Normally we do not mention financial ministry support on this blog, mostly because that is not our focus. We have put that in the Lord's hands and know that He continually brings just the right people to partner with us. However, without that steady support we would not be able to continue working here in Haiti. The month we sent out our last printed newsletter our support had dropped significantly. However, I just looked at the report for September, and our support monies for last month exceeded the necessary level by $23.65!! That is thanks to several people who recently began supporting us on a monthly basis, one family who sent in an annual gift, and others who have increased what they have been giving. It is amazing to see how each gift-- great or small, monthly or one-time--works together to fulfill the final goal.
My heart is just overwhelmed with thanks at this moment....both to God and so many friends. Thank you!!
Monday, October 5, 2009
Thursday, October 1, 2009
Megan's 7th birthday
Our little Megan turned 7 last Friday. :) Thursday night we had a little family celebration, and then on Saturday we had a little party for the kids in her class and a few other friends. This was really our first kid's birthday party here, so we had no idea who would show up or what to expect. It was very interesting... The invitations we sent stated that the party time was from 2PM-4:30PM.
The American kids that came were on time or early. Notice this picture with only 4 kids around 2:45. :) Those from Latin or Haitian homes were at least 45 min. late, and the last kid left at 6:30!!! Apparently the "hora Chapina" (Guatemalan time--30 min. late) does not even apply here. :) Fortunately we had very loosely planned activities, so people just kind of jumped in and participated whenever they arrived. Love the flexibility of the Caribbean!!After the cake/icecream and presents, the kids all went swimming.
It was just amazing to see some kids just really struggle to get their faces wet when we first went to swim, but by the end of the afternoon they were splashing around like fish!! Water in any form is always good kid entertainment, and it was a nice time to casually meet the parents of some of the kids in Megan's class.Megan enjoyed both celebrations, and now we anticipate more great times with our favorite girl in the coming year!!
Wednesday, September 30, 2009
Kreyol pale, Kreyol konprann....
This is a Creole proverb that literally means, "Speak Creole, understand Creole." Crisman says it to me when I pronounce a Creole word differently than she does, but she can still understand what I am saying. I may be totally off on this, but I think she is just saying, "You are speaking Creole, so I can understand you." (maybe using context clues)
My new word Sunday was "maringuen" which means mosquito. Sunday afternoon when we returned from church, there were mosquitos chasing us all over the living room. We moved from one place to another trying to get away from them, but there were too many! Finally I went in search of a "mosquito zapper," a device shaped like a tennis racket which gives mosquitos an electric zap with the push of a button.
Stores here are only open for a few hours on Sundays, so I raced up to Eagle Market, which is less than a mile away. They were still open but did not have what I was looking for, however the guy that helped me told me the word I need to use....raket. I headed on to the gas station we typically use because there are ALWAYS guys out there trying to sell you these things. There was only one helpful guy selling steering wheel covers. :) Back up Delmas (the main road we travel) on the way to Caribbean Market where we also shop, I found a little guy on the side of the road with all kinds of gadgets. Right in the middle of his wares was a raket!! It was the last one, so the plastic packaging was torn and dirty, and the zapper itself was a little bent. The machann (merchant) and his friend assured me most absolutely that could still kill the "moustik" (the word I had always used) or "maringwen." I repeated that new word over and over, asked him to repeat it. He inserted two batteries which he just happened to have there for testing purposes, and the light came on. That was promising, but I was still not certain that there would be current flowing from the handle to the racket part of the zapper. I ended up getting it, mostly so that I would not go home empty-handed, but also trusting that Todd could fix it if something was wrong.
Once back home, Todd opened the thing up and reattached a dangling wire, so it now works like a charm!!
I have not known the word "kill" in Creole until this morning. I have always worked around it using the words "fini" (finish) or "mouri" (dead/die). I was trying to tell Crismen that I was trying to kill another pesky bug. She told me the word for kill and then used the maringwen name for mosquito. That is when she used the proverb, "Kreyol pale, Kreyol konprann." Now I can clearly say that I killed the mosquito! ....I think. :) (M' te tiye maringwen an.) Love it!!
Monday, September 21, 2009
Cute Homework
School is now well underway for Kyle and Megan this year. It was wonderful for them to start this year with the classmates they met at the end of last year. I just started helping out in their classrooms last week, so I feel much more connected to what each of them is doing and learning. Megan's first grade teacher is Mrs. Jean-Charles, which Megan insists on pronouncing with a French accent. :) Kyle's teacher is Ms. Kuhnle, who is young and energetic and very encouraging.
My favorite part of home-schooling when we were in Pignon was reading the kids' creative writing. Some days it was like pulling teeth to get them to write, but the end result made the effort worthwhile. :)
I would like to share a couple of very short but cute things they have done recently.
My name is Megan E. Edgerton
I like to play Barbs (Barbies).
I like to eat cheas and rice (cheese and rice).
Name: Kyle Edgerton
Age: 8
Favorite things to do: swim, play x-box, play outside, exercise, play with my sister and talk
When I write a book about my life, the first scene will be being an MK in Guatemala.
Someone who has inspired me is Mr. McMann (PE teacher/coach who is going to start a soccer program on Mondays after school) because I like to exercise.
When I recognize someone I know, I say hi and talk. If they are my relative I hug them.
A very important custom in my family is before I go to bed my mom and dad pray with us.
It is important because We pray so we can talk to God.
My favorite part of home-schooling when we were in Pignon was reading the kids' creative writing. Some days it was like pulling teeth to get them to write, but the end result made the effort worthwhile. :)
I would like to share a couple of very short but cute things they have done recently.
My name is Megan E. Edgerton
I like to play Barbs (Barbies).
I like to eat cheas and rice (cheese and rice).
Name: Kyle Edgerton
Age: 8
Favorite things to do: swim, play x-box, play outside, exercise, play with my sister and talk
When I write a book about my life, the first scene will be being an MK in Guatemala.
Someone who has inspired me is Mr. McMann (PE teacher/coach who is going to start a soccer program on Mondays after school) because I like to exercise.
