Week One: Check!

Well, we've made it a week. Actually more than a week! It was a week on Friday and now it's Sunday evening. The clouds are rolling in and the sun is drifting back out to sea. We've accomplished much, but it seems like so little in light of eternity. 

We sit here in our cozy apartment saddened by the news from back home of June Williamson going to be with Jesus this afternoon. Our hearts long to be near to the family and the church family at this time, but it's impossible. There's an ocean between us. If I had the ability to swim it - I would. Just to kiss Frank's cheek, squeeze Pamela hard and sit with Christian (and Cody) for hours laughing and crying together. One of my favorite quotes when it comes to grief is, "The pain now is part of the the happiness then. That's the deal." Shadowlands (1993) 

Our Dearest Norma June, 
The pain we are feeling now is because of all the happy times we had together. Thank you for investing your life into so many! You rocked!! Remember that one time we convinced you to drive and be a chaperone for the West Virginia Youth Mission trip? Fun times! I'll never forget the times we went to visit your friends in the hospital and you prayed like I'd never heard before. Then we'd go shop at Kohl's (until I couldn't walk another step, but you still had a good hour in ya) and then go back to my house and play cards till 2 am when I finally had to tell you to leave because I simply was too tired to go on. We will forever miss you. But, alas, we will see you again someday. We are sure of that. And I'm quite sure you're shaking up heaven right about now with all your questions and quirky remarks. Love you June - to the moon and back!

Yesterday we were invited guests to the Bethel Guest House to have dinner with Dr. Jacob Bernard, his lovely wife, Mrs. Claudette and his other invited guests. It was very different being at the the guest house without a team. It was lonely. We hopped on a tap-tap and made our way down to the nearest stop and then hiked up around the neighborhood until we found the guest house. Sontinex greeted us at the gate and invited us to walk on down the side of the house. At the bottom we were greeted with many of the children from the Creche' in the pool with Dr. Bernard. They were laughing and playing and having a grand old time. We wanted to jump in! We were able to see Nahomie, the head Nanny lady at the Creche' and we exchanged hugs, kisses and excitement. The staff are only working part time now while there are no teams coming in. So, she works the 1st of the month through the 15th and we didn't expect to see her. 

A few minutes went by and then a few other white folks joined us! What a surprise! Some of the BHM staff were invited since they had attended Dr. Bernard's church last Sunday. He was excited to share with them about his vision for Passion for Souls (a curriculum he wants to print up with basic beliefs to circulate and teach). We sat next to adoptive parents and their twin girls during dinner. They live in Valley Station (Louisville)! They've connected with Mike and Heather as they are on very similar journeys. It was such a sweet time to learn more about them and they asked all about us. 

Today, my stomach wasn't in any shape to be walking for 10 minutes and then sitting through at least a two hour service in Creole... so, I stayed home. Chris and Brynna went to the Mission Baptiste church (same as last week). They came home, woke me up and we went literally across the road to try out the little restaurant there. It's called Oberj. It was delicious, but the prices were very American. So, we won't be doing that again except for special occasions. I had soup and bread. It was much like pumpkin soup that they fix here. It was delicious! Chris and Brynna each had a little pizza and an order of fries. The waiter and cook only spoke creole. So, we did the best we could to communicate. It was very yummy and extremely clean and nice.

We ran out of drinking water this afternoon. So, Chris and Brynna walked down to get a refill. I have a couple pics:

Brynna carrying the empty jug... :D

Chris carrying back the full jug of water. This is the big turn where to the right over the hill
the little girl would call to us, "blan, blan!" Our apartment is on the hill just to the right
off the picture. Someday we'll get a pic of it... but, it's hard to take photos discreetly.

Tomorrow afternoon I will go to the market with the help of a Haitian. He will help me to get fair prices and communicate. Please pray for me as it will be overwhelming, I'm sure. The market is a very busy place and the hustle and bustle will be crazy. Pray that over all the extremely loud voices in Creole, I'll listen particularly for His still, small voice for comfort and direction.


VOTD from the Church at Pleasant Grove:
"For it is God who works in you to will and to act according to His good purpose." Philippians 2:13 

Eight Photos for your enjoyment

"I will praise you, O Lord, among the nations; 

I will sing of You among the peoples. 

For great is your love, reaching to the heavens; 

your faithfulness reaches to the skies." 

Psalm 57:9-10

One of our many views - our gate

Clouds settling in to make the evening

Dinner... 

Pretty sure this was a funeral on the hill opposite us

Zoomed in to the possible funeral

Zoomed in to the little girl who yells "Blan" to us as we walk

See the little girl? She's just on the rooftop of an unfinished building

Same rooftop - fixing hair

It's Wednesday, "My Sweet Lord"

A day of rest? 

We shall see 

We shall see

At least for me 

I need it to be.

I need some time alone and to process things. Chris and Brynna got up and walked down to the Baptist Haiti Mission to work a bit. I asked them to be on the lookout for an onion for purchase on the street. Carrots, potatoes, mac & cheese and fresh tomatoes are on the menu for dinner and an onion would really help things along. 

