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It's been awhile since I've posted, I know. I'm trying to overcome my writer's block this morning, so forgive me if I ramble.
The last two weeks have been nice and relatively quiet, with smaller teams. The song that God has put on my lips has been,
"My God is a giver, an overflowing river
Pouring His lavish love on us
Season after season we give him every reason
To stop, but he never does
Oh-oh-oh, the goodness of God
Is flooding my heart with peace
Oh-oh-oh, the goodness of God
Is bringing me to my knees
We say... We believe You are good
We believe You are good..."

The goodness of God, as a Giver, not a taker has been my meditation lately. Even as a dear friend's wonderful mother faces a serious battle with cancer. Even as we encounter poverty and evil and riots and violence and hungry children and pain and our own temptations and failings. My God is reminding me how good He really is and I am utterly thankful. I must strive to keep an attitude of worship.

A few snapshots of life here in Haiti:

Last week Jay drove "his" tractor back to campus... the John Deere he and those at Lamb Farms worked so hard to restore.  DROVE his tractor. ALL the way from the port in Port Au Prince! Thankfully, Pierre was following him. I think he loved every minute of it, although it was a very bumpy ride.

Last Friday we got to spend the day with our dear friend Deanna and her adoptive daughter, Lydia during their family visit. The kids got to swim and Jay got to nap in the shade by the pool. I adored seeing Lydia in her bathing suit and in Deanna's arms. Then on Saturday we got to spend a day at the beach. It was absolutely so relaxing. The boys decided they did like the ocean, after all....despite being stung by baby jellyfish all day.  And Fedlaine taught herself to swim underwater. She is fearless...I'm somewhat apprehensive about what that might mean for the future...Ha!

This past Thursday night, Jay and I were treated to a night on the town by Esperandieu and Dianne. They drove us up to Petionville, about an hour away, through a very wealthy neighborhood. It was like night and day...fancy stone walls and ornate gates...just blocks from the typical crumbling walls and rusty fences. We had dinner at a very nice Italian restaurant. Mmmm. I had my first salad in three months. And chocolate ice cream for dessert. The irony is that across the street we heard a group of workers singing as they used a bucket brigade to bring mixed cement up to a second floor construction project. Haiti is so full of contrasts.

And last night we celebrated a translator's birthday with Goat Fest 2011. Dinner was tied up to a fence in the morning and on our plates at dinner. Let's just say I really enjoyed the fried plantains....

Tonight we'll journey to Pierres' home again, to watch the Butler game. We'll be looking for Jay's mom and dad as we watch. And I'll probably be working on some new paper bead creations to teach to the ladies here on campus.

Election results will be announced on Monday. We pray for a peaceful reaction...it's so sad to think of more hardship for people here already struggling. Last week the tap-tap drivers went on strike because the price of gas was so high. Of course, that meant that many people couldn't get to work...the kids here at NVM school had a day off because the teachers couldn't make it in to work. Please pray for a restored Haiti...with a leader who has or will develop both a love for and a fear of the Lord.

God has been so very good to us. We've really been blessed with a break before the next teams begin to arrive and by little gifts and treats that keep being sent our way. Please continue to pray for that hedge of protection around our family and around the whole NVM campus.

 
This has been an indescribable week. 
Let me count our blessings and our challenges…meanwhile we’ll also count on friends and family to hold all of us here at NVM in prayer.

3 teams stayed on campus
92 people served for dinner each night
180 chocolate chip cookies made
5 huge pans of brownies made
1 loading dock poured
1 80 ft. well successfully dug
30 bunk beds built
1 fence taken down
1 fence partly put up
15 trusses welded in place on the hospital roof
650 foundation blocks laid for the Children’s Home
100 bags of cement used
500 bags of food packaged for distribution
1 container full of donated clothing organized
10 runs to the airport
2 trips to the grocery
5 days of homeschooling
2 staff kids with upset stomachs or vomiting
3 days of English curriculum written
1 Fox news team shot video clips
1 GAIN photographer shot video clips
4 days of vision clinics in Trou Caiman
4 days of sewing clinics on NVM Campus
200 people came to Christ in Trou Caiman (NVM’s first “plant”)
4 stitches were needed on Jay’s finger
12 stitches were needed on another team member’s head

