a wedding to remember...

Today brought Matt and I another new experience: our first Haitian wedding. One of Matt's fourth year students got married this morning, and I was asked to be the photographer. The invitation for the wedding said the wedding was at 9 am. Christophe came to us yesterday, asking me to be there early, at 9:45, to take pictures. I wasn't sure how 9:45 could be considered for a 9 am wedding, but we showed up then. We waited 45 minutes, and then at 10:30, the bride and groom showed up.

There were hundreds of people there, and the bride and groom immediately marched down the aisle. They then sat face to face next to their maid of honor and best man, ring bearer and flower girl for the whole service. Consistent with cultural norms, the bride refused to smile the entire day...making my job as the photographer a little difficult. Three different choirs sang, all in matching dresses.

Our personal favorite part was the soundtrack. Each time something interesting happened, such as the exchanging of the vows or the start of sermon, they would play the old Superman theme song...LOUD. I just couldn't stop laughing while I was taking pictures! It was truly a fun wedding, and it was great to see so many of our students that have been on Easter break there.

Just spending some time with them reminded us all over again why we are here. Their humility, passion, talents and hunger to share the gospel encourages us. Being away from friends, family and the comforts of home is bearable whenever we are assured of His call on our lives to serve Him here, and the Lord frequently uses these guys to confirm that calling.

there and back again...

We have arrived back home from Port-au-Prince safely, by His grace. We got done what we needed to get done at the Immigration office in record time, especially for 10 people, and made it back into Cap-Haitien around 6 last night. Our luggage didn't make it, but we got it this afternoon, so, not too bad!

We hadn't realized just how different Port and Cap are until this past trip. Because all of our first experiences in Haiti were in Port-au-Prince, that was naturally the Haiti we were used to. Now that we've been in Cap-Haitien for a while, we were really surprised by how much more advanced Port was, and by how CROWDED it was. It is truly a booming city, and there is obviously a LOT more money circulating in Haiti's capital than there is all the way up North here. The road conditions were SO very different, as you can see in these pictures...nice paved roads!


Despite paved roads and ice cream in PAP, we are glad to be home, and thankful for where the Lord has put us. We are constantly being reminded that the Lord doesn't NEED us here at all, but are thankful that He chooses to use us!

Today Matt worked on lesson planning for his upcoming Intro to Old Testament class, and I worked on lesson planning for our upcoming unit on space travel. Yes, space travel. This will be interesting. I'm learning quite a bit myself, and it will be interesting to see what the guys think.

We also learned today that one of our pastors, one of our supporters, and one of our family friends are all coming in the next 2 months...God is doing so much here, and we can't wait to share it with them! We're taking this opportunity to let you each know that we would ALWAYS love to have you! God has worked in our lives and shown Himself to us in so many ways through short-term missions. If you would ever like to come to Haiti, you are always invited! We've got a bed and some rice and beans waiting for you!

life in the big city...

Cap-Haitien may be the second largest city next to Port-au-Prince, but there is a HUGE gap between them. Port-au-Prince is at least 15 years ahead of us with traffic lights, paved roads, grocery stores, department stores...I mean, WOW. Peoples clothing is nicer, and there are so many more people that own cars! Greg and Cathie took us "out on the town" yesterday afternoon and took us shopping, and then to the grocery store! We bought hot fudge sauce, ice cream (!!!!), pickles, diet coke, wheat flour...all sorts of special things that you could never purchase in Cap-Haitien. It was SO MUCH FUN!


Last night we had a "Settlers" tournament with several other area missionaries, and this morning we got to sleep in.

These past few days have been such an answer to prayer. We had truly begun to feel very burnt out, and these past few days have completely replaced those feelings. We feel refreshed and feel like our joy, that was becoming rather thin, has been restored. Praise the Lord for the ways He has blessed us with friendships and a few days off!

(Pictured: What used to be a consulate is now a department store...After continued political unrest in 2004, many nations permanently pulled out of Haiti. Also pictured, big buildings in Port-au-Prince, and Stacey's favorite place...the ice cream section!!!)

what He's not

There are several similarities among the four gospel accounts of the resurrection. In all four, the resurrection was discovered by a few of Jesus' followers on the first day of the week. In each, the tomb was rolled away. However, this morning as I read each story, there was one particular detail that stood out to me. Matthew, Mark, Luke and John all state, each in their own unique way, that these few disciples were searching for Jesus in the wrong place. "Why do you look for your Lord amongst the dead?" Jesus asked. They all sought Him at His tomb, they sought Him amongst the dead and He was nowhere to be found.