Still no electric since Monday night here at the apartment and the inverter finally ran out... therefore, no wi-fi either. I'm getting a cardio workout each time we go to the school. I have to stop about half way up the biggest hill each time to let my heart stop beating so fast that my cheeks are about to explode. Brynna calls me a tomato. I don't think that's nice. My feet and legs are achy today. I may or may not be too old for this. We'll see. I think it's just a big adjustment. There's no just jumping in a car and driving to what you want... now, we walk, wait and ride to what we need. Up until this point we haven't had any conflict with our wants, but I'm sure that day will come. I'm anxious to see how far off the tap-tap route the new school is. Thinking it won't be as much of a physical burden. 

It's sunny today and I'm hoping to capture a couple shots from our dining room window of the ocean! We can just barely see the ocean when it's not too foggy, dusty, smoky, cloudy, whatever you want to call it...

We invited Joseph, 13 yr old son of our landlord up to play Mexican Trains last night, but he didn't come. He told me this morning that he was sorry he couldn't come but had to drink chocolate with his grandma who has been showing signs of dementia. I told him we had a meeting tonight at 6:00, but he could come at 7:00 to play tonight. He was very excited. He doesn't start school now until September 8th so he's rather bored. He's 13 and his voice is in the middle of the crackling changes of adolescence. It's rather precious the energy and innocence he projects. He's definitely not giving me any indication that he's got any of the same attitudes of the boys we've been passing on the streets. He seems to be protected from most of the ugliness.

Sunday, he came home and was excited to announce that he had gotten "his name written in the Lambs Book of Life". He had made a decision to become a believer. His dad was a Preacher. I'm still trying to figure out what Henry actually does. He's not really in the preaching ministry at the moment to my understanding. Although, he told us he and his wife are working with young people to show them movies to illustrate the gospel and communicating via e-mail with them. So, it sounds he's somewhat of a youth pastor. But, still, I'm not completely sure.

Guess what I'm doing for the first time since we've been here? Listening to music! Hallelujah! I just finally got the chance to miss it. I've cranked up the king's new album, "Neon Steeple" and am jamming to "Come Alive" right now! "Your love is a remedy for the sickness in my heart." But, I may only listen to one other song to conserve on the battery life I do have available at the moment... we never know when the city electric will kick on or off. There's no rhyme or reason. So, I chose to listen to "My Sweet Lord" as my last song for now. Have you heard it? Check it out! It's a duet with someone very classic, classy and amazingly talented.  

Chris and Brynna returned from working and studying at the BHM cafe... and you'll never guess what they had in a bag! They had taken back the water jug and Melanie asked if we'd like a few onions... actually a bag full! lol! WHY YES an onion is the only thing that I asked for and once again The Lord provided unexpectedly, abundantly, more than I could have ever asked or imagined.

Today's VOTD from our Small Group at the Church at Pleasant Grove: 

"The Lord bless you and keep you; The Lord make his face shine upon you and be gracious to you; The Lord turn his face toward you and give you peace." Number 6:24-26

Tuesday's Continuing Showers and more Treats

We had exciting plans for today. First off, we had a weekly staff video conference with BGM - a door to hope team at 11:00. Then, Mark and Melanie treated us to lunch at the BHM. And then we were headed BACK to the school to help disassemble one more bunk bed and hopefully Brynna to complete her registration/orientation process. 

The staff meeting was good. I got to sit in on it. Since we don't have our internet hotspot yet, we used Chris' phone and the Haiti Digicel data plan he has on it. It didn't use up very many MB since it was a tiny picture on his phone. So, that worked out very well. 

Then we headed out to the BHM for lunch. What a treat! As we were walking down the street we heard, "Chris, Jen!" and looked over to see the Dearing kids on the rooftop! What a sight! I wish I had time to grab my camera out to capture the moment, but it was also on the corner and you can lose your life quickly if you're not paying attention to the traffic. In Haiti, pedestrians are barely privileged to walk along the side of the street. They don't have the right of way ever. So, we are constantly taking risks to walk from place to place. Thankfully, it's not super busy on every road or corner. Just some. And the entrance to the BHM is one busy place.

Brynna got a burger and fries, I got a "Pettion Ville" sub sandwich and Chris got chicken nuggets. They were smaller than McDonalds nuggets, but he said they were very good and filling. Of course, I'm sure he got MORE to begin with (than McDonalds), but by the time I took notice - he only had 4 left. LOL.

We ran into Erin Corbett of Heart of God Haiti or better known as the "Orphanage in the Clouds". Please pray for us as Brynna and I may have an opportunity to help out at this precious ministry. More later as details are still coming together.

We then walked back up to the tap-tap "station" and picked the one with the huge crack in the front window. It only had two women sitting in it. We hopped in and took our seats. I sat in the fourth row back. Chris and Brynna on the third. Along came a huge, striped, mean and ugly wasp of Haitian descent. I am scared out of my mind of measly little US wasps. So, you can only imagine when I quickly and fiercely jumped OUT of the tap-tap what the two Haitian women thought of me. Fortunately, today I had worn my black "Jeni's Splendid Ice Cream" hat that earlier I had been ridiculed about and quickly handed it to Chris to eliminate the threat from my life. Of course, he did... as he promptly pulled something in his back. Please pray for a quick recovery of that. He didn't complain about it anymore that day, but I know it was a sharp intense pain.

