Team House Construction Update

 This past week Kyrk along with a group of men spent the week building the team house.  This building has 2 shower rooms, a small storage room and 2 sleeping/living rooms.  One will be used for people who come and help with various projects including the building of our house.  The other room will be the home of our guardian who will live there to guard and help on the mission property. 
I have included several pictures to give you an idea of how the week went.
We praise God that they were able to get most of it finished this week.  Kyrk will be returning for a couple days next week to finish the exterior and the group of carpenters will finished the ceiling and interior walls.

This was taken from the property that our house will be built on, looking down on the team house.  This was the progress when they arrived on Monday afternoon.

Making the walls smooth of the shower rooms

The progress as of Friday afternoon.

Team House Building Week

This is going to be a very eventful week.  This morning at 5:30 am Kyrk headed out along with another truck fully loaded with building supplies. 
If all went as planned they should have all reached Atrel shortly after lunch and could have started construction this afternoon.  There will be 4 very skilled Haitian carpenters helping Kyrk along with a great volunteer who came in to help also.
It is going to be a very long week for the men working on this house.  The goal is to finished it completely before they come home on Saturday.

If I hear more updates through out the week I will pass them along. 
Kyrk is hoping to take pictures of the progress so check back this weekend, for pictures of the construction.

God has provided

We are super thankful that as of yesterday there is someone coming to help Kyrk build next week.  This is a huge answer to prayer.  Now Kyrk knows that they should be able to get the small team house built in the week. 
Kyrk returns tomorrow from a weekend in the states.  He was sharing at a church outside of St. Louis, Missouri.  The kids and I are really looking forward to having him home again. 

Help Needed

During the week of June 11-15 Kyrk is going to be building the team house.  Today he found out that the man who was planning to work with him on this building has to leave on June 14 so he will not be able to go with Kyrk.
Since Kyrk will be using steel stud construction the men who work here are not familiar with it. 
So Kyrk is looking for 1-2 people who would be willing to come on June 9 -17 to help with this project.  Having some construction experience would be very helpful. 
The conditions will be rough, but it will be a great experience also.
Please contact us if you or someone you know is interested in helping build the team house.

Robert's Road Trip with Dad

 On Monday Kyrk made a quick trip to Atrel.  Robert really wanted to go along even though it meant spending 12 hours in a vehicle.  He really enjoys spending time with dad and going to Atrel.

 When they arrived in Atrel Robert enjoyed playing on the pile of rocks that will be used for the foundation.

 Boss Joubert along with Kyrk checked out the finished cistern for the team house.  Kyrk also marked out the rest of the foundation which will be built where the bars of iron are laying on the ground.

Yeah, things were a little green in Atrel thanks to the rain that came a few weeks ago.

Mango Fun

Yesterday Kyrk made a trip to Atrel to mark out the full foundation for the team house as well as the outhouses. Things are progressing well with the construction and tomorrow Boss Joubert will go back up to continue working on the foundation.
As Kyrk was coming home yesterday he found some large baskets of mangoes at a very reasonable price, so he bought 2.  I had been wanting to try canning mango, so today was the day.

 This is what I started with this morning and after several hours of work I was able to cut up and can one basket.  Tomorrow we will tackle the second one.

The kids loved "cleaning" off the seeds.  These mangoes were so juicy and delicious making all their faces orange by the end of the day.

Saturday night update

Construction Update:
Construction continues to go well on the team house.  Last Sunday Kyrk made a quick trip to place all the drain pipes and make sure everything was ready for the men to pour the top of the cistern. 
On Monday he will be going back up to mark out the full foundation of the team house and the foundations for the 2 outhouses.  If all goes well Kyrk will be going up sometime during the first 2 weeks of June to build the actual building.  
We are praising God that so far things are going very well with construction.

First Time experience:
This evening following supper there was a knock on our door.  It was one of our drivers and he shared with us that a man he knew from his home town was here with 2 newborn twins who's mother had died.  They were hoping to find someone to take the babies.  Wow, I know this type of thing happens too often in Haiti, but to know that these 2 tiny infants were orphaned and unwanted really hit me hard.  Thankfully we were able to refer them to a great orphanage close by who would be able to take the infants in and provide great care and hopefully adoption in the future. 
Join us in praying for this grieving family and for these 2 precious children.

Fun pictures of the kids:

Naomi, cutting our lawn.

 Jonathan loves football and today decided that he wanted to build a field goal post.  With Kyrk's help they built one and then had to play a little football together.

Rebekah and Robert enjoy climbing trees.

Anna was "reading" her Three Little Pigs" book to her bunny and bear.

Grandparents 60th Anniversary

This past weekend I had the amazing opportunity to attend my grandparents 60th wedding anniversary celebration.  I surprised them and to see the look on their faces as they saw me, was priceless.  Grandma and Grandpa Smids have been wonderful supportive grandparents who have been great examples to me and it was a huge blessing to be able to attend their special celebration.

