This week has been full of preparations for our two week stay in Atrel. Tomorrow 31 people arrive from the Netherlands to help build a much needed secondary school in Atrel. We will be traveling early Monday morning with everyone up to Atrel.
It has been a lot of work just to get ready for this group, since we will be staying in a school and have no electricity and therefore no refrigeration, along with no running water etc. We have had to get everything to make a classroom into a kitchen, along with building our own shower stalls etc.
Kyrk and I are tired already and we haven't even started the work in Atrel. Pray with us that the next 2 weeks go smoothly and that God is glorified through all that is said and done. We know that we are going to be stretched, but we are relying on God's strength.
We will return on Aug. 11 so I will try and post once we return. We are trusting that God does come great things and that He continues to draw us closer to Him through this challenging experience.
Friday, July 24, 2009
Thursday, July 16, 2009
Dunkin Donuts
Tuesday was a great day. We were able to meet up with our good friend Bonita and spend a little bit of time grocery shopping with her and then getting something to drink at a little bakery. It is always such an encouragement to spend time with Bonita.
She surprised us with a huge treat. Doughnuts are not something that we get here, so having a dozen doughnuts brought in for us was wonderful. I have put some pictures of the kids enjoying them.
THANK YOU BONITA!!
She surprised us with a huge treat. Doughnuts are not something that we get here, so having a dozen doughnuts brought in for us was wonderful. I have put some pictures of the kids enjoying them.
THANK YOU BONITA!!
Friday, July 10, 2009
Quonset Hut is Here!!
The first step towards us moving to Atrel is starting to happen. About a week ago the quonset hut that was ordered at the end of November finally arrived at the mission. It really was an answer to pray that we were able to get it through customs using the mission franchise and therefore did not have to pay the customs bill for it. God is Good!
It also came at the perfect time. (Of, course it was perfect timing, God is in control)
When we go to Atrel on July 26, with a large group from the Netherlands Kyrk is going to have some of the workers come along and start to build the foundation for the quonset hut. This way he can supervise 2 jobs at the same time.
Below is a picture of all the pieces in the truck when it arrived here. It doesn't look like much, but it will turn into a large 30x60 storage facility.
It also came at the perfect time. (Of, course it was perfect timing, God is in control)
When we go to Atrel on July 26, with a large group from the Netherlands Kyrk is going to have some of the workers come along and start to build the foundation for the quonset hut. This way he can supervise 2 jobs at the same time.
Below is a picture of all the pieces in the truck when it arrived here. It doesn't look like much, but it will turn into a large 30x60 storage facility.
Thursday, July 02, 2009
Jonathan
Yesterday started off as a normal busy day, especially since we have a team of 15 here from Pennsylvania right now.
Around 4 in the afternoon, Jonathan and I went over to the kitchen to see how supper was coming along. Jonathan chose to ride his bike, which he had been doing for most of the day. The only difference was that it had just rained, making the cement a little slippery.
As I was talking with the cook I hear Jonathan start screaming. He had fallen off of his bike and hit his head on the cement. I ran to him and took him into the kitchen to put a wash cloth on his forehead (which was really bleeding bad) I knew that I was not going to be able to deal with this, so I sent some people to find Kyrk.
Kyrk is wonderful!!!! He called the Doctor to make sure he was here and then took Jonathan up to the hospital. 3 stitches later he was back home.
We are so thankful for good medical staff right here at the mission. Dr. Bernard is a great doctor and he even stopped by the house this morning to see how he was doing.
This was taken right after he came back from getting the stitches. I think he was feeling good at this point. Back to his same silly self.
This is what his head looked like this morning when I changed the bandage.
Around 4 in the afternoon, Jonathan and I went over to the kitchen to see how supper was coming along. Jonathan chose to ride his bike, which he had been doing for most of the day. The only difference was that it had just rained, making the cement a little slippery.
As I was talking with the cook I hear Jonathan start screaming. He had fallen off of his bike and hit his head on the cement. I ran to him and took him into the kitchen to put a wash cloth on his forehead (which was really bleeding bad) I knew that I was not going to be able to deal with this, so I sent some people to find Kyrk.
Kyrk is wonderful!!!! He called the Doctor to make sure he was here and then took Jonathan up to the hospital. 3 stitches later he was back home.
We are so thankful for good medical staff right here at the mission. Dr. Bernard is a great doctor and he even stopped by the house this morning to see how he was doing.