When I recognize someone I know, I say hi and talk. If they are my relative I hug them.
A very important custom in my family is before I go to bed my mom and dad pray with us.
It is important because We pray so we can talk to God.
Wednesday, August 26, 2009
Engines, Turtles & the End of Summer Fun
Since we are now mostly settled in, there are not so many "firsts" to report. We still have them, but they are much more gradual and do not make such an impression.
God has recently provided several opportunities both to share our material possessions and our faith
with others. We are so blessed. Thanks to all those who pray for wisdom for us on a daily basis. It is STILL needed.
A major part of the month of August centered around Todd's trip to Florida to change out the engine on HH-PTL. Michael Broyles who serves with us here in Haiti and Frank Gibbs, a former MAFer who is very experienced at this sort of thing, along with Todd formed the crew that inspected, repaired and changed the engine. 
An engine change sounds quick and easy, and indeed it can be, but while they were in the engine compart
ment, they took advantage of the accessibility of parts that are normally hidden to review and repair items that would have cost thousands of dollars to replace. MFI, the group that houses our FL address, shops for us when 
necessary and delivers 
our mail each week, housed Todd, Michael and Frank, allowed them to use their hangar, and some of the staff even had them to dinner!! I LOVE seeing groups work together and assist each other for the common good. Thanks to Skype, the kids and I were able to talk to Todd most nights. We were so happy to get him back last Monday, though. Since his return he has been fixing things like crazy!!...both things that broke during his absence and house repairs that have been needed for years.
I was able to really enjoy Kyle and Megan this summer, making it one of the very best ever. Most of the kids'
missionary/expat friends were gone during June, July and August, so I got to spend a lot of time reading adventure books with them and reviewing their skills for school, swimming, 
laughing, getting "cool" haircuts, doing little projects around the house and going places with them. They played more with the kids here in the neighborhood and, of course, learned some more Creole words. We still cannot just rattle off long sentences, but it is fun to hear our vocabulary expanding.
We continue to enjoy our church in the mountains (Marlique Church), and this Sunday I understood most of the message!!! The songs seem to be easier to understand (even those in French), and with more practice we will soon be rattling away. What a beautiful process it is to learn a new language....one word at a time that becomes easier to recall and let slip off your tongue each time you use it.
God has recently provided several opportunities both to share our material possessions and our faith
with others. We are so blessed. Thanks to all those who pray for wisdom for us on a daily basis. It is STILL needed.
A major part of the month of August centered around Todd's trip to Florida to change out the engine on HH-PTL. Michael Broyles who serves with us here in Haiti and Frank Gibbs, a former MAFer who is very experienced at this sort of thing, along with Todd formed the crew that inspected, repaired and changed the engine. 
An engine change sounds quick and easy, and indeed it can be, but while they were in the engine compart
ment, they took advantage of the accessibility of parts that are normally hidden to review and repair items that would have cost thousands of dollars to replace. MFI, the group that houses our FL address, shops for us when 
necessary and delivers 
our mail each week, housed Todd, Michael and Frank, allowed them to use their hangar, and some of the staff even had them to dinner!! I LOVE seeing groups work together and assist each other for the common good. Thanks to Skype, the kids and I were able to talk to Todd most nights. We were so happy to get him back last Monday, though. Since his return he has been fixing things like crazy!!...both things that broke during his absence and house repairs that have been needed for years.I was able to really enjoy Kyle and Megan this summer, making it one of the very best ever. Most of the kids'
missionary/expat friends were gone during June, July and August, so I got to spend a lot of time reading adventure books with them and reviewing their skills for school, swimming, 
laughing, getting "cool" haircuts, doing little projects around the house and going places with them. They played more with the kids here in the neighborhood and, of course, learned some more Creole words. We still cannot just rattle off long sentences, but it is fun to hear our vocabulary expanding.We continue to enjoy our church in the mountains (Marlique Church), and this Sunday I understood most of the message!!! The songs seem to be easier to understand (even those in French), and with more practice we will soon be rattling away. What a beautiful process it is to learn a new language....one word at a time that becomes easier to recall and let slip off your tongue each time you use it.
A happy addition to our family has been a couple of turtles named Sunshine and Rhino. Our frogs were not eating their food once they left tadpole stage, so we released the skinny things into the wild. A few days later my friend Mairelis asked us to watch her turtles while their family went home to the Dominican Republic for a week. 
Kyle and Megan did such a good job caring for them each day. When she returned she brought two baby turtles for our kids. :) We have made a chart, so each day one kid changes the water and the other one feeds the turtles. Yesterday afternoon Megan and her friends spent a couple hours in our front dirt area playing with them and making habitats for them.
The summer flew by, and I now have two kids in school all day. They love their teachers and their classes so far. Kyle exits school with a smile each afternoon, and Megan is growing up to be quite the thoughtful, cheerful young lady. What precious little blessings. Please continue to pray that they would influence others for good and that they would be good learners, both of academic and life lessons. We are all anticipating the doors God will open for us to both learn and teach and the new things in store for us in the days ahead.
Kyle and Megan did such a good job caring for them each day. When she returned she brought two baby turtles for our kids. :) We have made a chart, so each day one kid changes the water and the other one feeds the turtles. Yesterday afternoon Megan and her friends spent a couple hours in our front dirt area playing with them and making habitats for them. See, I am doing a new thing!
Now it springs up; do you not perceive it?
I am making a way in the desert
and streams in the wasteland.
Isaiah 43:19
Now it springs up; do you not perceive it?
I am making a way in the desert
and streams in the wasteland.
Isaiah 43:19
Thursday, July 30, 2009
Latest Newsletter
Here is a link to our latest MAF newsletter (July 2009) which includes pictures and tiny snippets about each of the airplanes and three of the guys that Todd works with at the hangar.
Todd left today with Michael Broyles for HH-PTL's engine change in FL. They should be back in about three weeks, just in time for Kyle and Megan to start school!!! :)
www.maf.org/edgerton
Todd left today with Michael Broyles for HH-PTL's engine change in FL. They should be back in about three weeks, just in time for Kyle and Megan to start school!!! :)
www.maf.org/edgerton
Saturday, July 18, 2009
Miscellaneous Notes...