1 car accident on campus= 1 wounded child =1 hospital run =

Many prayers offered by staff members = God’s Healing = 1 Healed Child

Many Tired Haitian NVM Staff Members

10 Tired NVM U.S. Staff Members

 
I’m currently sitting on our old blue sofa, listening to Fefe play with her dolls. She likes to play with them in the bathroom – I think, because there’s a window in there. The generator overheated and we have no power and thus, no lights or air. It has been a really relaxing morning. I slept in, and had coffee (brewed before the generator quit!) and hard-boiled eggs without leaving our house. Jay brought some college guys in to help hang the rest of our blinds and the clean the filters on our air-conditioners. Our boys took off for the office on their bikes to play on the computers. After watching the boys ride bikes last week, Fedlaine taught herself how to ride a bike with no training wheels. She refused help. Now she and the boys ride all over campus.

Jay just took off to go back to Tou Cayman. Yesterday when Pierre went to do follow-up with those who prayed to receive Christ, over 200 people showed up. The tent we set up was too small to hold them all! We have a team coming today who will be doing vision clinics, so Jay went today to hand-out tickets in Tou Cayman. The tickets will help with crowd-control.

After he gets back, Jay will be heading to the airport to do one of the six airport runs today. We have so many teams coming and going that I can’t keep track. While the Elliotts have lots on their plate keeping track of meals and beds and airport runs, Jay is busy keeping machinery running, chickens fed, generators going, construction projects progressing, and of course, other duties as needed. (Will you pray for God to sustain us?)

As for me, after taking some girl-time with Anna this morning (she was my partner in coffee drinking), I’m off to the office to do school planning and grading. It was a crazy week, trying to get settled in our new place. But the bunk-beds have been built, our clock has been hung, pictures are out, the coffee maker works, and the place is starting to feel like home. To be honest, I fluctuate between utter relief at having a structured place for our family to live, and guilt at having so much more than pretty much every other person I see all day long. 

Well, time to get off the couch. The only thing I can do is to receive God’s blessings with thanksgiving and do my best to be a blessing to others.

 
God led Jay and I both to pray for fertile soil last night during a showing of the Jesus Film in a nearby community...we discovered that He led us both to pray for the same thing with the same words after we got back.  Here is Jay's recap of what God is doing in Tou Cayman:

Yesterday and today were exciting days here in Haiti.  We set up a tent in Tou Cayman, another village about ten minutes away to our north.  NVM rented a small piece of property that had been farmed previously.  I spent a couple of hours grading the ground with the backhoe.  We have a grader box, but our tractor has yet to be released from customs.  So I did the best I could with the backhoe.  We had a crowd of about 50 to 60 people who came to see what we were doing.  We have a couple of teams of college kids here.  They played games with them and had them running around like crazy.

Tonight we went and showed the Jesus Film at our new site.  There were maybe 150 people there at the beginning of the film.  By the end of the film, I’d estimate there were 250 or more watching it.  There were 26 adults who came forward and prayed to receive Christ as their personal Savior.  There were even more kids who came forward as well.  On Friday afternoon at 3:00, those who came forward are supposed to return for a follow up visit.  This will be the key.  We need to follow up with them and get them plugged into a church or small group.

We are testing the waters to see if there is a possibility to start a church there.  There is a need for a strong church, but we are praying and following God’s leading.  This village is bigger and more prosperous than Chambrun.  It’s amazing how different it is, yet it’s only a few miles away.  The ground is more fertile, there are more cars and stores there and there are coconut trees everywhere.  The town is more beautiful, but the need is still great for food, medicine, and most importantly, Jesus. 

Thank you for your continued prayers and support.



 
I am now surrounded by chocolate. Went from famine to feast. Am going to need to cut down on the beans and rice...

God has used many people in the last few weeks to build us up...and not just through chocolate.  The O’berskis from Florida and Michigan, the Burgess’s from Indiana, and now our neighbors, the Lentz’s have all come and been huge encouragements.  (And they all brought chocolate…)

The NVM container came in on Tuesday. It took us five hours to unload it. The whole time we worked, I thought about all the people who loaded it in Indiana and who provided for our needs and our wants.  How precious your labor and your sacrifice of time and your generosity has been to our family.

