We thought we should post one last blog to let everyone know we are home safe and sound. Noah and Anica are so happy to see the snow. We arrived in Calgary on Thursday at 10:00 PM. Friday morning at 8:00 am the kids had the snow suits on and were out playing in the snow. They are true Albertans. After five weeks in the sun and heat we all welcomed the snow and cold air.
Now that we are back we are trying hard not to get caught up in the business of the western life, but we have realized that pace in Haiti versus Canada is quite different. We found that we had more time to read, listen to God's word and pray, much more often than we do here. Our plan is to make sure this fits into our lives here. When we asked Anica what she most wanted to do back in Canada, she said I want to read my Bible everyday like we do here in Haiti.
We are very thankful that we have so many friends and family that were praying for us and are eager to hear our stories. We are all trying to process the whole experience and should have it refined over the next few weeks as we tell and re-tell these stories.
Please be patient as we tranistion back to our lives here in Red Deer. We look forward to sharing with all of you our experiences in Haiti.
God Bless!
Tuesday, November 23, 2010
Tuesday, November 16, 2010
Last Day in Haiti!
We finished taking pictures of all the 0 to grade 2 kids. They have preschool here and there are many very cute 2 year olds. We must have taken close to 100 photos this morning.
The picture taking took most of the morning, so we had lunch and started to get organized to go to the beach after lunch. Nicole became the interpreter for Mme Luciano in the gift shop, so we didn't start for the beach until 2:30pm. While I was waiting I took 15 minutes to sit in the sun to get a tan. I wanted to make sure I could tell people when I get back that I took time to suntan. I actually timed it and it was very difficult - smoking hot. As I sat there I had three different Haitian come ask me why I was punishing myself.
The last trip to the beach was good. We bought 3 pepsi and shared them as we sat on the beach and watched to water wash up. We will miss this part of Haiti.
Tonight and actually the last few evenings Nicole and I have spent some time thinking about re-entering back to our life in Canada. We already have our weekend booked and Noah's Birthday is the following weekend. Then Christmas blessings!
Please pray for patience, guidance and discernment as we make our way home. We both want our time here in Haiti to renew our minds and our spirits and our lives. We look forward to all God has for our family!
Proverbs 3:5-6
Trust in the Lord with all your heart, and do not lean on your own understanding. In all your ways acknowledge him, and he will make straight your paths.
See you soon!!!
The picture taking took most of the morning, so we had lunch and started to get organized to go to the beach after lunch. Nicole became the interpreter for Mme Luciano in the gift shop, so we didn't start for the beach until 2:30pm. While I was waiting I took 15 minutes to sit in the sun to get a tan. I wanted to make sure I could tell people when I get back that I took time to suntan. I actually timed it and it was very difficult - smoking hot. As I sat there I had three different Haitian come ask me why I was punishing myself.
The last trip to the beach was good. We bought 3 pepsi and shared them as we sat on the beach and watched to water wash up. We will miss this part of Haiti.
Tonight and actually the last few evenings Nicole and I have spent some time thinking about re-entering back to our life in Canada. We already have our weekend booked and Noah's Birthday is the following weekend. Then Christmas blessings!
Please pray for patience, guidance and discernment as we make our way home. We both want our time here in Haiti to renew our minds and our spirits and our lives. We look forward to all God has for our family!
Proverbs 3:5-6
Trust in the Lord with all your heart, and do not lean on your own understanding. In all your ways acknowledge him, and he will make straight your paths.
See you soon!!!
Monday, November 15, 2010
Day 28 in Haiti
Yesterday was our last Sunday to celebrate and worship with the full congregation. After a very passionate sermon on Praise, Pastor Marc called us up to the front to pray for us. They prayed for being here for five weeks and that we would have a safe journey home. They also prayed for when we will come back? It was a powerful and emotional experience to say the least.
We are going to try and process as best we can our first trip here before we commit to a return trip. As we start to say good-bye to some of the people it is difficult to think how we could not come back. We will leave this to prayer at a later time and listen to God for his guidance once again.
Today we spent the morning taking pictures and recording information of the 210 children at the school. We are working on getting sponsorship cards for each of the kids. This year the school admission and teachers salary was 90% covered by earthquake relief money, but next year each of the kids will need to pay for their own school fees. Any of you that may be interested in getting involved in Haiti Arise (the ones we don't convince to come visit for themselves) we will have all the information shortly and will be glad to help you get set up to sponsor 1 or 2 or 10 kids for next year.
Tomorrow we will be going to the beach one last time. We will miss this part of Haiti for sure.
1 John 4:7 - Beloved, let us love one another, for love is from God, and whoever loves has been born of God and knows God.
Time to start packing!!
We are going to try and process as best we can our first trip here before we commit to a return trip. As we start to say good-bye to some of the people it is difficult to think how we could not come back. We will leave this to prayer at a later time and listen to God for his guidance once again.
Today we spent the morning taking pictures and recording information of the 210 children at the school. We are working on getting sponsorship cards for each of the kids. This year the school admission and teachers salary was 90% covered by earthquake relief money, but next year each of the kids will need to pay for their own school fees. Any of you that may be interested in getting involved in Haiti Arise (the ones we don't convince to come visit for themselves) we will have all the information shortly and will be glad to help you get set up to sponsor 1 or 2 or 10 kids for next year.
Tomorrow we will be going to the beach one last time. We will miss this part of Haiti for sure.
1 John 4:7 - Beloved, let us love one another, for love is from God, and whoever loves has been born of God and knows God.
Time to start packing!!
Saturday, November 13, 2010
Day 26 in Haiti
You know, when we planned to come to Haiti Nicole and I brought John McAurthers b of James study. We figured there would be plenty of time to do this. Well I finally finished chapter 1 of 5 of the study, Nicole is a chapter ahead of me.
So many other things have happened though that we don't feel at all guilty like we would back home. That will be likely the most important lesson that we all learned while down here. Everything that happens and what we should be focusing on in our lives is on God's timing not ours.
The other thing we will miss is this blogging time, because it forces us to sit and reflect on the day, what we learned, the mistakes we made, and how God has been in our day whether we noticed or not.
Yesterday we experienced another after shock later in the day. The Haitians that were here were very frightened. The clinic was on so there were many people inside the building. They all screamed and scattered outside very quickly. I was unsure what was going on; the panicked frenzy confused me more than the tremor. It brought to reality the horrible experience they had already endured with the deadly earthquake and how fresh it still was. I cannot fathom living with such a fear on a daily basis compounded by the poverty and brokenness here in Haiti.
We did forget to mention that the kids were up early (6am) on Friday morning to help in the kitchen. It was pancake day and Anica wanted to get the recipe for both the pancakes and the syrup. They both had a great time and the ladies in the kitchen enjoyed the help. We will share the recipe for these pancakes when we get back. You can take two, but you can only finish one.
Only four more sleeps before we start our journey home, not that any of us are counting!
We will share James 1:25 with you.
"But if you look carefully into the perfect law that sets you free, and if you do what it says and don't forget what you heard, then God will bless you for doing it."
Noah, Anica, Nicole and Charles
So many other things have happened though that we don't feel at all guilty like we would back home. That will be likely the most important lesson that we all learned while down here. Everything that happens and what we should be focusing on in our lives is on God's timing not ours.
The other thing we will miss is this blogging time, because it forces us to sit and reflect on the day, what we learned, the mistakes we made, and how God has been in our day whether we noticed or not.
Yesterday we experienced another after shock later in the day. The Haitians that were here were very frightened. The clinic was on so there were many people inside the building. They all screamed and scattered outside very quickly. I was unsure what was going on; the panicked frenzy confused me more than the tremor. It brought to reality the horrible experience they had already endured with the deadly earthquake and how fresh it still was. I cannot fathom living with such a fear on a daily basis compounded by the poverty and brokenness here in Haiti.
We did forget to mention that the kids were up early (6am) on Friday morning to help in the kitchen. It was pancake day and Anica wanted to get the recipe for both the pancakes and the syrup. They both had a great time and the ladies in the kitchen enjoyed the help. We will share the recipe for these pancakes when we get back. You can take two, but you can only finish one.
Only four more sleeps before we start our journey home, not that any of us are counting!
We will share James 1:25 with you.
"But if you look carefully into the perfect law that sets you free, and if you do what it says and don't forget what you heard, then God will bless you for doing it."
Noah, Anica, Nicole and Charles
Friday, November 12, 2010
Loving the beach
Sorry no blog yesterday they only have so much band width and if they use it all up then it doesn't reset for another 24hrs. Yesterday was a quiet day, Nicole did some school at Lisa's then right after lunch we went to the beach early. It was a tad windy, and the air was cool when you were out of the water. But then we thought, it is November and our friends back home aren't swimming in the Carribean!!
Dr. Don from the medical team lead us in a ten minute Remeberance day ceremony, which was nice to have while down here. We had a chance to explain some of our Canadian history to the Haitians.
Haiti has provided a wonderful time for growing with God; with that comes some "trials and testing". Those are the most challenging hurdles to overcome. It brings us to our knees, vulneralble, weak, broken and lost. Only by calling on Jesus, sometimes over and over ( I am a slow learner sometimes) can we see with His eyes. Tonight was such a challenge. Not an unsual one. One quite common in our every day life; however, this on this occasion, I was spoken to on how to forgive.
In James, we are told that our tongue " is neither friend or foe, yet it is a reflection of our mind and a mirror to our soul. This means its a tool for our hearts and minds. It is an indication of how we are dealing with life, our spiritual growth, our character and our maturity. Tonight I learned such a profound lesson on this. I do not think that my listening ears would have heard His calling back home.
How do you behave with love and grace when the enemy is present; attacking with great fervor? We have had sporadic power since the medical teams arrival, the water pump in not filling the tank on the roof, different personalities and expectations from our "north American standards", sick Haitains in need of medical care, tired staff in need of rest and a modge of people some beleivers and others not. These are some of the examples of the atmosphere here, it is heavy and tense.
Your prayers are needed more than ever as we finish out our days here.
It is so easy to think we are being so humble and submissive to God, by being in Haiti but are we really? We eat three meals a day, take a shower when we want, have a bed and a bedroom, with a roof over our head. We have fans for the heat and some have airconditioning. My guess is less than 10% of Haitians have a solid roof over their head, most of them likely get on meal each day.
As you can see today we are struggling with how we (us and the teams that come here) really are being of any help to the Haitians or if we are just part of a feel good program for ourselves.
And just as I write this Nicole had a great conversation with Jameslee (the oragami security guard) who is going to bring his wife to Haiti Arise to meet us. He loves Anica and Noah and is going to miss them very much. God is in everything we do and it is for us to listen, obey and discern what it is he is teaching us and leading us to.
Duetronomy 31:6
Be strong and couragous do not fear or be in dread of them, for it is the Lord your God who goes with you, he will not leave you or forsake you.
We are very grateful for your prayers and support.
The Nowochins
Dr. Don from the medical team lead us in a ten minute Remeberance day ceremony, which was nice to have while down here. We had a chance to explain some of our Canadian history to the Haitians.
Haiti has provided a wonderful time for growing with God; with that comes some "trials and testing". Those are the most challenging hurdles to overcome. It brings us to our knees, vulneralble, weak, broken and lost. Only by calling on Jesus, sometimes over and over ( I am a slow learner sometimes) can we see with His eyes. Tonight was such a challenge. Not an unsual one. One quite common in our every day life; however, this on this occasion, I was spoken to on how to forgive.