It's common for Hebrews to emphasize the characteristics of something or someone by pointing at what it is NOT. For example: God is loving, which means that he is NOT impersonal, He's not easily angered, He does not keep a record of wrongs, He is not unfaithful, He is not easily offended, etc. We can describe God as loving by pointing at what a loving person does NOT do.

In like mind, we are so thankful today for what each gospel says Jesus is NOT today: DEAD. In the TOMB. Jesus is NOT without life. Jesus is NOT defeated. The emphasis is that Jesus is ALIVE. This emphasis not only has the capacity, but also the NECESSITY, to define our lives. The historical fact that Jesus is not dead sets Christianity apart from all other religions, and means something utterly transforming for us.

Praise the Lord this Easter that He is not sinful, that He is not dead, that He is not far off and distant and that He is not finished with us, with Haiti, with His beautiful plan for the world!



We are thankful today, too, that we are NOT home!

We flew into Port-au-Prince yesterday to spend Easter with dear friends, Greg and Cathie, and to do some legal business in "the big city." We have had just about the perfect day! It has been full with all kinds of unexpected and rare blessings that have truly filled us up in a way we desperately needed.

Our wonderful day started with bagels and CREAM CHEESE! Then, we headed across the street to join several area missionaries, and good friends from Cap-Haitien who flew in with us, for their English fellowship. What a joy it was to be a part of an English service, to worship the Lord in our heart language with other believers, and to sing worship songs that we knew by heart!

After church, we had the most WONDERFUL Easter meal. We had HAM, scalloped potatoes, green bean casserole, sweet potatoes, ambrosia salad...the WORKS. It was SO special! We felt entirely spoiled! After lunch, Matt WATCHED BASKETBALL on TV (seriously, these things are a really big deal) and we both took a nap, IN air conditioning (!!!), with Matt stretched out in a Lazy Boy!

We spent some great time with our friends, made chocolate chips and then (get this) ORDERED DOMINOES PIZZA! Only in Port-au-Prince! We had delivery pizza, cokes and cookies for dinner, got to speak to both of our families, and finished the evening with several exciting rounds of Settlers (if you don't know what this is, check it out..."Settlers of Catan").

These things might not seem like a big deal, but all of these things are things we haven't had or done for 7 months now, and it was so special. It may sound intense, but the Lord really spoke to us today through these things. We felt rest and restoration today that we haven't felt in a long time, which was such an answer to prayer for us. The Lord truly continues to provide for our every need, even needs we didn't realize we had!

Happy Happy Easter...We lift you up as we all share the full meaning of that empty tomb.

the One we've been waiting for

For those of you who know Matt and I, you will know that we are not the most patient people. We pray for patience frequently, and the Lord continues to give us lots of opportunities to obtain it! I'm a do-er, not a wait-er. Haitian culture is helping me with this. Haitians have a people-oriented, not task-oriented culture. This means that no matter what you are doing or carrying, where you are going, or what emergency you might have, it is vital that you greet every person you pass. Not just greet them, mind you, but ask how they are, ask how their spouse is, ask about their children, listen with interest to the entire response, answer the same questions yourself, and wish them a good day.

It often takes an entire day (or two!) of trying to get our blog to update, or to send an email. As I write, our clothes are all hanging in the backyard, and I will wait for them to dry. We are waiting until next Thursday for mail to come, and on Wednesday, we will wait an entire day to (hopefully) get some paperwork processed.

Little by little, God is teaching us to be patient, and to praise Him while we wait.
So when I think back to Abraham, to Ruth, David, Samuel, and the millions of others who lived in Old Testament times, I just CANNOT IMAGINE how they did it. Generation after generation after generation spent their entire lives waiting, not for internet or dry clothes or papers, but for THE Messiah. For hundreds and hundreds of years, peoples lives were defined by waiting for their Saviour to come, waiting for the Promised One.

