This Little Light of Mine….

Have to say that the candle that Ryna has found in here case from 2009 has in its own way kept me sane. Hahaha. Yesterday morning I heard Ryna screaming from the bathroom..figuring it was a rat. Yup….she flies out of the bathroom, hands shaking, the rat was in the back of the toilet and when she flushed the toilet it scurred out and she climbed on top of the toilet and it was running on the ground, trapped her inside…it is on…the battle of the rats. We recvered and I came to the kitchen and lite the candle…it is bringing us peace. Hahah. Today we came home and we are pretty sure there is another dead one under the oven…what does Leah do, lites the candle. This little light of mine…I am sure that God will make the candle last these three weeks while we are here. This little light of mine…I am going to let it shine…and we have a show down with the rats…its on. Hahah Last night we had to clean another bathroom because the other bathroom is having issues with the pipes…backed up…one thing after the other seems like. Anyway…Ryna and I are cleaning away, laughing because that is all we can do…..but somehow I loose my footing and take the biggest digger in slug water..o we roared laughing. Pretty sure I would have cried my eyes out if Ryna wasn’t here…she has been a sweet, sweet blessing. Got back up, covered in slug water and finished cleaning and then proceeded to go lite our candle..hahahah..this little light of mine. .. We will let it shine..ain’t no Satan gonna drive us nuts with rats, backed up pipes and all that other great jazz. Camp has been going great, the workers have been a sweet blessing. Tomorrow we will be done with our third week, more than hald way through. Kin dof crazy. We got blessed with 40 free bibles to give the kids. Kind of crazy, a man in Port-de-Paix cant sell them anymore and he said he would give them to us. Might be the first time I have ever gotten anything free in Haiti. So tomorrow we are having a party for Jesus. Pinata, dance party, bibles and all…we had children ages 6-8, but pretty sure some of the parents lied about some of the kids ages. Some kids barely talk…and are so tiny. I asked a girl what age she was yesterday and she said, “3” hahahah…yup..that is what I thought. Roll with it. Been neat to just embrace Haiti and it beauty that lie in the people. Have appreciated just watching the children play soccer, laugh together. Yesterday, someone had roller blades that they bought in the city. First time I have ever seen them in Haiti. Wilfete, one of our workers thought it would be a good idea to try them. O Lord, might have been one of the funniest things that unfolded. He stood up, tried to get his balance, went up and down within a minute and continued to say he was scared of them..hahahah, at age 23, scared of roller blades. Ready for rest tomorrow and the weekend to arrive, need sleep and rest. Next week we start week 2 and workshops. Excited to see how they go. Put out youth workers in charge of budgeting and figuring out logistics for me, trying to hand more off to them and give them opportunity to organize and work together. We will be teaching the children a couple of trades that are in the community. Excited to see it unfold and watch the children engage. Today was having a hard time getting going and really felt like staying in bed. Tired, leg is having a weird pain, so hot last night in sleep, was just grumpy…got to camp and looked at the faces of the children and worked myself out of my funk. My life compared to theirs is nothing…my pains and “issues” is nothing compared to what some of these children walk through. Just neat to looked in their eyes this morning as I was struggling with my own self. Grateful for this place and hearts and joy of children.

Candles, Rats, Maggots, and Tranquials, Hail, and Moto Ride with Crackers….Week One Begins..and Thankful for the Little Things

