Long Time Gone

I am sorry it has been so long since I have posted anything to the blog! The summer was hectic -- I stayed in 27 homes in 10 weeks, if I am counting correctly. And the fall back in Haiti was hectic too. Just a quick view of some of what has been occupying my time ---
I spent a good part of the early fall working with Mme Gesson (second from right in back row) testing and choosing the Godly Woman classes for the year. I also helped with the first few classes.

Here are the adult (non-student) women yesterday wearing the aprons they made (they were making Christmas Cookies) and the hats they were just given as a gift.

Here are the young ladies (from our school) today wearing their aprons and hats. Both groups are very enthusiastic and a great encouragement. Pray for them as they study the rest of this year how to have a home set apart for the Lord.
It was a very wet fall. We got too much rain. It not only made the roads almost impassable, but it ruined many crops for the people as well. It is going to be a hungry winter.

This is National Route 3 coming out of the Caiman ravine on the Bohoc side October 18. The sides of the road were literally running rivers.

We had a mission study team from Chattanooga TN arrive October 18. The truck got stuck in the ravine on the way back to the HAFF campus and the men on the team worked hard with the Haitians to pull the truck out -- a very wet and muddy welcome to Haiti, but a real glimpse of the constraints under which we often work.


This is Derold Mompremier working with the new class of Young Leaders. Yes, he is back from University -- the Lord made it clear to him that now was not the time! I spent some time helping him communicate with Barb Van Schoyck (who was still in the US) so they could plan the new class.

Since then, my time has been spent working with Barb and Greg Van Schoyck and the Wilsons and our Haitian staff to put together the information to fill out a very extensive report. Each year the Non-Governmental Organizations in Haiti must submit this report to the Haitian government. Today the report is finally finished! Tomorrow I will have our school headmaster proof-read the French and then I will print the report. Lord willing, Colin and I will fly to Port-au-Prince and back Monday to submit the report. Please pray for us and our travel arrangements.

Then, next Thursday Dec 13th, I leave Haiti for 3 weeks to go to the US for Christmas. This year my Uncle and I are meeting in Memphis TN for the holiday! No special reason, just that it is the same amount of driving time for us both to get there.

I hope you and your family have a blessed Christmas and a wonderful New Year. Thank you all for your interest, your prayers and your support.

Miniature Donkeys at the Addison County (Vermont) Fair.
Sailing with friends on Lake Champlain (again from Vermont).

The Vermont Marble Museum in Proctor, VT.

The National Watch and Clock Museum in Columbia Pennsylvania.
Analisa Hope Boshart.

All fun things I have done and seen in the last couple of weeks of my summer travels. I am now just a bit more than 7 weeks into my time in the States and a bit more than 2 weeks from returning to Haiti. The Wilsons will be leaving Haiti this coming week, just 2 weeks before I go back. Pray for them as they prepare for their time in the States. And pray for me as I wrap things up at the house in Pennsylvania and start my travels south to get ready to go back to Haiti September 6.

My Summer Vacation

I am now 4 weeks into my 10 weeks in the US. It has been a busy time traveling around the North East visiting family and friends and supporters and reporting to churches. I have been blessed to catch up with many people, including some former HAFF staff members. And I have been enjoying some cooler temperatures!
I was also able to participate in a new activity. I was visiting a farm while they were "processing chickens". They have an interesting low tech automated way to deal with the most distasteful and time consuming parts of the job.

I was able to help with the final cleaning of the chickens and with packaging them. And while we were working, there was time to talk about HAFF and Haiti and how things are going with the ministry.

Please pray for the rest of my time in the US. Pray for safety on the road and that my time with people would be productive and fruitful for the Kingdom and for the work in Haiti.

Conversations

This is a local general contractor, Elicien, who has worked with HAFF off and on for longer than I have been in Haiti. The other day I had the opportunity to give him a ride as we were both heading toward Pignon. While we were traveling, we had another of the many conversations like we have had over the years about matters of faith.

As a missionary with HAFF, I do not go door to door handing out Christian literature or asking people to make a decision right now about faith in Christ. What I do is engage in conversations in the course of my daily activities, driving, teaching, meeting people at the door or on the road or in the office. Those conversations frequently turn to talk of faith. And over the years, Lord willing, these conversations will hopefully break down the barriers preventing people from putting their faith fully in Christ or will encourage them to deepen their faith. Just as the conversations I had with family and friends many years ago broke down the barriers that prevented me from putting my faith in Christ.