Special thanks to Kyrk for being willing to watch the kids and for making it possible for me to go to Canada for the weekend.

Construction has begun

It is so exciting to finally be able to say "construction has begun"  Last week a group of men from the Fermathe area went to Atrel to begin building.  Well actually it is more digging right now.  They are starting with digging a hole that will become a water cistern under our team house.  

It has been very dry in Atrel over the past few months.  But for the past 9 days it has rained every day.  This has made their job a little more challenging, but they are making the best of it and doing a great job.

Working under a trap, they are digging a 6-8 foot hole for the cistern.  Of course you always have a crowd in Haiti.

The wood structure is their "kitchen."  They are cooking all their meals right here beside them, using a large pot and some rocks to keep it off the ground.

They are digging mostly shale, but they have hit a large rock at about 6 feet, so it is not going any deeper in that section.

Kouri Deye

Check out the new page we created today for Kouri Deye by clicking on Jewelry Project on the top of this page.  It is very exciting to see what God is doing in the lives of these ladies and it has been a great joy to work with them. 

Faith of the Poor

The missionary ladies here are currently working through a Study of the book of James.  I have learned so many things so far and I'm so grateful for the ways that God is providing for me to put things into practice.  Here is one example of what God has shown me recently.

James 2:5
 Listen, my beloved brethren: Has God not chosen the poor of this world to be rich in faith and heirs of the kingdom which He promised to those who love Him?

A couple of days ago I was given a wonderful example of the rich faith of the poor that surround us.  Madame Oliver is a widow who has 4 children.  One daughter is married, but 2 daughters and 1 son still live with her at home.  She works at the mission a couple days a week and is very thankful for the help that those wages are to help with some of her expenses.  She used to sell items in the market, but in December all that she had to sell in the market was stolen leaving her with no income.
She explained this to me and then went on to share that in a couple of weeks she needs to pay her yearly rent for her house.  She has no idea where that money is going to come from and she has no family living in this area.  Then with a huge smile on her face she said, "But I have the family of God, and that is a huge family." 

This really made me evaluate what would I do in her situation.  Would I have the faith that she has, or would I be worrying and fretting about where I would live?  Would I trust God and rest in the fact that I am part of the family of God?
So often I can get upset and worried about simple things.  I'm so thankful for the ways God is teaching me to trust Him with everything!  He is in control and we can have faith that He knows what is best for us.

Jewelry Project Update

About a month ago I shared how Chelsea and I were working with a group of ladies from the Thomassin church to make jewelry from paper beads.  It has been a wonderful opportunity to get to know the ladies that we are working with and to see them develop in their skills and begin to create some great quality jewelry. 

Each Thursday I have the opportunity to spend the morning with these ladies and I am loving getting to know them.  Today I had the chance to talk with Andrea.  She was sharing with me some of the expenses that she has.  She currently has a daughter who is studying in the Dominican Republic.  Her husband is a driver and is paid fairly, but doesn't make a lot of money.  Each month when he is paid they would take a large amount of that money and exchange it to US money to send $100 US to their daughter to cover her school expenses.  At the same time they were also having to pay money for their youngest daughter to go to a local high school.  After paying these 2 school bills there was not much left over for food or anything else.  With a large smile on her face, Andrea shared with me that this has all changed.  She is now able to make enough money each month to cover the school costs without having to take from her husband's pay.  The money her husband is making can now be used for the family's general expenses.

Thank you to those who have purchased some of the jewelry that Andrea and the others are making.  It really is making a huge impact on their lives.

Andrea showing some of her recently made jewelry.

Trip to Atrel

On Wednesday, Kyrk and I along with Aunt Helen and Uncle Bob started off very early (5:30) on a great adventure.  Special thanks to Trey and Chelsea for watching Robert and Anna and to Chris and Kelli for watching Naomi, Jonathan and Rebekah.  It was a very special treat for me to be able to go along on this trip.

Coridon church and school

A common stop along the way is the small town of Coridon in the salt flats, where the BHM affiliated school has a decent outhouse.  

These kids asked Bob to take their picture and then enjoyed looking at the pictures that he took.











 Amazingly we arrived in Anse Rouge around 12:30 that afternoon and after a great lunch with friends we drove to Atrel.  The road between Anse Rouge and Atrel was a fun road to travel.  

Some spots were a little narrow.  I don't think there are many vehicles that travel this road.

When we arrived in the town of Atrel it was very encouraging to be greeted by several people that we had met during past trips.  This boy on his donkey greeted us up on our property.

 There were several people that followed us around as we walked the property.  We were a little surprised by the number of people that were in the area.

Bryon talking with a man who followed us everywhere and enjoyed talking to us

Thankfully it was fairly easy to decide the general area that we are going to put the various buildings.  The "team house" and the outhouse are going to be at the top of the mission property and our house will be built on the other side of the road further up the hill.  

Standing in the general area that our house will be on.  There is lots of brush to remove.