After arriving at the school, they called a moto to take Chris to get tools that were not available at the school. This is a three tier bunk bed we're talking about taking apart. Put together by some over zealous American some years ago. There are screws in every corner from EVERY angle. While he's away, Brynna begins orientation with Athena and I get to read to the precious little 2 year old who is there. She's the daughter of one of the US Professors who is finishing up 2 months of working at the school. The baby's name is "Nila" and she's just precious. I read her Dr. Suess's "Fox in Socks" about three times before she finally laid her head back and fell to sleep. It was SO hard for me not to get too excited each time we reached the "Tweetle Beetles Battle" part. It's my VERY favorite part. 

After an hour or more of Chris (and me) fighting with the bunk bed he ALMOST has it apart. But, it is relentless. He takes a break and moves on to take down a couple other important things then works back up his will to fight and conquers the bed like a SUPER HERO MAN! He was drenched in sweat. I don't know how he even had the energy to make it back up the steep, long hill to catch the tap-tap. But, maybe it had a lot to do with us calling in a to-go order from Nataleen for three pate's. (I really don't know how to spell it and have no electricity or internet at the moment to look it up, but it sounds like pat-aye for anyone interested). 

We stop in at her house that is just in the middle of the village street and pick up our pate's and two "cocas" (Coca-Cola) which are dirt cheap here. I got a picture of her for you and the house and street that I'm excited to show you. If you're ever near Thomassin 48 - stop by! She's an amazing hostess and cook and the school is moving - so, she'll be losing a lot of business. :-( We paid less than $4.50 for the two cocas and three pate's that were bigger than all our faces and bigger than the white styrofoam carryout boxes! See the dogs on the roof in the fourth picture? They aren't happy with me.

We make it back up to the top and squeeze in to another tap-tap. I counted this time. There were 21 precious souls on this tap-tap. It couldn't have been a 15 passenger van. It was WAY skinnier than th y old, typical church van and much shorter. Chris proclaims, "Merci" and the tap-tap driver stops and lets us out at the BHM. He quietly paid for the older gentleman sitting next to him because he couldn't seem to come up with the money from his pockets. I don't know what they would have done with him if he wasn't able to pay. I'm sure it would have started with a lot of arguing. That seems to be the norm around here.

We meet up with Mark to get another big jug of safe drinking water. Simon had made sure we had one to start with and we were almost out. Chris was going to have to carry it on his shoulders. I was so worried about this because of the hard, physical day he already had endured. But, guess what?! The Lord provided another way. Just another practical way The Lord looked out for us. Simon was there at the BHM and we talked with him for a few minutes. He said he was coming up to our apartment in the next few hours and would drive it up for us without asking anything in return. He's our Haitian friend. He helped us make the connection to get this apartment to begin with. 

Mark and Melanie invited us over to hang out, but we were completely wiped out from the day and I think just everything about moving was finally hitting us hard. We were worn. Plus, we stunk to high heavens. Ugh! It's a good thing you can't smell us right now. We are in a constant state of stink.

Back at the apartment we wash our hands and feet and arms and faces and devour our pate's. Mmmmm!!! They are scrumptious! Shredded chicken, tomato sauce, onions, just a little cheese, picklies (not to be confused with pickles... it looks like cole slaw, but has a Big Bang to it) all nestled in a shell of deep fried dough. Delicious! Just as Chris finishes the last of his a knock at the door comes. It's Simon. He's brought our water and screens for the front window. The landlord and Simon work till past dark to install it. 

But, while it was still light we notice Brynna is walking around outside with her phone as she is Facetiming the Young family back in Tennessee! It was so sweet to see their faces and know they are doing well and that they miss us. It's so good to know and hear of people who are praying for us. Greg asked if it was okay to say that they missed us and at first I kinda laughed thinking it was a crazy question, but then I really thought about it later. YES! It's okay to say that. I'm afraid we NEED to hear that some. We need to know that our friends and families in the US miss us. It makes us feel loved. Important.

I brought two devotional books to work through while I'm here. One being "The Purpose Driven Life" which I don't think I've been through since 2002! What on earth am I here for? What a perfect book to work through. On the very first page, the very first scripture is: "A life devoted to things is a dead life, a stump; a God-shaped life is a flourishing tree." Proverbs 11:28. I'm seeing day in and day out the shedding and ridding of our dependance on things. Thank you God for this reminder today. May we find ourselves planted just where you want us and for Your glory.

"Blessed are those who trust in The Lord... they are like trees planted along a riverbank, with roots that reach deep into the water. Such trees are not bothered by the heat or worried by long months of drought. Their leaves stay green, and they go right on producing delicious fruit." Jeremiah 17:7-8

Monday Blues, Greys, Showers and First Hot Meal in our Apt

The first thing on all of our minds this morning was that it was our Rachael's birthday and we were apart for the first time in 22 years. We were blessed to spend some time with her a few weekends ago. And we were able to Facetime her and Quinton for a few minutes at the end of this day which was sweet! (Even though city power had gone off here in Haiti and there was a huge storm blowing through!)

