Excited about the start of school...and for how God continues to workthrough all our many "sometimes"!

 Monday September 16th, 2013 the new school year began!

We are all very excited!

Welcome To El Shaddai Learning Center

We are excited for the opportunity to serve, to grow through experience, through books, through loving each other, through being flexible and sometimes having to do things a LOT differently in Haiti. There are a lot of such sometimes. Sometimes school has to be started a week late because the air carrier bringing school books decided to service out your order to another carrier who won't fly to Haiti until the plane is full. Sometimes the President of Haiti announces that Haitian schools will be delayed for a whole extra month due to so many families not being able to afford the costs of tuition, books, and uniforms. Sometimes we wonder how we will manage these things for our children too. Sometimes Eric visits with so many families that cannot afford these basic things he comes home very tired and drained. Sometimes he works at the school from 6:30 am to 8:30 pm because sometimes it rains hard and he can't find a Haitian scooter to taxi him home. Sometimes we don't have Digicel minutes on our phones to call each other and can't find anyone selling minutes so I spend the evening wondering if my husband is still alive. I am really not ok with those sometimes. Sometimes the kids begin to worry too because they get that being out after dark by yourself without a vehicle isn't a super safe thing where we live. Sometimes we do things that are not super safe. Sometimes we do things I never ever thought we would do. Sometimes we don't even notice we do them anymore. Sometimes we don't post about the really awful things that happen. Sometimes we don't get over them. Sometimes we decide we have to choose some safer things. Sometimes this means that we are choosing for our kids to not get to go to school because we would risk their safety riding with some dude without a license on the back of a scooter that could take them anywhere but school. Sometimes I don't want to homeschool. Sometimes we miss having options. Sometimes we think that not having options is a blessing. Sometimes we get mad at that kind of "blessing" and sometimes we embrace it. Sometimes people we thought we could trust show us that we can't. Sometimes we don't feel like we can trust anyone. Sometimes this makes us feel very lonely. Sometimes we wonder if us being here matters at all. Sometimes we can't imagine being anywhere else.

Sometimes teachers don't want to show up for training. Sometimes teachers don't get that working for a Christian school means you can't separate your sinful private life from your public professional life. Sometimes commitments from teachers set to come from the states fall through. Sometimes. Always these times affect more than one person. Sometimes that is why daddy doesn't come home for dinner. Sometimes missionaries and Haitian friends work together to pick up the pieces and we get to see good come out of these sometimes. Sometimes we ask "why?" Always God reminds us that He is working all things, not just some things together for good. Sometimes we get to experience how He does that. Sometimes we just have to trust His purpose...because He promised...because we love Him...because He first loved us. Because we can't possibly doubt Him. Because He experienced every single agonizingly beautiful sometimes. Because He is not a far away God. He is there with us. We know this. We wish we could share all the times He has worked through our sometimes. But for this week...

We are excited about the school year beginning! We are excited about how God has worked to get us here and keep us here, to get the teachers here, to get the students here, to bring in teams that helped get the school ready, to help and encourage Gary and Carolyn Walker who run the school, to work alongside other teachers, directors, missionaries, and families. We are excited about answered prayers for our children getting a safer ride to school until the Lord provides a vehicle for our family. We are excited about seeing all the kids so excited! We know there will be a lot of "sometimes" ahead and we are excited to see how God will continue to work through each and every one!

Be excited with us!

Excited about the new library center!

Exited for new teachers!

Excited about being with school friends again!

Exited to get to school at the beginning of the year and pick out our spots!

Excited to learn!

 "And we know that God causes all things to work together for good to those who love God, to those who are called according to His purpose."

-Romans 8:28

September Newsletter

Gearing up for school at El Shaddai

When you have one of the best Christian and English schools for over 40,000 students in your area and only about 8 desks for each class you have to turn people away.  The last couple of weeks have been spent meeting and interviewing potential students and their families to see if our school is a good fit for their child.  Often we have to tell families who are excited about their child getting a great Christian education that we have to put them on a waiting list.  It is extremely difficult to see their desperate faces after sharing that news.

God opened the door several times to share the gospel this week with students and families. A man said he was a believer since birth.  It was a joy to ask him some more questions to find out he put his trust in Christ when he was 9 or 10 years old.  He is now more equipped to share his God story with others.  I always ask parents and students if I can pray for them in the interviews.  One student’s story was heartbreaking.  His dad died less than a year ago.  His mom and other brother went to the states and he is now living with an aunt near the school.  They were looking for financial help for him to attend school. We took time this week to pray with him and his aunt for God to provide the funds for him to attend school.

El Shaddai Learning Center had a team from Florida come and serve with them here in Haiti.  A team of American teachers shared many helpful ideas with our Haitian teachers during a busy 3 day training seminar.  Our teachers walked away with some great info and a heart to change some things about themselves and how they treat and react to their students.  We are looking forward to a great year now scheduled to start September 16th!  We appreciate your prayers as we have students who still need to put their faith in a Savior and many who need to grow in their love for Him and others.

Kofael Happenings

We made a family trip to see the ladies of Kofael the 3^rd weekend in August. It was a sweet time of fellowship. One of our elderly ladies had just returned from her husband of 25 years funeral earlier that morning. She has been caring for him in his sickness the past few years while struggling to take care of her family. It was a blessing to be able to surround her in prayer. The sound of Haitian women praying is one of the sweetest sounds we have ever heard. Our friend who had just left her husband’s gravesite asked if she could pray for us in return. She who the world would call “the least of these” prayed for provision for our family to have a vehicle so that we could come to visit them more often. It was a humbling and precious time.

Elisabeth made another trip the next weekend for the monthly Kofael meeting. This was a special meeting because we had raised money to be able to purchase school supplies for each woman to help send her children and/or grandchildren to school. This meeting we were giving the supplies purchased from one of the women in the program which also brought added blessing to her family through this large sale. The cost of school in Haiti is one of the greatest hardships for Haitian families. School was once again announced delayed by the government until October due to so many families not having the funds to begin. Thousands of children are placed in orphanages simply because their parents cannot afford school and other basic necessities. Many of the women in the Kofael program came to one of the Kofael leadership looking for help to find an orphanage to place their children. Providing school supplies is one small thing we can do to help keep families together. The women were very excited to each get a packet of supplies. Thank you to those who contributed to their excitement and helped meet this important need.

Frantz and Julienne, our Haitian leadership team journeyed back to St. Marc with Elisabeth so that we could spend the next day discussing upcoming important milestones for Kofael. There are currently forty-one women in the Port au Prince program. Nine finished paying loans in August, five of those are ready for their final loan. Fourteen more will finish paying loans this next month. Three will finish in November. Fifteen more have finished their first loans and are currently waiting for their second loans. We are currently not able to take any more women into the program and are praying for provision of $5,850 to be able to grant some of the next loans to the women. As the women pay back their loans we are able to roll over the money into the next loans. But having to front the initial loan money for so many is a difficulty. God has faithfully always provided and the women have been faithful in paying back each loan. Kofael needs fourteen ladies sponsored for their second loan of $150 each and fifteen ladies sponsored for the 3^rd loan of $250 each (totaling the $5,850). If you are led to sponsor a one time Kofael microloan in the amount of $150 or $250, please contact us to let us know. Please pray with us as we trust Him for this amount!