This was taken right after he came back from getting the stitches. I think he was feeling good at this point. Back to his same silly self.
This is what his head looked like this morning when I changed the bandage.
Monday, June 22, 2009
Special Visitor
On Saturday we had the wonderful surprise of having Nate come visit us.
I'm sure many of you are wondering, who is Nate?
Some of you may remember back in November a large school collapsed in Petionville. If you want to read all the details you can here
Kyrk still does not know who called him that day to ask him and the other men to come down and help. It really is amazing to see God's hand at work through out all of this.
When Kyrk got to the school he started working along side of Nate. Nate is a Haitian man who lives in Florida and was here for 3 days to help train local fire fighters.
As we talked with him on Saturday it was so clear that God brought him here for those 3 short days to be at the school. He and Kyrk were able to spend many hours freeing a little 6 year old boy.
Shortly after the boy was rescued Kyrk and the other men from the mission left and no information was exchanged with Nate. Since that time they have been trying to get back together again and talk. All Nate knew was Kyrk's first name and that he worked at the Baptist Mission.
A few weeks after the incident the pastor from our church here was preaching in Florida (at Nate's church) and Nate was able to ask him if he knew Kyrk and he was able to give Pastor Joubert his card and email address for Kyrk. Since then they have been emailing and hoping to someday meet again and share what God has done.
As Nate and Kyrk talked on Saturday they were so amazed at how God brought them together for the purpose of rescuing that little boy.
Nate and his wife are wonderful Godly people and it was such an encouragement to us be able to talk with Nate and to meet his wife.
I'm sure many of you are wondering, who is Nate?
Some of you may remember back in November a large school collapsed in Petionville. If you want to read all the details you can here
Kyrk still does not know who called him that day to ask him and the other men to come down and help. It really is amazing to see God's hand at work through out all of this.
When Kyrk got to the school he started working along side of Nate. Nate is a Haitian man who lives in Florida and was here for 3 days to help train local fire fighters.
As we talked with him on Saturday it was so clear that God brought him here for those 3 short days to be at the school. He and Kyrk were able to spend many hours freeing a little 6 year old boy.
Shortly after the boy was rescued Kyrk and the other men from the mission left and no information was exchanged with Nate. Since that time they have been trying to get back together again and talk. All Nate knew was Kyrk's first name and that he worked at the Baptist Mission.
A few weeks after the incident the pastor from our church here was preaching in Florida (at Nate's church) and Nate was able to ask him if he knew Kyrk and he was able to give Pastor Joubert his card and email address for Kyrk. Since then they have been emailing and hoping to someday meet again and share what God has done.
As Nate and Kyrk talked on Saturday they were so amazed at how God brought them together for the purpose of rescuing that little boy.
Nate and his wife are wonderful Godly people and it was such an encouragement to us be able to talk with Nate and to meet his wife.
Wednesday, June 17, 2009
Rats
I guess part of living in a third world country is having to deal with rats. Usually it is not terrible, but recently we have been having a lot of fun with rats.
It all started about 1 week ago. One evening, last week I heard a little chewing sound in the kitchen and asked Kyrk is check it out. Being the wonderful man that he is, he found the rat in a drawer and hit it with a stick. After a couple of times he was successful in killing it.
A couple of days later we caught another rat in a trap. At this point I thought we are finished with rats in our house for awhile.
Well I was wrong. This morning when I opened my dish towel drawer I found a dead baby rat laying on top of the towels. It was so gross and Naomi knew that I was not going to deal with it, so she immediately called Kyrk.
He came and discovered 6 more dead baby rats amongst the towels.
Rebekah liked the little rats and after they were in this cup she took them to show Grandma, her cousins and the other missionary family here.
Once they had shown the rats to everyone, it was time to bury them. Naomi had the honors on digging the grave and covering them.
Yeah there are 9 less rats around!!
It all started about 1 week ago. One evening, last week I heard a little chewing sound in the kitchen and asked Kyrk is check it out. Being the wonderful man that he is, he found the rat in a drawer and hit it with a stick. After a couple of times he was successful in killing it.
A couple of days later we caught another rat in a trap. At this point I thought we are finished with rats in our house for awhile.
Well I was wrong. This morning when I opened my dish towel drawer I found a dead baby rat laying on top of the towels. It was so gross and Naomi knew that I was not going to deal with it, so she immediately called Kyrk.