In James, we are told that our tongue " is neither friend or foe, yet it is a reflection of our mind and a mirror to our soul. This means its a tool for our hearts and minds. It is an indication of how we are dealing with life, our spiritual growth, our character and our maturity. Tonight I learned such a profound lesson on this. I do not think that my listening ears would have heard His calling back home.
How do you behave with love and grace when the enemy is present; attacking with great fervor? We have had sporadic power since the medical teams arrival, the water pump in not filling the tank on the roof, different personalities and expectations from our "north American standards", sick Haitains in need of medical care, tired staff in need of rest and a modge of people some beleivers and others not. These are some of the examples of the atmosphere here, it is heavy and tense.
Your prayers are needed more than ever as we finish out our days here.
It is so easy to think we are being so humble and submissive to God, by being in Haiti but are we really? We eat three meals a day, take a shower when we want, have a bed and a bedroom, with a roof over our head. We have fans for the heat and some have airconditioning. My guess is less than 10% of Haitians have a solid roof over their head, most of them likely get on meal each day.
As you can see today we are struggling with how we (us and the teams that come here) really are being of any help to the Haitians or if we are just part of a feel good program for ourselves.
And just as I write this Nicole had a great conversation with Jameslee (the oragami security guard) who is going to bring his wife to Haiti Arise to meet us. He loves Anica and Noah and is going to miss them very much. God is in everything we do and it is for us to listen, obey and discern what it is he is teaching us and leading us to.
Duetronomy 31:6
Be strong and couragous do not fear or be in dread of them, for it is the Lord your God who goes with you, he will not leave you or forsake you.
We are very grateful for your prayers and support.
The Nowochins
Wednesday, November 10, 2010
Countdown home
Its been another sick day here at the property. Charles took ill shortly before lunch. I left for school with the kids this morning and by the time we returned he was asleep in bed.
He is on the mend ( much speedier than I) must be from better stock than I! Not really sure what is being shared here. Waiting to see who it disables next; like a video game. (Haitian humour).
The kids and I went to the ocean to cool off. Such a nice and relaxing time. Hoping to get a few more days in! We had a quiet evening watching a movie "Knights from the Bronx" with Ted Danson. Good movie!
Not much else except that we are counting the days home.
Love the Nowochins
He is on the mend ( much speedier than I) must be from better stock than I! Not really sure what is being shared here. Waiting to see who it disables next; like a video game. (Haitian humour).
The kids and I went to the ocean to cool off. Such a nice and relaxing time. Hoping to get a few more days in! We had a quiet evening watching a movie "Knights from the Bronx" with Ted Danson. Good movie!
Not much else except that we are counting the days home.
Love the Nowochins
Tuesday, November 9, 2010
Still in Haiti
Only one more week to go. Even though Anica is counting the days she is having fun helping out with the medical team and also helping the carpenter to odd jobs around the compound. Today she was a plumbing apprentice.
Noah and I witnessed the gravel truck getting stuck while trying to dump his load of gravel. The truck is probably early 1950`s MACK. It is pieced together as best possible with only one seat for the driver, but three of them in the cab. The reason the truck was stuck was because he stalled it. The only way to restart the truck is to push start it. So the bobcat was pushing form behind with six Haitians also pushing, it only moved 5 feet and he got it started. An amazing feat. To get the hydraulics to work they pulled a large pipe out of the cab and started whacking at something under the truck. It worked!
The rest of the day we took inventory of what they have in the shed and the sea can, so they will know what they have.
This evening I spoke at the church service. As I mentioned yesterday I spoke on Romans 12. I highly recommend if you have to speak in front of a group, do it infornt of people you don`t know, and have an interpreter. With the interpreter you only have to say 4-5 words at a time, then you have time to think about your next 4-5 words. Those that attended said it was a good message so I will take it at that. The key verse that I focused on was Romans 12:2.
``Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of you mind, then you will be able to test and approve what God`s will is, his good, acceptable and perfect will.``
The rest of the night we sat around the table a visited. I made popcorn for everyone and we all enjoyed it.
Bye for now!!
Noah and I witnessed the gravel truck getting stuck while trying to dump his load of gravel. The truck is probably early 1950`s MACK. It is pieced together as best possible with only one seat for the driver, but three of them in the cab. The reason the truck was stuck was because he stalled it. The only way to restart the truck is to push start it. So the bobcat was pushing form behind with six Haitians also pushing, it only moved 5 feet and he got it started. An amazing feat. To get the hydraulics to work they pulled a large pipe out of the cab and started whacking at something under the truck. It worked!
The rest of the day we took inventory of what they have in the shed and the sea can, so they will know what they have.
This evening I spoke at the church service. As I mentioned yesterday I spoke on Romans 12. I highly recommend if you have to speak in front of a group, do it infornt of people you don`t know, and have an interpreter. With the interpreter you only have to say 4-5 words at a time, then you have time to think about your next 4-5 words. Those that attended said it was a good message so I will take it at that. The key verse that I focused on was Romans 12:2.
``Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of you mind, then you will be able to test and approve what God`s will is, his good, acceptable and perfect will.``
The rest of the night we sat around the table a visited. I made popcorn for everyone and we all enjoyed it.
Bye for now!!
Monday, November 8, 2010
Day 21 in Haiti
Today was a horrible day for Nicole. She spent the whole night last night running to the bathroom. Her stomach was purging something both top and bottom. She has been in bed all day and hasn't moved. (Actually she just got up and I gave her some water. She has been in bed since 10 pm yesterday, it is now 10 pm again.) I must say I have never seen her this sick before. Finally around supper time she was able to keep down water and a couple of gravel. She is now sleeping and we hope that she is well in the morning. The doctors and nurses are only concerned if she gets dehydrated, otherwise it hopefully will run its course and she will be out of bed in the morning. Your prayers for her are very much welcome.
With Nicole in bed all day, I was in charge of the kids. I did some French reading with the kids for school, then we completed a couple of Sudoku for their math. (Dad's always find the simplist things to do, then praise themselves for being such great home school Dads!!) All of us prayed tonight that mom gets better so she can be in charge of school.
In the afternoon all of us including the medical team (which had the day off) went to the beach. This was the first day we have been at the beach before 2:00 pm. Anica and Noah actually got a little sun. We've have spent so much time in the shade trying to stay cool that we haven't had to worry about getting a tan let alone burnt. The medical team however is taking Cypro and one of the side affects is skin that burns easily. So half a dozen of them came back red like lobsters.
The temperature is starting to cool for the winter months and it was only 28 C today compared to 35C when we first arrived. Right now it is only 25C and I am finally not sweating while typing. We are all looking forward to the snow, so I hope you don't mind that we are praying for mountains of snow when we return.
Tonight I will be doing some preparation. I was asked to give my testimony to the chruch on Tuesday night so I have to give some thought to what I want to say. I will likely talk about Romans 12 as this is the chapter that I keep coming back to again and again. Give it a read sometime and see if you can follow the guidelines for a week or two!! I continue to fail miserably.
Being is Haiti has been such a great experience so far. This is a beautiful country and although it will take some time, lots of effort, and God's mercy this can be the jewel of the Caribbean once again.
I will leave you with this verse I read this morning.
Rejoice in hope, be patient in tribulation, be constant in prayer. Romans 12:12
Talk to you tomorrow.
Charles, Nicole, Anica, Noah.
P.S. We do enjoy reading any comments you post on the blog, it means alot to hear from our friends back home.
With Nicole in bed all day, I was in charge of the kids. I did some French reading with the kids for school, then we completed a couple of Sudoku for their math. (Dad's always find the simplist things to do, then praise themselves for being such great home school Dads!!) All of us prayed tonight that mom gets better so she can be in charge of school.
In the afternoon all of us including the medical team (which had the day off) went to the beach. This was the first day we have been at the beach before 2:00 pm. Anica and Noah actually got a little sun. We've have spent so much time in the shade trying to stay cool that we haven't had to worry about getting a tan let alone burnt. The medical team however is taking Cypro and one of the side affects is skin that burns easily. So half a dozen of them came back red like lobsters.
The temperature is starting to cool for the winter months and it was only 28 C today compared to 35C when we first arrived. Right now it is only 25C and I am finally not sweating while typing. We are all looking forward to the snow, so I hope you don't mind that we are praying for mountains of snow when we return.
Tonight I will be doing some preparation. I was asked to give my testimony to the chruch on Tuesday night so I have to give some thought to what I want to say. I will likely talk about Romans 12 as this is the chapter that I keep coming back to again and again. Give it a read sometime and see if you can follow the guidelines for a week or two!! I continue to fail miserably.
Being is Haiti has been such a great experience so far. This is a beautiful country and although it will take some time, lots of effort, and God's mercy this can be the jewel of the Caribbean once again.
I will leave you with this verse I read this morning.
Rejoice in hope, be patient in tribulation, be constant in prayer. Romans 12:12
Talk to you tomorrow.
Charles, Nicole, Anica, Noah.
P.S. We do enjoy reading any comments you post on the blog, it means alot to hear from our friends back home.
Sunday, November 7, 2010
Day 20 in Haiti
Today was church. The rain for the past three days has made everyone stay in their home with all the mud and the potential to rain some more. As a result church started around 8:45 and was barely half full. The message today was delivered by Chris the couple that is here for one year. He wants to be a pastor one day. His message was about the power of the tongue. To both build up and to tear down and that we should use our tongue to testify, to praise God and to encourage and build up those around us. It was a great message and one that we should all listen to often. He talked at length about gossip and how one little comment can change a relationship immediately and forever.
After church we had a number of boys that wanted some soccer balls. We have about 50 soccer balls in the back room that teams have brought down in the past few months, so each Sunday we have started to give some away. Every boy has the same reaction when they get a new ball. All smiles, it is great to see.
Anica wasn't feeling well so I stayed back at the campus with her and played some games and relaxed. It was nice to spend so quiet time just Anica and I. She is feeling better and will need on more day of rest to be back to her regular self. Thank-you for your prayers.
Nicole went with Chris and Rebecca and Kathleen to Tapion ( spelling las time was incorrect) to the childrens church. It was again another God time. This church is a kids church; begun by Mme Roselyn. Its for the kids because the parents do not go to church up in the mountain area. Kids come and run the service. They sing and have amazing memorizing skills. They had over 6 memory verses( long ones such as John 1:1-14). Rebecca and I went up to teach them a song " Our God is So great". It was so fun to watch them trying to repeat after us. It was a fun time. Even getting there, Marc Eddy and Johnny came with us. They are 2 amazing young men whose heart for the Lord is evident is all parts of their lives. Marc Eddy sang songs on our return trip. It was a good time hanging out!
I am already thinking I we will miss Haiti. We are getting more than comfortable as each passing day. Lisa and I are already talking about what God may have next for us. Prayers will lead us where we are to be!
Charles, Nicole, Anica, and Noah
After church we had a number of boys that wanted some soccer balls. We have about 50 soccer balls in the back room that teams have brought down in the past few months, so each Sunday we have started to give some away. Every boy has the same reaction when they get a new ball. All smiles, it is great to see.
Anica wasn't feeling well so I stayed back at the campus with her and played some games and relaxed. It was nice to spend so quiet time just Anica and I. She is feeling better and will need on more day of rest to be back to her regular self. Thank-you for your prayers.