We were up and ready to find out if a ride had worked out for us to head down the hill to purchase some much needed items. One being our own hot spot. Our landlord has some, but it's not the greatest and will not allow for Chris' video streaming staff conference each week. The ride didn't work out. A vehicle one too many were broken down. Alas, it is Haiti. We're just grateful for leads to follow.

I love how when we leave our place walking towards the BHM and round the corner to the straight away and look down over the hill we can see a young Haitian girl yelling up to us from an unfinished rooftop, "blan! blahn!" - like blond without the "nd". It means "white". And that's what we are. We wave and smile and yell back, "bonjou" or "bonswa" meaning good morning or afternoon. I don't really like when we pass middle school boys and they chant, "money, money" because that's what they think we are. Because some people after the earthquake came in thinking they could help and actually have only hurt the situation just by passing out stuff and then disappearing. This is one way helping hurts.

We got a Skype text from Athena at the ETS school where Brynna will be going with a call for "HELP?". They are in the process of moving and the beds needed disassembling and the Haitians that were helping couldn't get the screws to come out. They didn't seem to know how to use the power tools correctly they had available. Also, they were just packing dishes in trash bags not realizing that they would break. They needed a couple Americans to help supervise. Brynna still needed to complete registration and Chris could use their wi-fi. So, we walked down to hop on our first public tap-tap. It went a LOT too fast for my liking, but I was just grateful for the breeze and to take a load off my feet as we were crammed in the very back seat. The tap-tap was the size of a small mini-van. We had at least 17 people in it. We made it to our stop and then had about a 15 minute walk down to the school through the village streets.

We made it to the school and had forgotten to bring Brynna's paperwork that she needed for registration since we had hurried out to offer help. But, we jumped in and tried to help the best we could. They fed us a hot lunch (spaghetti) which we were very grateful for. We told them we could come back tomorrow afternoon and finish up a few things and get Brynna registered in full. (It's Haiti. I'm not sure how long it's going to take to actually get anything done in "full").

On the way back up the hill to our tap-tap spot we ran across Nataleen on the road and she was making a delivery. I could only dream of taking another bite of that delicious pate' some day soon... like TOMORROW! We bought three cold "cocas" from her for less than $2.00 US. Drank half and saved the other half for dinner.

Caught another tap-tap back up the hill to the BHM where we stopped in to check on the status of our order. There was a funeral going on at the chapel. This was the second funeral I had seen since we got here. 

It began to pour the rain. We ran to find cover. That was something we didn't bring... umberellas! We have one poncho and guess who got to wear it?! Yep - me! I wore Chris' backpack on my front and mine on the back. I looked like a pregnant hunchback something or another. Chris took a picture. I'm too embarrassed to show it. It was fun. Mark came down the road and had us follow him to their home to get shelter until there was a break in the downpour. When we walked in to their house their dog went CRAZY happy! He was almost clapping his hands as he danced around the living room with excitement that we were there. His name is "Chester" and I will eventually grab a photo of him, too. He's a sweetie. Reminds me of Charlie Roo and Baby Blue all mixed into one and times'd by 5!

The rain let up and our order wasn't back from the store yet. So, we headed back to the apartment. In. The. Wet. Leftover. Dingy. Dirty. Streets. We passed two of the male gender who were relieving themselves upstream from what we were walking in. If there's one thing you can specifically and practically pray for it's that those germs would not be transferred in our apartment. That we would somehow be protected from them. We wash, and wash and take every precaution we can, but it's simply a dirty place. 

Back to last night - Mark and Melanie had us make a list for their "shoppers". We asked for: a mop and broom, Pine-Sol, Carrots, tomatoes, cucumbers, spaghetti noodles and sauce, salsa, Kraft Mac & Cheese, peanut butter, butter, rice, mangos, apples, cucumbers, canned green beans, corn chips, raisin bread, butter and ranch dressing, The peanut butter was $16 US!! When you send the shoppers to the market to purchase things, they don't use the same thought process as we use in America... like if something is on sale or if the use by date is expired or if there's bugs crawling in the bag. 

Monday night we cooked our first meal - fried potatoes with onion. Mark and Melanie had given us all our ingredients. By the time our order was so graciously delivered to our apartment, they were almost ready to eat. So, we were able to make Brynna a happy girl by serving them with Ranch dressing! She's spoiled, I tell ya. No, not at all. She's a trooper. She's been in it to win it. No complaints have we heard.

After dinner Chris devoured a mango. The only words we heard were, "delicious!" It took a while to wash up from dinner and then we played a game of trains before bed. In order to wash the dishes we have to wash them first with dishwashing detergent and then rinse them in bleach water. It's SO hard not to rinse them under the faucet! But, the faucet water is NOT for drinking or rinsing dishes. It could contain little things our bodies don't need exposed to. 