Link with information to donate to Kofael: http://empoweringwomeninhaiti.blogspot.com/p/donate.html

Kofael members at the last meeting happily receiving school supplies for their children

Family Life

 We were blessed with eighty-two consecutive days of visitors since June! We are still trying to catch our breath a bit and enjoy some much needed family time in the midst of gearing up for school and Kofael happenings. We enjoyed a visit from two boys we are close to and help sponsor for school and their mother staying with us for a few days last week. We also made the decision to add another addition to our household this past month. Roselie is a dear friend we have known for the past 2 years. She has to be the best cook, housecleaner, and hair braider around! Roselie badly needed a job and we badly needed help in the midst of so many guests, so many Haiti house issues, ministry and summer homeschooling. Roselie was living with her aunt in Port au Prince so having her come to work with us so far away meant having her move in with us. She is sharing a room with Genise and little Evangeline who also share our daily lives. We can hardly believe Evangeline will turn one on September 28^th and has always been with us. She definitely keeps us all on our toes now that she is so mobile! Her busy mother also welcomed the company and additional help from Roselie. Now we don’t know what we ever did without her! Our household now has us six Reams, Roselie, Genise, Evangeline, Dalencourt “Daly” and Brownie (nicknamed “Houdini”), our two adopted Haitian mutt dogs….along with whomever else decides to knock on our door! We are a pretty rowdy and blessed bunch! Our biggest personal family prayer request right now is for the provision of a vehicle because getting this bunch out of the house without one is a very difficult task!

 Link to donate to vehicle fund: http://hgim.donorpages.com/MissionsReamEVehicle/ream/

 We are also praying for new partners to pray and financially come along us so that we may continue to live and serve in Haiti. Our current regular pledged support is meeting only 20% of our minimum budgeted needs.

 Link with information on how to donate towards one time or monthly giving for our family: http://reamteaminternational.org/donate/

By God’s grace through a few generous one time donations over the past few months He has sustained us. We continue to trust in His faithful provision and be encouraged by the prayers of the saints. Please don’t hesitate to let us know how our family can pray for you as well!

By God's Faithful Grace,

The Ream Team

 

 

 

Summer Summary

We have had a very busy summer! Our focus in the midst of ministry, family life, and lots of Haiti chaos has been getting the house set up and raising financial support during the summer months. Here is our newsletter with a summary of our summer happenings. Thank you to all of you who made many of these happenings possible!

Settling Slowly

The Haiti Hospitality House has been a big project over the summer and we have been settling slowly. Nothing gets done quickly in Haiti unless you count sweating. We have been in the house for 2 ½ months and are slowly fixing many problems common to Haiti households. Many of those problems were suppose to be fixed by the landlord, but as we continue to wait for necessary repairs we have begun fixing them ourselves. We are hoping this will be taken into consideration and deducted from the balance we still owe for this year’s rent. We have enjoyed getting to know our new neighbors and look forward to our neighborhood public ministry that will begin next month.  Please pray that our other repair issues (toilet, water, window, roof, doors) will be solved soon and our home will be a light to our neighborhood.

We have installed a pump and new pipes but due to limited water we still have to take baths outside much of the time!

Borrowed Blessing

Missionaries we serve with in Haiti allowed us to borrow one of their vehicles for the summer.  This has given us many advantages. One of the biggest blessings is more safety for our family as we travel.  In the past we have primarily traveled by public transportation which takes much longer, is very tiresome, and is not safe. Many missionaries we have spoken to have never traveled on public transport even after many years spent in Haiti (which I can’t say I blame them). We are extremely thankful to our friends for the borrowed blessing.  We are thankful for Karyn Bass who felt the Lord leading her to help us fundraise for our own vehicle and Jan Ross helping set up this fundraiser for us.

U.S. Visiting Us

Our first visitors came within a week of us moving into our new house in May. We received a call from a friend that had stayed with us on her previous trip to Haiti and said there were some people she knew who needed a place to stay. We asked when they would be arriving in Haiti and we were told the four were already on the bus traveling to our house! This was during the same weekend our furniture was scheduled to be delivered and we had several Haitian guys working all over the house. We did not feel ready for guests but were reminded that the Lord had provided this "Hospitality House” and that our hearts should be open to show hospitality at all times especially to those of the household of faith (Galatians 6:10).

We had a treat this summer to host one of our students we once had in stateside youth ministry.  Brandon had planned to stay with us for six weeks this summer but then extended his stay for another month! He worked hard helping us with house maintenance issues, building relationships in the community, teaching English and helping some kids learn to read. He did a great job and we enjoyed having him with us! We also appreciate Brandon’s mom, our dear friend Page who worked very hard to shop and squeeze a huge list of supplies into suitcases coming with Brandon. Thank you for your love for us and the people of Haiti and for giving Brandon many unforgettable experiences.

Brandon with neighborhood guys outside our house

Our next visitors in June were some friends with whom we went to grad school who had been preparing to visit for many months. It was great reconnecting, serving, teaching, preaching and training together.  Mark, Emily and their son Luke were a huge encouragement and we were blessed by the supplies and gifts that came with them. Ethan and Evan enjoyed having a friend their age come to visit and will never forget their special time playing with Luke.

Eric and Mark took turns teaching a group of Haitian pastors in Port au Prince. Mark is pictured here with our friend Frantz translating. Eric was able to teach for an hour and 1/2 without translation. Praise the Lord for progress with Creole! The pastors asked when Mark would be returning. Well Mark?

We were blessed to have a friend that Elisabeth went to both high school and college with spend time with us in St. Marc while he was in Haiti with other friends from a team serving at an orphanage in Port au Prince. Brian and his precious family have spent years serving as missionaries in Mexico training Mexican nationals to serve as missionaries in other countries. It was a great encouragement to share our trials and joys serving as missionaries and raising our children in different cultures and the challenges and blessings this brings. We also were blessed that Brian was able to bring us a bag of items we had left behind in TX and both his family and the Tansey family from home added more needed items and extra treats as well! Thank you! Thank you!

We housed an adoptive parent and his two Haitian daughters for two weeks in late July/early August. Our girls especially enjoyed having the girls to play with and working with them on their English. We were blessed to be able to translate, swim at the beach, help with their hair, give the girls needed clothes, assist in adoption paperwork, and hopefully give their dad a bit of a break during a stressful time. During this time with a full house we had another surprise visitor who was brought to our gate in need of a place to stay for three weeks. Jon is still with us and has been a helpful trooper! Thanks U.S. for visiting us in Haiti.

Us Visiting U.S.

Elisabeth made a quick trip to the U.S. at the end of May to take care of taxes and get the house we own ready for new renters. There was a big mess left by the previous renter and she worked very hard to accomplish all that needed to be completed in a short time. We are very thankful to have good renters in the house now and for the precious little time Elisabeth was able to spend with some of her siblings and our niece Hannah that Elisabeth had not yet seen outside the NICU. Elisabeth was able to sell a few big furniture pieces in order to cover the cost of her plane ticket. Though she regretted there was not much time for visiting, loved ones who came over to help her clean out the house and yard were a great source of strength and encouragement. You know who you are and hopefully know how much we love and appreciate you all.