Nicole went with Chris and Rebecca and Kathleen to Tapion ( spelling las time was incorrect) to the childrens church. It was again another God time. This church is a kids church; begun by Mme Roselyn. Its for the kids because the parents do not go to church up in the mountain area. Kids come and run the service. They sing and have amazing memorizing skills. They had over 6 memory verses( long ones such as John 1:1-14). Rebecca and I went up to teach them a song " Our God is So great". It was so fun to watch them trying to repeat after us. It was a fun time. Even getting there, Marc Eddy and Johnny came with us. They are 2 amazing young men whose heart for the Lord is evident is all parts of their lives. Marc Eddy sang songs on our return trip. It was a good time hanging out!
I am already thinking I we will miss Haiti. We are getting more than comfortable as each passing day. Lisa and I are already talking about what God may have next for us. Prayers will lead us where we are to be!
Charles, Nicole, Anica, and Noah
Saturday, November 6, 2010
Day? were not sure its Haiti time
TOMAS missed us completely. However, down the way, Leogane ( 20 miles from here) had some severe flooding. There was some riotting in the streets today of Leogane; Haitians barricaded the road out of town ( which is the only way to the airport) in anger and frustration of the damage. The folks who left this morning were on an adventure of a lifetime. James, Michelle ( Marcs step-brother and wife) and their friends from Cochrane were on their way to Port Prince. The had a policemen with them who had to call for back up. Shots were fired in the air, then they were taken seriously and allowed to the airport. Real Hollywood material here in Haiti!
This morning we went for a walk down to the beach to see the affects of the wind and rain. A few fallen trees and more garbage washed up on the beach. We picked some seashells at the water for a while then made our way back just in time to miss the rain.
Around 11 am we went with a number of people to Petit Goave which is 20 minutes west of here. A little boy that came to the medical clinic needed emergency surgery and was sent to Petit Goave Hospital. By the grace of God there was a surgeon (from Calgary) that was available the boy had surgery as soon as we arrived and was finished and back at the compound by 3:00 pm.
The ride to Petit Goave was an adventure in itself. All of us were in the back of the Ford Ranger. The driver puts his seatbelt on then drives on the highway at 100 km/h while we are in the back, sitting on the rails of the truck. Not what you would consider real safe. At two different spots along the road it goes to one lane. In Haiti that mean first come first serve as long as you honk first. The second spot is a blind corner coming down the mountain to Petit Goave, this one is more intersting yet.Then part of the road was severely damages duing the quake and the rain has washed alot of it away; we had to drive on a Haitian shoulder ( not much there).
We have fun getting wind blown and made it there safe and sound.
Once at Petit Goave, we went to the market. As a result of the rains their was much more garbage that was washed all over the place. At the market it was dirty and smelly. As we all walked through the market Anica turned to Dad and said I don't feel good. Not two seconds laster she was throughing up. As soon as we got her out of the market she was feeling a little better. We went to the market so the staff could buy some supplies for the weekend. Since Anica was not feeling well she road in the front seat with air conditioning and a window if needed. Nicole, Noah and I sat in the back with the food supplies. Fresh carrots and potatoes, some noodles, 5 dozen eggs and to 25lb bags of fresh cut beef (still dripping out of the bag). Once we were travelling it wasn't too bad, but everytime we stopped the smell was not so pleasant. After today, there is a good chance Nicole may not eat meat until we get back home.
Tonight Anica was in bed before supper to get some rest and fight off whatever was making her ill. A good nights rest will probably be all she needs. All of us have been relatively healthy and we hope to stay that way.
After supper our group, Marc, Lisa, Chris, Rebecca and Kathleen, met to review the week, since we didn't have time on Wednesday as we planned. It is good to talk about what is happening and what needs to be done. The best part is when we pray at the end. It is very powerful when everyone says a few words or prayer and for each other, the medical team and for the people of Haiti. I actually could feel the heaviness of the past week lifting as we prayed.
And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, guard our hearts and our minds throught Christ Jesus. Philippians 4:7
This morning we went for a walk down to the beach to see the affects of the wind and rain. A few fallen trees and more garbage washed up on the beach. We picked some seashells at the water for a while then made our way back just in time to miss the rain.
Around 11 am we went with a number of people to Petit Goave which is 20 minutes west of here. A little boy that came to the medical clinic needed emergency surgery and was sent to Petit Goave Hospital. By the grace of God there was a surgeon (from Calgary) that was available the boy had surgery as soon as we arrived and was finished and back at the compound by 3:00 pm.
The ride to Petit Goave was an adventure in itself. All of us were in the back of the Ford Ranger. The driver puts his seatbelt on then drives on the highway at 100 km/h while we are in the back, sitting on the rails of the truck. Not what you would consider real safe. At two different spots along the road it goes to one lane. In Haiti that mean first come first serve as long as you honk first. The second spot is a blind corner coming down the mountain to Petit Goave, this one is more intersting yet.Then part of the road was severely damages duing the quake and the rain has washed alot of it away; we had to drive on a Haitian shoulder ( not much there).
We have fun getting wind blown and made it there safe and sound.
Once at Petit Goave, we went to the market. As a result of the rains their was much more garbage that was washed all over the place. At the market it was dirty and smelly. As we all walked through the market Anica turned to Dad and said I don't feel good. Not two seconds laster she was throughing up. As soon as we got her out of the market she was feeling a little better. We went to the market so the staff could buy some supplies for the weekend. Since Anica was not feeling well she road in the front seat with air conditioning and a window if needed. Nicole, Noah and I sat in the back with the food supplies. Fresh carrots and potatoes, some noodles, 5 dozen eggs and to 25lb bags of fresh cut beef (still dripping out of the bag). Once we were travelling it wasn't too bad, but everytime we stopped the smell was not so pleasant. After today, there is a good chance Nicole may not eat meat until we get back home.
Tonight Anica was in bed before supper to get some rest and fight off whatever was making her ill. A good nights rest will probably be all she needs. All of us have been relatively healthy and we hope to stay that way.
After supper our group, Marc, Lisa, Chris, Rebecca and Kathleen, met to review the week, since we didn't have time on Wednesday as we planned. It is good to talk about what is happening and what needs to be done. The best part is when we pray at the end. It is very powerful when everyone says a few words or prayer and for each other, the medical team and for the people of Haiti. I actually could feel the heaviness of the past week lifting as we prayed.
And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, guard our hearts and our minds throught Christ Jesus. Philippians 4:7
Friday, November 5, 2010
Tomas
Hello family and friends
We are bracing for the eye of hurricane Tomas ( now level 1 hurricane) to hit later this evening. As I laid in bed last night, the rain was intense and the wind whistled loudly. I could not rest knowing that all many Haitians are without any shelter, cold and afraid. My thoughts were vividly imaged with people at our window saying "entree" which is french for "in" I felt someone over me, dripping looking for a warm blanket....I awoke in a startle and freaked Charles out. My heart was beating so fast I could not calm myself. I walked out of our room and looked around, convinced I could hear some voices. However, no one was inside.
This morning I shared with a few Christian ladies about my night. Michelle Roberts ( Marcs sister in-law) is here from Calgary shared with me the lyrics to the song "I will exalt you". They comforted me and I hope to comfort others today with these powerful words
"I will exalt You, I will exalt You, I will exalt You, You are my God. My hiding place, my sage refuge, treasure Lord, You are my Friend and King, anointed One most holy!"
Bless you all.
We are bracing for the eye of hurricane Tomas ( now level 1 hurricane) to hit later this evening. As I laid in bed last night, the rain was intense and the wind whistled loudly. I could not rest knowing that all many Haitians are without any shelter, cold and afraid. My thoughts were vividly imaged with people at our window saying "entree" which is french for "in" I felt someone over me, dripping looking for a warm blanket....I awoke in a startle and freaked Charles out. My heart was beating so fast I could not calm myself. I walked out of our room and looked around, convinced I could hear some voices. However, no one was inside.
This morning I shared with a few Christian ladies about my night. Michelle Roberts ( Marcs sister in-law) is here from Calgary shared with me the lyrics to the song "I will exalt you". They comforted me and I hope to comfort others today with these powerful words
"I will exalt You, I will exalt You, I will exalt You, You are my God. My hiding place, my sage refuge, treasure Lord, You are my Friend and King, anointed One most holy!"
Bless you all.
Thursday, November 4, 2010
TOMAS
Tropical storm TOMAS is now coming right over the southwestern part of Haiti. That is where we are. So a weather advisory has been broadcast and we will likely see the worst of the storm tomorrow or Saturday. According to our research and talking with the locals a tropical storm is kind of like a blizzard in Canada. An ice storm would be like a hurricane. So we will get a lot of wind and rain. We will be doing some preparations as many of the staff and worship team will come to Haiti Arise to get to higher ground and be protected inside the walls. We will prepare the school for people to stay in.
We also thought it would be a good idea to let all of you know that the likelihood of the internet being down during the storm is high. So if you don't get a blog or email from us please don't worry. We will let you know how things are as we can.
For those that missed the link the last time and want to follow the storm go the the following link http://www.nhc.noaa.gov/refresh/graphics_at1+shtml/023213.shtml?tswind048?
If you zoom in and can see the little island in the middle of the Haiti horseshoe we are directly south of that island in Grand Goave.
Please pray for the people of Haiti, especially those that are still living and sleeping in tents, which are the majority. Large amounts of rain and possible flooding will not help their situation.
We also thought it would be a good idea to let all of you know that the likelihood of the internet being down during the storm is high. So if you don't get a blog or email from us please don't worry. We will let you know how things are as we can.
For those that missed the link the last time and want to follow the storm go the the following link http://www.nhc.noaa.gov/refresh/graphics_at1+shtml/023213.shtml?tswind048?
If you zoom in and can see the little island in the middle of the Haiti horseshoe we are directly south of that island in Grand Goave.
Please pray for the people of Haiti, especially those that are still living and sleeping in tents, which are the majority. Large amounts of rain and possible flooding will not help their situation.
Day 17 in Haiti
Today was a cloudy and rainy day. TOMAS has moved closer to our area but has been down graded from a hurricane to just a tropical storm. Still forcast to get 10-15 inches of rain.
It is down pouring now! Makes a real mess of a country that still have not recovered from the Earthquake. They closed all schools today and tomrrow; parallel to our snow days in Canada.
School went smoothly today. We had no power, most Haitian live by natural light, which does not work when you live a concrete house with only 2 openings for windows. The city does provide power to those who can pay, but its sporadic. The generator here is a huge blessing to all of us at the property.
Anica and Noah stayed at the Honorat house with Carmita (young Haitian girl that helps with the Lisas kids) for the afternoon ....at 5pm I sent Charles to go and get them. They still had no power and it was really dark!
Charles and I did odd jobs to help the medical teams first day with clinic. They are really organized and run a smooth operation. Dr. Bob had been here many times and he has an amazing team!
I actually had time today to read a book; " A Tale of Three Kings; A Study in Brokeness" by Gene Edwards. A must read to all my "book wormy friends". I wanted to share a passage that really spoke to me
"There is a vast diffence between the outward clothing of the Holy Spirit's power and the inward feeling of the Spirits life. In the first, despite the power, the mans heart may remain unchanged. In the latter, that monster is dealt with".
We are finishing up our eveing with some fellowship and ANOTHER pepsi! Carlyle a wonderful host offered to drive out to town in the rain and find some pepsi. I think I am becoming a popaholic! Never liked the stuff back home.
Everyone has gone too bed, so we are going to make popcorn. MMM!
It is down pouring now! Makes a real mess of a country that still have not recovered from the Earthquake. They closed all schools today and tomrrow; parallel to our snow days in Canada.