We went to sleep with the power out and the storm a raging, but we had much to thank The Lord for. We were able to actually see the face of our birthday girl for a few minutes and got a mop and broom and cabinet full of food! The wind was blowing so hard, I just knew something would crash through one of the front windows. But, we were also thankful that we don't sleep near the front windows. 

So, long day, huh? And doesn't seem like we accomplished much. But, it's Haiti. And it takes a long time to do ANYthing here. There's no fast anything. Even the fast food at the BHM is very slow. Ask anyone who's ever been on a "a door to hope" trip with us. It's just a process. Everything's a process...

First Sunday in Haiti

Chris woke me up abruptly before 8:30 and told me if I wanted a warm shower, I better take it now. The electric had stayed on longer than normal. (The power goes off and on according to the powers that be.) I figured he was right and I'd like to start my day with a warm shower. Anything warmer than ice cold would be a treat. Little did I know that The Lord had lots and lots of great treats in store for us today!

When we rented this furnished apartment, we didn't really know if there were any pots and pans in the kitchen. (So, I brought the bare minimum because it also could have potentially been luggage pounds we needed to spend on more needed things.) I brought a pot with a lid, but no handle. I brought measuring cups, spoons, 4 plates, 4 bowls, a silverware set, a can opener, and several tupperware container to store cereal and such in to keep bugs out. I mean, what else do you need, really?

When I got out of the shower, Chris informed us we needed to put a move on it in order to make it to church on time. A knock at the door came and it was our landlord's wife - Marie Carmel. She brought us a treat from the only bakery in Pettionville (people pronounce this at least 12 different ways, but to me it's just like it looks). The breakfast dessert was something like a Trifle (Heather DiEnno!) with pudding and cake and loads of fresh fruits on it - kiwi, peaches, pears, strawberries, cherries, mangoes, etc)! Mmmmm!!!!! It was heavenly! She brought it to us "for all our troubles" with the busted up tiles in the floor. (I promise you, we are not bothered by the tiles that are busted up.)

So, we scarf down some delicious trifle and then head out to church at the Baptist Haiti Mission (from now on called "BHM" here) not knowing exactly what time it started, but thinking it'd be around 10:00 and it's about a 5 minute walk. They were singing when we slipped in the back. It was nice and cool (for Haiti). They sang a couple songs. Everything was in Creole or French. Then they had a prayer by an enthusiastic man.... Man! I wish I could pray like that! Pastor Samuel was going to teach me how in Nashville. I tried to make a deal with him that I'd teach him how to shake hands like a man if he taught me to pray like a Haitian. But, I learned that he is correct in saying that respectable Haitian men will shake a ladies hand very gently using no pressure at all. And maybe I learned that I can never really pray like a Haitian. Because I'm not one.

I digress, yet again... so, after the prayer, I heard this in the row behind me, "that was quite a prayer." In ENGLISH!!! (Well... it wasn't as long as we've heard our Haitian congregation pray in Nashville, but it was very enthusiastic.) I wish I knew what he had prayed! The english behind us was the voice of Pastor Mark Dearing. After church was over he said something like, "Hey Chris Ward! How are you?" And we were like - wait... do we know you? He laughed and said that he read it on his Bible. Immediately, I recognized the three children that were with him. Two of them beautiful red heads, the other a stunning blond with big, bold, beautiful eyes. I remembered back in July we had stopped by the BHM to touch base with Trey and Chelsea who were here and are friends of BGM - a door to hope and these three children were running along this ledge like little airplanes getting out some energy. Chelsea said that they had just returned from a two week trek into the mountains for more culture and language training.

We chit chatted and exchanged numbers with Mark & Melanie and their three gorgeous children: Clay, Lydia and Blake. But, as we were telling them that we had just moved here and were trying to settle in and didn't have any food besides peanut butter, tuna, cereal, dry milk and cereal bars, they insisted we come over for lunch. They could easily set three more spots. It was hard to say no. We felt like we were among family. They took us right in and loved us to pieces. I don't think I'll ever be able to look back at our big move to Haiti and not think of them and how they loved us and didn't even know us with a big gulp in my throat. What a treat they are!

We had a hot lunch (spaghetti) after they almost set the house on fire with a grease fire. And to get that big gulp out of my throat - I'll just picture the flames shooting out so bright that I literally thought the whole kitchen was on fire! I can just remember hearing Mark saying, "it's my fault. It's my fault." What a humble couple and a delightful family.

After lunch, we visited a bit, ate freshly baked break apart cookies and they literally opened up their cabinets and said, "here - pick - what do you need?" And gave us pots and pans and cookie sheets and spatulas! Oh, my! It was like Christmas!! They even threw in potatoes and little Haitian bananas and one onion which became the first meal we prepared in our new apartment.

Mark & Melanie invited us back over to watch the NFL game later that night, but it's Haiti... the internet was down. We played Mexican Trains instead. What fun! The children are amazing and I'm sure I'll brag about them in the near future.

Monday is market day and they had us put together a list of items we needed and they'd have their "shoppers" pick them up. More on this tomorrow.