Elisabeth with her niece Hannah who was born 3 months premature on Thanksgiving day

I (Eric) traveled to Nashville in July to attend an administrator’s training for El Shaddai Learning Center (the school we work with in Haiti). I received training that has the potential to be helpful to the principals, teachers and ultimately better for the students. Bethany, the elementary principal, was also at the training and we were able to brainstorm and plan for the upcoming school year. If you are interested in sponsoring students and/or volunteering with us as a teacher please let us know.  We are thankful to Doug and Lois Fearing who are helping ESLC fulfill their mission and helped fund the trip for us to receive the training.

During my time in Tennessee I was blessed to connect with our friends Mark and Emily Bass, who had just visited us in Haiti, and meet the rest of the Bass family. I was also richly blessed to meet the saints at First Baptist Church of Smithville where Mark is the pastor. They gifted us with enough money for our second payment (only one more to go) to complete our daughter’s adoption process. The church was so excited about what God is doing in Haiti.  One part of the group adopted us as a Sunday school class and prays for us and supports us as they are able. We praise the Lord for them and for meeting some special needs of ours through them.

While in Tennessee I was also able to visit with my life long friend, Jason Yost and his family, who stopped by the hotel where I was staying.  His girls are beautiful and look like his wife Laura…thank God. ;) They just happened to be vacationing in Tennessee while I was there for the conference. I was so excited that they took some time out to come and visit.  Laura gave me some gift cards for Starbuck’s to buy my wife some coffee to bring back.  So sweet Laura…Elisabeth was so excited to get her coffee treat!  I also had the privilege of meeting up with another friend from grad school who is now married and has a great family residing in TN.  Wendy Roberts Martine and family met me at Chick-Fil-A (yum, I miss that in Haiti) and it was great to hear their hearts and passion for the ministry at their church.  Excited about what God is doing in and through them.  Thanks Wendy for another gift for my wife…she loved it…the Martines are so thoughtful.

Following Tennessee I traveled to Georgia and reconnected with my high school youth pastor and his family, Tom and Kelly Davis.  I had a great time catching up and seeing their ministry there in Georgia.  It was a joy to see and share at Effingham Baptist Church.  God is doing incredible things through the Davis family in Georgia and around the world.  Thanks for allowing me to come, catch up and share a little about Haiti. I hope it is not another 15 years before we see each other again!

After Georgia, I headed to Illinois. I was able to spend time with my parents, family and friends.  I had the privilege of sharing at two churches in IL. I was so thankful for the opportunity to share a little at Calvary Baptist, where I grew up.  It was great to see everyone there that has been so instrumental to God’s call on my life through the years.  It is great to see Calvary staying faithful to Him and His mission under the leadership of Steve Switzer. I was privileged to share at Taylorville Evangelical Free Church and give a report to this faithful supporting and praying church.  Earlier in the summer the children of this church raised funds for us through their vacation Bible school.  It was incredible to visit with Jim Wolfe and friends at E-Free.  We are so encouraged by the believers in T-ville, IL.

My international travel was sponsored by friends of El Shaddai Learning Center and domestic travel was sponsored by some great friends and people I did life and ministry with in IL.  Leaving IL, I went to TX for a few days to see family and more faithful friends and supporters. We could not be doing what we do without these amazing friends and family.  You know who you are and you are such a blessing and we love you, your families and what God is doing with you all.  Some of the guys I met with in a small group while we lived in New Braunfels got together one night at Andrew Bain’s house.  They are always such an encouragement and a challenge to my spiritual life.  Thanks to all those guys for spurring me on to love and good works. It was great to see Peter and Miguel who made a quick four hour trip to see me, at no other place, but Chick-Fil-A!  We are excited for you all as you return to college and serve the Lord in ministry.  I was excited to have lunch with the Hines and hear all about God’s amazing work through this family.  We are always challenged to love the Lord more after hanging out with them and hearing about God’s work through them in Africa and TX.  It was great to see the staff and others serving at New Braunfels Bible and the encouragement we received from them.  NBBC is such a great church and touching lives of people for eternity!  We always thank God for them and remember them in our prayers.  It was great spending time with Nathaniel Cowan and hearing about how God used their group in the Philippines this summer and plans for God using them in the Fellowship of Christian Athletes this school year.  It was a great encouragement to hear how God continues to use our friends in ministry.  Mitch and Cati Palmieri, it is always a blessing to hear from you all and see you.  Your excitement for the Lord’s work is contagious. I am always encouraged and spurred on when I get to visit with the precious folk at Grace Bible Church in San Marcos.  The people there have such a great heart for missions and make it an emphasis of what they do on a regular basis.  Thanks for allowing us to share what God has been doing with us through our struggles and successes.  Thanks to mom and dad Price for all your help and getting me to the airport so early to get back to the family and Haiti.  To all of you around the U.S. thank you for your love, support and prayers.  We look forward to hearing from you and seeing you again here or there.

Eric and some really great buds!

Power Problems

Life in Haiti is difficult.  Our voltage coming in to the house is very inconsistent and too weak to run our appliances without causing permanent damage. We have unplugged the majority of our appliances until we can afford a more reliable power source.  If you are interested in helping with these issues please let us know.  We can purchase a transformer for our house, a medium sized generator and solar panels which would make life much easier for us and our guests. Think no lights after dark, little power to charge computers and phones and run fans, 90 degree weather with 100% humidity, no air conditioning, lots of sweat, no running water 50% of the time, and how difficult it would be to accomplish all you need to do under such circumstances.  That is why we need whatever you can do to help us at this time to purchase these “necessities”.  A good night sleep helps get all of us through the next day wisely and productively.

Generous Giving

God richly blessed us through this summer.  We are encouraged to be in our new rental we have nicknamed the “Haiti Hospitality House”.  Thank you to those who have given to this need.  We are encouraged by faithful supporters and new supporters.  We appreciate your prayers, giving and encouragement.

Pictured is the welcome room/gift shop at our Haiti Hospitality House

We are in need of monthly and one time donations.  We sleep, eat and serve here because of your giving to the Lord on our behalf.  We are currently at 25% of our needed monthly support.

One of our ministries in Haiti is our women’s microloan program, “Kofael”. Kofael has expanded to another area in Haiti which is about a 5 hour drive one way (and the roads are very rough). We could use someone to give $100 a month to fly roundtrip (sometimes $200 for two) to this area as it would be cheaper then paying for gas and wear and tear from these trips in our future vehicle.

Thanks again to Karyn Bass and Jan Ross for putting together the fundraiser for us to purchase a used vehicle. You can give to this need by going to http://hgim.donorpages.com/MissionsReamEVehicle/ream/ and find all the information to donate there.  We have reached 15% of our goal of $8,000 for the vehicle.  We are praying to be able to purchase a vehicle before school commences on September 9^th though we know that is soon approaching. We do not know how we will manage with Eric and our children getting to school each day without this provision. We appreciate your prayers in this.