He came and discovered 6 more dead baby rats amongst the towels.
Rebekah liked the little rats and after they were in this cup she took them to show Grandma, her cousins and the other missionary family here.
Once they had shown the rats to everyone, it was time to bury them. Naomi had the honors on digging the grave and covering them.
Yeah there are 9 less rats around!!
Monday, June 15, 2009
Fun evening out
On Saturday night we had the rare treat of going out to eat as a staff. It was a very enjoyable evening and we had a great time. The restaurant is a rather unique place. The main part is covered only by plants and branches. This is where we were initially sitting, until it started raining. Then it was time to quickly move to a drier location. Our children especially enjoyed it. This was only the second time that they have been to a restaurant in the evening like this, so this was a really huge treat for them.
This isn't the best picture since it was pretty dark.
This isn't the best picture since it was pretty dark.
Thursday, June 11, 2009
Canning Fun
This past week I have been having fun learning how to can meat. Growing up I helped my mom can fruit and vegetables, but never meat. Thankfully we found a large pressure cooker in one of our storage rooms here at the mission and it has been working great.
Then a missionary friend had some extra jars and was willing to let me borrow them.
It has really been amazing to see God work in providing the things that we need.
You may ask, why am I canning all this meat??
This summer we have a group of 31 dutch people coming for 2 1/2 weeks. We will be staying in Atrel for that time. Since we are not living there yet, we will all be sleeping in the school and we will not have any electricity or refrigeration. This has caused me to get creative and figure out how we can have some meat with our meals. We will be purchasing some meat fresh from the market but they only have market 2 times a week (Friday and Saturday) and with the heat up there it would not take long for meat to spoil.
These are going to be stretching days for our family. Our whole family will be traveling with the group and staying in the school along with them. We are praying that during this time we will be able to get to know more of the people in the community and learn more about the needs that are there, so we can better prepare for moving there.
Our goal is to move to Atrel by the summer of 2010. We are still praying that God provides the funds in His timing. We currently have about 20% of the needed funds.
Some ground beef and chicken that I have canned.
Then a missionary friend had some extra jars and was willing to let me borrow them.
It has really been amazing to see God work in providing the things that we need.
You may ask, why am I canning all this meat??
This summer we have a group of 31 dutch people coming for 2 1/2 weeks. We will be staying in Atrel for that time. Since we are not living there yet, we will all be sleeping in the school and we will not have any electricity or refrigeration. This has caused me to get creative and figure out how we can have some meat with our meals. We will be purchasing some meat fresh from the market but they only have market 2 times a week (Friday and Saturday) and with the heat up there it would not take long for meat to spoil.
These are going to be stretching days for our family. Our whole family will be traveling with the group and staying in the school along with them. We are praying that during this time we will be able to get to know more of the people in the community and learn more about the needs that are there, so we can better prepare for moving there.
Our goal is to move to Atrel by the summer of 2010. We are still praying that God provides the funds in His timing. We currently have about 20% of the needed funds.
Some ground beef and chicken that I have canned.
Wednesday, May 27, 2009
Visitors
This week has been a fun week so far. On Saturday we had a group of 7 people from from West Virginia and Virginia come to visit for 1 week. One of them is Uncle Roger (Kyrk's uncle) and along with him is his son Tony with his wife and daughter. So not only is it great to have visitors here, it is great to have family visiting.
The men are working on replacing the roof on part of the conference center. It leaked really bad and desperately needed to be replaced.
We are so thankful that they have come and helped out in this way.
The view from the top of what they are doing.
This is Tony and Boss TiJean
The men are working on replacing the roof on part of the conference center. It leaked really bad and desperately needed to be replaced.
We are so thankful that they have come and helped out in this way.
The view from the top of what they are doing.
This is Tony and Boss TiJean
Saturday, May 16, 2009
Garden
At the beginning of April we decided to start a garden. We had heard about Square Foot gardening and wanted to try it.
This is our Haitian version of a square foot garden. So far it has been doing fairly well.
We also wanted to see how successful we would be growing vegetables in only compost in old tires.
These are all techniques that we are trying, hoping to find out what works so we can have a garden when we move to Atrel. In Atrel there is very little good soil and it is very difficult to grow many vegetables, so we are experimenting. Our next project is going to be making compost, to find the best methods for doing that.
