New Life for Haiti-Joline's November 2008 Journal

I have so much to share with you and I always hate to write too much because I think you'll get tired of reading and not look at this again! ha! But, I have been told that that probably isn't true, so excuse me tonight if I write a lot and share with you. I've have come to enjoy writing these journal entries, it is nice talking to friends. I only wish that I could find out from you if you had any questions, ha! Sometimes when I know what I'm talking about I assume you do to....which isn't always the case. So, hopefully I will remember to give you enough information when I write so that things aren't confusing! I really wish there was some way for you to let me know. Guess you could e-mail me if you had any questions, huh? Anyway, it's nice to talk to you and share our life here in Haiti.

What a crazy, crazy week, but then Steve says it is just typical of Haiti, what can go wrong, does go wrong. It is just the way life is here. I know that....however, it doesn't mean I have to like it, right?

I already wrote to you about the water leaking out and having to adjust our schedule to go and get water and not pack stuff in the truck, that means that we won't be totally moved until Tuesday. However, today Steve replaced a piece of pipe in the shower that had a big hole in it....plus fixed the leak under the toilet pipe (in the wall) and none of them are leaking tonight. Which means we can take showers again, flush the toilets and wash our hands etc...yeah!!!! Now, the big question will be...in the morning, will there be any water in the tank on the roof. The tank itself is NOT leaking....so, if the water is gone, that means there is a huge leak somewhere else...somewhere we can't see and that means that Steve will have to re do the plumbing, putting it externally on the house! So we are praying that all is well and in the morning we will still have a full tank of water! I'll let you know.

I have a couple of pictures I want to share with you. On Friday, we had a huge, huge full blown thunder storm. It rained and rained hard! Huge lightening and thunder...really close and really loud. It rained so much we had several waterfalls in our backyard running directly into the back of our house (yard part) and around the sides of the house and into a lake in front of our house. I took a pictures of one of the mud falls in the back, thought you'd like to see it! Steve is going to have to make some walls to divert the water that runs down the hill behind us. Probably several...one up higher and then one to keep the bank from eroding right behind the house! More work...more money...more concrete and rocks! Ahhhhh....put it on the list I say! We only have about another 1 to 2 mo. of this rainy season, hopefully we can last it out and work on it when it's dryer! There is also a little river that runs through the front yard, but doesn't cause any problems, that will have to be diverted as well. It has always amazed me at how fast water comes and goes here....those falls and rivers were created in about 20 min.....then were gone by the next morning and only left really deep mud! It is very strange.

I'm including a picture of an event that we had today, quite by surprise. When we went to church this morning, which by the way was very wonderful because it only took us 5 min. to get there and no bumpy roads...what a blessing! Anyway, Pastor Plaisir said that he wanted to bring a few of the church people over to dedicate the house. He said that we should have done it before we moved in, but he wanted to do it today. They wanted to come and pray with us and for the house, sing and bless the house! And what a blessing it was. I told him I'd make juice, how many people would come. He said 15 unless they heard I was serving juice then they would all come! ha! He invited everyone in church to come to the dedication...yes, he really did!!!! So I made 2 pitchers of juice, anticipating more than 15, ha! Well, we kind of counted and there were over 50 people when they had all trickled in. They went and got 2 benches from the camp and we sat on window seals, benches and every chair I could find. It was wonderful. We sang and prayed together, drank juice, coffee and tea...and Pastor had a house dedication service that he did. It was truly a blessing and the first time it has ever happened for us! We are so thankful to be surrounded by a great church family, both here in Haiti and from many churches in the States.

The last picture was taken yesterday (Sat.) morning! It has been wonderfully cool here in the evenings and mornings. The last couple of mornings there has been lots of fog (or they call it vapor). It is beautiful and I know the picture doesn’t really capture it, but I wanted to give it a try. We have actually been cool at night and are threatening to get a blanket out! I may have to do that before long!

Will let you know how the move goes next week. I will just be excited when the old place is empty and clean! Hopefully on Tuesday...then no more trips for a few days at least. Then my next hope is that we can get some curtains up so that I don't feel like I'm living in a fish bowl! And then, maybe some rods for clothes, huh? And some shelves for stuff....ha! I'm not in a hurry, just want to get things where they belong!

I love you guys lots.....its wonderful to share everything with you.

Bon Dieu beni ou tout.

Just thought I'd give you a quick update while I had a moment.