Our house will have a great view of the town of Atrel and I'm excited about being able to terrace the side of the hill for gardens around our house.
We are so thankful that God clearly showed us where we will build our house and the other buildings.  It was also a great opportunity to share our dreams and vision with others.
In the next couple of weeks Kyrk will be taking Joubert to Atrel for him to start the foundation of the team house and the outhouse.  We are praying that things go well with this phase of construction and that we can possibly start our house by May.
God's timing is perfect, so we continue to seek Him and take it one step at a time.

A God Thing

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.
 

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

I had just emptied the first basket when I took this picture.  Keep in mind these baskets are about 2 feet tall.

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.

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

For more details on this project you can check out Chelsea's blog

All We Need

God Will Provide All We Need:
Recently we have had several visitors here helping with various projects.  It is very encouraging to talk with these visitors and often God uses them to encourage and challenge us.  This is what happened last week when a man who came, shared with the staff following a meal together.
As he shared it put a whole need meaning on the phrase "God will provide all we need."   He challenged us that if we don't have something, then it means we don't need it right now.  My first thought was "Wow is that what it really means?" 
Then God once again reminded me "Do you trust me?"

As we continue to plan to move there are so many things to think about and plan and it can be very overwhelming and scary, but then I remember God will provide ALL we need.  Those needs may not be what I think are needs, but I need to trust God and know that he knows better what our needs really are.

Purchasing Land:
This past week we got a call from Pastor Fritz, the Pastor in Atrel, and he is going to have the land for our home surveyed on the 28th of this month.  The following week Kyrk will need to go with Pastor Fritz to the government offices in Port-de-Paix and get everything finalized for the purchase of the land.  Pray with us that this process goes smoothly.  When the land is purchased we can start the building of our home. 

Rebekah's Fall

Relaxing on the couch after getting bandaged up

On Monday Rebekah fell on her bike and cut her leg badly on a old rusty bell.  Kyrk was able to clean it out well and get it bandaged up.  The doctor stopped by later in the afternoon to check the wound and it looked okay to him.  Thankfully a nurse from the hospital was willing to come and give Rebekah a tetanus shot yesterday, just to be safe.  We are praising God that He met our need for good medical care for Rebekah.

Back Home

On Thursday afternoon we arrived back in Haiti after a wonderful 2 months of vacation and deputation.  It was so wonderful to see how God worked and really encouraged us through the churches we visited and the many people that we spent time with. 
Coming back to Haiti after 2 months is always an adjustment.  This time there were several things that made that adjustment even more challenging.  It quickly became very clear to us that Satan was attacking us while we were tired and vulnerable. 
It is never fun to open a kitchen cupboard and discover that a rat has chewed a hole through the top of the cupboard and made a huge mess.  Then to discover that while we were gone someone broke into our back room and stole several of Kyrk's tools.
Through all of this it is easy to get angry and upset about these things, but we realized that that is exactly what Satan wanted us to do.  It made me think about what is most important in my life.  Do the things that I have really belong to Jesus?

This morning in church the pastor was speaking from Daniel 1 and challenged us to live true Christian lives.  He then referenced the hymn "I'd Rather Have Jesus"  I was reading it in the Creole song book and loved the way that it was translated.  Through these words God really challenged me to put Him first and not things. 
Here is the translation from the Creole Hymn book:
I'd rather have Jesus then lots of money
I'd rather have Him then being rich all the time.
I'm rather have Jesus then a beautiful house
I'd rather be led by Him all the time.

It is my prayer that this is true.  That Jesus is the most important thing, more then stolen tools, ruined food or anything else in this world.

Being who God wants us to be and trusting Him

Over the past few weeks we have been overwhelmed with the faithfulness of God.
We have had the opportunity to share with 4 different churches.  Each one of them have received us very openly and there have been some great opportunities to share how God is leading us.
As all this has been taking place I have been struck by the fact that I'm just an ordinary person striving to do the will of God.  I don't have to be anyone special, I just need to be me and follow God's leading.  Often I can get caught up in what other people think of me.  I think that I have to act a certain way and my children have to act a certain way since we are "Missionaries"  But I'm so thankful for God's gentle reminder through His word these past few days that it doesn't matter what others think of me and I don't have to be someone super spiritual or special since I'm a "missionary."  God just wants us to be who He made us to be and focus on drawing closer to Him and reflecting Him to others.
There have also been so many times these past few weeks when I have felt God saying "Do you trust me?"  I know that the road ahead of us as a family is going to be very difficult.  It is not going to be easy to make a major move to northwest Haiti.  There are so many uncertainties and we don't know where the funds are going to come from or how all the logistics are going to work out, but I constantly hear God saying "Do you trust Me?"
It is a daily struggle and I don't think it will ever be easy, but I'm so thankful for the ways that He has encouraged us through the wonderful people and churches that we have visited. 
I know that God has great things in store for us and day by day I pray that we truly will Trust Him.


Sorry for the lack of pictures.  They are all on Kyrk's computer so I will work on getting some good vacation pictures on here soon.