The Spanish Bible Study is officially suspended for the summer since most everyone is gone. However Liz (the leader of the group) has continued meeting each week with Monica (a new lady) and going through the book Purpose Driven Life. Thursday, the kids and I went too. Monica is a studier. She has studied one of the ancient Aztec languages spoken in Mexico (Naguat???) and just devours books, especially about history. Very interesting... She reads in English and French...and Spanish, of course. Her husband knows some of the difficult languages like Russian and Chinese. It was neat to hear all she gleaned from the book. I think we all learned. She invited me to come back another time so that she could teach me more about the Naguat people/language.
The pool here at our house has been leaking a lot of water, so Sunday night Todd added a chemical which is supposed to find and stop leaks. There were warnings on the bottle about not ingesting it and even about touching the stuff so we decided to close the pool, just to be safe. Of course it has been SO hot this week. :) The sun just beats down on our concrete roof and heats up the upstairs. Fortunately we have a few trees to give a little shade and FANS!!!! But the kids have been sweating like crazy and getting heat rash....especially Kyle.
Last night we finally filtered out the chemical, so the kids were in the pool as soon as they had breakfast this morning....Todd too!!! :)
There is a large hole/drop off at the end of our road where it adjoins a more main road. Yesterday the kids and I filled it in with rocks and gravel. Kyle and Megan are such good little helpers. It was fun to hear advice about what we needed to do and how it should be done from several people hanging out down there. :) I know it will be back the way it was in just a few days, but it was a fun little project.
The pool here at our house has been leaking a lot of water, so Sunday night Todd added a chemical which is supposed to find and stop leaks. There were warnings on the bottle about not ingesting it and even about touching the stuff so we decided to close the pool, just to be safe. Of course it has been SO hot this week. :) The sun just beats down on our concrete roof and heats up the upstairs. Fortunately we have a few trees to give a little shade and FANS!!!! But the kids have been sweating like crazy and getting heat rash....especially Kyle.
Last night we finally filtered out the chemical, so the kids were in the pool as soon as they had breakfast this morning....Todd too!!! :)
There is a large hole/drop off at the end of our road where it adjoins a more main road. Yesterday the kids and I filled it in with rocks and gravel. Kyle and Megan are such good little helpers. It was fun to hear advice about what we needed to do and how it should be done from several people hanging out down there. :) I know it will be back the way it was in just a few days, but it was a fun little project.
Friday, July 10, 2009
Winds.....and other obstacles
Monday afternoon we noticed that the sky looked like there was a chance of rain. 
Suddenly winds picked up. The kids and I went outside when we heard some noise, probably when two of the neighbor's trees fell.
The MAF Haiti offices at the airport receive their internet signal from an antenna on our house. Tuesday morning, Todd called from the airport to see if I could reset the modem which controls MAF-Haiti internet because they were offline. I tried all of the normal tricks, but nothing worked. Finally I went up to the roof to make sure everything was OK. The antenna had toppled over in the strong winds, and several of the guy wires had snapped. Fortunately it had fallen on a rack of solar panels, so that saved the antennas, but the pole was bent and one of the middle solar panels was cracked.
Todd raced home to try to sort things out so the office could get back on line as quickly as possible. Because Jason Krul had a day off,
he was at home nearby. He brought his wife Willhelmina and another guy Arnon to help us lift and guide the heavy pole back into place. George was at our house sweeping at the time, so he also helped Todd and the rest of us lift and steady. Soon the antennae was transmitting again.
Yesterday morning when Todd got up he found that the server was down and would not respond to the typical quick fixes. Around noon he had things back up and running. As he started out for the airport in the MAF truck, he realized that the clutch had gone out. He fixed that by bleeding the hydraulic clutch, but by that time it was not worth it to go clear to the airport just to turn around and come back. Instead he restrang some of the guy wires on our antenna pole. That of course made me nervous since the ladder he climbed was leaning against the pole that was mostly ripped out of the concrete when it fell, just hanging on by a little piece. Apparently it was enough.
By that time Mark returned from the airport with the ticketing office's computer which has been plagued by viruses that leave it virtually unusable. We ate supper, had a little family time until the kids went to bed, and then Todd started in with trouble-shooting the office computer problems again until way past time for us to go to bed.......
There will always be those delays, the unexpected, ....sometimes to hinder our progress, but other times to keep us from something which could cause more damage. Please pray for us to have the correct response in the face of obstacles like these, to always seek God's wisdom and not just settle for second best in the urgency of the moment.
Suddenly winds picked up. The kids and I went outside when we heard some noise, probably when two of the neighbor's trees fell.The MAF Haiti offices at the airport receive their internet signal from an antenna on our house. Tuesday morning, Todd called from the airport to see if I could reset the modem which controls MAF-Haiti internet because they were offline. I tried all of the normal tricks, but nothing worked. Finally I went up to the roof to make sure everything was OK. The antenna had toppled over in the strong winds, and several of the guy wires had snapped. Fortunately it had fallen on a rack of solar panels, so that saved the antennas, but the pole was bent and one of the middle solar panels was cracked.
Todd raced home to try to sort things out so the office could get back on line as quickly as possible. Because Jason Krul had a day off,
he was at home nearby. He brought his wife Willhelmina and another guy Arnon to help us lift and guide the heavy pole back into place. George was at our house sweeping at the time, so he also helped Todd and the rest of us lift and steady. Soon the antennae was transmitting again.
Yesterday morning when Todd got up he found that the server was down and would not respond to the typical quick fixes. Around noon he had things back up and running. As he started out for the airport in the MAF truck, he realized that the clutch had gone out. He fixed that by bleeding the hydraulic clutch, but by that time it was not worth it to go clear to the airport just to turn around and come back. Instead he restrang some of the guy wires on our antenna pole. That of course made me nervous since the ladder he climbed was leaning against the pole that was mostly ripped out of the concrete when it fell, just hanging on by a little piece. Apparently it was enough.By that time Mark returned from the airport with the ticketing office's computer which has been plagued by viruses that leave it virtually unusable. We ate supper, had a little family time until the kids went to bed, and then Todd started in with trouble-shooting the office computer problems again until way past time for us to go to bed.......