We had a most blessed First Sunday in Haiti as every where we turned we saw God's incredible provisions! Never in our wildest dreams did we think that we could go to church and The Lord would provide for us ALL that He did. It was unbelievable. AND we have FRIENDS! Brothers and sisters in Christ to share this JOURNEY with. I'm sure there'll be a day we are able to babysit for them so they can go out on a date and maybe I can take some family portraits for them? I don't exactly know how, but I pray we can bless them even as half as much as they've ALREADY blessed us. The Lord loves and provides in such exhuberant, unexpected ways!

Please share how you see Him loving you with us! 

"Being strengthened with all power according to His glorious might, so that you may have great endurance and patience." Colossians 1:11

Bonswa! Wheee!!!! First day waking up in Haiti

We awoke before the sun to a crashing, cracking, ripping, terrible sound. It reminded me of when Chris ripped paneling off the wall that had been heavily glued on. Brynna said it reminded her someone breaking in the door and of lots of gun shots. Before we went to sleep last night Henry, our landlord was telling us where he was during the earthquake and I think it may have been in the back of our minds. It could have sounded like a crumbling of blocks. After we searched for just a minute or so Chris found that the tiles in the kitchen seemed to have run into each other and derailed... Four big ceramic tiles seemed to be busting up from underneath. Then we wondered what was safe and wasn't safe as far as structures. It had rained long and hard last night. Henry came down to look at it and promised someone would take care of it on Monday. It's no bother now knowing what caused it, just a busted up spot on the floor. It was scary when we didn't know what it was.

Then we went to Brynna's school for a 4:00 appointment for orientation, but they were running behind. (Of course, this is Haiti. They run on Haiti time.) We met with the ladies in charge (in the past I called them "the Ph.Ds", but now I know their names: Athena and Marie) for a bit and decided to go eat at a local "restaurant". It was really just a home in the middle of the street we were on. And apparently it's very common. We must learn who has a home restaurant near us! For those of you who've been to Wings of Hope - just imagine that street - imagine we are walking along and then one random house - we just walk up to and knock on the door and the Madame serves us a meal. It was delicious!! Pate's to order, boiled bananas, avocado, picklies. Mmmmm.... (I can't even spell all these correctly, but in time I'll learn and pass on my knowledge.) We sat out on the porch as the cook, Nataleen, served us. It was delicious! Chris said that I had succeeded in putting a hot meal on the table for him. Athena treated us. So, I don't think it really counts for me putting a hot meal on the table.

We talked till dark out on the porch. There was a Creole student and a Creole professor that joined us. We had quite a walk to home. So, they asked us how we wanted to get home. We could catch a "tap-tap" at the top of the hill or call for a "moto"... well, you know the answer to that one! Brynna had been jumping at the bit to ride on the back of a motorcycle for public transportation. In fact, she wanted it for her birthday (Sept. 27). The ONLY reason I think I caved in was because it was cheaper to ride a moto. Holy cow. I survived. I was scared out of my mind. Brynna was loving it and I was not. Our driver's cellphone rang and he ANSWERED it! I emphatically yelled, "uh, uh!" and he immediately hung up. Needless to say, it was quite an adventure and we survived. Moto after dark. Sheesh! Y'all need to pray for ME! I've got two daredevils I'm living with. They want to do it all! Here's a pic Chris snapped of my and Brynna... of course, that's my big bad bum! Sorry folks.

"Those who hope in The Lord will renew their strength. They will soar on wings like eagles, they will run and not grow weary, they will walk and not be faint." Isaiah 40:31

Thank you for your continued prayers as we constantly put our hope in The Lord! Please let us know what you're up to. Comment. E-mail. Inbox. However! We'd love to hear from you, too.

chris@adoortohope.com

heisiamiamnot@gmail.com

iambrynnakathryn@gmail.com

LIFToff!!!

Well, the day has arrived. But, it truly seems premature. It came suddenly as our alarm woke us at 3:17 AM. Chris & Brynna got their coffee in them and we loaded up. Greg (Thomas' dad) took us to the airport with our 500 lbs of suitcases... We've prayed for it, prepared for it, longed for it, waited for it, fretted for it and now it's HERE. "Here's our hearts, Lord.... let's risk the ocean, there's only grace!"

We tried to stop time this past week as we relished time together with our kids, friends and Faith Family from Ormsby Heights and Temple Baptist. No matter how hard we tried, we weren't stong enough to stop the wheels from turning. So, we made the best of every moment we possibly could.

We are sitting in the Admiral's Club at the Miami Airport eating our "last meal" and enjoying the last bit of A/C we will have for a very long time. It already feels wrong to partake of such luxuries. We take off on the 12:30 flight and should land around 2:35 in Port Au Prince. It'll take a while to make it up the hill. We'll stop at the grocery store and buy just a few things we will need in the next 24 hours. Frankie will be our driver. Please pray for Frankie as he makes his way to the airport. Pray that he doesn't run out of gas, break an axle or get a flat tire. Pray for his safety. We'll try our best to post something on Social Media that we've made it up the hill to our apartment this evening. Please pray for us as we travel up the mountain. Pray for our safety and travel mercies, too. May God be glorified.