On Wednesday we ate the first things from our garden. The romaine lettuce was such a wonderful treat. The people here do not grow romaine lettuce, so it is a treat. We also had one cucumber that we felt was big enough to use in the salad.
Having the garden has turned into a great family project. The kids have each claimed a tire and help take care of their plants. They were very excited to finally be able to pick something from their little gardens.
This is our Haitian version of a square foot garden. So far it has been doing fairly well.
We also wanted to see how successful we would be growing vegetables in only compost in old tires.
These are all techniques that we are trying, hoping to find out what works so we can have a garden when we move to Atrel. In Atrel there is very little good soil and it is very difficult to grow many vegetables, so we are experimenting. Our next project is going to be making compost, to find the best methods for doing that.
On Wednesday we ate the first things from our garden. The romaine lettuce was such a wonderful treat. The people here do not grow romaine lettuce, so it is a treat. We also had one cucumber that we felt was big enough to use in the salad.
Having the garden has turned into a great family project. The kids have each claimed a tire and help take care of their plants. They were very excited to finally be able to pick something from their little gardens.
Tuesday, April 28, 2009
Bible Curriculum
Yesterday we started working on the grade 3 Bible curriculum. This a huge task and after 2 hours yesterday we had put together the basic information that the people writing the stories will need for 6 of the 40 stories. Thankfully we have some people in the United States who are willing to write the stories for us. This is a huge blessing!!
Once the stories are written they are sent back to us here in Haiti and then people here spend a large amount of time editing them and making sure that they are appropriate for Haiti. We also write application questions, review questions and put a memory verse along with an explanation of that verse.
As you can see this is no small task. I have been overseeing this project for the past 2 years, but have recently been convicted about the importance of putting family before ministry, even if the ministry it super important, my family should come first. My children are my main ministry right now.
I currently do not have the time to spend editing these stories and writing more etc, as well and all the meetings that go with it.
Please join us in praying that God would show us His way of getting this very important Bible curriculum written. It is our prayer that God would send someone here to help oversee this project. There are still many more years of work, since we hope to write a curriculum through 6th grade.
Thanks for your prayers!
Once the stories are written they are sent back to us here in Haiti and then people here spend a large amount of time editing them and making sure that they are appropriate for Haiti. We also write application questions, review questions and put a memory verse along with an explanation of that verse.
As you can see this is no small task. I have been overseeing this project for the past 2 years, but have recently been convicted about the importance of putting family before ministry, even if the ministry it super important, my family should come first. My children are my main ministry right now.
I currently do not have the time to spend editing these stories and writing more etc, as well and all the meetings that go with it.
Please join us in praying that God would show us His way of getting this very important Bible curriculum written. It is our prayer that God would send someone here to help oversee this project. There are still many more years of work, since we hope to write a curriculum through 6th grade.
Thanks for your prayers!
Friday, April 17, 2009
Kyrk's Atrel trip and Robert
The past few days have been full of exciting things.
On Tuesday Kyrk took a dutch couple who is visiting up to Atrel to show them where World Servants is working. It is always exciting to show people where we are planning to move to and also to introduce them to the wonderful people in that area. Kyrk was also able to visit with a family that lost everything in a house fire back at the end of February when Kyrk was staying in Atrel. Their home was completely destroyed and their youngest child died as a result of the burns that he received. They have 8 other children and they are currently living with a family member. Through all of this it is encouraging to see how the church community is coming together and helping them is whatever way they can. It is their pray that somehow they will be able to build a new home, but right now they don't know how that will happen.
The children in this picture are 4 of the 8 and the lady in the white dress is the mother. The lady beside her is the lady that they are staying with right now.
This is what was left of their home after the fire.
Overall it was a great trip and Kyrk was able to see the property boundaries and has a better idea now of where we will build our house and put the training center buildings.
Robert started having a high fever on Monday afternoon and when he still had a high fever on Wednesday I decided that it was time to see a doctor. Dr.Bernard a wonderful Haitian doctor that lives and works here at the mission took a look at him and prescribed axocillen and a strong fever reducer. Since he wasn't sure what was causing the fever he also sent Robert for Blood and Urine tests. Taking my kids for things like that is very challenging, so it was a tough things for me. Robert handled it very well and thankfully all the tests came back showing no serious problem.
Then today he has a rash all over his body. We now know that this is what was causing his high fever and we are continuing to pray for his complete recovery.