Lord, what a transition. Always makes me laugh. It was graceful getting here and full of laughter. Picture this, three motorcycles in one accord, 80 pound bag on the back of each one, an American squeezed in between the bag and the driver. Ryna said it perfectly, they only time I might have had fear in Haiti was getting to Passe Cataboise on the transportation. Got a pack of crackers at the airport and was eating them on the way out to PC while we were driving. This is an everyday experience on a moto. Moto pulls up beside us and they are having a convo with my driver. They see the crackers and say, “They look good, and can I have one.” I hold it out as to make the gesture if you can get it, SURE. Don’t you know…my driver lines up with their moto and before you know it I am handing off a cracker to both the driver and the passenger and feeding one to my driver. Shared a laugh, love laughing with the Haitians, making jokes as they call it. Part of the journey, embracing life and a bit of laughter. Arrived safely, where we are staying has rats. hHhahaha, another bonus to the trip. They put out poison the day we got here, so both Ryna and I are getting wonderful whiffs of a dead rat. Last night, I said I would love a candle with a smell. Last year my one wish was for popcorn. Ryna keeps a bin here for when she comes back to Haiti. Last year I wished for popcorn and a day later we found her bin and inside was POPCORN. Last night I was talking about the smell and the need for a candle. A bit later Ryna was cleaing and unpacking her bin, and don’t you know inside was a SCENTED candle..hahaha, it was comical. Feel like her box is like Jesus turning water into wine. God, provides this little things that make a difference each year. Provides the big and little things. Last year the popcorn was just a sweet blessing that we needed. The candle this year was a sweet smell that we needed. It has been covering the death of a rat..hahah. Our wonderful Frejal, guard of the hospital, came and found the dead rat. This is good, he finds it and it is covered with maggots and a live tranquila is eating it…hahahah, o Lord, what I wouldn’t do for a clean hotel room right now. Things I am thankful for today: soap, My Ryna, scented candles, coffee, fantastico (random bottle of cleaning supply we bought) and soft bread from the baker: ) Day one finished. It was a weird quiet, think the kids are getting used to us again. They were freakishly quiet. The workers were great, the day was a success. Next week we are hoping to do some workshops with the children in the afternoon and teach them something of a talent. We are pretty tired and excited for Ricky to come in a 2 weeks, to bring the energy. We are going to need it. My body just hurts and sleep is never enough, but we are healthy and good. Having a quiet afternoon in PC. What we thought was rain is actually hail..hahah, never seem that before. The kids keep yelling, “You can eat it.” We keep saying, “Wash it first, ahhh, cholera!!!” Think washing it takes the fun out of it. We are well, day two tomorrow….grateful and resting in his peace today and the week to come. Have a new little worker that finds us in the afternoon. Her name is Michelda. She is 13, I think. She has been kicked out of her house and living with her aunt. Trying to understand it, makes me frustrated. Don’t understand all of it, but because she was kicked out her father is no longer paying for education. She asked if instead of coming to camp, if she could work. It is going to cost about 100 dollars for her to attend school. Less than that. So humbling, 100 dollars and she is willing to work for it, trying to figure it out for herself. They are tough, I will tell you that much…that little Michelda has got more strength that I will ever have. We said she could come help us from 2-4 with prep work for the following day. She was right on time. Sharpening the pencils for camp with a smile…cutting ribbon, all so she can go to school. Humbled by her spirit and drive to attend school. We serve a great great god. I have been reading a book about a woman who has been serving in Africa. She talks about the struggle of trying to understand why she wasn’t born into oppression and struggling, why was she blessed and some aren’t blessed. She writes about how God didn’t give her answer, but she did hear, “It is not for you to know why, but because you weren’t, over your whole life you have a responsibility to care for the poor.” Thought that was so neat…so many questions are hard to answer in Haiti and in this world, and are so often without an answer, that you want to question God. Why do people go hungry? Why am I blessed with a car and these people walk miles to work? Why do babies die? Why do children go hungry? Why do mothers suffer? I could write out countless questions, but honestly I have gotten to a point that I work to rest in his perfect peace and a knowing that we are called to bless those that are less fortunate. It shouldn’t be a choice, it should be a known…that is our job. There is a verse in scripture, “Seek justice. Corrects the oppressor. Defend the rights of the fatherless. Plead the widow’s cause.” Isaiah 1: 16-17. What stands out in that verse is, CORRECT THE OPPRESSOR, and DEFEND the fatherless. It is not a choice to do this, it is our jobs to do this. Will never know the answers, because who can ever be God’s counselor or know enough to answer these questions. But I do know that God has called us to be peacemakers and be responsible to love and work with people that are less fortunate. Been a good three weeks so far..thankful for this journey and you all that have come alongside us, to support us, to love Haiti and the children. Less posts because I am in the mountains, probably two a week, but continue to pray for the camp and the time with the workers and community. Also, ask a personal prayer. My grandmother will be undergoing a triple bypass surgery today on her heart; please pray for her strength and ability to recover. Pray for the doctor’s hands and wisdom. Pray for the recovery time and her strength, pray for my family. Also, pray for Ricky who is coming in a week and my sister that will follow. She is going to throw down some paint in Cite Soleil and paint up a storm. Looking forward. Love you all…till next time! Love you all!