There will always be those delays, the unexpected, ....sometimes to hinder our progress, but other times to keep us from something which could cause more damage. Please pray for us to have the correct response in the face of obstacles like these, to always seek God's wisdom and not just settle for second best in the urgency of the moment.
Wednesday, July 8, 2009
Ants!!!
Live ants carrying oatmeal and almond crumbs
Dead ants, after my can of Raid and I found themSummer = ants in Haiti, apparently. :) Just last night I found hundreds of the little creatures munching on almonds and oatmeal up in our baking cupboard. They had walked right past all of the sugars! A friend says they are health nuts. :)
This is something Todd wrote for the blog back when the kids and I were in the States. Just today I took our sheets out of the washer and noticed tiny holes all over the brand new sheets mom had gotten us for our anniversary just about a month ago!!! (Supposedly 12th anniversary is linen.) Those little guys were eating our sheets, not just invading our bed!!!!
Today is Sunday, a day of rest. Somebody forgot to tell the ants. I wake up not quite as early as a normal work weekday, but it’s early for a Sunday. I read John 16, where Jesus encourages his disciples just hours before that last night in the Garden of Gethsemane. Oswald Chambers challenges me in My Utmost for His Highest. I eat a leisurely breakfast. It is very quite around here since Jennifer and the kids are in Florida for a week, attending a bit of the Nazarene church’s General Assembly. I head upstairs to get ready for church.
As I start to make the bed, I notice quite a few ants are on the bottom sheet on my side of the bed. I lift the blanket (Jennifer uses it to shield herself from my fan at night) and see thousands of ants who have decided to move in. I lift the top sheet and see even more. I start to squish them but, yeow, these ones bite. Rats! It’s the kind of bite that continues to itch much longer than most mosquito bites.
I wrap them up in the sheet and decide to do some laundry. I grab the whites as I go downstairs, and throw everything in the wash. The sheets are colored, but maybe a little bit of bleach won’t do them harm. I hope it will harm the ants, and Jennifer isn’t around to dissuade me. City electricity is still on which means our water pump will supply enough water to do a good rinse. I set the machine for an extra rinse, just for good measure.
I’m home from church now, and I open the washer. What? Still there? It looks like at least some of them made it. Into the dryer they go. I turn our gas dryer up to high heat. I am afraid to set it on MAX for fear I will damage some article of clothing that I maybe should have sorted out but didn’t. This will be the first test of our new inverter that I installed yesterday. Even though our dryer’s heat comes from propane gas, it still draws quite a bit of current to turn the drum and ignite the gas. No problem for the new workhorse inverter.
Fifty minutes pass. Are my little visitors toasted or have I just treated them to a relaxing spin at the sauna? Dead ants around the door and in the lint trap. This is good. One fella seems quite active, but a quick squash takes care of him. I spread out the sheets and clothes, looking for more extreme survivors. If there are more, they are good at hiding. Just in case, I leave the clothes spread out for a while.
Hmm, seems like there are some clothes to be folded around here someplace.
Today is Sunday, a day of rest. Somebody forgot to tell the ants. I wake up not quite as early as a normal work weekday, but it’s early for a Sunday. I read John 16, where Jesus encourages his disciples just hours before that last night in the Garden of Gethsemane. Oswald Chambers challenges me in My Utmost for His Highest. I eat a leisurely breakfast. It is very quite around here since Jennifer and the kids are in Florida for a week, attending a bit of the Nazarene church’s General Assembly. I head upstairs to get ready for church.
As I start to make the bed, I notice quite a few ants are on the bottom sheet on my side of the bed. I lift the blanket (Jennifer uses it to shield herself from my fan at night) and see thousands of ants who have decided to move in. I lift the top sheet and see even more. I start to squish them but, yeow, these ones bite. Rats! It’s the kind of bite that continues to itch much longer than most mosquito bites.
I wrap them up in the sheet and decide to do some laundry. I grab the whites as I go downstairs, and throw everything in the wash. The sheets are colored, but maybe a little bit of bleach won’t do them harm. I hope it will harm the ants, and Jennifer isn’t around to dissuade me. City electricity is still on which means our water pump will supply enough water to do a good rinse. I set the machine for an extra rinse, just for good measure.
I’m home from church now, and I open the washer. What? Still there? It looks like at least some of them made it. Into the dryer they go. I turn our gas dryer up to high heat. I am afraid to set it on MAX for fear I will damage some article of clothing that I maybe should have sorted out but didn’t. This will be the first test of our new inverter that I installed yesterday. Even though our dryer’s heat comes from propane gas, it still draws quite a bit of current to turn the drum and ignite the gas. No problem for the new workhorse inverter.
Fifty minutes pass. Are my little visitors toasted or have I just treated them to a relaxing spin at the sauna? Dead ants around the door and in the lint trap. This is good. One fella seems quite active, but a quick squash takes care of him. I spread out the sheets and clothes, looking for more extreme survivors. If there are more, they are good at hiding. Just in case, I leave the clothes spread out for a while.
Hmm, seems like there are some clothes to be folded around here someplace.
Tuesday, July 7, 2009
Backtracking--June Birthdays/Celebrations
For about a week, from the end of May to the beginning of June our family has much to celebrate!!!
This year the kids were done with school May 27. In an attempt to spread out the parties, 
Todd and I celebrated our May 31 anniversary by going out to eat at a cute little gardenish restaurant while other MAF friends the Munsells had the kids on Todd's birthday, June 5. Although we love to be together as a family, it was fun to have a date night. :)
The following Saturday we took a trip to the beach to celebrate school's finish and Kyle's & Todd's birthdays (June 4th & 5th). 
Our neighbors Zach and Hans went with us, and we got to try out our new-to-us car on some real roads. :)Hans has become quite a little fish in our pool, but it was fun to watch him experience salt water for the first time. YUCK!!!! The kids all swam fairly near the shore and played in the sand most of the morning...finding cool animals, burying each other, jumping off of a floating platform, swimming with masks....