Please pray for Eliciene and others like him that they would be able to put their faith fully in Christ. Please pray for me while I am up and down the eastern seaboard of the United States this summer (I leave Thursday), that I would be strenghtened to return and have more of these conversations. Please pray that those conversations would more frequently become the type of conversations that draw people closer to Jesus Christ.

Eyeglass Clinic

Friday morning, June 22nd, I spent the morning in the HAFF eyeglass clinic. This is one of my new responsibilities and I finally got my act together enough to go get my feet wet for a one day clinic.

I saw 10 people. Of the 10 who had previously signed up, 4 didn't come and were replaced by walk-ins. My attempt to spread the people out over 3 hours was not entirely successful. People with early appointments came late and some with late appointments came early!

Of the 10 people, I was not able to help 2. They needed medication I did not have or surgery I can not provide! But I was able to fit 2 people with glasses for distance vision and 4 people with reading glasses and 2 people with sunglasses. All in all, a good morning. Now I also have some more ideas of things I want to try to do with the clinic in the Fall! Please pray for me as I work with this small, but vital ministry. Pray that it would be a blessing to many and route for sharing the love of Christ.

Busy Week

It has been a busy week. I spent Monday translating some information on Rabies -- timing, signs and symptoms of the disease in people. One of the ladies from whom we buy meat died Sunday morning. It seems likely she died of rabies since she had been bitten while trying to break up a dog fight in March. I also included in the information, how to safely break up a dog fight without being bitten -- throw water on them!

I also spent time typing and printing 4 certificates for Met Justin to give his Primary School Administrators and Teachers as they complete their training this summer.
The Wilsons and I also spent time in some meetings about and making arrangements for the 9th, 12th and 13th graders to take their National Exams. The 9th graders start their National exam Tuesday.
Tuesday afternoon was spent with about 25 local women who came to a seminar on Spiritual Warfare. A team from the Wilson's church in Iowa was visiting Kristie and Jean Jean Mompremier (it is their church too), but spent some time with the Wilsons as well. The women started the afternoon with songs of praise and strength encouraging us that we need not fear when we are in Christ.


Then I translated for Pearl from the Wilsons church as she encouraged the ladies. Her message seemed to hit home with the ladies -- there were a lot of nodding heads and "amens" as Pearl shared about who we are in Christ. I think we were all strengthened by her story about the testimony of the witch doctor she met Sunday. He has not become a Christian and is still practicing his Voodoo, but he said he can see the importance of being a real Christian rather than just one who says he is a Christian. He said when he tries to curse real Christians, he is not able to! The curses fail! But when he curses a person who only says she is a Christian, the curse does not fail.

As the skies darkened and the thunder rolled closer and louder, we talked about ending the session early, but the woman who had the longest walk to get home said, "I don't want to say that we should end beacuse the course is so good!" Pray for these women as they fight the spiritual battles in their lives each day and as they share the strength they gained Tuesday with others who were not at the seminar.

Blog Changes

Again, it has been a while since I have posted anything to either blog. It has been a busy time again and I was also away for a week. More about that later. Today marks a shift in the emphasis on both this blog and the HAFF Details blog. This blog will return to being mostly about me and my activities at HAFF and in Haiti. The HAFF Details blog will now be a team blog -- one to which several people can post. So, in the coming days and weeks, hopefully you will start to see posts to HAFF Details from Barb or Greg Van Schoyck and Colin or Carla Wilson as well as me. So check from time to time to see what's new!

Teams and Conferences

So. What has been keeping me so busy? We had 2 teams from Long Island back to back. I was busy planning meals and market lists for them. Once they got here, I helped translate for them.

The first team had 2 pastors and preached in 2 different churches.

Then during the week, they did Bible Studies and seminars for men and women

both here at HAFF and in various churches around the area

The second team did more work with women's and childrens groups.

But in the middle of the second team, I went to Les Cayes on the south coast of Haiti. Colin and Carla Wilson and Ely Mompremier (HAFF Farm Manager) and Millius Hillaire (HAFF Ag Extentionist) went as well and we attended an Konferans Agrikol 2007 (Agricultural Conference 2007).