Tomorrow afternoon we will meet with Athena (and maybe Marie) who runs the University Brynna will be attending. We'll be scheduling classes and talking about how we can work hours in exchange for some Kreyole lessons.

Over the next day or two, we'll be trying to settle in and get the internet all set up - because that is way more important than a fridge or a stove, right? As soon as possible, I'll put some pics up of our home and what our neighborhood looks like.

Thank you from the bottom of our hearts for all your prayers. That's our greatest need.

Yet, another day, I'll tell you about our Small Group from the Church at Pleasant Grove. I finally got a picture of us all last night. I can't wait to tell you all about them! Until then, I wanted to share the verse of the day they made for us. They gave us a stack of bound front/back index cards where they all hand written scripture verses for each day we are in Haiti. "Daily Thoughts for our Friends"

Today's verse:
"Because of the service by which you have proved yourselves, men will praise God for the obedinece that accompanies your confession of the gospel of Christ, and for your generosity in sharing with them and with everyone else." 2 Corinthians 9:13

Blown Away with His Bountiful Blessings!

Wow! We have packed up the POD and put a lock on it... The condo already has a new family in it (Yay - David and Elaine!). I will miss that place. I don't think I've really stopped the past week (or two or three) to completely soak in all that's happening. It's just all happening SO fast. I can't seem to slow the clock down at all.

I came down alone Friday and stayed with Pastor Rick, Linda, Micaiah and Bethany. (Chris had to stay in Nashville for another night to be able to attend the BGM Board meeting... which he reports was very good and they prayed over him). I enjoyed a great time of catching up. What a precious bond we have. (That's what serving together in ministry for over 16 years will do to ya!) It can never be replaced. We have taken over a condo in Louisville and have suitcases EVERYwhere. We will be working on packing them evenly and weighing them all for final preparations for takeoff. Buckle your seatbelts people... it's going to be a crazy ride.

This morning we were able to worship with our Faith Family from Ormsby Heights Baptist Church and it was sweet, sweet, sweet. What an amazing family we have there! We miss them dearly and apparently they miss us, too. At the end of the service we were called forward and prayed over. There were lots of tears.

A vital member of our Ormsby Faith Family, Tami Carpenter, asked what kind of help we needed a few months back and I told her how overwhelemed I was with the thought of all the little things we'd need to purchase. They tend to add up REALLY quickly... if you've ever been on a Mission Trip to anywhere you know... bug spray here, hand sanitizer there, mosquito netting here, granola bars there... it all adds up REALLY quickly in your cart. So, I created a Wish List on the Walmart gift registry site... just like a baby or wedding registry... and added items. I canNOT even begin to describe how much our cup OVERFLOWETH!!! Michele Sherwin helped a lot in getting the list together and made available for people to be able to look through as well as collecting in the church office, I'm sure. We canNOT adequately thank Tami and Michele, the Lifegroups who were involved and ALL THE DEAR PRECIOUS SAINTS at Ormsby for their outpouring of love and support. Please know that we love and adore you each and every single one.

Chris will be working the next few days on office stuff during the day and we'll be visiting with our kids in the evenings the best we can. It's gonna be hard come Wednesday night when we lay our heads down for the last time in Louisville before we head back to Nashville. Hard knowing that we won't see our sweethearts until December. it seems like FOREVER away. We are very thankful for AT&T's new calling plan that will allow them to pay $5/month and call us for $0.01/minute. Yep - that's a penny a minute! We tested it the month of July while Chris was in Haiti. It is indeed true.

I just can't wait to share with you all the ways that The Lord has provided in our housing situation in Haiti... but, I'm too exhausted tonight.

Praise God from whom all blessings flow.
Praise Him all creatures here below.
Praise Him above; ye heavenly host.
Praise Father, Son and Holy Ghost.

How can we cheer you on? How can we pray for you?

8, I mean 9 Days Out... (don't even know what day it is!)

Wow! I can hardly believe we are 9 days away from living in Haiti! Can you? Lately, I've been realizing how much of a "dream come true" it is for me. Since I was a little girl I've had the constant desire to be a "missionary" in a foreign field. Chris and I served with Cru for a few years, but never made it to our assignment because we kept having babies and our support goal kept increasing. No, we never made it to West Virginia University because we only owned Marshall GREEN clothes. No, we never made it to WVU because The Lord knew the big picture and we didn't. We are but a tree in His forest. A tree He watered and pruned and shone the sun upon. We were perfectly in His during those years. It just didn't feel like it at times. But, wow, did we learn some things. My dreams are about to come true!

Monday night Greg, Tammy and Thomas came over to help out. But, all we really had "in us" was energy to play Mexican Trains, some Cracker Barrel Coca-Cola Cake and true fellowship. It was a SWEET time for sure. It's going to be hard to not have these opportunities in Haiti. We'll miss them SO! Greg won the game, but he was the scorekeeper... so, we're asking for an audit. Brynna took the picture and I don't know how Tammy wasn't in the photo, but here's what it looked like: 

Yesterday, Glynda and Brandon (from our small group) came over and helped us get the kitchen packed up along with a few other things. It was perfect help at the perfect time. Great conversations. Much accomplished. My body is so tired it can barely move right now. We're so thankful that they were able to help.