After lunch, everyone except Todd took a ride in a small boat to some of the nearby beaches. The guy rowing us sang and talked to us in about five different languages!! 
Then Todd took Zach and Kyle off to a shallow reef to snorkel while Hans, Megan and I continued playing on the beach. The big guys came back with tales of cool fish and plants.We headed back to Port around 4 and got home in less than 2 hrs.....even before nightfall. What a fun, relaxing day we all enjoyed! It was nice that the boys let all of us in on their birthday celebration. :)
Florida, Family and General Assembly
This year the Church of the Nazarene's General Assembly which happens every four years was in Orlando, FL. Since we are so close to the FL coast Kyle, Megan and I (Jennifer) made the trip. What a busy but fun time we had connecting with family and friends!!!
We arrived Tuesday afternoon at the Fort Lauderdale airport, picked up our rental car (which they upgraded at no charge from a little tiny car to this sporty machine), picked up a GPS that Todd's dad had sent to some friends, and drove the 5 hours up to Jacksonville to stay the night with my aunt and her family. They waited up for us until we arrived at 11 and actually visited with us until the early morning. :) Wednesday we woke up early and picked blueberries and then spent the rest of the day at the zoo. We rode the train around, played in the mist to cool off, and of course saw lots and lots of animals. What a special day with family!!
Kyle really wanted to see the sting rays, but they were charging to just look at them. We decided to skip it since we had done some other extras. Wouldn't you know, when we arrived at the registration for General Assembly in Orlando, there were some reps from Sea World with an aquarium of four small.....you guessed it.....STING RAYS!!! The kids got to touch them and enjoy them while we got registered.
That night (still Wed.) we had dinner with their daughter, my cousin Lisa and her son whom I have not seen very much in years. We enjoyed catching up a bit, and then we went to church. They had a really neat prayer service. The pastor read a passage of Scripture and then gave his sermon or devotional points one at a time.
Between points, he gave time for personal reflection and finally time for individuals to pray aloud as they felt led. We closed with corporate prayer and communion at the altar.
Thursday morning the kids and I traveled from Jacksonville to Orlando where we spent a couple hours walking through the exhibit hall at General Assembly. We saw many friends from Trevecca, Idaho, Tennessee, Guatemala and the MAC Region, Ecuador, Oklahoma.... That night we traveled to Port Orange (Daytona) and spent the night with my friend from college, Peggy, and her family. The kids had SUCH a great time together.
Friday morning we went to General Assembly together.
Fortunately there were quite a few things to entertain the kids....since there were five of them and just Peggy and me. :) We saw the sting rays while we were registering Peggy and her kids. The kids got their faces painted. The MAC region gave out balloons. They played on the little indoor playground. 
Toward the end when all of the little legs were getting tired we sat in the tent where they were showing the Jesus film. That was pretty neat.
When we left GA, we headed toward my sister Sarah's house near Lakeland. Right now she is in dental school in Gainsville and comes home on weekends to spend time with her husband Craig and daughter Dorothy. She arrived at her house with my mom, sister Hannah and brother Carl who had driven down from TN about 10 minutes after we did! :)
The cousins (Kyle, Megan and Dorothy) had a great time together!
Saturday I spent the day with my mom and siblings, mostly at the Ikea store. Of course shipping their wonderful furniture down to Haiti with us would not be so practical, but I did get a few plastic bins and things for the kids' room. Mostly we just had fun being together. :) Kyle and Megan stayed home with Uncle Craig and cousin "D" (Dorothy).
Sunday morning, my mom and the kids and I set out for the service at General Assembly. According to the GPS we were supposed to arrive 20 minutes early, but by the time we spent about 40 minutes stuck in the line of traffic waiting to get into the convention center, we ended up getting there about 30 minutes late...just as they were singing the last song before the message. Fortunately Dad and Mom's neighbor Lynn saved us seats, and we were able to join the other 23,000 people there in listening to the message and then participating in communion.
We enjoyed that service so much, but then they announced that a Haitian choir would be singing in the afternoon service, so we had to stay to hear that!!! :) We all walked to Olive Garden for lunch. Delicious!!! I am so glad we decided to stay for the second service. People prayed, read the Bible passage and sang in several different languages. Then after the message, people representing the 155 world areas (mostly countries) where there are Nazarene Churches walked in carrying their flags in the order in which the church entered. Quite interesting. Pastor Wallier, the one who showed us the Haitian church where we now attend was the one carrying the Haitian flag. We got to visit with him for a few minutes. :)
We went back to Sarah's house to stay one more night and left
Monday morning. It was just so nice to be with part of the fam, even for such a short time!! :) Monday afternoon we spent some time with Todd's cousin Lee and family. The cousins (Kyle, Megan, Jordan and Katelyn) hit the pool together and had a great time while Lee and Anne and I visited a bit. That night God provided a wonderful place for us to stay. We were planning to just get a hotel in the area, but Lynn and her sister allowed us to spend both Mon. and Tues. in their condo since they went home a couple days early. What a fun blessing!
Tuesday we finally hit the WalMart and Target and got a few things to bring back which are SO much more expensive or hard to find here in Haiti. It was fun just looking. :) We spent that afternoon with my friend Peggy and her family. This time they were vacationing in Orlando and were staying in a hotel that had a pirate ship pool!!! They let our kids swim with them, and then we ate dinner together, too. Kyle and Megan had a blast going down the twisty pirate's plunge slide and just swimming around. It was so nice that they have gotten so much swimming practice here. They are now little fish!
That night each of us took baths in the jaccuzzi there in our room (separately, of course) with water as hot as we could stand it!! That was special! :)
Wednesday morning we struck out bright and early in order to make it back to Fort Lauderdale in time to turn in the rental car, get the GPS sent back to Todd's parents and catch our flight. I do not think we would have made it if it was not for Joe and Virginia Roberts who live right there in Fort Lauderdale....the ones who had let us pick up the GPS at their house in the first place. They agreed to send the GPS back to ID, weighed our suitcases (all 3 of which turned out to be 49 lbs.), told us how to get to the airport, and even had a goody bag of treats made up for us!!