We spent 5 days in the lovely lush area near Les Cayes learning about the environment, biodiversity, fruit and forestry trees and ecotourism

There was also a whole lot of networking going on!
I spent most of my time in registration and the book store making name badges, making certificates and duplicating conference audio tapes.

We had the opportunity to fly to the conference and back with Mission Aviation Fellowship (MAF). We flew over parts of Haiti I had never seen before! This is Pignon Mountain and the town of Pignon and the landing strip. Thanks Carla for this and the following photos!
The Central Plateau due west of Pignon,

the Artibonite River valley,

the cell phone towers at St Michel,

the Bay of Gonave.

On the way back, we flew around the HAFF campus -- it was hard to see with all the trees! Compare the following photos with the photos posted 12 September 2006!

Guards, Gazebos, Weather and Baby Birds

This is what you see as you enter the front gate of HAFF. This view is in the process of changing very quickly. Just beyond the tree on the left will be the new gazebo for the guards.
This is Poles the day-time gate guard sitting in the middle of the new gazebo yesterday afternoon! The footers are being dug even more today. If you want more details about this job, you can find them at www.haffdetails.blogspot.com. Click on this link or on the link on the sidebar to take you there.
Yesterday was the third day of me providing a new service for the community of Bohoc. Thanks to Accu-Weather (based in State College, PA), I can check the weather forecast for Pignon and Hinche and reproduce a 15 day chart showing what days will have rain, clouds, clear skies, wind or will be hot or cold! Fr Poles posts the charts on the brick post by the front gate. And Genius, who carries water for the houses, is always eager to see the new chart for the day! I think I am creating some weather junkies!!!

By the way, you can check out the weather forcast for Pignon for yourself -- I have added an Accu-Weather forcast box to the sidebar of this blog!
One of the joys of being a homeschool student is the flexibility of the schedule. This morning Carla Wilson mentioned that today would be a weird homeschool day. While she and Rachel were out doing some morning Agriculture work, they found 2 baby birds fallen out of their nest. We are not sure what kind of birds they are. The Haitians call them katdje (cat-djay). We are told they eat all kinds of fruit, so the Wilsons will try to raise these babies at home. But first they will have to find a way to protect them from Belle and Beni, the cats. Both cats recently had kittens (Belle 4 and Beni 2) and might think Mom and Rachel brought them a nice lunch!

Long Time No Post

It has been a couple weeks since I posted anything to the blog. Since the second Michigan team left we have been busy getting ready for the HAFF board meeting that took place last Saturday (5 May). The time between when the team left and then Greg and Barb left to attend the meeting was spent in meetings here in Haiti to get a proposed busget and other information ready for the board. Even the week Greg was gone (Barb comes back Tuesday), Colin and I were working on finding more information to email to the Van Schoycks and the board treasurer as they worked on the financial report for the meeting. Now we are busy again gearing up for 2 back to back teams from Long Island and working toward new teacher contracts for the coming school year.

New Christian Curriculum

This year has been an exciting one for Justin Mompremier's Primary School Teacher Training Program -- PALP (see 7 February 2006 post). There is an organization in Haiti called the Consortium for the Reinforcement of Christian Education in Haiti (CRECH). For a number of years they have been working on a Christian curriculum for the Primary Schools in Haiti.

That curriculum is now complete and CRECH and HAFF are partnering in a pilot program through the schools in HAFF's PALP program. Through generous donations, HAFF has been able to obtain enough books for 25 of the 46 PALP schools to start using the CRECH curriculum

Met Ostel, the local CRECH representative, has trained the teachers in the use of the books and he and Met Justin are following up with the schools.

The books are beautiful and address a different aspect of Christianity each school year giving students scripture to memorize, activities and a Bible story all relating to specific Christian character traits.

1st grade is "On the Road Toward the Father"

2nd grade is "The Love of Jesus"

3rd grade is "Living as a Christian"

4th grade is "The Holy Spirit and Us"
5th grade is "Living in Brotherhood"

Met Justin says that if this curriculum could be in all the primary schools in Haiti, it could change Haiti in 10 years. Please pray for this important program.