Zacharias thrilled in the knowledge of His coming in the first chapter of Luke:

"And you, child, will be called
the prophet of the Most High;
For you will go on before the Lord
to prepare His ways;

To give to His people
the knowledge of salvation
by the forgiveness of their sins,
because of the tender mercy of our God,
with which the Sunrise from on high
will visit us,
To shine upon those who
sit in darkness and the shadow of death,
To guide our feet
into the way of peace."

When He came, He was not at all what they expected. They expected power, not weakness. But they got not a ruggedly handsome king, or a magnificent war hero, but a baby. He was so unexpected, in fact, that they nailed the One they'd been waiting for to a cross on a day like today many years ago.

And in this weakness, He gave us "the knowledge of salvation by the forgiveness of our sins."

We don't have to wait for that! Not for one moment.

The One the world is waiting for, generation after generation, continent after continent, has already come! What a glorious thought! This Easter, we cannot WAIT to share it...

(pictured: vibrant signs of new life found around our home)

retreat

There are some times in life where you realize that something you were making so complicated or difficult or stressful is really pretty simple.

The last four days of our mission retreat have held a lot of moments like that. Our speaker, a past field leader in Haiti, had a way of presenting things in a very "straight to the heart" kind of way. We realized this weekend that there are two ways to work on things. You can deal with them in your mind: role-play solutions, attend "how-to" seminars or skill-sharpening workshops, read books, join in discussions, think about them endlessly, etc. Or, we can deal with them in our hearts: "GOD! I'm sorry. Change my heart!"

There are times for both, I am sure, but Dave mostly focused on changing the ROOT of the problem: our hearts.

"Fifty percent of missionaries go home before their terms end because of interpersonal issues with other missionaries" a fellow missionary said to our speaker. "How do we deal with all these interpersonal issues?"

I expected Dave to say that this was a complicated issue, or that we would have to do many things to combat this.

Instead, he said, "Pray for them. Thank God for them every single day. That'll change things. You can't fight with someone when you're thanking God for them." Matt and I realized later that that's exactly what Jesus said...pray for them! love them!

Dave also had us go through a long list of questions, and actually answer each one YES, NO, or SOMETIMES.

"Is there any person against whom you are harboring bitterness, resentment or jealousy?

Do you allow anything to justify a wrong attitude toward another?

Have your decisions been made after your own wisdom and desires, rather than seeking and following God's will?

Are you a participant in any divisions, or divisive group spirit?

Are you allowing your emotions to be stirred for things of the Lord but doing nothing about it?

Do you allow feelings of inferiority to keep you from attempting things you you should in serving God?

Have you neglected to thank Him for all things, the seemingly bad as well as the good?

Do you speak unkindly concerning people when they are not present?

Have you slighted daily or private prayer?"

There were over 50 questions like this, with the simple admonishment at the end: "If, in reading and answering the questions below, if you are convicted of sin, confess it at once to God. Be willing to make it right, and claim forgiveness."

Retreat was refreshing, not because we had down time, or because we "got away" (though these things helped), but because we remembered that sometimes this is all it takes.

We must first examine our hearts, admit our sin, confess it, and make it right. Changing...becoming more like Christ...might not be as complicated as it often feels.

Our conflicts or irritations with others: Pray for them. Thank God for them!

Our struggles in life: Thank God for them! Pray without ceasing!

Our issues with work/where we live/ministry/etc: Thank God for the opportunity to grow! Praise Him for His faithfulness!

Work on praising and thanking and confessing and rightening and praying in your life with us! Let's compare notes in a few weeks...

Thanks for your prayers for these few days of retreat! We have all arrived safely home.

(Pictured: Cormier Beach, where we spent the last two days, and then a few pictures of the baptism of a very special friend, which took place on Sunday.)

a birthday, a baby & a break!

The last few days have brought several blessings! Today, our OMS Annual Retreat begins. A previous OMS Haiti field leader has come in to speak to us for a few days. Today and tomorrow will be held at our radio station, and Monday and Tuesday will be at the beach! He and his wife are speaking about the history of OMS in Haiti, and also about prayer. We are looking forward to a few days "off" with the other missionaries, and to a few days of being fed spiritually.

Friday was Sheila's birthday...29 years old, though I continue to tell her she looks 24! She has been my language helper since the week we moved to Haiti, and has become a good friend! She is also working with the only other two women missionaries here who are under the age of 30. Amy is from Canada and Julie from Northern Ireland...