To make a long story short, I got lost several times on the way to the airport due to different names for the same roads!!!! Each time I called Joe, and each time he knew exactly where I was and told me where to go. I think that guy has a GPS in his head!!! We made it to the airport and to our gate even before they began boarding (by about 5 minutes!!!). The flight to Port au Prince was beautiful, and we arrived a few minutes early. Todd met us at the gate, and now....it is just good to be HOME!!!!
We arrived Tuesday afternoon at the Fort Lauderdale airport, picked up our rental car (which they upgraded at no charge from a little tiny car to this sporty machine), picked up a GPS that Todd's dad had sent to some friends, and drove the 5 hours up to Jacksonville to stay the night with my aunt and her family. They waited up for us until we arrived at 11 and actually visited with us until the early morning. :) Wednesday we woke up early and picked blueberries and then spent the rest of the day at the zoo. We rode the train around, played in the mist to cool off, and of course saw lots and lots of animals. What a special day with family!!
Kyle really wanted to see the sting rays, but they were charging to just look at them. We decided to skip it since we had done some other extras. Wouldn't you know, when we arrived at the registration for General Assembly in Orlando, there were some reps from Sea World with an aquarium of four small.....you guessed it.....STING RAYS!!! The kids got to touch them and enjoy them while we got registered.That night (still Wed.) we had dinner with their daughter, my cousin Lisa and her son whom I have not seen very much in years. We enjoyed catching up a bit, and then we went to church. They had a really neat prayer service. The pastor read a passage of Scripture and then gave his sermon or devotional points one at a time.
Between points, he gave time for personal reflection and finally time for individuals to pray aloud as they felt led. We closed with corporate prayer and communion at the altar.Thursday morning the kids and I traveled from Jacksonville to Orlando where we spent a couple hours walking through the exhibit hall at General Assembly. We saw many friends from Trevecca, Idaho, Tennessee, Guatemala and the MAC Region, Ecuador, Oklahoma.... That night we traveled to Port Orange (Daytona) and spent the night with my friend from college, Peggy, and her family. The kids had SUCH a great time together.
Friday morning we went to General Assembly together.
Fortunately there were quite a few things to entertain the kids....since there were five of them and just Peggy and me. :) We saw the sting rays while we were registering Peggy and her kids. The kids got their faces painted. The MAC region gave out balloons. They played on the little indoor playground. 
Toward the end when all of the little legs were getting tired we sat in the tent where they were showing the Jesus film. That was pretty neat.When we left GA, we headed toward my sister Sarah's house near Lakeland. Right now she is in dental school in Gainsville and comes home on weekends to spend time with her husband Craig and daughter Dorothy. She arrived at her house with my mom, sister Hannah and brother Carl who had driven down from TN about 10 minutes after we did! :)
The cousins (Kyle, Megan and Dorothy) had a great time together!Saturday I spent the day with my mom and siblings, mostly at the Ikea store. Of course shipping their wonderful furniture down to Haiti with us would not be so practical, but I did get a few plastic bins and things for the kids' room. Mostly we just had fun being together. :) Kyle and Megan stayed home with Uncle Craig and cousin "D" (Dorothy).
Sunday morning, my mom and the kids and I set out for the service at General Assembly. According to the GPS we were supposed to arrive 20 minutes early, but by the time we spent about 40 minutes stuck in the line of traffic waiting to get into the convention center, we ended up getting there about 30 minutes late...just as they were singing the last song before the message. Fortunately Dad and Mom's neighbor Lynn saved us seats, and we were able to join the other 23,000 people there in listening to the message and then participating in communion.
We enjoyed that service so much, but then they announced that a Haitian choir would be singing in the afternoon service, so we had to stay to hear that!!! :) We all walked to Olive Garden for lunch. Delicious!!! I am so glad we decided to stay for the second service. People prayed, read the Bible passage and sang in several different languages. Then after the message, people representing the 155 world areas (mostly countries) where there are Nazarene Churches walked in carrying their flags in the order in which the church entered. Quite interesting. Pastor Wallier, the one who showed us the Haitian church where we now attend was the one carrying the Haitian flag. We got to visit with him for a few minutes. :)We went back to Sarah's house to stay one more night and left
Monday morning. It was just so nice to be with part of the fam, even for such a short time!! :) Monday afternoon we spent some time with Todd's cousin Lee and family. The cousins (Kyle, Megan, Jordan and Katelyn) hit the pool together and had a great time while Lee and Anne and I visited a bit. That night God provided a wonderful place for us to stay. We were planning to just get a hotel in the area, but Lynn and her sister allowed us to spend both Mon. and Tues. in their condo since they went home a couple days early. What a fun blessing!
Tuesday we finally hit the WalMart and Target and got a few things to bring back which are SO much more expensive or hard to find here in Haiti. It was fun just looking. :) We spent that afternoon with my friend Peggy and her family. This time they were vacationing in Orlando and were staying in a hotel that had a pirate ship pool!!! They let our kids swim with them, and then we ate dinner together, too. Kyle and Megan had a blast going down the twisty pirate's plunge slide and just swimming around. It was so nice that they have gotten so much swimming practice here. They are now little fish!
That night each of us took baths in the jaccuzzi there in our room (separately, of course) with water as hot as we could stand it!! That was special! :)Wednesday morning we struck out bright and early in order to make it back to Fort Lauderdale in time to turn in the rental car, get the GPS sent back to Todd's parents and catch our flight. I do not think we would have made it if it was not for Joe and Virginia Roberts who live right there in Fort Lauderdale....the ones who had let us pick up the GPS at their house in the first place. They agreed to send the GPS back to ID, weighed our suitcases (all 3 of which turned out to be 49 lbs.), told us how to get to the airport, and even had a goody bag of treats made up for us!!