School went smoothly today. We had no power, most Haitian live by natural light, which does not work when you live a concrete house with only 2 openings for windows. The city does provide power to those who can pay, but its sporadic. The generator here is a huge blessing to all of us at the property.
Anica and Noah stayed at the Honorat house with Carmita (young Haitian girl that helps with the Lisas kids) for the afternoon ....at 5pm I sent Charles to go and get them. They still had no power and it was really dark!
Charles and I did odd jobs to help the medical teams first day with clinic. They are really organized and run a smooth operation. Dr. Bob had been here many times and he has an amazing team!
I actually had time today to read a book; " A Tale of Three Kings; A Study in Brokeness" by Gene Edwards. A must read to all my "book wormy friends". I wanted to share a passage that really spoke to me
"There is a vast diffence between the outward clothing of the Holy Spirit's power and the inward feeling of the Spirits life. In the first, despite the power, the mans heart may remain unchanged. In the latter, that monster is dealt with".
We are finishing up our eveing with some fellowship and ANOTHER pepsi! Carlyle a wonderful host offered to drive out to town in the rain and find some pepsi. I think I am becoming a popaholic! Never liked the stuff back home.
Everyone has gone too bed, so we are going to make popcorn. MMM!
Wednesday, November 3, 2010
Today was market day in Petit Goave. The ladies spend the day getting all the supplies needed until next market day which is Saturday. Mme Luciana is an amazing cook! The food here has been very good. She makes some fantastic potatoes, and beef dish. Her bean sauce is very good on the rice. We are hoping to get a few receipes to bring home. The staff here is are all blessings to Haiti Arise. Chris and Rebecca have HUGE graceful, patient and loving hearts. They are amazing hosts, strong teachers and a graceful husband and wife team. Marc Eddy is Noah's buddy. He is Pastor Marcs newphew and does a lot around the property ( translator, construction, driver and helps out wherever needed). Yvon ( the man who gave his rice when we distributed in Tapillon) also has been doing some mechanical work here. He is honest and hard working. Which in Haiti is like gold!
We spent the morning teaching all the kids! Yup all of mine and all of Lisas. It was really smooth. They all worked a hard and got their work done. My friend Melissa says its easier with more kids....I agree!!
After lunch just the family went for a walk to the beach. While there we bought a couple of cold pepsi and sat on the beach and savored them together. It was nice for the four of us to spend some time together. Being at the compound we don't tend to get much time alone. On the way back from the beach the sky opened up and it poured rain. We were all soaked and loved every minute of it.
The medical team arrived today and we all pitched in to help them get set up. We are not sure how we will be able to help at this time. Most likely we will do our best to stay out of the way for now.
Please pray for how we can be useful while the medical team is here.
Charles, Nicole, Anica and Noah.
We spent the morning teaching all the kids! Yup all of mine and all of Lisas. It was really smooth. They all worked a hard and got their work done. My friend Melissa says its easier with more kids....I agree!!
After lunch just the family went for a walk to the beach. While there we bought a couple of cold pepsi and sat on the beach and savored them together. It was nice for the four of us to spend some time together. Being at the compound we don't tend to get much time alone. On the way back from the beach the sky opened up and it poured rain. We were all soaked and loved every minute of it.
The medical team arrived today and we all pitched in to help them get set up. We are not sure how we will be able to help at this time. Most likely we will do our best to stay out of the way for now.
Please pray for how we can be useful while the medical team is here.
Charles, Nicole, Anica and Noah.
Tuesday, November 2, 2010
Another very warm and sticky day. This morning the kids and I did some school! Very sucessful...they are getting a routine and we like that. We came back to HAM and Noah went to Petit Goave with Dad and Mr. Chris.
Anica and I worked with Rebecca ( Chris and Rebecca are here for 1 year God Bless them) to rearrange, clean, and prepare for the medical team arriving tomorrow. Charles came back with a treat today! PEPSI! The pop is bottled here, only 3/4 full. The caps are sealed so the hesitancy fades somewhat to not drink it. I do not put much thought into it....just enjoy it!
Worship this evening was AMAZING yet again. Pastor Marc spoke of the only way to get closer to God is though studying the word. If you study the word, share the word, and live by the word we will earn your crown. They sang some gospel songs I felt the spirit move me, move my heart to a higher level. I never thought that was possible. The Lord is ALL AMAZING! Never ceasing to push us further, to take us to another space; one where we are closer to Him.
Mme Luciana is off to the market tomorrow. I placed a special order; chocoloate chip cookies. I hope they taste yummy. Anica has asked her for a few Haitian receipes to take back home and share with all our friends. Noah has a friend, a security guard by the name of Jameslee that makes origami birds for him. He has been saving all of them in a box to keep as souvenirs for home. We are feeling more at home every day, connecting with others, spending time with them and feeling that this is the place God wants us.
Orevwa, tout moun. That is "good bye everybody" in Creole.
Anica and I worked with Rebecca ( Chris and Rebecca are here for 1 year God Bless them) to rearrange, clean, and prepare for the medical team arriving tomorrow. Charles came back with a treat today! PEPSI! The pop is bottled here, only 3/4 full. The caps are sealed so the hesitancy fades somewhat to not drink it. I do not put much thought into it....just enjoy it!
Worship this evening was AMAZING yet again. Pastor Marc spoke of the only way to get closer to God is though studying the word. If you study the word, share the word, and live by the word we will earn your crown. They sang some gospel songs I felt the spirit move me, move my heart to a higher level. I never thought that was possible. The Lord is ALL AMAZING! Never ceasing to push us further, to take us to another space; one where we are closer to Him.
Mme Luciana is off to the market tomorrow. I placed a special order; chocoloate chip cookies. I hope they taste yummy. Anica has asked her for a few Haitian receipes to take back home and share with all our friends. Noah has a friend, a security guard by the name of Jameslee that makes origami birds for him. He has been saving all of them in a box to keep as souvenirs for home. We are feeling more at home every day, connecting with others, spending time with them and feeling that this is the place God wants us.
Orevwa, tout moun. That is "good bye everybody" in Creole.
Monday, November 1, 2010
Day 14 in Haiti
Today was a day off from any kind of work. This morning Nicole and I read some french books with the kids, then watched the last half of Mary Poppins. We love that movie.
After this we really just hung out together. We played in the park, read some more stories and simply spend time together talking. We all enjoyed it. After lunch it was time to go to the beach. We ended up getting there at about 2 pm which allowed us to get an hour or so of sun before it went behind the mountain. We've all been in Haiti for 14 days and we still are white as snow. If we are not in the shade, we are in the water, so no much time in the sun. If you decide to be in the sun, you can only last for about 5 minutes before you overheat!!
This evening we were all invited by Marc and Lisa to out for dinner at a local restaruant that is just down the beach from where we swim. Eight adults and 6 kids went for dinner at Ville Taini. A small restraurnat run by a French couple. They serve a set menu with choice of Beef, Chicken or Fish. We all had beef skewers, and I must say it was very good. There is little chance the beef was from Haiti, I've seen the cows there is no meat on them. For dessert we had ICE CREAM!!! The kids were very excited and the parents enjoyed it too. Three flavors even, chocolate, vanilla and cookies and cream MMMM! If was a very plesant evening and a nice change from the food in the compound.
Last night Nicole and many others said there was an aftershock. It shook the bed and jarred our bedroom door open. I obviously slept through it as I have no recollection whatsoever.
It is a whole different set of challenges to deal with down here. Aftershocks, Tropical storms, and now Cholera. The latest news says that the Cholera came from the UN support team from Nepal. It is said that they dumped their raw sewage into the river.
We have researched tropical storms and hurricanes since these are common here. Tropical Storm TOMAS is coming closer and is probably 1-2 days away. For those interested it is neat to follow the storm, go to the National Hurrican Centre to see live updates on storms.
So as I try to understand the issues that people are dealing with it becomes overwhelming. Many people are living in tents and if they have a house, it is only used during the day. They are too scared to sleep in for fear of another earthquake. When aftershocks happen like last night it simple prolongs their fear and they have no reason to complete their house. Add to this TOMAS which may or may not hit Haiti directly, but will likely bring winds and rain. Wind and rain on tents in not a good combination. If the storm does come closer and causes any kind of flooding then the tents are no much use, the chance of the cholera spreading form the flooding is high and the whole problem just gets worse.
So what do we do? We continue to pray. When we are in the compound we can see all the great things that God is doing for the people that come here and those that are influenced by what Haiti Arise does. When we leave the compound and see where God has not been welcome the results are obvious. I'm not totally sure it is a simple at this but from our point of view it is. God is only there to help if he is asked and invited.
I will leave you with Matthew 7:13.
"Enter by the narrow gate. For the gate is wide and the way is easy that leads to destruction, and those who enter by it are many. For the gate is narrow and the way is hard that leads to life, and those who find it are few."
Good night and God Bless.
Charles, Nicole, Anica and Noah.
After this we really just hung out together. We played in the park, read some more stories and simply spend time together talking. We all enjoyed it. After lunch it was time to go to the beach. We ended up getting there at about 2 pm which allowed us to get an hour or so of sun before it went behind the mountain. We've all been in Haiti for 14 days and we still are white as snow. If we are not in the shade, we are in the water, so no much time in the sun. If you decide to be in the sun, you can only last for about 5 minutes before you overheat!!
This evening we were all invited by Marc and Lisa to out for dinner at a local restaruant that is just down the beach from where we swim. Eight adults and 6 kids went for dinner at Ville Taini. A small restraurnat run by a French couple. They serve a set menu with choice of Beef, Chicken or Fish. We all had beef skewers, and I must say it was very good. There is little chance the beef was from Haiti, I've seen the cows there is no meat on them. For dessert we had ICE CREAM!!! The kids were very excited and the parents enjoyed it too. Three flavors even, chocolate, vanilla and cookies and cream MMMM! If was a very plesant evening and a nice change from the food in the compound.
Last night Nicole and many others said there was an aftershock. It shook the bed and jarred our bedroom door open. I obviously slept through it as I have no recollection whatsoever.
It is a whole different set of challenges to deal with down here. Aftershocks, Tropical storms, and now Cholera. The latest news says that the Cholera came from the UN support team from Nepal. It is said that they dumped their raw sewage into the river.
We have researched tropical storms and hurricanes since these are common here. Tropical Storm TOMAS is coming closer and is probably 1-2 days away. For those interested it is neat to follow the storm, go to the National Hurrican Centre to see live updates on storms.
So as I try to understand the issues that people are dealing with it becomes overwhelming. Many people are living in tents and if they have a house, it is only used during the day. They are too scared to sleep in for fear of another earthquake. When aftershocks happen like last night it simple prolongs their fear and they have no reason to complete their house. Add to this TOMAS which may or may not hit Haiti directly, but will likely bring winds and rain. Wind and rain on tents in not a good combination. If the storm does come closer and causes any kind of flooding then the tents are no much use, the chance of the cholera spreading form the flooding is high and the whole problem just gets worse.
So what do we do? We continue to pray. When we are in the compound we can see all the great things that God is doing for the people that come here and those that are influenced by what Haiti Arise does. When we leave the compound and see where God has not been welcome the results are obvious. I'm not totally sure it is a simple at this but from our point of view it is. God is only there to help if he is asked and invited.
I will leave you with Matthew 7:13.
"Enter by the narrow gate. For the gate is wide and the way is easy that leads to destruction, and those who enter by it are many. For the gate is narrow and the way is hard that leads to life, and those who find it are few."
Good night and God Bless.
Charles, Nicole, Anica and Noah.