All three of these women have been such a blessing to both of us. Sheila seems to have unending patience and a constant joy which has truly shaped this first 7 months of life in Haiti!

Finally, one of my students, Cherisme, has been praying for months for his pregnant wife, who just had another beautiful baby girl! My whole class was excited, and it was our priveledge today to go to their small home and meet "Chris-Lovely", and pray over her and her small family. And she IS lovely! His wife went to the hospital Saturday morning at 10 am, had ChrisLovely, and left the hospital at noon, the SAME DAY. wow. Cherisme is known as our class "trouble maker" (not to be confused, as it often is in first year english, with COFFEE maker). His joy and teasing has lit up this school year for me.

These people have truly become the people that make up our days, our lives. Even when days are hard, we just cannot help but thank the Lord so much for bringing us here...or we would never have been able to align our lives with these dear friends. We cannot WAIT for you to meet them, even if we can't introduce you to each other until heaven!

We won't be able to blog from the beach, so we will give a full report Wednesday!

at work!

From emails and blogs and letters around the globe, it is obvious that life is eternally busy for all of us! We're not alone...God's been doing a lot, too!

We have a dear friend that is working in South Africa, a field that has been continually plagued by violence, racism and fear. His life as a missionary there has often been in danger, but he and his family have spent years working to train national leaders to start and disciple churches.

This past week, he emailed us with very exciting news! "God is doing many things here!" he told us. For many years, they have been working to evangelize a particularly lost village. The village's name itself spoke of the character of the village: "The place where Satan lives."

After being evangelized over and over and over, it was a village they thought had no hope. Three weeks ago, our friend told us, in ONE DAY, the ENTIRE VILLAGE unexpectedly accepted Jesus Christ as their Lord. They were so excited and passionate about finally living in the Light, that they renamed the village: "The place where Jesus is the gift."

I don't know about you, but our joy over this is HUGE.
Reading in Luke this morning about the feeding of the 5000, and I was blown away all over again about the magnitude of this story. There were FIVE THOUSAND people. and not enough food to mention. First, to have been there that day! To have sat and listened for hours on end to what Jesus shared! And THEN, to watch him take a little bread, a little fish, literally, NOTHING, and turn it into MORE than they all could possibly eat.

This is how we feel! God is taking such very little things...so little that they might as well be nothing, and turning them into HUGE things. A village with so very little hope...transformed, changed, alive! A country poor as Haiti, with so very little good, so little that it sometimes seems not worth talking about. And then you watch lives change in our classrooms, hear of lives changed in their churches...hear of healings and miraculous provision and dreams...

We must feel some of the awe that those 5000 felt that day, some of the awe that this village in South Africa is feeling...

Our God is at work we're just blown away that He can possibly use any of us to accomplish anything for the kingdom...and yet He does. He lets us, no, commands us, to be involved, and our life continues to be transformed because of it.

What a mighty God we serve!

(pictured: Matt standing with two of his students and their wives and children, following a wonderful service at their church, in which they quickly told the congregation about Matt and I: "These are not guest. They have no differences. They love the Lord and have earned our love. This is your brother and sister."...There was not a dry eye between our families!)

disappointments and dreams

While our Haitian friends spend most of their time explaining their culture to us, we had the rather unfortunate job of explaining some of ours to a good friend today. Paul is one of the three guys that has just started taking online courses for his master's degree through our seminary and one in Mississippi. For the past few weeks, we've been teaching them how to use their computers, and then how to use the internet. For men that have never had internet access before, this has opened up a whole new world for them.

Paul busted into our office this afternoon, very excited and talking quickly. "I just can't believe it!" he said. "Can you tell me our mailing address?"

When we asked why, he hurriedly told us that someone was sending him a huge and free gift, and he needed to know our address, so that he could "tell the computer" where to send it.

Matt sat down with him to see what this was all about. "SEE!" Paul showed him. "This says that if I just send them my information, they will send me a brand new computer for free!"

Paul had already picked out which computer he wanted in a pop-up box on his desktop, and was ready to send off his information.

He was SO disappointed whenever Matt told him that this was a scam, and that the pop-up was simply wanting his contact information to sell to other companies.

"I do not get a free computer?" he kept asking, and then turned rather hurt. "Why would they lie about that?"