On Tuesday Kyrk took a dutch couple who is visiting up to Atrel to show them where World Servants is working. It is always exciting to show people where we are planning to move to and also to introduce them to the wonderful people in that area. Kyrk was also able to visit with a family that lost everything in a house fire back at the end of February when Kyrk was staying in Atrel. Their home was completely destroyed and their youngest child died as a result of the burns that he received. They have 8 other children and they are currently living with a family member. Through all of this it is encouraging to see how the church community is coming together and helping them is whatever way they can. It is their pray that somehow they will be able to build a new home, but right now they don't know how that will happen.
The children in this picture are 4 of the 8 and the lady in the white dress is the mother. The lady beside her is the lady that they are staying with right now.
This is what was left of their home after the fire.
Overall it was a great trip and Kyrk was able to see the property boundaries and has a better idea now of where we will build our house and put the training center buildings.
Robert started having a high fever on Monday afternoon and when he still had a high fever on Wednesday I decided that it was time to see a doctor. Dr.Bernard a wonderful Haitian doctor that lives and works here at the mission took a look at him and prescribed axocillen and a strong fever reducer. Since he wasn't sure what was causing the fever he also sent Robert for Blood and Urine tests. Taking my kids for things like that is very challenging, so it was a tough things for me. Robert handled it very well and thankfully all the tests came back showing no serious problem.
Then today he has a rash all over his body. We now know that this is what was causing his high fever and we are continuing to pray for his complete recovery.
Monday, April 06, 2009
Great Weekend
This past weekend we had the privilege of going on a staff retreat. It was a wonderful time of rest and relaxation as well and planning. Saturday afternoon we spent time as a staff discussing what we think God is leading us as a mission to be doing and what changes we need to make. It really is exciting to see what God is doing through the Baptist Haiti Mission.
The kids enjoyed the time away as well. I think that the highlight was being able to swim in the pool most of the day on Saturday.
Today was back to our normal routines again.
Unfortunately I have no pictures since I forgot that we had our camera with us.
The kids enjoyed the time away as well. I think that the highlight was being able to swim in the pool most of the day on Saturday.
Today was back to our normal routines again.
Unfortunately I have no pictures since I forgot that we had our camera with us.
Saturday, March 28, 2009
Fun Family
For those who have not seen updated pictures of our children in awhile we thought we would share a few. These were taken last week after dinner one night. The kids had some boxes and they were trying to see if they could fit completely in them. It was very entertaining to watch them try.
Naomi was more interested in just using the box as a hat.
Jonathan figured out that he could get covered completely with 2 boxes.
Rebekah just being her cute self with her box.
Robert really enjoys this rocking chair.
Naomi was more interested in just using the box as a hat.
Jonathan figured out that he could get covered completely with 2 boxes.
Rebekah just being her cute self with her box.
Robert really enjoys this rocking chair.
We are back!
We have recently been convicted about our lack of communication with our faithful supporters, friends, family and many others. We realize that we have failed in keeping you informed about what is happening in our lives and what God is doing here in Haiti. It is our hope to update this blog on a regular basis so people can stay up to date on what we are doing, how our kids are growing and what God is doing.
Tuesday, August 14, 2007
Enjoying Northwest Haiti
Since Aug. 1, our family has been in northwest Haiti, hosting a group of 12 from the Netherlands. They are here doing a construction project at a school.
On Sunday Aug 12 we went on an adventure and went to Port-de-Paix. But to get there we had to travel on very muddy roads with large mud puddles. The group was riding in the back of a large truck, so their ride was interesting.
Also we had to cross a very large river. It was probably about 2 feet deep and was fun to drive through, but we were thankful that it was not any deeper.
So we are having fun and enjoying our time here. I will probably be posting more soon from our time up here.
Saturday, May 19, 2007
The Beauty of Haiti
As Kyrk and I were driving home from our trip up north this week we passed this sight. Kyrk was so impressed with it that he had to stop and take a picture. It was so neat to see and hear the water rushing over the little rocks and it truly was a beautiful glimpse of God's creation.
Thursday, April 26, 2007
Wednesday, April 25, 2007
School
I thought that I would give you a glimpse of what school is like here. Each morning I teach school from 8 am until 12pm. It is fun to be able to teach Hannah, Elizabeth, Naomi and Jonathan. Rebekah cooperates most of the time by having a long nap.
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