Sunday, October 31, 2010
Day 13 in Haiti
Since the kids are starting to get home sick for life in Canada we have calculated the days we have been here and the days we have left. We are now on day 13 with 16 days to go. We missed a day in there somewhere, we must have been having too much fun!!!
Somedays we all wonder why we are here, but we know God has guided us to be here and we are listening and obeying. As we decided before we came, we will take it one day at a time.
Today was Church. As I mentioned last time, church starts at 8:00 am with worship and prayer. We are starting to live on Haiti time and made to service at 8:30. We ended up sitting in the back of the church where many of the children sit. Anica was the spectacle and all the little girls wanted to sit beside her and touch her. Anica didn't like this too much. Noah was trying to watch the service but the kids kept staring at him. We are trying to explain the the kids that our white skin is very uncommon and they likely haven't seen any white children. A whole new experience for all of us.
At the service Pastor Marc talked to the congregation and asked the husbands to stand up. When they did he asked them where their wives were? Each man pointed of in different directions. In Haiti, the men don't sit with their families, simply an old habit that has never changed. Pastor Marc encouraged them to go and sit with the families. Many had a good laugh when they saw how far away some of the husbands and wives were.
Halfway through the service it was decided that all the children would go the the school to have Sunday school. Nicole and the kids went to participate, they sang and worshipped, then tried to teach the Lord's Prayer in French. Amongst the loud singing and the large number of children it proved difficult. It was a success and they are looking forward to doing this each Sunday. This I think will be a good idea, as 3 plus hours sitting on a hard wood bench is difficult enough for adults let alone children.
After lunch was relaxing time. I read for a while, Nicole took a nap and the kids watched Mary Poppins. Later in the afternoon we played a couple of games and just spent some quiet time together. We enjoyed this very much. In Haiti quiet time doesn't happend very often.
Tomorrow after lunch all of us from the compound are going to the beach, then out for supper at a restaurant by the beach. It is run by a French couple and is apparently pretty good. We are looking forward to it.
One thing I haven't mentioned that is pretty cool is when shut the light off at bed time. With no outside lights shining I get to watch the fire flies dance across the ceiling then fly into the ceiling fan and zing to the wall. It is quite the show to end each night. I have no idea what the bugs look like as I cannot see them when the light is on, they must be tiny.
Thanks again for your prayers and your emails and comments.
P.S. If any of you would like to text us we have a skype account under nicole.nowochin We have our skype account open most evenings and would be happy to chat. Go to http://www.skype.com/ and set up an account then search for nicole.nowochin to add to contacts.
Somedays we all wonder why we are here, but we know God has guided us to be here and we are listening and obeying. As we decided before we came, we will take it one day at a time.
Today was Church. As I mentioned last time, church starts at 8:00 am with worship and prayer. We are starting to live on Haiti time and made to service at 8:30. We ended up sitting in the back of the church where many of the children sit. Anica was the spectacle and all the little girls wanted to sit beside her and touch her. Anica didn't like this too much. Noah was trying to watch the service but the kids kept staring at him. We are trying to explain the the kids that our white skin is very uncommon and they likely haven't seen any white children. A whole new experience for all of us.
At the service Pastor Marc talked to the congregation and asked the husbands to stand up. When they did he asked them where their wives were? Each man pointed of in different directions. In Haiti, the men don't sit with their families, simply an old habit that has never changed. Pastor Marc encouraged them to go and sit with the families. Many had a good laugh when they saw how far away some of the husbands and wives were.
Halfway through the service it was decided that all the children would go the the school to have Sunday school. Nicole and the kids went to participate, they sang and worshipped, then tried to teach the Lord's Prayer in French. Amongst the loud singing and the large number of children it proved difficult. It was a success and they are looking forward to doing this each Sunday. This I think will be a good idea, as 3 plus hours sitting on a hard wood bench is difficult enough for adults let alone children.
After lunch was relaxing time. I read for a while, Nicole took a nap and the kids watched Mary Poppins. Later in the afternoon we played a couple of games and just spent some quiet time together. We enjoyed this very much. In Haiti quiet time doesn't happend very often.
Tomorrow after lunch all of us from the compound are going to the beach, then out for supper at a restaurant by the beach. It is run by a French couple and is apparently pretty good. We are looking forward to it.
One thing I haven't mentioned that is pretty cool is when shut the light off at bed time. With no outside lights shining I get to watch the fire flies dance across the ceiling then fly into the ceiling fan and zing to the wall. It is quite the show to end each night. I have no idea what the bugs look like as I cannot see them when the light is on, they must be tiny.
Thanks again for your prayers and your emails and comments.
P.S. If any of you would like to text us we have a skype account under nicole.nowochin We have our skype account open most evenings and would be happy to chat. Go to http://www.skype.com/ and set up an account then search for nicole.nowochin to add to contacts.
Saturday, October 30, 2010
Haiti Day 11
Here are some more photos. The lady carrying the sword fish was amazing, she must have carried for at least 2 kms to get to the compound.
Anica and I studied James this morning; went to a craft shop to look at all the really amazing Haitian artwork, while Dad and Noah built a garage ( toy one for his cars) and built a step for the completed playground unit. Its an amazing unit; fully used by all the 200+ school kids!
Tomorrow is Halloween. Its not celebrated here. I asked around and was told it's when evil spirits are worshiped. I never really gave Halloween much more thought other than kids getting candy and dressing up. Anica was listening to an Adventure in Odyssey today and asked me to come and listen with her. It was about why Whit did not celebrate Halloween. After I listened I did a little research and soon realized that it is a holiday based on Pagan traditions. If you are interested scroll down and click on link to the Christian web page.
We ended the day with a swim in the Caribbean. It is very beautiful and clear we can see the fish. We are told there is a hurricane watch in effect. We are watching its progression online. The chances are low! We are not worried...at worse case it will rain hard and be a little windy.
Anica and I studied James this morning; went to a craft shop to look at all the really amazing Haitian artwork, while Dad and Noah built a garage ( toy one for his cars) and built a step for the completed playground unit. Its an amazing unit; fully used by all the 200+ school kids!
Tomorrow is Halloween. Its not celebrated here. I asked around and was told it's when evil spirits are worshiped. I never really gave Halloween much more thought other than kids getting candy and dressing up. Anica was listening to an Adventure in Odyssey today and asked me to come and listen with her. It was about why Whit did not celebrate Halloween. After I listened I did a little research and soon realized that it is a holiday based on Pagan traditions. If you are interested scroll down and click on link to the Christian web page.
God spoke very clearly to our family on this matter. It is no coincidence that we listened to this particular Odyssey, that Halloween is tomorrow and that we were called to Haiti . Charles and I are now questioning many of the "rituals" that we fall into without really informing ourselves or even asking the Lord about it. I know for our family there are many and on a personal level multitudes. I thank Jesus for dying for our many sins! What an amazing sacrifice that none of us of truly worthy of!
Charles & Nicole
Friday, October 29, 2010
Day 10 in Haiti
Today was a rest day....we played a few games and researched Haiti's history. We had a nice chat with Pastor Marc on what his views are with leadership in his church. Here at Haiti Arise, he does not allow anyone who is not baptized, not living by the book, or conitnually repeating their sinful ways to hold title, represent, or participate in worship or leadership of any kind. I am still digesting this. Are we are North Americans so tolerant of each other or are Pastor Marcs views too narrow? I am reminded of Matt 7:13-14
"You can enter Gods kingdom only through the narrow gate. The highway to hell is broad, and its gate is wide for the many who choose that way. But the gateway to life is very narrow and the road is difficult, and only a few ever find it."
After lunch we went out to help put up a couple of walls on the medical centre. This morning while we were inside they almost had major injuries as one of the 1700 lb pillars fell over and just missed a couple of the workers. I met the guy who designed the building and I question whether they could have chosen a better construction method. The Haitian works wear shorts and most where flip flops for safety shoes, so working with concrete pillars and panels that weight more than 1000 lbs might not be the best, but then I'm not the building expert. And if the bobcat doesn't work, which is every other day, not much can be done to finish the project.
Nicole also helped out this afternoon. The area where the are making the panels is muddy, so we grabbed a couple of shovels and threw rocks on the mud to level it out some. Nicole should be sore tomorrow, more than she already is from the hard bed we sleep on.
Tonight we decided it is movie night. We are making popcorn and watching a movie on a big screen TV that they had still in the box. It will be nice to relax and unwind.
Love from us all.
"You can enter Gods kingdom only through the narrow gate. The highway to hell is broad, and its gate is wide for the many who choose that way. But the gateway to life is very narrow and the road is difficult, and only a few ever find it."
After lunch we went out to help put up a couple of walls on the medical centre. This morning while we were inside they almost had major injuries as one of the 1700 lb pillars fell over and just missed a couple of the workers. I met the guy who designed the building and I question whether they could have chosen a better construction method. The Haitian works wear shorts and most where flip flops for safety shoes, so working with concrete pillars and panels that weight more than 1000 lbs might not be the best, but then I'm not the building expert. And if the bobcat doesn't work, which is every other day, not much can be done to finish the project.
Nicole also helped out this afternoon. The area where the are making the panels is muddy, so we grabbed a couple of shovels and threw rocks on the mud to level it out some. Nicole should be sore tomorrow, more than she already is from the hard bed we sleep on.
Tonight we decided it is movie night. We are making popcorn and watching a movie on a big screen TV that they had still in the box. It will be nice to relax and unwind.
Love from us all.
Thursday, October 28, 2010
Day 9 in Haiti
Today was the last day for the Crossroads team as they will be leaving at 5 am tomorrow. There was a few odd jobs to finish up then most of the team was done by lunch.
The whole family walked to Lisa's this morning to do some school work. Both kids had a pretty good day doing their school work. It is difficult not only in the heat, but from distractions from the other kids in the house. I walked back from Lisa's by myself, which is about a 1 km walk. The people are very friendly.
This afternoon Charles and I had a nap....finally felt I rested. I have not slept well since our arrival....up 2-3 night...with really disturbing dreams.
Todays church was a baptism service. What an amazing one it was. Pastor Dan would have loved the testimonies; the lost, the least, the little and the neraly dead which fit right into Crossroads vision for reaching others. 25 people invited the Lord as their Savior. Most testimonies spoke of a hold on their hearts, vodoo was the commonality keeping them away from Jesus. I cried as I listenend to all the people who spoke of how God has saved them, cured them, and taken them out of misery, poverty and evils of all kinds. Once we finished we walked down to the sea to baptize in water. The whole beach was full for Haitians praising God, singing as each person walked out to Pastor Marc to be received by the Lord.
Once we were back on the campus we continued to worship God! They are truly amazing in their worship! Anica and Noah had a really difficult time saying good-bye. She is very homesick....probably seeing the team leave compounds her wanting home. Only 21 more days we tell them. We obeyed God by coming without really knowing what to expect. Being here is exactly where we are to be! Every day has thus far comfirmed that God called us here! A new team will arrive in the next week. The medical team will be different than the Crossroads team as both Christians and non Christians we be here. Again, the Lord has a plan for us to be part of that; to support, provide and minister on His behalf.
I am discovering that going into something without expectations, with prayer and God on our side, always turns out!
Good night to all our loved ones
Charles, Nicole, Anica and Noah
The whole family walked to Lisa's this morning to do some school work. Both kids had a pretty good day doing their school work. It is difficult not only in the heat, but from distractions from the other kids in the house. I walked back from Lisa's by myself, which is about a 1 km walk. The people are very friendly.