We have not started to raise support for big needs such as a generator ($14,000), transformer ($1,500), or solar panels ($9,000).  We struggle to even think about requesting money for these things when we are in such need for monthly personal funds, a vehicle to be able to get to around and many ministry needs as well. We are very thankful for the many ways HGIM has been a great help with our fundraising needs and the many ways they have edified us spiritually through our partnership in ministry. Transitioning to partner with HGIM has been another focus this summer and we are so excited for what the future holds!

Thank you for your faithful prayers, support, and your ministry where God has each of you serving.  We are excited for this next year and believe the Lord will continue to provide for where He has called us to serve.  This September we will begin our third year in Haiti.

We live in a very broken world. But as we watch the sun go down each day we are reminded of what God intended and that one day it will be restored to reflect His full glory. As the sun sets on our second year in Haiti we are reminded of HIs faithfulness to us always.

On the calendar so far for the remainder of 2013…

September  – El Shaddai teacher training and start of school, preaching in Godet (if we get our vehicle), English classes, Kofael meeting, hosting guests

October – School, parent meeting, Bible study, English classes, preaching in churches, pastor training, Kofael meeting, hosting guests, Heart of God International meeting (Eric traveling stateside), Speaking at Victory Church in Rochester, NY

November – Teacher training, school, English classes, Bible studies, training pastors, preaching, hosting guests, American-Haitian Thanksgiving

December – School, Christmas programs for school and Kofael, Bible study, English classes, pastor training, hosting guests, celebrating our Lord’s birth!

***We are hoping to be in the USA during the summer of 2014 as a family and looking forward to seeing many of you.  If you would like us to speak or visit with us please let us know and we will get it on the calendar. Thanks for your friendship, prayers and generosity.  May God continue to meet your needs and ours for His glory!  Let us hear from you and how we can pray for you.

Eric Ream

2 Corinthians 5:9

Introducing Heart of God International Mininistries and Exciting News!

We have been super busy with moving, traveling, wrapping up the school year, getting to know our new neighbors and many guest visits since we moved into our new house at the beginning of May. Internet and electricity were sparse as well the past month, so we are just getting around to sharing the latest news. We are so excited to share with you about life in Haiti.  Thank you to all those who are helping us live and serve Him in this country. God continues to open doors for the gospel to be proclaimed and for groups and individuals to consider the Truth and what they believe.  One man said, “I have never been a part of a Bible study before and have never understood the gospel before.”  In the midst of daily struggles here in Haiti encouraging words like this make it easier to press on.  Thanks for helping us press on!

We are excited to share some other great news with you.  We have been building a relationship with an international ministry for the past year that makes sharing the gospel to the people of the world THE priority. The ministry is called, Heart of God International Ministries (HGIM). God has now opened the doors for us to join HGIM Haiti which we collectively believe will bring the most glory to Him through this partnership! We chose to partner with HGIM for several reasons. 

One…they are thrilled about what God is doing around the world and watch to see what God is inviting them to do to share the gospel.

Two…HGIM cares about God being glorified and proclaimed and it is not about them or their ministry. It is about Him!

Three…the people at HGIM care about what God is doing in and through us and desire to help us serve well in various ways.

Four…they are a financially accountable 501 c3 that will provide a unique opportunity for us. Meaning…You can be certain that more of your money is being used as you intended.

Five…They are lovers of God, His Word, the gospel and desire to see God proclaimed to the people’s of the world.

After this month we will no longer be partnering with or receiving monthly support through Resourcing Christian Education, Intl. RCE is a wonderful organization that meets a great need for Christian teachers around the world. We are very thankful for their ministry and their partnership the past two years in Haiti. We will continue serving in the same ministries here in Haiti, but are changing our partnering mission organization in the US to better fit the ministry and needs as we continue to serve the Lord in Haiti. If you are one of our financial supporters through RCE we ask that you send support there for the month of June if you have not already done so or any lapsed funds that may have simply been forgotten. We are a behind in our support with RCE and need to catch up for the month of June to leave in good standing with them. Those who may want to begin supporting us financially for the first time can begin to do so at this time through Heart of God International. We ask regular supporters to please close the RCE account beginning in July and switch to supporting us through HGIM.

Heart of God will also be partnering with us to meet a need for KOFAEL, the Christian Haitian women’s microloan program that we serve with here in Haiti. We are in awe of how the Lord chose to answer this prayer for the ministry of KOFAEL. A separate account where tax deductable donations can be made to KOFAEL has been set up along with a separate account for our regular monthly support for the Ream family.

Heart of God International Ministries offers a variety of ways for you to support us.

We need your prayer support.  You can visit www.heartofgodinternational.org.

We need your financial support.  As several of you do, you can set up recurring donations through your check card or credit card.  You can write an eCheck.  You can mail your donation to the ministry office.  Here are the links and the information on how to do that. 

Ministry office: Please put “Ream” or “Kofael” in the memo line so the office knows which account to post the amount given.

Heart of God
PO Box 248
Willard, OH 44890

Online giving: http://weblink.donorperfect.com/eream

If you have any donation questions please email accounting@heartofgodinternational.org.

We are thrilled to share this news with you and are thankful for your partnership in the gospel. 

Please take the time this week to make the necessary changes with your credit card or bank account. Thank you for your flexibility in setting up your new contributions with HGIM. We look forward to seeing what God is going to continue to do. 
Please remember no donation is too small.  One dollar can buy a bag of water, a piece of candy, and a coke as we sit down with someone to talk about the One who can change lives. It helps us meet our needs by helping us purchase groceries, taxi fare or help to buy a car that we desperately need before the new school year begins in September. Thank you for your obedience to partner with God in what He is doing around the world. We need you and are thankful to God for you! 

 

Praise: We completed the school year with El Shaddai Learning Center this past week! It was a great year! We are looking forward to having time this summer for setting up the Hospitality House, getting to know our neighbors better, language study, working with the KOFAEL women, Pastor training, discipleship, traveling, and spending time with family and friends.

Prayer request: We have several hours of driving to teach at a pastor’s conference and preaching at a church in the mountains this weekend. We are blessed to be able to use our partners in ministry (at El Shaddai school) vehicle while they are in the states until August. We are earnestly praying to be able to purchase our own vehicle before September. Thank you for your prayers!

We would love to hear from you and the things you would like to hear about as we update our blog in the near future. www.reamteaminternational.blogspot.com.

Our new ministry email addresses are:

Eric: ericream@heartofgodinternational.org
Elisabeth: eeream@heartofgodinternational.org

Please e-mail us and let us know if you would like to be included in a monthly e-mail newsletter. Our hotmail e-mail accounts will remain active and will be linked to our new HGIM ministry e-mail. We are trying to switch everything over to Heart of God within the next month. Please help us complete this task with your communication, support, and faithful prayers.

Love,

Eric and Elisabeth Ream

Dusting Off the Old Bible

Another day. Kids off to school and coffee in hand I sit down to deal with the myriad of thoughts swimming. Happy thoughts. Heavy thoughts. How to make sense of it all? I reached for my Bible and dusted it off smiling. That is the only time I have ever smiled at dust. I thought to myself, the phrase “dusting off the old Bible” sure has a whole new meaning around these parts! You can dust and dust some more. Then a truck drives by and within 5 minutes there is another film of dust. I detest the big trucks that drive through here. The noise and dust they bring always sets me on edge. They represent anything but peace to my little world. As I ran my hand over my dust covered Bible I was reminded how much I need it. Then. Now. Always. I need it. I need it before the dust starts flying and wrecking havoc on my day. I need it before the dust has a chance to settle. But oh how quickly the dust settles and stays and discourages! It stares at me standing for everything neglected, everything ugly and unreconciled and wrong with this world. I brush it away and in a moment another truckload of dust barrels into my day and sends me reeling, searching for peace.