We are almost there! Yesterday, we went to the house in Jeremie, got the rest of the stuff out of the house, I swept and mopped the entire place, closed up the windows and locked the doors for the last time. Gave the keys to the landlord and said THANKS! Tomorrow, we still have to go back and pick up the Isuzu, the 4-wheeler and a few blocks that we left there, but basically, we are moved! What a long haul...between rainy weather and bad timing I thought we'd never get done.

The floors are all finished, at least with a good coat of cement that can be swept and mopped. The water tank is holding its water and Steve fixed all of the leaks. Bos Tom still needs to fill in the holes that they put in the wall, but at least we know there are no other leaks!!! YES!

Steve has the table part of my kitchen sink built, he still has to cut the hole to put the sink into....and tomorrow we are going to buy some tile to put on the top and some grout. I'm really hoping it will all be done over the weekend and I'll have a kitchen sink for the first time in ages! How great is that?

Had the ladies come to work today that I hope will be our new help in the house. Mme. Asson and Benit (sounds like Ben eat run together). Mme. Asson will be doing most of the cooking and Benit will be cleaning the house and doing laundry. They helped each other out today, and I'm sure once they understand what all they need to do they will work out fine. We made it through the day without them being too petrified of Sejan! They aren't comfortable yet (and neither am I), but it was a good day. We enjoyed the meal that Mme. Asson cooked. Each cook we have had is so different, yet they all make the same food! It always takes us a little while to get used to a new person and they always add something new to what we are eating. I know that it will take us a few months to get the hang of what we all do and how things need to get done. They are both very active in the Marfranc Baptist church and we are looking forward to having them around.

The house is still in chaos, but not as much as it was. Seems like each day I gain on it a little bit. Steve will just be excited when he can find his Depot floor again, it is way too crowded with way too many things!

The workers started the front steps today....we know they won't get them done by the end of the week, but hopefully next week. I'll be so excited when I have a front set of stair to go into the house. The back of the house is a mud pit even when it only rains a little and it is a pain to take Sejan in and out of...he tracks mud everywhere! Argh....so the front will be nice! Plus, people won't have to climb a ladder to come and see us.

Everyone here locally is used to just walking up the ladder and coming into the house any time they want, they aren't used to us being here and really don't treat it like it is our personal house....last night one of the young men that we have gotten to know wanted to charge his phone while we had our generator on (which is fine...). However there are no lights anywhere except in our bedroom, bathroom and kitchen. We were standing in the kitchen and the entire front of the house is pitch black. All the sudden the dog jumps up, barks and we hear Jacquelen's voice almost in front of us saying, "Bonswa". Steve grabbed the dog and I told Jacquelin that since it was our house, he needed to knock, he couldn't just come walking in especially at night when Sejan can't see him and doesn't know who he is! Crazy guy! I can't wait until people realize it's our home...and they can't just go in and out as they please!

Anyway, lots of good news as far as getting things done. After tomorrow, we won't be going back to the house in Jeremie! This new satellite system works really great and is wonderful!

Just wanted you to hear good news and know what was going on.

I'm so tired tonight, but know that if I don't sit down and start writing this, I'll put it off for another night and I don’t want to do that! I enjoy writing this, but this week has been crazy busy and it's only Tuesday night. I volunteered months and months ago to help some friends with a clinic this week, here in Marfranc, at the Catholic church. We met Barbara and Shirlee over a year ago and NLH has been working with them to re-construct the Catholic church building here in Marfranc, so that they can use it for a clinic when they come to visit. They have been coming to Marfranc for many years, several times a year with medical teams to help the people of this area. They have been using an old church building that needs to be fixed up and added to. Before they arrived this time, the front part on the inside was torn out and a new concrete floor was put in. This has been great. This week, my job is to translate for one of the doctors. I know they saw over 100 patients on Monday, and I'm not sure how many they saw today. They have a dentist with them and he saw 30 people yesterday and pulled a ton of teeth. I think he saw about the same today.

The picture you are looking at is out of the window where I am working and it is a picture of the people waiting to get in to see the doctor. This was taken at about 11:00 AM this morning and they had been waiting since about 7:30 AM....a lot of people! It is fun meeting people that are willing to spend a week helping the people of Marfranc. They have seen a lot of elderly people and babies and were actually able to help a 15 year girl yesterday that collapsed during classes with an epilepsy seizure. She did not recover like she should have and after 2 hours was still in a coma like state. They took her to the hospital in Jeremie where they could find medicine. Today the Father that runs the school there brought in a girl from class who had a temperature of over 103 degrees, she was shaking and could hardly stand. Found out she is diabetic and had not take her medicine for 2 days because she ran out and come to school with a fever. They gave her an IV, found her mother and by early afternoon had her fever down and under control. It is really a blessing that they are here.