While we couldn't really explain why this is, we are going to need to meet with all three of them tomorrow before they are faced with other more harmful pop-ups!


A student came to me today, too, and just as excited. However, Mark was excited for a different reason.

"I've got to tell you about this" he said, and dropped his usual slower attempts at English to rattle off his story in Creole.

Last Thursday night, Mark had a very vivid and realistic dream. He told me that he dreamed he was in Cap-Haitien, and that he continued to clearly see two men. He told me that he saw their faces clearly, and had never seen them before. Whenever he awoke, he said he felt closely the presence of the Lord. He fell back asleep, thinking about these two men.

This Sunday afternoon, he was in Cap-Haitien, having just left his church and heading for home. He said he stopped dead in his tracks when he looked up and saw these exact two men from his dream standing on the corner of the street he was on.

At this point, I'm not sure what I would have done, but Mark said, "So, I figured I'd better go tell them about Jesus, because God had sent me that dream."

Mark walked up to these two strangers, who were also strangers to each other, and said, "I need to tell you about Jesus."

He did, and both of them, right there on that street corner, came to know our Lord.

Not only did they come to know Christ, but Mark invited them to his church that evening, and they both came, and plan to get involved there.

This is the stuff, friends, that you HEAR about.

but we can tell you, tonight, that if you pray for us, if you follow our blog, if you support us, if you pray for Haiti, if you support the seminary...you're a part of this...

God moving nations, directing people through dreams, healing and transforming lives...that's not just stuff of the Old Testament. It's happening now, here, and we're all a part of it...

Praise God!

what the world needs

What a great whirlwind three days we had with Dad! He left this morning, after spending a full day at the seminary, a full day doing construction, and a day hiking up to one of 'our' (OMS's) churches. We arrived at the church right as school was letting out, and one our littlest hiker didn't quite make the hike back :). God blessed us both so much by his visit, and while we were all a little tired by this morning, the days we passed together were such an encouragement.

What family God has blessed us with! We don't want to make it seem like we never feel far away or lonely, but we are so frequently reminded of your prayers, of your love and of your part in our lives here. We truly thank God for each and every one of you, and the encouragement you are to us.

As we were waiting for Dad's flight this morning, we got to talking about everything that we have, and how at times it is easy to feel guilty about all that we possess in such a poor land.

"I have SO many more clothes than my students!" Matt said. While his guys where the same shirt day after day after day, Matt can wear a new shirt every day for almost 2 weeks. While families on the street scrape together to buy one cup of rice, I have a tupperwear container FULL of rice in our kitchen. We have glasses AND contacts, while our friends squint their way through fuzzy lives. We have so many things compared to the people who are living around us. It IS hard to reconcile.
However, we are realizing more and more that Haiti's situation, the world's situation, humanity's situation is too desperate and hurting for something like this to matter. The world doesn't need more clothes, more calories or more health care.

If the hope of Haiti rested in each family having a computer, or a phone, in shoes or in stocked cupboards, our abundance of shirts and appliances and snack foods would be inexcusable. The guilt would be consuming. But the hope for Haiti doesn't lie in any of those things.

The hope of Haiti lies in the transforming power of knowing Jesus Christ. And Jesus, the most precious and valuable thing in our lives, we are giving out like crazy. We're trying to pour Him our like water on every place and person we come in contact with.

This is what it's about, we're realizing. To have JESUS, and to keep Him in our homes, in the cupboards of our hearts...this would be inexcusable.

Please pray for us, with us, that we would continue to stay focused simply on pouring Him out, not on the frustrations of daily life or the things we have or don't have. In turn, we are praying for you...always praying for you, that while we are here, sharing HOPE with these people, that you are there, sharing it with your people.

It's easy to get caught up in the "many things" that could help this world. Praise the Lord that there is only ONE thing that is needed!

happy busy

We have been so busy since dad came!...our time has just flown. First, he revealed by hopping on a motorcycle and taking it for a spin something I never knew: My dad knows how to ride a motorcycle! AND, he says (though I cannot imagine this) that my mom used to ride with him, when they were dating.

Yesterday after class, we spent all day working at the new seminary site. We built forms and poured "headers" all day...and are all a little sore today! Last night we ate dinner on the town at our favorite place, Mont Jolie (beautiful mountain.) It was wonderful! Today after class we will be making the climb to Coup-a-David, the mountain church we attend once or twice a week.