I just need those of you who are loading those containers to know the impact that the food, medicine and supplies do have on people here in Haiti. Baby food is handed out frequently after church. School supplies go home with the children in the school.  Granola bars are handed out at Sunday School.  Local pastors come and receive tents and boxes of food for their communities. And I can’t wait for the thrift store to open so that we can find a way to distribute clothing and household goods in a way that benefits the whole community.

I need those of you who support Nehemiah Vision Ministries financially to know the impact your giving has on individuals. I sit in on staff meetings and know how having a job at NVM has impacted the girls who work in the kitchens and who clean and do laundry. I know NVM is giving jobs to men who can then support a family.  And not only are they getting paid, they are receiving training, being mentored, and learning diligence and dignity.  

From famine to feast. I know that the true feast will be in heaven. But the chocolate and many other goodies that are sent, the visits and encouraging emails, the time spent loading containers, or buying supplies, or donating funds all provide little feasts to those in need.  

 
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So, a team that's been here for some time volunteered to watch our kids on Saturday so Jay and I could go out on a date. We hadn't been out for any date time in two months. Well, originally, they offered to watch our kids and the Elliott kids, but Aaron Elliott had three airport runs that day. Then, the team had to do some catch up work so they couldn't watch our kids. But Anna said she'd watch Fedlaine. But then, we didn't have a vehicle. Then the team offered to do the airport runs so that the four adults could go out on a date with the NVM truck. But Aaron thought he should greet the teams coming in. So around 10am, Jay and I decided we would go and then we'd watch the Elliott kids on Sunday so they could go out. I began to have hope that we would actually go.

But then, Pierre needed us to go with him and a team to help pick up 100 chickens...just "around the corner". Well, long story short, after 2 stops, we still didn't have the chickens. Got to the chicken place only to discover they didn't have anyway to send them with us...unless we wanted to drive back with 100 chickens on our laps. The whole time, I'm just trying to be patient and have a good attitude. But then, they decide they will need to drive both trucks back to NVM to put chicken wire over the top of the truck beds for a "cage". BOTH trucks needed = NO date transportation = ME feeling like crying. Pierre came to the rescue...he offered Dianne's driver and vehicle. So we dropped Dianne off at home and we were off!

Walton, Dianne's driver, was so great. He drove us to Petionville, where there was a open-air market. Unfortunately, the first place we got out and walked didn't look good. The produce sat on the ground next to trash and charcoal. I couldn't bring myself to purchase any. Then, Walton drove us further down and found a wonderful group of ladies, selling produce. Wonderful, but very assertive ladies. As soon as I stepped out of the truck, they were all over me, trying to put mangoes and oranges in my hands. I kept saying that I wanted to look up and down the stalls, but the ladies on our side didn't want to lose my business. Between Walton and I, I bartered a little, but walked away with grapefruit, oranges, pineapple, avocados, and bananas. After I finished paying, the ladies were very social and wanted us to take a picture with them. So fun!

Around the corner was the Haiti "superstore", Giant. Giant is two stories full of overpriced food- much of it American. We're talking $9 for a bunch of broccoli, $12 for Jif peanut butter, $12 for strawberries, and $25 for a Rubbermaid tote. I did splurge and bought 8 apples for about $12. We really miss apples and grapes...those are outrageously expensive.

After our little shopping spree, we were planning to go out for dinner. The first place that was recommended was closed because they were having a concert. They recommended another restaurant, but when we drove by, it looked closed. We headed for another restaurant that was near the airport, but I could tell Jay was getting tired and just wanted to go back. Traffic was bad and driving at night is not Jay's favorite. He made a last ditch effort and called Pierre, who directed us back to the restaurant that looked closed. They were just getting ready to open. We did it! We actually sat down and had a wonderfully quiet dinner. We had fried Haitian chicken as opposed to fried US chicken. (Haitian chicken comes from Haiti and tastes way better.) I was so happy...then we got a call from Pierre telling us that the truck we were driving didn't have working headlights... Ha! Again he rescued us.  We finally made it back to campus. Left at 2pm and got back around 8:30pm, very revived.