Had to include a picture of Touton! He just loves the porch of the new house. He walks out on that little ledge and in and out of the bars....loves to fall asleep between them. You can see KC on the porch in the picture of the front steps! We love living in Marfranc. I laughed today because the kids know my name...so when I walk from the clinic to our house, they are starting to yell my name instead of "blanc". It's funny!!!! I love it.

The picture of the new front steps, isn't very good. They aren't quite finished, so I will include another one in another week, but just had to get you one so you could see the progress. We have been walking through the mud in the back to get into the house...it will be sooooooo great to be able to get in the front without all of the red mud! Yes! The steps are made out of rocks and concrete, then covered with concrete. There is a planter next to the house for flowers. It will need a rail...so will have to be careful for awhile, but at least we'll have steps!

This weekend there are going to be several activities for the youth in the Marfranc district. I am really excited about having Vilex work with the kids here. On Saturday, they are going to have a fun day, here at the camp next door. They will only be paying a small amount.....about $1.25 US....and they will spend the day together, with a couple of guest speakers, a movie and a great lunch together. Pastor Plaisir will be speaking to them as well. Mostly I think they just love to be together and spend time together as youth....they don’t really even have to have an activities planned, they just love being young people....and talking together. We will be providing a small amount of money to help them with lunch...but they are mostly taking care of things. Then on Sunday, the Marfranc Baptist youth, with the Faith of the Apostles church in Marfranc will be going to Azile (the old folks home), and doing a musical program for them. This is the first time they will have done that and I'm so excited for them. I have encouraged Vilex to help the youth think of other people, to remember those that do not have as much as they do...so this is wonderful. We will be helping them by participating, but also by donating the drinks and cookies for the event! I'll let you know how it goes and send pictures next week!

Will keep you updated on the house and progress that is made. We are looking forward to groups coming to stay here starting at the end of January. The construction guys will be starting on the finish work in the 2 dorm rooms this week....then the interior will be done. We will be going to the states on Dec. 18th...so has to be done by then, because we will only be home about a week before the team comes, so has to be finished before we go! Always something to do.

Talk to you next week.....we send you all prayers and love...keep us in prayer as you always do for strength, endurance, good health as well as for our Haitian brothers and sisters and their lives here.

Love to you all....and

Ke Bon Dieu beni ou.

How do these weeks go so fast? Okay, could it be because I had so much to do last week, I wondered how it would all get done? Could be huh? When I was in college, my grandmother was 80 and I went to college close enough to her apartment to walk to her place for lunch once a week. I remember once I told her that my morning had gone soooooo slooooowwwww. She laughed and said "Wait until you are my age, the days go so fast, and I get nothing done and wonder what happened to the day!" I think of my grandma often these days when I wonder where the day went and what in the world I even got done!

I really didn't wonder what I got done last week, it went fast because I was doing so much and had so much to do! I told you about the medical team in the journal last week. They did 4 days of clinic and by the third day I was talking 1/2 Kreyol and 1/2 English to everyone! Too much of too many languages...but it was fun. They figured they saw close to 300 people a day, for 4 days, this was including of course the children that came in with parents. But, that is still a lot of people with only 3 doctors! Not many dull moments. It was great, but I was glad when it was over. The lady that leads the teams, Barbara and her friend Shirlee came over to the house with the 2 men that came with them (after the team left) and had coffee on Sat. afternoon. It was nice to sit quietly and talk for awhile, plus they brought over a whole bunch of medicine that I can use to give out to people while they are gone. What a blessing they have been to the people of Marfranc and also to us! They brought down 2 bags of cat food for our cats and some meds that we needed! A huge thank you to them, plus they blessed us by just visiting with us, it was nice. We just didn't get to see them much, hopefully there will be many more clinics in the future and they can spend more time on our porch!