This afternoon Charles and I had a nap....finally felt I rested. I have not slept well since our arrival....up 2-3 night...with really disturbing dreams.
Todays church was a baptism service. What an amazing one it was. Pastor Dan would have loved the testimonies; the lost, the least, the little and the neraly dead which fit right into Crossroads vision for reaching others. 25 people invited the Lord as their Savior. Most testimonies spoke of a hold on their hearts, vodoo was the commonality keeping them away from Jesus. I cried as I listenend to all the people who spoke of how God has saved them, cured them, and taken them out of misery, poverty and evils of all kinds. Once we finished we walked down to the sea to baptize in water. The whole beach was full for Haitians praising God, singing as each person walked out to Pastor Marc to be received by the Lord.
Once we were back on the campus we continued to worship God! They are truly amazing in their worship! Anica and Noah had a really difficult time saying good-bye. She is very homesick....probably seeing the team leave compounds her wanting home. Only 21 more days we tell them. We obeyed God by coming without really knowing what to expect. Being here is exactly where we are to be! Every day has thus far comfirmed that God called us here! A new team will arrive in the next week. The medical team will be different than the Crossroads team as both Christians and non Christians we be here. Again, the Lord has a plan for us to be part of that; to support, provide and minister on His behalf.
I am discovering that going into something without expectations, with prayer and God on our side, always turns out!
Good night to all our loved ones
Charles, Nicole, Anica and Noah
Wednesday, October 27, 2010
Day 8 in Haiti
Finnally a cool breeze coming through the building. This is the first night since being here that I am not sweating while I am typing. We had a thunder storm after dinner tonight and it is now a cool 26C. A nice change from 30C plus all day and night.
We did recieve an email from our house sitters with a picture of our back yard and the hill covered in snow. Noah loved to see this and it did help us feel cool for a second.
Anica was feeling a little sad today. She misses her friends and some of the other comforts of home. Any of you following the blog please have your kids send Anica an email if you can. Send it to nicolen@telus.net.
Today many of us were exhausted from hauling rice the day before. We did manage to finish the playground with only one minor set back. The chain bridge we were building was not quite finished when recess happened and we had at least 25 kids on the bridge at once...the bridge chain supports broked and the bridge came down. So we played with all the kids for until recess was over and then finished with a much stronger bridge.
Nicole and the girls hand painted with the preK kids. They were not too keen on putting there hands in paint. It took a while to get them interested; even then only about 1/2 participated. While the boys worked on the playground; Anica and I began playing "Sur le Pont D Avigon"...when suddently there was a "large crowd of kids" gathered. It was surreal....how many kids young and older wanted to play. Our circle was soo big it kept in spot. The kids love having their photos taken and then looking in the view finder to look at themselves.
Anica and Noah are also greatful that we built the equipment, so they now have something to play on while they are here.
The Crossroads team will be leaving on Friday morning early, so tomorrow is the last day for them. We will miss them all very much. Anica has made friends with the ladies on the team, Noah has been and great helper with the building and Nicole and I have made friends with all of them. They are a strong team and are full of prayer for Haiti and everyone here. They will be missed.
This afternoon we did have a chance to go to the beach to relax and cool off. Anytime we go to the beach is it a great experience. We have to walk approx 2 km on a path that passes by many peoples houses and tents. We have had a chance to get to know some of them. They are always very friendly and kind.
The spectacle of the day was when Mr. Mike took off his sandals and started to climb up a coconut tree. By the time we made it half way up there must have been 30 people gathered around to see this funny looking white man climbing the tree. Climbing trees in Haiti is highly discouraged and I thought this was odd until I found out why. If you see how power is used in this country, then you understand. They have power lines running everywhere, through trees, tied to trees, tied in the middle of the power line to another spot. So as a result nobody climbs trees for fear of getting electricuted.
It is interesting that we are so focused on what we are doing here, that we spend little time following what is going on outside Haiti and more specifically the area that we are in. We don't have newspapers and we use the internet mostly to communicate and blog. We are learning to rely fully on God and that has been the most amazing part.
Thank-you all for your emails and comments it is good to hear from you.
Charles, Nicole, Anica, Noah.
We did recieve an email from our house sitters with a picture of our back yard and the hill covered in snow. Noah loved to see this and it did help us feel cool for a second.
Anica was feeling a little sad today. She misses her friends and some of the other comforts of home. Any of you following the blog please have your kids send Anica an email if you can. Send it to nicolen@telus.net.
Today many of us were exhausted from hauling rice the day before. We did manage to finish the playground with only one minor set back. The chain bridge we were building was not quite finished when recess happened and we had at least 25 kids on the bridge at once...the bridge chain supports broked and the bridge came down. So we played with all the kids for until recess was over and then finished with a much stronger bridge.
Nicole and the girls hand painted with the preK kids. They were not too keen on putting there hands in paint. It took a while to get them interested; even then only about 1/2 participated. While the boys worked on the playground; Anica and I began playing "Sur le Pont D Avigon"...when suddently there was a "large crowd of kids" gathered. It was surreal....how many kids young and older wanted to play. Our circle was soo big it kept in spot. The kids love having their photos taken and then looking in the view finder to look at themselves.
Anica and Noah are also greatful that we built the equipment, so they now have something to play on while they are here.
The Crossroads team will be leaving on Friday morning early, so tomorrow is the last day for them. We will miss them all very much. Anica has made friends with the ladies on the team, Noah has been and great helper with the building and Nicole and I have made friends with all of them. They are a strong team and are full of prayer for Haiti and everyone here. They will be missed.
This afternoon we did have a chance to go to the beach to relax and cool off. Anytime we go to the beach is it a great experience. We have to walk approx 2 km on a path that passes by many peoples houses and tents. We have had a chance to get to know some of them. They are always very friendly and kind.
The spectacle of the day was when Mr. Mike took off his sandals and started to climb up a coconut tree. By the time we made it half way up there must have been 30 people gathered around to see this funny looking white man climbing the tree. Climbing trees in Haiti is highly discouraged and I thought this was odd until I found out why. If you see how power is used in this country, then you understand. They have power lines running everywhere, through trees, tied to trees, tied in the middle of the power line to another spot. So as a result nobody climbs trees for fear of getting electricuted.
It is interesting that we are so focused on what we are doing here, that we spend little time following what is going on outside Haiti and more specifically the area that we are in. We don't have newspapers and we use the internet mostly to communicate and blog. We are learning to rely fully on God and that has been the most amazing part.
Thank-you all for your emails and comments it is good to hear from you.
Charles, Nicole, Anica, Noah.
Tuesday, October 26, 2010
Day 7
Today was an amazing day! It started out a little slow. The kids and Nicole went to Marc and Lisa's house to do school work. Pat and I walked with them to ensure they made it safely.
While we were at Lisa's house we had the opportunity to fix her sink in the bathroom. Pat who was a plumber for a year had never seen a drain that bad. But when you see how most of the Haitians live, having an clean sink drain is not high on the list and I'm note sure they would know how to clean it. We ended up coming back and changing the sink taps too.
Todays temperature was close to 40 so the walk home was a "sweatty experience" which is about all the experiences here in Haiti.
This afternoon we went to a community up in the mountains called Tapillon to do a rice distribution. We piled 30 50lb bags of rice with the first crew in small Ford Ranger for the ride up to the mountain where there is a childrens church called Tapillon. The plan was to encourage folks who had tents set up to dismantle them and move back into their homes. Many of the tents were not lived in; they call these camps Zombie Cities. They are tents set up with no one living in them, but when foreign aid organizations see them, they receive aid. This is one of Haitis largest challenges. The "hand out" mentality rather than a HAND UP!
Once we arrived there were @ 300 people at this church waiting for Lisa to explain what Haiti Arise and Crossroads were doing. The crowd was retless; many looked distraught. There were young and very old all waiting for directions. We set up at the top of the mountain and started dividing the rice bags into smaller portions of 2 large coffee cans each of rice . While half of the team was portioning the rice I ( Charles) was able to watch while the more than 150 kids aged 3 to 10 recite bible verses from memory. It was amazing, they recited John 1:1-14. Then John 3:16-17.
We distributed to the children first, then to those who had tickets which were given based on if you lived in a tent at Tapillon. The whole process went relatively well, with many people recieving much needed rice. It was a really great time to see how we all worked together. Getting to know each other a little more each day.
Crossroads will be leaving shortly and greatly missed by our family. Especially Mr Richards contortion showcase that he entertains our kids with nightly ( even the adults participate). We will also miss Mr Pats calm and humourous personality,Mr Mikes photographing talents and know how, Mr Simons jovial spirit, Mr Keith "getter r done" ethic and Mr Lennick quiet but strong presence. Anica and I will miss the ladies Venta, Nelda, Kendra, Darlene and Katrina ( last blog I said Katilyn...that the other triplet ooops). They were a blessing to both of us to include us in many of their projects and always keeping a positive attitude.
At the time of writing this at 10:30 it is 30C and pouring rain. Just when I thought I couldn't sweat anymore, the humidity is now 100% so it feel like 42C.
Thanks again for all your support and prayers. Life is going well in Haiti.
P.S. While Nicole and I were doing the rice distribution the kids stayed at the compound and played on the new monkey bars we had built yesterday. They loved it!!
While we were at Lisa's house we had the opportunity to fix her sink in the bathroom. Pat who was a plumber for a year had never seen a drain that bad. But when you see how most of the Haitians live, having an clean sink drain is not high on the list and I'm note sure they would know how to clean it. We ended up coming back and changing the sink taps too.
Todays temperature was close to 40 so the walk home was a "sweatty experience" which is about all the experiences here in Haiti.
This afternoon we went to a community up in the mountains called Tapillon to do a rice distribution. We piled 30 50lb bags of rice with the first crew in small Ford Ranger for the ride up to the mountain where there is a childrens church called Tapillon. The plan was to encourage folks who had tents set up to dismantle them and move back into their homes. Many of the tents were not lived in; they call these camps Zombie Cities. They are tents set up with no one living in them, but when foreign aid organizations see them, they receive aid. This is one of Haitis largest challenges. The "hand out" mentality rather than a HAND UP!
Once we arrived there were @ 300 people at this church waiting for Lisa to explain what Haiti Arise and Crossroads were doing. The crowd was retless; many looked distraught. There were young and very old all waiting for directions. We set up at the top of the mountain and started dividing the rice bags into smaller portions of 2 large coffee cans each of rice . While half of the team was portioning the rice I ( Charles) was able to watch while the more than 150 kids aged 3 to 10 recite bible verses from memory. It was amazing, they recited John 1:1-14. Then John 3:16-17.
We distributed to the children first, then to those who had tickets which were given based on if you lived in a tent at Tapillon. The whole process went relatively well, with many people recieving much needed rice. It was a really great time to see how we all worked together. Getting to know each other a little more each day.
Crossroads will be leaving shortly and greatly missed by our family. Especially Mr Richards contortion showcase that he entertains our kids with nightly ( even the adults participate). We will also miss Mr Pats calm and humourous personality,Mr Mikes photographing talents and know how, Mr Simons jovial spirit, Mr Keith "getter r done" ethic and Mr Lennick quiet but strong presence. Anica and I will miss the ladies Venta, Nelda, Kendra, Darlene and Katrina ( last blog I said Katilyn...that the other triplet ooops). They were a blessing to both of us to include us in many of their projects and always keeping a positive attitude.
At the time of writing this at 10:30 it is 30C and pouring rain. Just when I thought I couldn't sweat anymore, the humidity is now 100% so it feel like 42C.