Thanking the Lord that I held it together during all the times it didn't look like the date was going to happen. Thanking the Lord for the time He gave us to spend together. Thanking the Lord for Jay and that we still laugh and have fun together.




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We are entering into an exciting time in our ministry work here in Haiti.  Nehemiah Vision Ministries has grown tremendously this past year.  Since the earthquake on January 12th 2010, aid has flowed nonstop into Haiti and into NVM as well.  Our mission has been blessed with a new cafeteria, warehouse, and a team complex that includes men’s and women’s dorms, showers, kitchen, cafeteria, and staff housing.  The hospital and children’s homes are still under construction.  We have spent a lot of time working on our campus and distributing food and medicine that has come in.
 
Today Pastor Esperandieu Pierre and I discussed NVM leaving the disaster relief stage and entering into the spiritual development stage.  NVM has been entrusted with several large tents.  Today we distributed two of them and met with two other pastors and agreed to give them tents as well.  Tomorrow I’m taking a team of teenage boys from Rhode Island to set up the first tent.  It will be used for a church by a congregation of 75 – 100 people.  The following day we’ll set up another one for a small church that has a school and children’s home as well.  This pastor has his family and several kids he has taken in, all living in a very small two room house.  There are two beds in the house.  The mattresses are nothing more than a thin sheet over some 2 x 4’s that are on about 6” centers.  The pastor’s mother, who is 82 years old, lives in a tiny shack next door that is about 8’ x 8’.  We will also set up a couple of 5 man tents for them to use as well.  We just happen to have (obviously a God thing) two boxes of rice and beans in the truck.  When we gave these to them, they were very excited and kept saying, “Merci Jezi,” thank you Jesus.  These are some of the poorest conditions I have seen yet. Part of Esperandieu’s vision is to not only provide help, but mentor these pastors as well and have an ongoing relationship with them.  If we just drop in and give them some tents and food and leave, they may or may not thrive.  But if we work with them regularly and help them develop and grow their churches, we can be more effective in developing spiritual leaders who are independent.  This will also help the pastors with resources to develop their church bodies and influence those around them.

One of our NVM medical teams went to a nearby village today.  They called and said there was a mom of 22 years with a 3 year old and a 7 month old.  She said they had not eaten in 3 days.  They estimated the mom weighed around 75 pounds.  We told them to feed her what they had and we’d come with some food.  It’s amazing how you can take beans and rice for granted, yet this lady will be ecstatic to have them for her family.  In hopeless situations like these, the only real hope we offer is Jesus.
 
Last night over dinner we had a major rainstorm...it was so loud under the tin roof in the cafeteria we couldn't hear one another speak. Jay and Jeremiah and I each took trips out to the tent to move things away from the sides and to close flaps and put away books. At one point Jay was up to his ankles in mud. We actually got dried off and slept in dry tents... but spent the evening thinking of the thousands of people sleeping on muddy floors, under leaking tarps.

The day before yesterday I spent the morning in Pierre's office with he, Dianne, and an 18 yr. old girl who wanted to give up her 7 month old baby. The baby was chubby and happy and healthy. I fed him and made him giggle and took him to the clinic for a check-up. I watched and prayed as Pierre thought and stewed about what to do. NVM really doesn't have a place to put babies - and once you start taking them, we could have a flood of unwanted babies show up. But, on the other hand, this baby is here and we don't want the mom dumping him.  The girl had no family and was living with a friend who she said didn't treat the baby well. The whole morning as I watched this drama, the girl just sat and played with her baby...she showed no emotion or internal conflict over giving up her baby (which I'm told is the norm for the culture). The Pierres offered to keep her stocked with food, but it seems that wasn't the issue. In the end, she couldn't legally drop the baby here without a birth certificate...Pierre sent her with food for the baby and money to get an ID card and birth certificate. Who knows what will happen, but it breaks my heart to see a mom and baby separated. A friend and I sat this morning and discussed the fact that we are witnesses to so much suffering that we have no control over.