This weekend was crazy and fun with two different Youth activities for the Marfranc Baptist Youth in the Marfranc District (6 different churches). On Saturday, they had a Youth Day, at the Baptist camp next to us. It was a one day event, with 2 different speakers (Pastor Plaisir and a man who teaches agriculture) lots of music, singing and praying and a great lunch (cooked by 2 ladies from the Marfranc church) and then fun time before they went home. There were 40 young people at the event and they had a great time. They were from the Marfranc, Moron and Chameau as well as Faith of the Apostles church. They paid $10 H for the day ($1.25 US) and because I had some money left over from the Youth Camp this summer, they were able to have a great lunch, with plenty of food! It is because of the generosity of many of you that we can continue to help the young people of this District and ville do the activities that they do! They had so much fun that they want to organize another 3 day camp during Mardi Gras. Traditionally they churches will have Church Youth Camps during Mardi Gras time so that they have Christian activities to go to instead of the drinking/dancing parties during that time of year. Marfranc has not been able to do it for many, many years and the kids are so excited. I think I still have enough money to do this last event, it is such a blessing for them to be able to be together, enjoying the company of each other in a Christian activity! Plus they are very grateful for the help that we are all able to give them. If you are interested in contributing to youth activities, donations are always welcome, they can be sent to NLH with a note saying Youth activities!

Then on Sunday.....the youth decided that they wanted to go to Azile (the old folks home in Marfranc) and have a singing worship service for them. What I thought was going to be a small, maybe 15 youth going and singing and praying with the people of Azile....turned out to be quite the event! Marfranc Baptist church youth, Faith of the Apostles Youth and the Church of God Youth (Marfranc) all came with choral groups and their pastors and Pastor Plaisir invited the entire church, on Sunday morning, to come and worship with the youth at Azile. Vilex started recorded Praise and Worship music for the residents at 2:30.......I brought cookies and lemonade for everyone and at 3:00 as the youth started to arrive, I had them pass out cookies and drinks to the residents. Then at 3:30 we started the service, which included, lots of singing by everyone (hymns and praise music), special music from the 3 youth groups, some prayers and more praise music.....we finally stopped at 5:00, which wasn't too bad! The residents had a great time, some were standing up and dancing while we were all singing, they clapped, held their hands up in praise and sang and sang and sang! The youth got a kick out of watching everyone have a great time and it was a blessing for everyone there. For me, it was especially wonderful because in the Haitian culture the elderly are not always respected by the youth and I think that is because they aren't taught how to do it. The youth had no idea how to make these people happy and it was so easy and they had fun doing it! I hope that they will continue to want to do this every couple of months, it was nice.

I'm including a video...not sure it will upload to Brian who does the web page, and if it does....there is no sound! Not sure why, except that when I got home, there wasn't any sound...I don't think I have a speaker on my camera...anyway, the music and clapping was 1/2 of the fun of the video, but thought I'd send it just in case anyone wanted to see it! If only you could have heard the singing!

Last night it rained...really, really hard, for a long, long time! There was major lightning and thunder. I just couldn't wake up enough to sit on the front porch, but I bet it would have been spectacular! This morning, our yard looked like a lake! Okay, not quite, but was pretty flooded. I took some pictures, so take a look! Steve needs to do some walls and drainage ditches up on the hill behind the house, we have a river that comes down the hill...runs into the front, then we have another one that comes in from the side by the depot.....together they do a great job of filling up the yard! Yuck! The back behind the house doesn't hold water...just turns into a red mud sink hole...can't walk anywhere without sinking into the mud!

The work guys are finishing the dorm rooms and bathrooms this week, I'll send you some pictures next week of the progress.....it is quieter so far this week, I'm looking forward to getting more things done on the house...like emptying a few more boxes, and hanging a few more pictures! Will keep you updated.....

As always, we covet your prayers, thank you for praying for us and for the Haitian people that we so love. God is good and we feel His loving presence each and every day!

May God continue to bless each and every one of you!

Ke Bon Dieu beni ou.

I'm sorry that I didn't do a journal entry last week, I have been sick off and on since last weekend and just didn't take the time or energy to sit and write. I probably should have written a quick note just to explain, but didn't have the energy to even try that! ha! Sorry. I was sick last weekend with stomach stuff, unrelated I think to what I have now. Then on last Friday night I got a horrible case of chills, then a high fever and sweats....thought for sure I had malaria or something bad, then on Sat. Am, not so bad and only a slight fever since then, so probably not a bad fever like Malaria or Dengue...whew! Although Steve says malaria can come on for 1 night and then return, so will keep you posted! Have felt a little better today, but still have a huge headache and don't feel quite on top of things! We'll see. So, thought since I was feeling better I should write and say "hi". I miss not talking to all of you.