It is these IN YOUR FACE reminders that also remind me why I love Haiti so much. There is no forgetting the dust. It is always there. I sweep it away and then another truck comes. And I know that the dusting will never end. Inside. Outside. All around. The truckload of issues is ever present, coming this way, already here. It screeches and halts and completely unnerves me. It makes me feel dirty and sad. Sad that nothing will ever stay clean for long enough to enjoy it. There is this constant longing to feel clean, to experience lasting peace. There is SO. Much. Injustice. There is so much to be done. The dust mockingly reminds us that we can never get ahead. The dust is overwhelming. There is always more to do. Someone needs help. We need help. I need help. Where will our help come from? 

"MY help comes from the Lord, the Maker of heaven and earth!" 

-Psalm 121:2 

"OUR help is in the name of the Lord, Who made heaven and earth."

-Psalm 124:8

“He will bring forth justice for truth. 

He will not fail nor be discouraged, 

Till He has established justice in the earth; 

And the coastlands shall wait for His law.”

Thus says God the Lord, 

Who created the heavens and stretched them out, 

Who spread forth the earth and that which comes from it, 

Who gives breath to the people on it, 

And spirit to those who walk in it: 

“I, the Lord, have called You in righteousness, 

And I will hold Your hand…”

 –Isaiah 42:3-6

How thankful I am for these words this morning. How thankful I am for His calling. How thankful I am that He holds my hand. How thankful I am to know that this earth and the injustice in it is passing away. One day the dust will settle once and for all. It will be swept away forever! Peace will reign! Thinking about it makes me so happy! I can't wait for that day! Can you?

House # 4...the best saved for last!

House #4

 We spent Easter Sunday with missionary friends in our area. Our friends Al and Bev picked us up and took us to the English church in Montrouis. On the way to church Al mentioned that there was a house for rent in their neighborhood that might be a good fit for us but he did not know the price. I somewhat dismissed the idea of looking at another house and especially one that was not within a few miles of the school. After church we went over to our friends Chris and Leslie's house in Pierre Payen. Montrouis and Pierre Payen are small towns you pass through on the way to St. Marc where we live. We had a great time of fellowship, food and the kids had a blast swimming and hunting eggs. Leslie asked me how the house hunt was coming along. I mentioned that Al had said their was a House #4 in his neighborhood. Leslie perked up and said she thought we should strongly consider that. I respect her opinion. They have struggled through housing situations in Haiti for years longer than we have and she understands the complexities of living here with a family. So I said, "Ok, I will ask Al to check it out for us", but it is still too far from the school and we don't have a car. Leslie offered to pick us up on the way to drop their daughter (who goes to our school) in the morning.

We asked Al. The very next day Eric and I hopped on motorcyle taxis to go check it out. That ride let us know that if this house was an option that we did not want our kids riding this far on motorcycles (usually driven by unlicensed and unexperienced drivers that have to dodge other crazy moto drivers, big trucks, dogs, pigs, chickens, goats, donkeys, etc). Another friend of our was recently in a moto accident. Every time we hear about an accident we know there is a high probability we could be next. I remembered Leslie saying they could help us out with a ride to school and that the school bus brings kids home to that neighborhood too. Otherwise, I would have ruled out House #4 before we got there.

Then we got there. Al introduced us to Gabriel who is the community leader for the district. Gabriel was recently elected "President for life" because the people love him so much. We have discovered why and now love him too! Al and Gabriel went with us to meet with the landlord of the house. No one had yet been given a price. We have learned not to ever get our hopes up until we get a price. We decided we liked the house enough to ask about the price after we were done looking around. The house is new and mostly finished but still has quite a bit of work to be done. Therefore, we were not super excited then that this was THE HOUSE.

House #4 Starting/Asking Price: $15,000 per year. We said, "no can do" and the landlord came down to $12,000. We told him that we really did not want to pay more than $6,000 for a house and that this house was not even finished. He said he would finish it. We said we absolutely had to move in 3 weeks. He said he could finish it in 3 weeks if we gave him the money. We said we do not have $12,000 and would not be ok with paying that even if we did. He did not budge and we turned to go. Gabriel asked us to give him some time to talk to the landlord privately. We said ok and that we were going to go on a walk with Al. Al took us to the beach.

We turned left from the house and walked down the road a short way. The road dead ends into a trash pile. But if you don't have issue with walking over and through that trash pile you will come to a trail on the other side. Surrounding that trail is the most beautiful ocean as far as the eye can see. We walked to the end of the trail and found a nice private (meaning not covered in trash and poop) soft sandy beach! Al told us the price to hang out at this beach is 75 gourde (under $2). It is difficult to find a nice beach with water you are not afraid to swim in unless you go to an expensive resort for the day. We have been blessed by friends who have resort access getting us in from time to time, but if we just want to go to the beach without contacts and prearrangements we have to pay around $20-$35 per person (depending on day of the week). Our large family cannot afford or justify spending that except on very special occassions (like when we are celebrating 4 family birthdays at once or if family/friends we haven't seen in years come to Haiti). The beach is really the only thing to do around here for fun outside home and work. And yet all we ever get to do is look out at the beach from our balcony (which often makes us feel worse that we hardly ever get to go there). The possibility of a beach for family and friends made our spirits soar with hope that maybe God was working in our behalf back at the house. He was.

When we returned to the house Gabriel had talked the landlord down to $8,000 per year. We had asked Al on our walk how much he would pay for that house and he said, "not more than $7,000". So we were close. Mind you when you divide $8,000 by 12 months you get $667 per month (which would be difficult to find even a small appartment in Port au Prince or even in the states for that). Also mind you VERY few houses in Haiti are equipped with such things (or sometimes even the capability to have such things) as electricity, air conditioning, water heater, dish washer, washing machine, dryer, closets, any appliances besides toilets and sinks (if you are lucky), etc...all the things we would take for granted in the states that would be built into the price. But I'm pretty sure you can't get the ocean a stones throw away from your door for $667 per month many places in the world! We had already noted that the house had nice lighting and fans (in all bedrooms) already as well as sinks, toilets, and showers, but none of the other ammenities listed above. We looked around again with new eyes (especially with the beach in mind) and allowed ourselves to imagine our family and friends in this house. It wasn't hard to imagine. This house has all the major things we have been praying for (we have learned to live without dishwashers, washing machines, hot water, and air conditioning so those didn't factor in). The downstairs has a kitchen with adjoining dining and living areas, master bed and bath (for Genise and fam), and two nice guest bedrooms with a nice full bathroom in between. The upstairs also includes a master bed and bath (for Eric and I), 2 bedrooms for our kids with a bathroom in between and a 4th room that could be another guestroom, office, Haiti shop, schoolroom, family room, etc. There is a dining area AND second kitchen upstairs with adjoining porch that looks out into the backyard. Yes. I said "backyard". 