To make a long story short, I got lost several times on the way to the airport due to different names for the same roads!!!! Each time I called Joe, and each time he knew exactly where I was and told me where to go. I think that guy has a GPS in his head!!! We made it to the airport and to our gate even before they began boarding (by about 5 minutes!!!). The flight to Port au Prince was beautiful, and we arrived a few minutes early. Todd met us at the gate, and now....it is just good to be HOME!!!!
Monday, June 8, 2009
Chapmans Visit
Steve and Annie Chapman have been ministering to families for over 25 years. I remember their "Turn Your Hearts Toward Home" song on Dr. Dobson's video series, listening to their music on TAPES :) and then going to their concerts in my hometown Clarksville, TN. They now do marriage seminars and write books, but they still write songs and sing. In fact, Steve recently wrote a song for MAF called "On These Wings," which was the motivation for them to make a trip to Haiti at the end of May to film a music video. They were almost not able to come due to illness, but they cut their time from a week to four days, tried to rest as 
much as possible, and God gave the necessary strength and healing.
We were so thrilled that they got to stay with us during their time here. Since they make their home in the same part of TN where my family lives, we know some of the same people and places. We enjoyed their fellowship, songs, stories and example of a fun marriage. :)
Friday night, Abby White from across the street spent the night with Megan. Before bed, Annie told them a story of a pink polka dotted bird, incorporating the girls into the details. It was cute...apparently a story she tells to her granddaughter Lilly. The girls are pictured here being silly. :) Then Saturday morning the girls were backup singers as the Chapmans rehearsed songs they would perform for the teens at church later in the afternoon.
Sunday morning before they left, Steve got up early and placed clues which he had written as poems all over the house for the kids to find. They were squealing with delight each time they figured one out. I think they enjoyed finding the clues as much as the treasure at the end of the hunt.
Now we continue enjoying memories their visit as well as CDs and books that they left for us and the other MAF families. Chapmans' website: http://www.steveandanniechapman.com/
much as possible, and God gave the necessary strength and healing.We were so thrilled that they got to stay with us during their time here. Since they make their home in the same part of TN where my family lives, we know some of the same people and places. We enjoyed their fellowship, songs, stories and example of a fun marriage. :)
Friday night, Abby White from across the street spent the night with Megan. Before bed, Annie told them a story of a pink polka dotted bird, incorporating the girls into the details. It was cute...apparently a story she tells to her granddaughter Lilly. The girls are pictured here being silly. :) Then Saturday morning the girls were backup singers as the Chapmans rehearsed songs they would perform for the teens at church later in the afternoon.Sunday morning before they left, Steve got up early and placed clues which he had written as poems all over the house for the kids to find. They were squealing with delight each time they figured one out. I think they enjoyed finding the clues as much as the treasure at the end of the hunt.
Now we continue enjoying memories their visit as well as CDs and books that they left for us and the other MAF families. Chapmans' website: http://www.steveandanniechapman.com/
Sunday, May 31, 2009
My Shop-From-Home Vegetable Market
Each Friday morning around 9 AM I listen for the sound of Natasha outside our gate, banging on her "mamit." A mamit is a large tin can used as a unit of measure in the market. I quickly grab my pen & paper, some grocery sacks and 500 goudes...usually the amount I spend....and race down the stairs to let her into our garage area. Since she carries about 30-40 lbs. of veggies on her head, I do not like to make her wait long. We chit-chat a bit as we go back and forth about which vegetables I will choose, how much of each and what the price will be.
I write down all I am getting as she keeps track of everything in her head. Usually I buy 1/2 (demi) mamit of potatoes (pómdeté), some onions (zonyon), carrots (kawót), tomaotes (tomat) if they are pretty, sometimes a cabbage (chou--pronounced shoe), lettuce (leti), a couple green peppers (piman dous), green onions (pwawo), parsley (pesil), and a fragrant little herb called te. I do NOT buy eggplant, beets or spinach even though she offers them to me each time. Sometimes I buy broccoli if it does not have worm holes. :) She usually also has small limes, hot peppers and other leafy things. It is amazing to see all she packs into her baskets!! What a strong neck and back it would take to walk up and down the hills to our house!!!Our neighbor Sharon King has been purchasing vegetables from Natasha for a while, so she introduced me to her a couple months ago. Most of my shopping is done at a regular grocery store, but now I buy nearly all of my fresh produce from her. A few times Natasha has brought her niece??? Stefany when there is a holiday at school....very sweet girl. I know God has brought these ladies into my life for a reason.....
Sunday, May 24, 2009
Spanish Bible Study
Thursday has come to be one of my favorite days of the week. When we arrived in Port I attended a Spanish Bible study with a missionary visiting from Ecuador. Now I am hooked!!! Each Thursday between 6-12 of us meet in different ladies' homes and study a chapter of the Bible. When we started we were studying Exodus, and now we have moved on to Psalms. There are 3 or 4 who have been walking with the Lord for a while, a few others who have recently accepted Christ and now have a relationship with Him, and several others who come for fellowship and are now exploring all that it means to live for Christ. It is quite exciting to hear the testimonies each week, to see people just growing and learning and then bringing their friends.
Just two weeks ago one girl was sharing about the way her dad's mom (grandmother) mistreats her mom. Her dad and mom have moved to be close to the grandmother and help take care of her, but that has only brought more grief to the mom. She, in turn, responds in love, but it is difficult to continue. Recently the grandmother screamed at her and she has not wanted to be around her since.
We prayed, and God worked!!! The next week she reported that her grandmother had attended a special service at their church where her dad was appointed as an elder. The grandmother was teary, and her mom reached out to comfort her and even had a civil conversation with her. There was kind of a healing for both ladies that took place there. I know things in that relationship are not perfect yet, but it is neat to see God at work when things look humanly impossible.
Please remember to pray for the other ladies from all over Central and South America who are away from their families, in different situations here and in different stages in their walk with the Lord.
Monday, May 11, 2009
Todd's World
Usually I write about our life here and things going on with the kids or our family in general. I thought it might be interesting to know what a typical day for Todd is like now that he is working at the hangar each day.
He carpools each morning with Will White, Jason Krul, Mark Williams, and other office workers that they pick up along the way.