Thanks again for all your support and prayers. Life is going well in Haiti.
P.S. While Nicole and I were doing the rice distribution the kids stayed at the compound and played on the new monkey bars we had built yesterday. They loved it!!
Monday, October 25, 2010
A new week!
Its been a week since our arrival! In the beginning I really thought time slowed....but now I cannot beleive it has already been a week. Today was very productive for all of us. Anica painted the school with the ladies from Crossroads team ( Venta, Nelda, Darlene, Kendra, Katilyn). They completed the office and most of the outside. Anica was loving being a part of it! She is a "great little helper".
Noah caught a ride in a bobcat with Mr. Pat.....all grins as he got to ride around. Then the serious work began. Pat, Charles, Mike, Lennick and Noah completed the monkey bars and platforms for the chain bridge for the playground equipment. Noah counted chain links for his "math" class. He loves that much better than paper math.
Charles was up and out; planning the project of the day with his "BOYS". They are truly an amazing bunch....we call them the 3 stooges.....however, they dont know that yet! I am not sure who if the funnier stooge; Pat, Charles or Mike. It was fun to watch as they worked together and laughed together.
I began the day planning ( yes, even here in Haiti I plan) then helped out in the kitchen. We did some school from 10-12 then off to complete the painting of the school.
I volunteered to "tag along" to youth in the evening ( which was Mike and Pats baby). WOW! I was so completely out of my comfort zone. For all those who know ME....we divided those who came into groups. I suddenly was a translator and a leader. I had 5 kids in my group ranges in ages from 16-19. Wonderfully gifted kids with an AMAZING love for JESUS! They asked if I knew any hymns in French...which I do not. So they taught me one and asked me to sing it ( all alone in front of people!!) YIKES! Gods grace....I obeyed! We then prayed for one another, and tears came to my eyes and theirs. It is amamzing how the Lord works through prayer! I am only really discovering its true power.
We are all ready for bed! Its 7.33 here in Haiti. Tomorrow we will walk to Lisa's house to do school. There are so many other distractions here...maybe we will be a little more focued there.
Love Charles, Nicole, Anica, and Noah.
Noah caught a ride in a bobcat with Mr. Pat.....all grins as he got to ride around. Then the serious work began. Pat, Charles, Mike, Lennick and Noah completed the monkey bars and platforms for the chain bridge for the playground equipment. Noah counted chain links for his "math" class. He loves that much better than paper math.
Charles was up and out; planning the project of the day with his "BOYS". They are truly an amazing bunch....we call them the 3 stooges.....however, they dont know that yet! I am not sure who if the funnier stooge; Pat, Charles or Mike. It was fun to watch as they worked together and laughed together.
I began the day planning ( yes, even here in Haiti I plan) then helped out in the kitchen. We did some school from 10-12 then off to complete the painting of the school.
I volunteered to "tag along" to youth in the evening ( which was Mike and Pats baby). WOW! I was so completely out of my comfort zone. For all those who know ME....we divided those who came into groups. I suddenly was a translator and a leader. I had 5 kids in my group ranges in ages from 16-19. Wonderfully gifted kids with an AMAZING love for JESUS! They asked if I knew any hymns in French...which I do not. So they taught me one and asked me to sing it ( all alone in front of people!!) YIKES! Gods grace....I obeyed! We then prayed for one another, and tears came to my eyes and theirs. It is amamzing how the Lord works through prayer! I am only really discovering its true power.
We are all ready for bed! Its 7.33 here in Haiti. Tomorrow we will walk to Lisa's house to do school. There are so many other distractions here...maybe we will be a little more focued there.
Love Charles, Nicole, Anica, and Noah.
Sunday, October 24, 2010
Cholera Update
Many people have asked if we are near the area where the cholera has broken out. The cholera outbreak is in the Artibonite region which is closer to Saint Marc. Saint Marc is North of Port au Prince and on the other side of the horseshoe from us. Our water is from a well and is filtered. All our dishes our washed with soap and water then bathed in bleach and water. From what we know the area where the cholera cases are is part of some huge tent cities where sanitation is not very good. The amount of garbage everywhere is quite amazing. People just use it then through it out. Cholera is a bacteria similar to typhoid that comes from contaminated water that likely has feces in it.
I have uploaded some photos , sorry for the doubles but our internet is hit and miss. I will try to upload more over the next few weeks.
Bye for now. Charles.
I have uploaded some photos , sorry for the doubles but our internet is hit and miss. I will try to upload more over the next few weeks.
Bye for now. Charles.
Day 6 in Haiti
Today was Church day. Church starts at 8:00 am with prayer, then some worship songs, then some more worhsip songs and pray. Then we introduced ourselves to the Haitian congregation. Keith spoke on behalf of the Crossroads team and I spoke for my family. After this there was a baby dedication, the father was a real trooper, as he wore a two piece suit and tie. We were all sweating with short sleeves. Out of respect for the local folks the men have the privaledge of wear long pants, socks and dress shoes. After the sermon and message Church was finished at 11:30. No that is not a typo. It was a great test of patience for the kids and for us as we sweat the whole way through. Overall though is was a great service. The Haitians have a passion for worship and are very enthusiastic.
After service we had lunch and then had the afternoon to ourselves. We found a nice spot at the back of the compound in the shade and plaayed some games and just talked. It was nice to get a break and spend some time just as a family.
Some of you have been asking what the food has been like. Actually it has been rather good considering. As an example tonight we had lasagna, bbq beef, boiled potatoes and carrots and rice. We have juice to drink at each meal. Breakfast is Haitian bread which is like bagels but not round and sometimes porridge. Noah has been living on rice, and bagels with Nutella and bananas. The black bean sauce for the rice is quite good. Nothing is wasted here as the refridgeration is just OK, so what ever we have for supper left over goes into soup for lunch the next day. Try having hot soup when it is already 90 degrees. I put extra hot sauce in mine since I cannot sweat anymore than I do already.
I must sign off so the kids can what a movie. There are 8 kids running around wild and need to settle down. Thank God for mobile technology.
Thank you all for your prayers and support. Love all of us!!
After service we had lunch and then had the afternoon to ourselves. We found a nice spot at the back of the compound in the shade and plaayed some games and just talked. It was nice to get a break and spend some time just as a family.
Some of you have been asking what the food has been like. Actually it has been rather good considering. As an example tonight we had lasagna, bbq beef, boiled potatoes and carrots and rice. We have juice to drink at each meal. Breakfast is Haitian bread which is like bagels but not round and sometimes porridge. Noah has been living on rice, and bagels with Nutella and bananas. The black bean sauce for the rice is quite good. Nothing is wasted here as the refridgeration is just OK, so what ever we have for supper left over goes into soup for lunch the next day. Try having hot soup when it is already 90 degrees. I put extra hot sauce in mine since I cannot sweat anymore than I do already.
I must sign off so the kids can what a movie. There are 8 kids running around wild and need to settle down. Thank God for mobile technology.
Thank you all for your prayers and support. Love all of us!!
Saturday, October 23, 2010
Day 5 in Haiti
Nicole and Anica went to the village of Petit Goave today. They have a Ford ranger pick-up truck that was used to get there. There must have been 10 people in the back of the truck. The drive is as exciting as anything just trying to stay in! NO really it was hang on for dear LIFE! White knuckles included!!
When they arrived at the village it was blocks and blocks of people under tents and huts, selling their wares. Nicole described it as a cross between value village and the dollar store. The locals don't like to have people linger and window shop so the group was asked many times to marche, which means walk or move along.
Anica wanted a sprite so Nicole went to buy one. It was 30 haitian dollars or 15 if you drink it there and give him the glass bottle back. It was really odd to have to stand there and guzzle a Sprite.
Charles, Noah, Pat and Mike (from Crossroads team) spent the morning making another platform for the playground. The kids will love their new monkey bars. We had fun watching them work on it later in the day. It went like this " how many white boys does it take to build a platform in the heat of Haiti" the number is 4! Each on one end, passing the drill around....so they all were included.
Off the the ocean for the end of the day! The Carribean Ocean is so calm and beautiful. Our host here, Rebecca, found some sand dollars for Anica to make a necklace! Anica and Noah love going to the ocean....every day if they had there way! Marc bought some crayfish ( which they say is sort of lobster like) for dinner. Its like "a minute steak" verses a sirloin!
We are looking forward to tomorrow....church at 8-11 or so then a day of rest!
Now its crash time! The heat sure tires us!
A quick note of the money system. I have yet to get a definite answer as to why it is the way it is, but they have two currencies. Gourdes and Haitian dollars. 5 gourdes gets you 1 Haitian dollar. Hatian dollars are 7 to 1 US dollar. Yesterday we had to go to Masion D'aff, which means home stuff.
When they arrived at the village it was blocks and blocks of people under tents and huts, selling their wares. Nicole described it as a cross between value village and the dollar store. The locals don't like to have people linger and window shop so the group was asked many times to marche, which means walk or move along.
Anica wanted a sprite so Nicole went to buy one. It was 30 haitian dollars or 15 if you drink it there and give him the glass bottle back. It was really odd to have to stand there and guzzle a Sprite.
Charles, Noah, Pat and Mike (from Crossroads team) spent the morning making another platform for the playground. The kids will love their new monkey bars. We had fun watching them work on it later in the day. It went like this " how many white boys does it take to build a platform in the heat of Haiti" the number is 4! Each on one end, passing the drill around....so they all were included.
Off the the ocean for the end of the day! The Carribean Ocean is so calm and beautiful. Our host here, Rebecca, found some sand dollars for Anica to make a necklace! Anica and Noah love going to the ocean....every day if they had there way! Marc bought some crayfish ( which they say is sort of lobster like) for dinner. Its like "a minute steak" verses a sirloin!
We are looking forward to tomorrow....church at 8-11 or so then a day of rest!
Now its crash time! The heat sure tires us!
A quick note of the money system. I have yet to get a definite answer as to why it is the way it is, but they have two currencies. Gourdes and Haitian dollars. 5 gourdes gets you 1 Haitian dollar. Hatian dollars are 7 to 1 US dollar. Yesterday we had to go to Masion D'aff, which means home stuff.
Thursday, October 21, 2010
Day 3 in Haiti
Guess what it was hot today!! We met with the leaders Marc & Lisa last night, they wanted to touch base and see how we are doing. There is another young couple that is here for a year and an architect who is here for 2 months to oversee building the medical centre. They suggested that we do not try to do too much in the first week. In Haiti there is no rush.
The building team that came to get them started on the medical building will be leaving on Saturday, so they have asked me to watch and learn so I can continue to help when they leave. That will leave the architect and myself to be in charge of the project. I learned how to mix concrete, how to place rebar and hangers to lift the concrete out of the forms. The bobcat had a flat tire, so everything shut down until this was fixed. Because we are working with concrete and large chunks of it, we can do nothing without the bobcat. Tomorrow they will place the pillars and the first wall. They taught someone else to drive the bobcat otherwise I was next on the list. Tomorrow we will build some playground equipment for the school.
Nicole spent some time with the kids doing school work. They spend about 2 hours then came out on the compound to help out.
After lunch Nicole went upstairs for a massage, as one of the ladies from the Crossroads team is a massuse. Anica provided pedicures and painted toes for the little girls and herself. So this really is just a resort, massage, pedicure, white sand, clear water. You all should come for a visit!