Dad is getting to meet so many people that are dear to us, and also getting to see more about what our life is like here in Haiti...What a gift to have him!

with my dad!

We apoligize for our lack of blogging this week! My dad is here for only 3 full days, and we are soaking him up! What a fun and touching time we have had so far! He got in at 3 o'clock on Tuesday, and we spent the evening glorying over the gifts he brought(...mushrooms, parmesan cheese, chocolate chips!!!) and catching up. My dad is such a dear friend to us both, and we have missed his friendship SO much! Today, we were able to introduce our students to him, and he was able to come to both of our classes. It is clearly so meaningful to our students that he is here. Not only is it a sign to them that THIS is now our home because we have family coming and visiting us, it also is a large honor here to be made known to one's family.

Dad spoke to my students about the time in kindergarten that the teacher left our classroom, only to come back a moment later finding me teaching all of the students math on the blackboard. They were mesmerized at the thought of Matt and I as children, and continually thanked Dad for "giving us" to them.

What a blessing! Today he will spend at the seminary with us, and tonight will be able to come to our "Wednesday Night Show-Case" of the seminary. Tomorrow after class we will all be doing construction at the new seminary sight, and Friday after class we will all hike up to our church in the mountains.

After some difficult and exhausting weeks, Matt and I feel so encouraged to have him. Please pray for his trip, and that God would work through him and in him while he's here!

We have also learned this morning that we one of our dear supporters, Lane, has unexpectedly gone to be with our Lord. Please be praying with us for her husband, George, and their family...Thank you!

a mild adventure

First we were going to climb a mountain and camp at the top. Then, we were going to climb half a mountain and camp in the middle. Thursday night, we decided instead to hike to a beach, and camp there. So, this Friday, we drove to the shore, rode a boat to a beach, and camped. Our friend and mom of four little ones said she would be quite happy with a "mild" adventure, and after a long hard week, that sounded best to everyone! And a mild adventure it was!
Ten adults and 5 children and a baby headed off Friday afternoon in the Uni-Mog that we've already told you about. Along with us came quite a sufficient amount of gear, especially considering that none of us actually HAD any camping gear (tents, sleeping bags, etc.) As a matter of fact, every Haitian friend we have except for the one that came with us, thought we were rather nuts for leaving the homes we all have to sleep on the ground without homes :) We drove the hour to the beach, and then boarded a rather sketchy looking "water-taxi".
A cruise ship was just leaving Haiti, and we got to pass right by it up close. None of us had ever been on a cruise, and after being in Haiti for so long, seeing this HUGE luxury boat was truly a BIG deal! The boat was barely above water the whole rocky trip, and in our minds we were thinking through what we had brought that would be permenantly ruined whenever our boat sank. For the most part, however, the kids thought this was a great adventure, and we made it safey to shore. (pictured: The newest member of the OMS HAITI family has just learned to wave...)

Our beach was perfect...no people, a few picnic tables (remember: MILD adventure), and even a little shack for changing in. It was already becoming dark, but we had a wonderful evenings with some swimming, Haitian hot dogs (this was not the best part of the weekend), a fire and a sky FULL of brilliant stars. The kids all slept a lot better than I had thought they would, but we hardly slept at all. It was SO COLD! The sands were so soft, but somehow sleeping on them, with nothing more than a sheet to cover you, is not quite as soft. The bright side of this night was that we had many many opportunities to study the stars, listen to the crashing waves, and thank the Lord for His creation, and for the opportunity to get away and enjoy it!
The next morning was equally cold, which did not keep some of us from "taking the plunge" before 6 o'clock. We had cookies for breakfast, and spent the day swimming the crystal clear waters, hiking, sitting and talking. How grateful we are for this dear group of friends. Their presence was so relaxing and restoring. We have positive, thoughtful and enjoyable family here, and that is such an answer to prayer!



We came back Saturday afternoon, a little burnt, dirty and really tired, but it was a wonderful weekend. After an overly-full week last week, we had prayed for time to re-focus on our blessings and relax. The Lord continues to give us EXACTLY what we need, EXACTLY when we need it. May we all be content, this Sunday, to rest trustingly in the Hands that care for each sparrow, each child, each family, each city, each country...each of us.