to help support their families.
 |
| We start with basic cardboard boxes. As you can see anything at least 8 inches tall works. |
 |
| The boxes are cut into triangular wedges which are then rolled on a stick. |
 |
| Some of the finished beads |
 |
| Looking at some of the beads that Andrea made this past week at her house. |
 |
| Working together to take the beads off the sticks. |
 |
| Beginning to string them together. |
 |
| Denise (a trainer from the ApParent Project) showing some of the finished work. |
 |
| A completed necklace |
 |
| Some of the bracelets that were made today |
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)