Hands Held and Raised in Praise for 2011!

Thank you for your prayers and support in 2011! Our hearts are full of praise as this wonderful, crazy year comes to a close! 2011 has held so many precious memories with precious people who will forever hold our hearts. Thank you for holding our hands all the way to Haiti! 2011 has held so much, but the following two pictures are some of the first things that come to mind when we look back at all our blessings and praise Him for what He has done in our lives and for His Kingdom this past year!

Thankful for hands held and hearts joined in 2011!

"Because Your lovingkindness is better than life,

My lips will praise You.

So I will bless You as long as I live;

I will lift up my hands in Your name."

Psalm 63:3-4

Hands raised in praise for all He has done in 2011! 

Making a Difference

One of our primary goals this first year in Haiti is to gain knowlege and understanding about the Haitian people, their language, their culture, their needs (which are usually obvious), and how God would have us serve/meet those needs. One way we have done this is to spend time seeking wisdom from those who have come before us and explore and engage the surrounding organizations that are doing their best to serve here. We have been blessed to have gained insight from many new friends serving at nearby ministries and we appreciate each and every opportunity to learn from them and serve alongside them. One thing we have learned is that everyone is connected here in Haiti. We already feel very connected to these new friends and the ministries God has given them and we want to share them with you! Life has been happening at such a rapid pace lately that we haven't had the chance to do so on the blog, but hope to catch everyone up soon! 

We feel like we've already seen a lot of different sides/viewpoints of Haiti. We work/live at a school so we engage teachers, students and parents on a daily basis. We work with international students (and that's us too) so we understand things from that end. We've spent time at orphanages, churches, women's organizations, employment programs, feeding programs, medical clinics, other school programs, with missionaries like us, with the poorest of the poor, and with some of the richest people in Haiti. And we are learning so much.

A few days ago we were talking with one of our new Haitian friends that fits into the upper class category. He was educating us on the history of Haiti and how things got so bad for the poorest of the poor. He has at one time employed over 15,000 Haitians (which is no longer possible because the production which brings this job opporunity no longer exist in Haiti). He shook his head when we asked him questions as to how things can change for the better. He said that "change will not happen". We then asked how anyone could make a difference? He said, "I believe you are already doing your fair share of that" (as he nodded toward our two Haitian girls) and then added that "the future lies in the next generation...and you are educating them to be different". His son is in Eric's Bible class at Quisqueya Christian School. 

We, being fresh on the scene and not having experienced an ounce of what our friend has, are perhaps still more optimistic that anything is possible. We do hope and pray for change. We pray that we can truly make a difference. We pray that our girls and the students that we teach will make a positive difference...that together that difference will one day bring change for a better Haiti. But it is easy to feel in the great scheme of things...when we walk down the street piled with rotting trash, piled with the faces of poverty...a sense of hopelessness...like making a difference is certainly beyond us. And that is why stories like the birth of TeacHaiti are so meaningful to us. We will soon share this story and others and you too will be reminded that just one person, one family that reaches out to even one person can make a difference...for one more person, for one more family, for a community, for a country, for the world. So as long as there are stories like the one we will tell next, we will keep on being optimistic that anything is possible. And we know that it is possible because we know the One who defied the impossible and made a difference for us all. We love it that He loved to tell stories about the power of one making a difference...the power of one person who decided to care, who obeyed, who left their comfort zone, who struggled, who tried, who felt defeated at times. We know that He calls us to follow Him in all these things. 

And we know that in the end He wins. 

A different Haiti

We experienced a different Haiti on Saturday. We could call it "Haiti Heaven" or Our Mountaintop Experience". Venturing to a different part of Haiti didn't change Haiti. We came down the mountain to the same smelly streets and sad faces. But it did change us. Our hearts were mended. Our minds were changed. Our minds were changed about what we are doing here. People often ask, "What do you do in Haiti?" or "Why did you come to Haiti?" We often ask ourselves the same question. Sometimes we ask it when we look at our bank account. We usually ask it when we are taking a cold shower. When students we care about cheat and have to face the consequences. When the tenth beggar boy assaults our vehicle with his rag frantically wiping...hopeful then angry when we don't have any gourdes to give. When we pass by the street our girls live on and try to think about enjoying the day without them. How in some ways being here where they are is easier...how in many ways it's harder. When we wish that so many things could be different about Haiti. When we wish so many things about Haiti we could have everywhere else. When we admit that we didn't come here expecting to change Haiti. When we admit that we came here because we needed change too and how ironic that feels. And how true that is.

And so when the Oostland family invited us (actually we asked and they said "yes";) to go with them to Belot, we felt a twinge of guilt for getting to have this experience...then asked ourselves why we felt that way. Maybe because we feel like this isn't supposed to be about us. 

Like our lives here are supposed to be about fixing the broken Haiti 

(even though we've already said we don't expect to do that). 

And when we see a different Haiti where people are smiling, 

where the air is cool and clear,

where children look healthy, 

where there isn't much...

but there is SO much...

and we don't see anything to fix change. 

And we ask how we got here and what this is really all about?

"Lord,
We are on the mountain edge which keeps caving in from erosion.
Day by day more is caved away.
In the world we are on slippery ground;
we are standing on the edge of a caving in mountain...

Speaking about who and what we are won't secure us.
For safety, we must step up to higher ground."
-Haitian Prayer

"Don't put your load of trouble in a basket on your head...

Put them on Jesus head...

You won't have headaches."
-Haitian Proverb

It is a long walk up the mountain.
Today this boy didn't have to walk as far.
And our kids scooted over...and learned.

We arrived here at the mountain top before following the -> around the corner to Montcel.
Something about this small mountaintop community made us jealous.
Jealous of their lives.
Their simple lives.
The way they smiled and lived and played cards on this Saturday.
Content simply to breathe this air.