Half the yard

The yard does need some serious TLC but it already has a few fruit trees and once we clean out the brush I think it will be a great space for dogs, kids, and maybe even a little garden (oh and the kids are hoping for a trampoline which I'm sure would be popular with the neighborhood kids as well)! If I wasn't already sold on the two kitchens I would have been sold on the yard. Eric was already sold on swimming and snorkeling so I wasn't worried about any disagreement from him other than paying the highest we said we could go. The sound of the ocean waves coming through the opened glass paned windows made us practically powerless to say anything but, "Yes!"

We talked to the landlord about what was still left unfinished on the house. Such things include the stairway, railings for balconies, installation of kitchen cabinets, installation of some bedroom and security doors, door trims and paint, the roof area above the stairs, purchase of a water cistern, removal of rock and debris in driveway and a few other small things that I can't remember from the list. It was a BIG list. Although the bedrooms, bathrooms and living areas are pretty much move in ready we knew things like stairs, roof over stairs, and not having a water cistern are very big issues.

We asked Al again what he thought. He said "after looking at the house closely a second time I think it is worth $8,000 and I think they will spend most of that amount just fixing what needs to be fixed without much profit". That's what we were thinking too. Then we told the landlord that we don't have $8,000 right now. Our next questions were... could the work be done before we need to move out of our current house in 3 weeks and would he take less than all the money now and give us time to get the rest to him later?

After long deliberations between both parties with Al and Gabriel interceding we came to the agreement that we would pay $5,000 now (which is everything we had raised for the house to date) and that they would use this money to fix what absolutely had to be fixed before we needed to move (stairs, roof, water cistern, hooking up water, installing upstairs kitchen cabinets, and security doors). A finishing date was set for April 24th and a move date set for April 26th. We will have until August the 2nd to pay the remaining $3,000, but none of the other work will be completed until we have paid this balance. The sooner we pay it the better!

Gabriel agreed to write up the contract exactly as we had specified to make sure the work would be completed and payments were agreed upon. Eric and I came home soaking wet (it rained hard on our motorcycle ride home) to hungry kids who said they thought we had died because we had been gone so long. We were thankful to report to them we had finally found our house! We were also very thankful that Genise had gone ahead and cooked dinner. Our moto driver friend came in from the rain and would only let us pay him in spaghetti.

Tuesday we transferred money, wrote a check, had a friend going to Port au Prince cash the check (no place here will cash a $5,000 check the same day) and after school caught a ride with Carolyn and Rose May to the house where Rose May looked over the contract written in French to tell me what it said. Then the kids and I hung out with the orphanage kids at Al and Bev's. Al and Bev are American missionaries that run a children's home (with 6 girls in one building and 6 boys in the building next door) on the same street of our #4 House. The children's home was started by Touch Ministries that also runs the school where we serve. Al is always doing chores over at the school and often comes over to help us out with chores as well. Al and Bev are well loved in the community. There are also 3 other missionaries in the community that we are getting to know and have made headway with the neighbors. So we already have friends in the neighborhood and the neighbors are a little more used to white people. A huge blessing!

We were waiting for the meeting to happen at 4pm, for Eric to arrive after teaching his after school English class, for Gabriel to print the contract, and for the landlord to arrive as well. In the mean time Al walked us to the beach. The kids were so excited! 

Ethan cannot wait to get into that blue!

Of course Evan was aleady wet before I could catch up to him!

The girls are not super excited about the beach as they firmly believe that it is the salt and not the sun that makes their skin darker and therefore prefer swimming in a pool. However they do love to go shell hunting with their brothers (and I love shell hunting too)! 

My good little Haitian carrying her shells on her head.

E.M. found some great treasures!

Here is my find!

We waited some more when we got back to Al and Bev's and finally the landlord arrived. There were 5 witnesses to read and sign the contract. After a few more negotiations over liabilities and resposibilities were discussed, all witnesses signed. Whohoo! We had us a house! Nope. Wait. Nothing in Haiti could possibly go that smoothly now could it? The landlord opened the envelope with the payment in cash and said, "this is no good". WHAT? What now? The landlord (who has POA for the owner in the states) said that he wanted the money in U.S. dollars and not Haitian gourdes. We reminded him that we had just negotiated the night before and that to even get that amount of cash on hand in gourde by the next day was quite troublesome for us. We told him that there is nowhere we know of in all of Haiti that would have $5,000 in U.S. cash immediately available. Everyone else agreed and no one could figure out why the landlord would have an issue with being paid in gourde if he was really going to use the money to fix the house as he said. After all this is Haiti and Haiti takes gourdes! Money is emotional and emotions started to fly. The next hour was not very fun. 

Waiting kids took a picture of the unwanted gourde and said, "we'll take it!"

We had already been waiting to settle this for hours, had 4 hungry and tired kids at our heels, Al (who was a needed witness) needed to take us home and get back to the company waiting for him, and Gabriel looked like he might have a panic attack (which Al later told us he was afraid of because Gabriel has a heart condition). Eventually we got down to the bottom of why the landlord was so upset about the money being in gourde after Gabriel talked to him. The landlord said that he would be losing quite a bit of money to exchange the money from Haitian gourde back to U.S. dollar. We asked why in the world he would need to exchange it back? He said it was because he needed to send it to the owner in the states. Then we caught him. We asked why he would need to do that if he was going to use the money to fix the house as he promised? He stumbled over his words as he said that the landlord would be sending supplies from the states to fix the house. We told him we knew that was a lie because all the imported items in the house were already there. Fixing the stairs, roof, cabinets, and water cistern in the next 3 weeks would not happen from anything coming from stateside. Then he just got mad. Then we got to the bottom of it. Landlord promised owner that he would send the money so the owner could buy himself a plane ticket to visit Haiti and they would use the rest of the money for the house. We were SO not ok with that. I think the landlord was embarrassed that he was caught in the middle between us and the owner and had to fess up to both. The discrepancy of the exchange rate kept coming up and they were giving us a ridiculous rate that we have never been charged anywhere in Haiti. The landlord kept saying he was losing all that money and that it did not equal the agreed upon amount (but it did if he didn't exchange it for purposes we had not agreed to). Like I said, nothing can ever be easy in Haiti! We almost had to walk away. Gabriel almost asked us to pay for the exchange rate or at least split it. But we did not feel right about any of that because paying up front for them to finish the house was generous on our part in the first place. We explained that and that there was nothing else we could do but that we could try to pay in U.S. dollars in the future. We told them we really needed to leave. Gabriel asked for a few minutes to talk to the owner over the phone and explain the situation. I uttered another desperate prayer. About 30 minutes later he came to us and said, "everything is ok now". The owner agreed to take the gourdes without exchange rate fees and agreed with terms already set in the contract. They will have to stick to their word because they know Gabriel (as the community head) will hold them to that. The landlord (who is the nephew of the owner) was fuming as he counted the money and kept saying that it wasn't ok that he had lost so much (we are fairly certain that he did lose whatever money he was going to make from his uncle for not being honest with both parties). We walked away relieved and thankful. It is very rare for Haitians to not take the side of another Haitian. Gabriel listened to both parties and understood both sides. But he felt it would be unjust to make us pay more for reasons that were dishonest. He therefore acted as judge on our behalf. I can count on one hand the # of Haitians we feel like we can trust with much. Gabriel is now one of them.