Lord, do your thing. Have your way in me as I witness those sleeping in mud and giving up their babies. Have your way in the hearts of those people whose lives are filled with suffering. Let there be a downpour of your grace and mercy over us all.

 
Last night Jay and I figured out that we were celebrating our 22nd Valentine's Day together. It was definitely one of our most memorable ones.

I began the day with my walk into Chambrun, with Kofe the dog. Kofe and I regularly get a chance to herd sheep on our walks, but I laugh out loud every time. It is SO unreal to be walking along a dirt path and to come upon forty sheep who take off in crazy directions as I approach.

When I returned, I discovered that Jeremiah had delivered a bag of chocolate hearts on my desk...he had Jay buy them on Superbowl Sunday, the last time we were at the store. He was the only one in our family who thought of Valentine's Day in time to buy a Valentine treat. (NO, I did NOT receive any type of Valentine from my husband! Can anyone say DOGHOUSE?)

After lunch I took myself off to the kitchen and made about 60 heart-shaped sugar cookies (An Act of Service for my husband). (Sue and Mom - Do you remember packing that heart cookie-cutter!?) It went fairly fast with the help of my boys.

So Jay and I had gotten it into our heads that we wanted to take the kids out for ice cream as our family treat for Valentine's Day. By the time I finished the cookies, it was late enough in the afternoon for traffic to get hairy. Because it was "close", we decided to go to the Epi-dor...basically a fast food restaurant attached to a gas station. They advertise ice cream, serve hamburgers and french fries, and crepes. Well, by the time we got there several of us were slightly carsick and there was no ice cream. So, we ordered two chocolate crepes, french fries, and some drinks. Fedlaine decided to throw a fit because she didn't get a Sprite. She fussed and whined and ended up sitting at another table all by herself because she was mad at everyone. In the meantime, we watched them make our crepes. They heated up a prepared crepe and dumped Hershey's syrup and sugar on it. Can I just tell you- it was slimy and nasty. Jay and Anna and I tried to like it and eat it, but it was truly awful. The boys' french fries were good, though. So after our delightful treat, we head back to Chambrun. The kids all decided to sit in the cab with us, since some Haitian had tried to jump in the back with them on the way in. To make the ride home even more memorable, the kids sang loud songs and bumped into each other on purpose. We returned in time for a lovely beef stir-fry dinner, but we were too full/sick to eat much.

Reminiscing over our 22nd Valentine's Day with Jay last night actually had me in fits of laughter. (Yes, Haiti makes me slap-happy at least once a week.) I am truly thankful for the love and laughter in our family - no matter what the circumstances. God is so good.



 
 Dirt. Dust. Dry. Gray. Grime. Smoke. Along the road to Chambrun. In the trash along every road. Between the stalls in the market. Where the children play. In my nostrils when I wake up. Covering my skin after a long day. When I get tired here, sometimes I realize it's not just fatigue - it's thirst - for color, for clean air, for beauty. Over the past week, I've had the pleasure of going two places full of color and life and beauty.

We took a vegetable-scouting trip to a ministry called Double-Harvest. 30 minutes away from here, is a place where the soil is richer and the fields are full of green. I hadn't realized how starved I was for color until I was surrounded by trees and flowering bushes and fresh vegetables. We brought back tomatoes and chard and a plan to order fresh vegetables every week. I don't think I've ever been more excited about fresh vegetables! I was so inspired I began ransacking some of the seed packets here and got motivated to take over Pierre's little garden on campus.

On Saturday, after many nail-biting moments, the Big Blue Bus faithfully took us to the beach. The dusty, bumpy hour-long drive was well worth the beauty. The bright blue ocean sparkled with sunshine.  Wahoo Resort's orange beach chairs stood out on the sand and were framed by palm trees and shrubs. But as I lay quietly, listening to the waves, all I could picture were the people who live everyday in the dirt...dust...dry...gray...grime...smoke and who never get a chance to see beauty.

I can not comprehend how people persevere without beauty. I know that God is good and that His grace is sufficient for those who believe. I can only pray for those people who are also living without Christ... because I can not fathom the darkness they live in and the lack of beauty and hope in their lives.