"Lord,
I know my garden doesn't grow or produce
unless I work it and visit it.
So, please Lord, work and visit the garden of my heart.
I want to produce for You."
-Haitian Prayer

After a bumpy ride we find that there are still 4 kids (Jenna, Ethan, Evan, and Nathan) in the back of the pickup as we arrive at Montcel. They didn't complain about the bumps...cause when did they ever get to do this in the states?

We looked around to see what there was to do.
We didn't feel like we were in Haiti. 

There were ponds and buildings that were very un-Haiti like.

But there is a lot of French influence and it was evidenced here

where we later ate lunch

and pretended we were at La Madeleine...

But if we come back for a date here...we won't be ordering "poulet sauce creole".
We advise you not order it here either. 

We saw lots of these.

And tried to catch this one.

And discovered there will soon be strawberries in Haiti.
And we know where to find them!

For Kelli 

In addition to dining, pig catching and tennis,
Le Montcel has other activites.

Like horseback riding!

And flower gardens

And rock gardens 

Where the kids climbed and explored.

Where Evan was in his element.

Where we enjoyed our children...
though we wished the rest of them were here with us.

Le Montcel Restaurant

Montcel balcony view (made up for the poule sauce creole).

"Dèyè mòn gen mòn."
"Behind mountains there are mountains."
-Haitian Proverb

And at the top of the mountain that's what we saw

...more mountains.

And goats.

Thoughts of David watching over his flock came to mind.
And the Psalms he wrote while overlooking hills like these.

"Let us come before His presence with thanksgiving;
Let us shout joyfully to Him with psalms.
For the Lord is the great God,
And the great King above all gods.
In His hand are the deep places of the earth;
The heights of the hills are His also."
Psalm 95:2-4

"Oh come, let us worship and bow down;
Let us kneel before the Lord our Maker.
For He is our God,
And we are the people of His pasture,
And the sheep of His hand."
Psalm 95:6-7

"Does not wisdom cry out,
And understanding lift up her voice?
She takes her stand on the top of the high hill,
Beside the way, where the paths meet."
Proverbs 8:1-2

"Before the mountains were settled,
Before the hills, I was brought forth;
While as yet He had not made the earth or the fields,
Or the primal dust of the world.
When He prepared the heavens, I was there,
When He drew a circle on the face of the deep,
When He established the clouds above..."
Proverbs 8:25-28

"I will lift up my eyes to the hills-
From whence comes my help?
My help comes from the Lord,
Who made heaven and earth."
Psalm 121:1-2

We lingered...

breathing in the mountain air 

and fantasized about living here.

And driving back down the mountain...

 through these clouds 

the following verse echoed in our hearts. 

And we were reminded that... 

None of this is about us. 

None of it is about Haiti. 

All of this is about Him. 

"The heavens declare the glory of God;
And the firmament shows His handiwork.
Day unto day utters speech,
And night unto night reveals knowledge.
There is no speech nor language
Where their voice is not heard.
Their line has gone out through all the earth,
And their words to the end of the world."
Psalm 19:1-4

Thank you Oostland family for letting us come and experience, and learn, and change with you! We are so thankful for you and for all those who pray and partner with us in this life as we look forward to the next. Thank you for pointing others to Him!

"For from Him and through Him and to Him are all things. To Him be the glory forever. Amen."

Romans 11:36

Some things are different here in Haiti...

The boys made a list of things that are different here in Haiti than in the U.S.A. 

More differences were announced by Evan but Ethan said he was only going to write one page!

Here's what made the list. 

By Ethan and Evan Ream

* "Inverterator" is a 7 year old's combo of inverter and generator.
We shall talk about those things another time.

Choosing to remember!

Life is hard in Haiti. You see it on the news. We see the news every day in real life. It is easy to get tired of seeing the hard, smelling the sewage, cold showers, power failures, being drenched in sweat, rain on laundry day, turning away beggar boys... and how that makes the heart ache. 

How just a walk outside the gate makes the heart ache. 

We don't like to take pictures and post about those things. 

But we have decided to choose to remember...

that Haiti was once called "the Jewel of the Antilles"

and that there was a reason for that...

and even though we usually see the hard and it is easy to forget

that we are living on a Carribean island...

Just a little farther beyond our gate

And through several street rivers...
(That's us in the vehicle and Eric driving in Haiti for the first time!)

...we can find that reason.

These waters and the mountains surrounding them are what greeted Christopher Columbus when he discovered the island known today as Hispaniola and set foot on what would become the nation of Haiti.

Columbus discovered paradise...and so did we!

And very large crabs!

And rocks covered in sea slime!

And how much fun Aunt Emee is!
Elisabeth's sister Emilee surprised us by flying in on Friday which was another good reason to spend Saturday here.

And to play water Frisbee!

Until someone gets stung by one of these!

And everyone got out of the water to see (and touch if they were brave enough)!

That poor someone stung by the very large jellyfish was Eric! 

So then we stayed closer to shore!

And on shore

And off shore

where brothers and sisters played in the jellyfish free waters!

For a long time...

Until it was time for lunch!

Our beach buds (other teachers from our school)

For Betsy

Our girls ate two heaping plates each and this fish didn't stand a chance!

Time for more play!

Come and get Dad!

And line up...

to be thrown in the air

and caught

and taught how to swim

and to enjoy this paradise!

We saved you a spot!

And to drive home later than planned...cause who wants to leave paradise?

And to sleep all the way home...

until we got back into Port au Prince 

where there are way too many roadbumps  gaping holes and ravines where a road should be to sleep.

And as we drive through river streets and try to avoid those ravines in the dark with no street lights and finally get home to cold showers and wake up drenched in sweat to no power and the smell of sewage filling the hot house...

We choose to remember!