There was one point that Eric played the game and acted like he was ready to just forget the whole thing. But we would have had to go through something similar with any house we chose and at least we had Al and Gabriel standing by our side in this situation. We also had God on our side and we give Him all the praise and glory for saving the best house for last!

I didn't take good pics of the inside of the house because of all the work still being done and stuff being stored there. I promise to post some pics when we get settled! Big prayer request right now are for the remaining $3,000, the purchase of a generator (for consistent electricity), and the purchase of a vehicle! 

Thank you for being part of this journey so far! It's just beginning!

House Hunters Haiti Edition

Conundrums continued. Over the weekend we looked at several more houses and out of those have added a third possibility to the list. Each member of our house has personal likes and dislikes with each. I personally want the kitchen and open floor plan from one house, the rooftop patio with cooler breeze, built in closets, and my own bathroom from another, the two house layout and convenient closeness to the school of another, and the list goes on. If only we could pick and choose and conglomerate. But we can't. Someday life will be perfect and everything will come together just as it should. But in the unbalanced broken present I find it quite amazing that the Lord has shown us three possible affordable options all within 100 yards-1 mile of where we currently work and live. Honestly, we do not want this just to be about our personal preferences. We want to choose the house that is not only a good fit for our family but also a place of hospitality that will be a good fit for others to come and stay. We will have to deal with issues of transportation, electricity, laundry, and personal space in any of the three houses we choose. This is just part of living in Haiti. Our problem is that we can't decide which issues we would rather deal with over others. What we want to know is if you came to visit us which of the following would be your preference? We would like to hear from those who have experienced Haiti and plan to return, those who plan to visit Haiti (us?) in the future, and friends already living in Haiti whom we hope will come stay with us when they come this way to go to the beach. Your votes would really help us make a decision. At least I hope. I really hope we don't end up with equal # of votes for all houses. If we do, we will probably draw a # out of a hat!

House #1.

Starting/asking price =$8,000/yr. 
Negotiated price=$6,000/yr. (we think they will take $5,000)

Side of house that is on our current street.
Stairway leads to roof with lovely view.

Other side of house.
Genise quarters top left.
Guest quarters top right.
Common area in the middle.
Ream family quarters on the bottom.

Bottom half of house entry way.

This is the first house we found that we deemed a possible good fit. I talked about it already and posted pics HERE. 

Positives for House #1: 

House #1 is the closest to the school we work with. It is literally across the street from the elementary building where our children attend. This is not only a convenience for us but also for teams coming to work with the school and staying with us.

House #1 has 7 bedrooms, 4 bathrooms, 2 separate kitchens, and 2 separate common living areas. It is essentially two separate appartments. Our family would use the apartment on the bottom floor that has 3 bedrooms, 2 bathrooms, living, dining and kitchen areas. The top floor would be for guest and Genise (our Haitian friend who lives and works with us). One side (that can be partitioned off from the main living areas) has two bedrooms and a bathroom in between. Genise would be using these rooms and would have access to upstairs kitchen where she would help prepare food for visitors. There are two additional guest rooms on the other side of the upstairs with a bathroom in between and another room where we could put extra bunk beds if we need more room for guests. There is an entry way room upstairs that I would plan to use as a souvenir shop. We want to be able to help local artisans and also give support to other great organizations in Haiti. We would have items for sale from different ministries and artisans we know from different parts of Haiti. St. Marc does not have anywhere good to shop where we can send teams who want to take things home from Haiti, and there is usually not time or a way to get people around to shop in other cities. So we would like to have Haitian made items available to support our Haitian friends and ministries. I plan to have a Haiti shop in whichever house is chosen, but House #1 and House #3 actually have entry way rooms that would be specifically suited for this purpose. In summary for this part, having two kitchens and separate living quarters is a VERY BIG POSITIVE. This is the only house that has two kitchens though House #3 does have separate floors of bedrooms and living quarters. The layout of House #1 gives the most privacy to everyone.

House #1 has easy access stairs to a flat roof with a beautiful ocean view. The roof would also be a perfect spot for a rooftop gardening project. Anyone staying here will definitely experience what it is like to live in a neighborhood in Haiti. I'm not promising all those experiences will be pleasant, but there will be people observed and perspectives gained that we think should be counted as positives.

Negatives for House #1:

House #1 needs repair work. Some of this the landlord has agreed to do before we move in such as: fix the concrete on driveway, raise security walls, and patch and paint over wall areas in disrepair. The things we would have to fix ourselves include installing kitchen cabinets and preferably new countertops in the upstairs kitchen, reparing tiles and fixing up at least two of the bathrooms, installing concrete or metal railing along rooftop (for safety reasons), installing lights and/or ceiling fans, installing some form of closets in bedrooms, making sure windows are screened and secure, and installing good locks on all gates outside. We are not handy enough nor do we have the tools necessary to complete these kind of projects on our own. We would need help. Any volunteers?

House #1 biggest negative at this point is that we do not have a decent electricity source. The other two houses have their own transformers/meters that plug into EDH (Electricite d' Haiti)/city power which is not very reliable, will give power more often than one without a transformer. Transformers and/or wiring to a transformer are expensive. We already have an inverter and batteries that can be charged whenever EDH is given, but we would need to purchase a generator asap as well. We do realize that we will need to purchase a generator eventually no matter where we are, especially if we have a lot of people living in or visiting the house that use up electricity. The generator we need costs $10,000. We were hoping to purchase a car for about the same amount. :( Never again will I complain about air conditioning bills in the U.S. What I am talking about here is just to keep power on so we can have lights and fans. 

House #1 is on the same busy dusty road where we currently live. It will be dusty. It will be loud though I think not as loud as our current house. There will be mosquitoes. It will be hot though I think not as hot as House #2.

Eric says that it is not a fair that I did not take any pictures of the inside of House #1 (hence the previous long explanation). There is a reason for that. The inside has been filthy each of the 5 times we have looked at it. I will admit that pics from the inside of this house would not look like pics from the other two houses. However, this house has good bones and I think once we moved in, I got busy cleaning and decorating and we got some help to fix the things that need fixing, it would be a great house. This house represents more of what I feel a home should look and feel like. My imagination transcends the dust, peeling paint, bare bones bedrooms, and kitchen cabinets in need of repair. What I see is potential. I see curtains on the windows. I see cute. Eric's imagination does not work that way at all. It is for this reason that I showed him house #2. 

House #2

Starting/asking price =$12,000/yr.
Negotiated price=$8,400/yr.

Behind that graffiti is...

A very pretty house.

See that door. It is the entry point from an actual garage that has an actual garage door and doesn't take up the entire rest of the driveway outside play space.

Even though there are 3 fewer bedrooms in this house (as opposed to house options #1 and #3), there is lots more open floor space to accompany lots of people!

The reason it will be hard to not choose this house. 