Last week he worked with John Munsell on an inspection for HH-MAF. Normally MAF aircraft need a major inspection every 1000 hours of flight time, which means that the airplane is out of commission for a long time. MAF Haiti (and a lot of the MAF programs) does a progressive inspection on the planes, so each 50 hours something on the airplane is closely examined. Every 100 hours (or every other 50 hr. inspection) the engine is examined. This time they were inspecting the cabin and fuselage.As part of the inspection Thursday he changed a seat track and riveted. The landing strip in Hinche is very rocky, so often the belly of the plane has gashes from rocks that fly up. The hole that John was patching was quite large...about an inch long. Friday he painted the plane's interior panels and fixed a small broken antenna.
Along with aircraft maintenance and inspections, Todd has been able to work on MAF computers and cars.
Answered Prayers...
It has been neat to see the Lord at work just since I posted the last prayer requests.
We felt like we were supposed to help with Hans's glasses, so Friday when I gave Crismen what I felt the Lord wanted us to give, she said it was over half of what they needed to have by Wednesday!! She said that she has not been worrying about it because her pastor's wife once told her to take problems to the Lord and then let them "kouche"--rest or lie. Situations like this always build my faith in the fact that God KNOWS our needs even before anyone else and He cares about them and answers in miraculous ways when it is His will/time.
Then this morning I got a note from Flori. She sounded upbeat, but please continue to pray for her to feel peace and fulfillment in the place God has her now.
Thanks again for praying for us and all those God puts in our path.
We felt like we were supposed to help with Hans's glasses, so Friday when I gave Crismen what I felt the Lord wanted us to give, she said it was over half of what they needed to have by Wednesday!! She said that she has not been worrying about it because her pastor's wife once told her to take problems to the Lord and then let them "kouche"--rest or lie. Situations like this always build my faith in the fact that God KNOWS our needs even before anyone else and He cares about them and answers in miraculous ways when it is His will/time.
Then this morning I got a note from Flori. She sounded upbeat, but please continue to pray for her to feel peace and fulfillment in the place God has her now.
Thanks again for praying for us and all those God puts in our path.
Friday, May 8, 2009
A Few Prayer Requests
We are so grateful for those who have committed to pray for us as we are here in Haiti. Some of the things we pray for on an ongoing basis are for our family to stay close and strong together, that our relationship with the Lord would continue to deepen each day, and that we would reflect His love and grace in all of our dealings with others.
Here in Haiti we are continually surrounded by great need, both physical and spiritual. There are many complications with just always giving handouts. That can create a dependency on us and take away a person's dignity and incentive to work and provide for themselves. The need is so great at times that it can be overwhelming, but we are SO blessed and know that God wants us to pass those blessings along. Please pray for us to be sensitive to the leading of the Holy Spirit.
Also, the son of the people who work for us (Hans) has been having trouble with his eyes. They have been red and irritated in the afternoons especially. They took him to the doctor and think he may need glasses. Please pray that this will soon be corrected.
Flori, our wonderful friend who watched Kyle and Megan in Guatemala, seems to have suffered some loss and difficulty lately. Please pray that the Lord would encourage her heart and send people to help and comfort her. We do not know the entire situation, but we know that God has a special plan for her life.
Thank you so much for your prayers and encouragement.
Here in Haiti we are continually surrounded by great need, both physical and spiritual. There are many complications with just always giving handouts. That can create a dependency on us and take away a person's dignity and incentive to work and provide for themselves. The need is so great at times that it can be overwhelming, but we are SO blessed and know that God wants us to pass those blessings along. Please pray for us to be sensitive to the leading of the Holy Spirit.
Also, the son of the people who work for us (Hans) has been having trouble with his eyes. They have been red and irritated in the afternoons especially. They took him to the doctor and think he may need glasses. Please pray that this will soon be corrected.
Flori, our wonderful friend who watched Kyle and Megan in Guatemala, seems to have suffered some loss and difficulty lately. Please pray that the Lord would encourage her heart and send people to help and comfort her. We do not know the entire situation, but we know that God has a special plan for her life.
Thank you so much for your prayers and encouragement.
Tuesday, May 5, 2009
Mangos
We have heard that Haiti grows anywhere from 100-200 varieties of mangos which are harvested nearly year round, from January to September. Mangoes are one of Haiti's leading exports and one of our favorite fruits. Right now, you can find mangos being sold just about EVERYWHERE!!! They are so sweet and juicy, usually ripened right on the tree. They sell for about 10 goudes each (less if you buy in quantity), or 25 cents US. What a nice treat on a hot day!
Frogs
Every time it rains I feel like we are in Egypt back in M
oses's time during the second plague. :) The neighbor frogs start croaking and come swimming in the pool---thankfully not in our house!!! Back in ID for Kyle's birthday he had gotten a frog habitat container, and we had mail ordered a couple of tadpoles, but they died before we moved here. We brought the container along just in case...One night right after the pool had been filled, we found hundreds, maybe thousands of tiny frog eggs all over the bottom of the pool. Todd scooped up about 20 eggs that were on the steps and we have been watching them ever since. Now they are much bigger tadpoles. Still have not seen legs peeking out, but when they start hopping, I think we will release them. :) Pictured above are a few of the tadpoles and this is a pic of a couple of the croaking swimmers we caught with a net.
History Class
Here in Haiti apparently seventh grade history can be pretty exciting! Our neighbors at the end of our street, the Van Dams, 
were out catapulting rocks when we got home from picking Todd up at the airport last Sunday night. Natasha VanDam's teacher Glee Williams, who happens to live in the house between ours, had given the class an assignment to build a replica of a catapult or a variety of other things. T
he neighbors were out watching as they tested this massive thing with rocks and then with water balloons!!! :) In the picture they have the long arm pulled back and ready for release. We took advantage of the fact that we were together and got a picture of the neighbor boys (Zach, Micah, Hans (hiding), William, & Kyle) who many times play together and the ladies (Julie, Jennifer, Glee & Ruth).The next day after school they did a few more throws with water balloons, and one shot clear across the soccer field! It was reported that this was by far the biggest and best working model in the class.
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