I have some fun pictures to share with you. I want to introduce you to the House staff.....I think I may have mentioned that we have 3 people that are working at the house! It is so hard to start with new people, this is the 5th set of house help that we have trained and I always dread it. We have had some of the best people at our homes, but our last maid was rather difficult and I was dreading starting over again, yet excited to have new people. The two ladies in the house are Mme. Asson and Benit. They are both members of the church we attend, Pastor Plaisir's church and they are gems! Mme. Asson is married, 36 and has 4 boys, ages 14 to 6. Her youngest son Widley was the first child to be sponsored at Pastor's school, and he is a sweetheart, so easy to fall in love with. She also has helped to cook many of the meals at Pastor's house for visitors and also when we have eaten there after church, so I asked for her because I liked her cooking. Benit was recommended by Pastor. She is one of the Sunday School teachers at the church as well as helps with Sunday Service by doing offering and also helps with Children programs and Bible School in the summer. Benit is not married, is 34 years old and wanted to be a teacher, but could never afford to go to teacher's school. She is responsible for keeping the house clean and doing the laundry. They only work 3 days a week for us (Mon., Wed. and Fri.) but when we have teams here, they will work every day and we will get someone else to help where needed. They have only been working for 3 weeks, but we really enjoy them.

Dis is our yard man. Dis is married, goes to our church in Marfranc, and has 4 children (2 boys and 2 girls) He has a ton of work right now and works 6 days a week (his choice). He doesn't work a full day on Sat., which is fine with us. He has a lot of clearing to do right now and planting and cleaning up. He has started to get rid of some of the weeds in the yard, and has already put barbed wire in the natural fencing around the yard. He has plans for a garden with lots of things in it, plus addition of many fruit trees and more bananas and plantains. He has brought a few flowers and some of the neighbors (who Steve gives rides to) have brought plants as well. It's nice being a part of a neighborhood.

We all eat lunch together on the days that they work and we have a lot of fun talking and laughing. Vilex usually is here on those days as well, so it is great to have a table full of people eating together!

I hope you enjoy the picture of them! Can't wait for you to meet them when you come to visit, you will love them as much as we do!

I had a wonderful thing happen today, well actually more than one, it was a nice day, especially since I was sick. In the 13 years we have lived in Haiti, we have made a lot of good friends and always many good church friends. Frequently, when we have been sick, members of the church have come to pray and sing for us, but it doesn't always happen or even happen frequently. When I was sick last weekend with my stomach, two of the women (and their kids) from church came after church and prayed with me and sang. They live down the road and it was really nice. Today when I didn't go to church with Steve, he called as he was leaving and said to be ready because he was bringing a truckload of people to the house to sing and pray for me because I was sick. He was not exaggerating. About 20 people, not counting kids, came home with him and sang, prayed and read psalms to us. What a blessing to have people from church come and do that. It made me realize that we just don't do that in the states anymore. I remember my grandmother talking about visiting and praying for people and singing to them, but that has kind of fallen by the wayside, plus I realized how horrified most of the people I know in the states would be if...unannounced....20 people from church showed up at the door when we were sick and wanted to sing and pray with us. It made me glad that I live here and that their faith says....to minister and pray with those that are sick....and they do! I was blessed today by brothers and sisters that love me! Then....as if that wasn't enough, 6 or 7 of the little girls that live in the neighborhood (whose parents go to our church or the Church of God in Marfranc), came all dressed up, bearing flowers to sing and pray with me. Yes, it was so sweet. They were go cute and little miniatures of their parents. They sat with me on my front porch and sang from the song book (3 songs) and then read a Psalm out of the Bible, then prayed for me! It made me cry. I took their picture because they were so beautiful, inside and out! That is a story.....as much as I see these kids doing things that are so bad to each other, not listening and acting bad and asking for things.....to have them do this today was amazing. Again, I know that nothing like this has ever happened to me in the states and probably never would. God blessed me so much today...just when I needed it the most. Enjoy the pictures.

Next week, I'll send some pictures of the house so you can catch up with how it is doing. The dorm rooms got finished this week...yes! The floors and walls are all done. The bathrooms aren't finished yet, but that's okay. We can move the beds in and have them look more like rooms! The work crew is going to finish up stuff outside this week, then I think take a break. I'll send you pictures of the "grand room" and the dorm room and stuff like that so that you can see what the house is looking like! It is just so wonderful to be here, in this neighborhood, among these people. We thank God daily for knowing where we need to be.....we thank you for helping us be here as well, without your support, love and prayers, this would not be possible. Thank you!