Along with the traditional New Years celebrations with food and fireworks that many of us already know so well, January 1st is Haiti's Independence Day. Things typical of the holidays that we have come to expect around here are extra hours of electricity, extra time with family and friends, extra baking and visiting and celebrating. :) I love all of the traditions we are able to enjoy with friends from around the world. A couple weeks ago the ladies in my Spanish Bible study got together to make cookies and pizza. One lady from Venezuela made arepas, something I remember buying on the street when I first met Todd in Maracaibo. :) Last week we took a trip to the south of Haiti and bought some douce maccos in Petit Goave for the first time. Yesterday, two different Dutch families shared oliebollen
with us. Of course, everyone in Haiti ate some soup joumou in celebration of Independence Day today, and I have had the promise from another friend that we will make Guatemalan tamales together this week. 
Yet, this afternoon I got a special visitor that I did not expect. Right at dusk we heard a little knock on the gate. My sweet neighbor Violet brought over a pate that she had made. 
Now, usually pates are about the size of a 3 x 5 card, but this one was so huge it covered an entire plate! It was delicious, but even more special than this or any of the other international treats or gifts we shared was the friendship it symbolized. God has placed so many special people in our path, and we are especially thankful for that special blessing this year. 
MAF was not flying this past week, so we enjoyed extra time with Todd. On Christmas Eve we had a very meaningful family time talking about the reason we celbrate. We went to Quisqueya Chapel's candlelight service and then to Dr. Ed's for chili and fireworks. Kyle and Megan and other kids there even got to light some of the big ones. The next day we went to our church in the mountains and then shared Christmas dinner with our neighbors, the Harms. We had our MAF party and said good bye to the Krul family who will be in Canada for a few months, had a game day with our neighbors the Broersmas, took a long road trip along the southwestern part of the country and in between have enjoyed lots of time with family and friends. This year our neighborhood has seen lots of changes. Our next-door neighbors, the Williams, who have lived here for 20 years returned to the US to work in MAF recruiting, so David and Christine Harms moved into their house. The Whites and Kings who lived across the street went on furlough, so the Schmicks and Broersmas came to stay in their homes. Although our other neighbors have not changed, we
have enjoyed getting to know them a little better along with many of the people who are regularly on our street for one reason or another. I especially love seeing and hearing the precious kids at the school down the street. This year, Todd has continued to help maintain the MAF planes and equipment. Along with the two 207s, they have been able to use the larger Caravan plane a lot more. We have been leasing it from Samaritan's Purse for a very low price, but MAF has now purchased another and is doing the necessary modifications before SP needs theirs back this spring. Aviation and airport officials continue to change, so the long process of receiving full approval to operate a Caravan here continues to elude us. We trust that God will somehow use all of this time of waiting for the best. In his free time Todd enjoys reading, spending time with the kids and fixing things around the house.
I still teach elementary art at the kids' school and tutor in the afternoons. I took an online masters course this fall which kept me pretty busy, and enjoyed the Spanish Bible study whenever it was possible to attend. This spring I hope to help more with the school down the street and some other things that are not so regular.
Kyle has grown so much! He is nearly to my chin now. Each morning he is up early with a cheerful smile on his face. 
This year he is 10 years old in the 5th grade. Time flies! New kids in his class and in the neighborhood have been a wonderful blessing. He loves swimming, hiking, jumping on the neighbor's trampoline, building things, having airsoft wars, playing games or having other adventures with the neighbor boys. Tae Kwon Do was not offered after school this year, but his homework load has been heavier. He and Megan are informally tutored in Creole for an hour each week by a sweet lady who works at school. It has been fun to hear them using their words and phrases more around home.
Megan is our little sunbeam. She is always creating or arranging something in a cute way. She just turned 9 and is in 3rd grade. Her teacher, Ms. Borg, is from Australia. This year her two classmates from our neighborhood are in the US. She misses them a lot but has enjoyed getting to know some of the new girls in her class. Several of the 2nd and 3rd graders spend their recess doing cheers and gymnastics. Megan's latest trick is cartwheeling. :) She also enjoys reading, climbing anything high and dangerous, doing art projects and anything girly. 
Our cat Snuggles who just turned 1 year old gave us four baby kittens the Sunday before Christmas. They now have their eyes open and are cute little furry things. She is a great mom. Pretty soon we will be looking for homes for them!! 
We enjoyed visits from our family friend Susie Bagwell and Todd's cousin Lee and his family
at the beginning of the summer. We drove to the Dominican Republic and then over to the Citadelle in the north of Haiti this summer. In the coming months we look forward to a visit from Todd's parents in February and then seeing many of you this summer and fall when we are back in the US on furlough. Thanks so much to everyone who continues to pray for us, encourage us and support us as we seek to honor God with our lives wherever we may be. Please pray for us to make both the easy and tough decisions depending on His grace and wisdom.