The 3 existing bathrooms are all nice and clean.
There is one bathroom upstairs that is completely unfinished.
Anyone want to volunteer to tackle that?

Built in bookshelves under stairs.
This house has many great features.

The upstairs boast a spacious floorplan as well.
This room at the top of the stairs would be a family/movie/game/hangout room.

Part of one of the bedrooms.
The upstairs bedrooms have very high ceilings but no closets.
Pretty, but hot because heat rises.
The very large downstairs master/guest room has a large built in closet and its own bathroom.
All 4 bedrooms are large and light and clean feeling.

Back porch area is nice but small.
This house has a few trees the other houses do not have.

Positives for House #2:

House #2 as you can see from the pictures is beautiful, clean and other than (if deemed necessary) installing the upstairs bathroom, has no repair work that we can see.

House #2 has its own transformer (electricity meter) on a pole that is inside the gate of the house. 

House # 2 seems safer (though we have not experienced any safety problems in our current neighborhood). Eric thinks he would feel more comfortable leaving us here when he goes on trips to other areas in Haiti and if he has to travel to the states for speaking engagements.

House #2 has A GORGEOUS KITCHEN with hookups in an enclosed cabinet for a washing machine!

House #2 has a hot water heater (though we would probably rarely use it more than 1 month out of the year).

House #2 does not have much space around the house for playing and for dogs, but it does have more than House #1 and House #3.

House #2 is on the corner of two paved streets. This will help with dust.

House #2 puts a distance between home and work. This could be a good thing. It is also a hardship as mentioned in negatives.

Negatives for House #2:

House #2 is more expensive (though we can justify that we could spend this much or more for house #1 in repairs).

House #2 is on the corner of a very busy street in town. Because the street is paved it will help with dust. It will not help with noise. 

House #2 will be loud even with windows closed and louder with them open.

House #2 has 3 less bedrooms that the other 2 houses. We think it would still work well for guests, but not for Genise (and family) to live with us. Because it is such an open floorplan there would be much less privacy. We have decided that if we move to this house Genise and Evangeline will not be able to live with us much longer. That thought makes us sad, though we have talked to her about it and she is ok with it. It will just put a different (not necessarily bad) spin on life for everyone.

House #2 is the farthest away from our school. We have arranged a ride coming that way to take Eric and the kids to school in the mornings and possibly bring them home in the afternoons. But we know there will be times when we have to take/pay for multiple motorcycle rides. It would be very difficult for Genise to run her snackshop business at the school if she is not within walking distance of the school. It will be harder for me to watch her nursing baby if she is not close by. It will be harder for me to go back and forth to the school to help out and teach my reading classes. These are the immediate concerns but might only last for about 2 months until school is out for the summer. Lord willing, we will have a vehicle before the next school year begins.

 House #2 has no view. The house itself is pretty but there isn't anything lovely about its surroundings. Because there is no elevation and no sea breeze, the house seems to be hotter than our other options. Mosquitoes do not like breezy. They do like hot. We can spray and use nets but...

House #3

Starting/asking price=$7,000/yr.
Negotiated price=(think we can negotiate between $5-6,000)

We would have to change the name from "Hospitality House" to "Hospitality Hotel"!
This house has a very unusual front in that it does not have an outer gate or barbed wire/broken bottles encircling it.
Hence, like in this picture the neighbors will be hanging out on the front steps. 

Breakfast and living area on the 2nd floor.
The 2nd floor also has 3 bedrooms and a bathroom.
Genise would take one bedroom and we would have two more for guests.

This kitchen needs some help.
It does have a lovely ocean view outside the sinkside window.
It could be made cute with its brick countertops and country wood cabinets if not for the gaudy pillars that grace the entry to the kitchen in the picture above.
They did say they would fix the cabinets.
I would have to put an oven with stovetop where the refrigerator is and put the refrigerator in the adjoining breakfast room. I am pretty bummed with such a tiny kitchen for such a big house, but we could make it work.
Any kitchen would be a great improvement.
It doesn't really matter I suppose. Because unless the house has two kitchens (like House #1) or Genise does not live with us (like House #2), I will not be in the kitchen much at all.
Genise is always in the kitchen as are the majority of Haitian women. It is just how it is.
There is typically no room there for me.
It's a good thing I don't particularly like to cook.

Bedrooms are adequate size with nice paint.
4 of the 6 bedrooms have built in closets.
We can choose to use some of the furniture if we like, though I'm not sure that is included in price.

All 3 bathrooms look functionable and clean.

3rd floor living space.
Small but neat.
If. Only. It. Had. A. Kitchen. Up. Here.
There is an area to the left that would make a great little kitchen.
But unfortunately there is a giant concrete bar area there that is blocking any makeshift kitchen I might invent.
We asked if it could be removed or just moved out a little ways.
The owner didn't like that idea.
There are 2 bedrooms to the right and a master bed and bath to the left on this floor as well as another bathroom.
This would be our family living area.

Open air windows on the 2nd and 3rd floors let in the breeze and view.
They are up high enough where the dust and mosquitoes don't seem to be a problem.

Ethan enjoying the roof.
I do like it that there is railing around the sides!
This would be the only outside playspace other than the front outside of house that is on the road.

The rooftop has a really nice serving area!
First house purchase would probably be a grill!

There is this really cool thatched roof around the bar area! The roof would be a fun hangout place. It is neat to sit up there and observe the surrounding sights.
There is also a bathroom on the roof.

The breeze and view from the rooftop is amazing!
This pic does not at all do it justice!

Positives for House #3: 

House #3 is still within walking distance of the school. It isn't too long of a walk and would give us some great exercise every day.

House #3 is probably going to be the least hot house due to the large open windows. There are windows with glass that open and close in the bedrooms and living area on second floor. The main problem with open air Haitian houses (and the reason I didn't want another one) is because they let in a lot of dust and mosquitoes. We've been told the mosquitoes are not as bad here probably due to the elevation and good flowing breeze. I did not experience any mosquitoes. Because the road leading to the house is paved and because the house goes straight up, dust didn't seem to be such a huge problem either except on the first floor.

House #3 has only one room other than the garage on the first floor that would be a great spot for the souvenir shop I mentioned earlier! Otherwise that room could be used for an office or storage.

House #3 has it's own electricity transformer/meter. 

House #3 has built in closets and we might even be able to use some of the furnishings we like already in the house. There isn't much we would have to buy/fix on this house.

House #3 has the best views and has easy access to hiking the hills behind the house. The awesomeness of the roof of House # 3 almost comes close to the kitchen in House #2. 

Negatives for House #3:

House #3 has no place I can think of to do laundry. There is always laundry being done, so this is a problem for us (not for guests).

House #3 has no outside space surrounding the house other than the rooftop.

House #3 has less than desireable kitchen. Kitchen is in use nearly 100% of the time.

House #3 has some gaudy components that I detest, but know I simply cannot be that picky. Such components include giant bar areas that take up space along with giant gaudy painted pillars. And unfortunately for this Aggie, the master bedroom is painted nicely in a very distasteful orange. I told Eric that would have to go. He refused to budge on that one because he is not an Aggie.


Well, there you have it. Please cast your votes for the place you would most likely want to stay if/when you come see us in Haiti!