This evening we went to the church prayer service. Which is more like a worship service, they sing for the majority of it and pray in amongst the singing. It lasts for almost two hours and is very difficult for us to follow. One leader is speaking in Creole and another is following in english. It is loud and lively, even charasmatic. You cannot help being affected by the all the energy and excitment they have for Jesus. Although it is very hard to follow along.
Noah did his school work then came out to help me with some of the construction. After lunch him and two other boys have a karate room, as they call it, in one of the upstairs rooms. It must be 100 degrees in this room, but they will play and run around for hours. Noah will lose 10 pounds in liquid while he is here. He is having a great time.
Nicole is starting to settle in, it is difficult for all of us to not do anything. And to have no expectaions to do anything. Tonight Nicole made us all chai tea from scratch and everyone loved it.
Keep praying for us, we have 28 days to go!!
The building team that came to get them started on the medical building will be leaving on Saturday, so they have asked me to watch and learn so I can continue to help when they leave. That will leave the architect and myself to be in charge of the project. I learned how to mix concrete, how to place rebar and hangers to lift the concrete out of the forms. The bobcat had a flat tire, so everything shut down until this was fixed. Because we are working with concrete and large chunks of it, we can do nothing without the bobcat. Tomorrow they will place the pillars and the first wall. They taught someone else to drive the bobcat otherwise I was next on the list. Tomorrow we will build some playground equipment for the school.
Nicole spent some time with the kids doing school work. They spend about 2 hours then came out on the compound to help out.
After lunch Nicole went upstairs for a massage, as one of the ladies from the Crossroads team is a massuse. Anica provided pedicures and painted toes for the little girls and herself. So this really is just a resort, massage, pedicure, white sand, clear water. You all should come for a visit!
This evening we went to the church prayer service. Which is more like a worship service, they sing for the majority of it and pray in amongst the singing. It lasts for almost two hours and is very difficult for us to follow. One leader is speaking in Creole and another is following in english. It is loud and lively, even charasmatic. You cannot help being affected by the all the energy and excitment they have for Jesus. Although it is very hard to follow along.
Noah did his school work then came out to help me with some of the construction. After lunch him and two other boys have a karate room, as they call it, in one of the upstairs rooms. It must be 100 degrees in this room, but they will play and run around for hours. Noah will lose 10 pounds in liquid while he is here. He is having a great time.
Nicole is starting to settle in, it is difficult for all of us to not do anything. And to have no expectaions to do anything. Tonight Nicole made us all chai tea from scratch and everyone loved it.
Keep praying for us, we have 28 days to go!!
Wednesday, October 20, 2010
Day 2 in Haiti
We never slept so long. Everyone is up at 6 am whether you like it or not. You are exhausted from the heat by 8 pm so getting up at 6 isn't all that bad.
This morning breakfast was at 7, then everyone mills around until someone decides to do something. They have two seperate teams down here right now. One is helping build the new medical clinic. It is a difficult process to work with people that have little or no education.
The design for the new medical clinic will be built like the big concrete walls you see along the highway. Four corner pillars, then slide the 12 by 4 foot cement blocks in between them. They needed to decide on a construction method that they could repeat easily. I was able to help build some templates to help them build rebar frames for the wall blocks. Once we did this they went from producing one every hour to seven every hour. It was an experience to see how little they know about what we might call common sense. Nothing here is common.
We waited for 3 hours for our bobcat to come back as the loaders at the gravel pit did not work. So we sent the bobcat to load our gravel. It was a 45 minute trip for the bobcat and amazingly the bobcat made it back before the gravel truck. Haiti time teaches everyone that comes to visit what patience really is.
Noah after 12 hours of sleep has become just like one of the "natives" he is running around with no shirt and no shoes and is covered in dirt. He loves it. Nicole will start school tomorrow and we will see how Noah adjusts back to this routine.
Anica as anyone who knows her is loved by all. She played with Marc and Lisa's kids, got her hair braided and generally enjoyed her day. She spent some time with the ladies from the crossroads team in the air conditioned room cutting out stencils to paint on the elementry school.
As for Nicole she swept the main compound area at least three times, cleaned a bathroom, had time to sit and read. We went for a walk to see the goat farm and the site for the new Church and orphanage. Nicole was great to have as an interpreter with M. Christoph. With some effort she can understand creole quite well. We met many of the local people, who were all very friendly. We saw more people living in tents, huts and under tarps. It is good to see that kids are all the same wherever we go. All are happy, full of smiles and really just enjoying life. The one interesting part was the 4 year old boy, completely naked doing cartwheels for us. I'm thankful we didn't have the camera for this! He was a happy boy.
The last thing of our day was going to the beach around 4 pm. We walked about 20 minutes from the compound. The beach is beautiful and the water very clear. Too bad for all the garbage on the beach. The water was like a warm bathtub and soft coral beaches. We spent almost two hours there. I looked at my watch at 5:35 when we came out of the water. By 5:50 it was pitch black as we drove home in the back to the pick-up. I can see that being out of the compound at night would be a whole different experience. We probably won't be doing this anytime soon.
It's now 9:30 and I'm sweating once again. We should be fully climatized by the time we leave Haiti.
Sorry that we cannot post more pictures as we only have so much band width and once it is used up we have to wait the full twenty four hours for the bandwidth to start new.
I will try to add a few photos each day, but will have a long slide show once I return.
We wish you all well.
This morning breakfast was at 7, then everyone mills around until someone decides to do something. They have two seperate teams down here right now. One is helping build the new medical clinic. It is a difficult process to work with people that have little or no education.
The design for the new medical clinic will be built like the big concrete walls you see along the highway. Four corner pillars, then slide the 12 by 4 foot cement blocks in between them. They needed to decide on a construction method that they could repeat easily. I was able to help build some templates to help them build rebar frames for the wall blocks. Once we did this they went from producing one every hour to seven every hour. It was an experience to see how little they know about what we might call common sense. Nothing here is common.
We waited for 3 hours for our bobcat to come back as the loaders at the gravel pit did not work. So we sent the bobcat to load our gravel. It was a 45 minute trip for the bobcat and amazingly the bobcat made it back before the gravel truck. Haiti time teaches everyone that comes to visit what patience really is.
Noah after 12 hours of sleep has become just like one of the "natives" he is running around with no shirt and no shoes and is covered in dirt. He loves it. Nicole will start school tomorrow and we will see how Noah adjusts back to this routine.
Anica as anyone who knows her is loved by all. She played with Marc and Lisa's kids, got her hair braided and generally enjoyed her day. She spent some time with the ladies from the crossroads team in the air conditioned room cutting out stencils to paint on the elementry school.
As for Nicole she swept the main compound area at least three times, cleaned a bathroom, had time to sit and read. We went for a walk to see the goat farm and the site for the new Church and orphanage. Nicole was great to have as an interpreter with M. Christoph. With some effort she can understand creole quite well. We met many of the local people, who were all very friendly. We saw more people living in tents, huts and under tarps. It is good to see that kids are all the same wherever we go. All are happy, full of smiles and really just enjoying life. The one interesting part was the 4 year old boy, completely naked doing cartwheels for us. I'm thankful we didn't have the camera for this! He was a happy boy.
The last thing of our day was going to the beach around 4 pm. We walked about 20 minutes from the compound. The beach is beautiful and the water very clear. Too bad for all the garbage on the beach. The water was like a warm bathtub and soft coral beaches. We spent almost two hours there. I looked at my watch at 5:35 when we came out of the water. By 5:50 it was pitch black as we drove home in the back to the pick-up. I can see that being out of the compound at night would be a whole different experience. We probably won't be doing this anytime soon.
It's now 9:30 and I'm sweating once again. We should be fully climatized by the time we leave Haiti.
Sorry that we cannot post more pictures as we only have so much band width and once it is used up we have to wait the full twenty four hours for the bandwidth to start new.
I will try to add a few photos each day, but will have a long slide show once I return.
We wish you all well.
Tuesday, October 19, 2010
Arrived in Haiti
Well we have finally arrived in Haiti. Two days of long travel. Nicole and the kids are exhausted. The flights were long but OK. The trip from Port au Prince Airport to Grand Goave compound was a long grueling and hot trip. 35C in a smal van, the trip only lasted 15 minutes Haitian time, which apparently is more than three hours.
Our host came to pick us up at the airport. He brought his own police officer to help us get to our destination. In Haiti, there are no driving rules, red lights mean nothing, neither do green for that matter, it is first come first serve. It is an awesome sight to watch and no accidents that we witnessed. However, every vehicle has a large cow catcher bumper on it and the horn is the first thing that is repaired. Honk to let people know when you are doing something. When the right side of the road is jamed, use the left side if no one is there. If you have a problem, the police officer gets out, pulls his gun if necessary and get you through. This happened more than once (not the gun part).
We travelled through entire city of Port au Prince. Everyone lives the same way, many in tents, some inside broken houses, some under tarps. Everyone is selling something on the street. The people all seem relatively happy, since the earthquake they are all getting food. The thing that was most amazing to me, was all the laundry hanging and that everyone we saw had cleaner clothes than many people back home. There is still much garbage everywhere, but it is better than a few months ago. If you have garbage in front of your house or tent, move it to your neighbors area and now it is his problem.
The picture of the Presidential building on this blog sums up the issues with this country. The government is in shambles. I have seen organized chaos, but today was unorganized chaos, the whole country is in this state.
We arrived at the compound just after lunch. We left the airport at 8:30 AM. Just as it was described, a 7 foot wall around 4 acres, metal gate guarded 24 hours and locked at 10 PM. We are safe in here. Will venture outside the compound in the next few days.
The number of people on the streets is staggering. This will be an amazing experience and we are going to take it one day at at time.
Talk to you soon!
Our host came to pick us up at the airport. He brought his own police officer to help us get to our destination. In Haiti, there are no driving rules, red lights mean nothing, neither do green for that matter, it is first come first serve. It is an awesome sight to watch and no accidents that we witnessed. However, every vehicle has a large cow catcher bumper on it and the horn is the first thing that is repaired. Honk to let people know when you are doing something. When the right side of the road is jamed, use the left side if no one is there. If you have a problem, the police officer gets out, pulls his gun if necessary and get you through. This happened more than once (not the gun part).
We travelled through entire city of Port au Prince. Everyone lives the same way, many in tents, some inside broken houses, some under tarps. Everyone is selling something on the street. The people all seem relatively happy, since the earthquake they are all getting food. The thing that was most amazing to me, was all the laundry hanging and that everyone we saw had cleaner clothes than many people back home. There is still much garbage everywhere, but it is better than a few months ago. If you have garbage in front of your house or tent, move it to your neighbors area and now it is his problem.
The picture of the Presidential building on this blog sums up the issues with this country. The government is in shambles. I have seen organized chaos, but today was unorganized chaos, the whole country is in this state.
We arrived at the compound just after lunch. We left the airport at 8:30 AM. Just as it was described, a 7 foot wall around 4 acres, metal gate guarded 24 hours and locked at 10 PM. We are safe in here. Will venture outside the compound in the next few days.
The number of people on the streets is staggering. This will be an amazing experience and we are going to take it one day at at time.
Talk to you soon!
Thursday, October 7, 2010
One week to go
We are on the final countdown, less than a week to go! We are excited! The kids are looking forward to flying on the big planes.
Mom and Dad are... well we are going to take it one day at a time.
Please share this blog with others if you wish. We will be posting pictures and maybe video if I can figure out how it works.
Talk to you soon.
Mom and Dad are... well we are going to take it one day at a time.
Please share this blog with others if you wish. We will be posting pictures and maybe video if I can figure out how it works.
Talk to you soon.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)