The POD was delivered and now we can fill it up. It'll be 98% full on Thursday night, but we'll wake up Friday morning and finish it up. How do we reduce our "stuff" to fit into this little box?! I've been trying to purge, sort, purge, sort for a while now. It's even harder not really knowing for sure where we'll be come January. Will we return? Folks, I can promise you this - we do NOT know. It's the question of the century in our lives. Many people have opinions and guesses, but we in our hearts have not decided. We will only decide after October passes and we know if it's a good thing or not for the Ward family AND a door to hope. Time will tell. I'm sure you'll be able to read into our blog and know before we do. But, we'll keep you posted. Please pray for us today and tomorrow as we finish up the packing process. It's not just our "stuff" that you can lift and put in boxes that we're packing up, but it's our emotional and spiritual stufft, too. Ya know? Turning down the American Dream really means getting rid of a lot more than just extra pots and pans and books, but putting aside desires and dreams and desserts and convenience and etc... How does one do that? I don't know. There isn't really a book I can find to walk us through the process of how to prepare to live in a third world country. If there is, I haven't found it and it's too late...

We also had some company for dessert last night. On paper products. LOL!! It wasn't pretty, but it was delicious! Some friends we made at Creole class came over: Pastor Samuel and his dad, Marcel and pictured: Michelle Fleury and Candice and Richard Zamora. Both of these girls spent many, many months serving in Haiti and shared with us advice about living there. Candice encouraged us to pray over every little and big thing - appliances included. Michelle encouraged us to dive in and try speaking the language with the Haitian ASAP. Don't wait until we feel confident. It was a sweet, sweet time filled with strawberries, angel food cake, cool whip and some treats from Polland that Michelle's mom sent. Oh, it was also filled with anticipation and advice. We gained so much encouragement from these people and we circled up and held hands at the end and Pastor Samuel said we should sing. LOL! It was quite a hilarious moment. We couldn't come up with a song we all could sing in Creole together, so we hummed "How Great Thou Art" which then turned to a holy moment. Wish we had it on video. But, holy moments aren't meant to be replayed via video - only in our hearts. Thank you Michelle and Candice and Richard! Michelle is married to a handsome Haitian, but he had to work. So, we missed him!

Confession: It's 8 days out folks. All I can really do is read my daily Proverb. Today was Proverbs 13 (because it's August 13): 

“A wise son hears his father’s instruction, but a scoffer does not listen to rebuke. From the fruit of his mouth a man eats what is good, but the desire of the treacherous is for violence. Whoever guards his mouth preserves his life; he who opens wide his lips comes to ruin. The soul of the sluggard craves and gets nothing, while the soul of the diligent is richly supplied. The righteous hates falsehood, but the wicked brings shame and disgrace. Righteousness guards him whose way is blameless, but sin overthrows the wicked. One pretends to be rich, yet has nothing; another pretends to be poor, yet has great wealth. The ransom of a man’s life is his wealth, but a poor man hears no threat. The light of the righteous rejoices, but the lamp of the wicked will be put out. By insolence comes nothing but strife, but with those who take advice is wisdom. Wealth gained hastily will dwindle, but whoever gathers little by little will increase it."

Chris wanted to write a blog and call it "Ward Podcast" but, he's got too much work to do. He promises he'll write one once we are in country. Thanks for listening and praying!

Weekend full of emotions... 11 days out til departure...

"When words are many, transgression is not lacking, but whoever restrains his lips is prudent." Proverbs

This weekend Rachael and Quinton were able to join us for a short 24 hours. We'll take whatever we can get of them! They came in Friday night and were able to meet some of our friends from Temple and play Mexican Train Dominos. Talk about fun! Those are some very dear friends of ours and it was a privilege for them to get to hang out a little while with them. Saturday we fixed a hot breakfast (a rarity around this house...) and then took Rachael pre-birthday shopping since we'll be in Haiti on her birthday. Emotions were swirling in our hearts. It'll be hard to not be on the same continent for the first time in 22 years, but we were thankful for the time we DID have with her this weekend. Tears flowed after they drove away. They had to get back to their world and we had a wonderful stop to celebrate Emily Scott and her leaving to serve in Uganda for 10 months!

These are two of our youth who became college age students who became adults and GREW up before our very eyes. Emily is between us and Karly is on the end. We love both of their families DEARLY and can't even begin to tell you when our lives began to intertwine... guessing around 1999. We've been through plenty of "hot seat" conversations with them and LOVE, LOVE, LOVE seeing the Lord work in their lives. One of my favorite studies was probably when we went through Radical together. It turned all of our lives upside down! We laughed and cried and celebrated Emily and her decision to follow His leading to Uganda. It was a sweet time. Chris had to say good-bye to Karly (and George and Tami, Karly's rents) until December, but Brynna and I will get to see them one more time before we leave. Still praying that Karly will come visit us this fall. :D

Sunday morning we got up bright and early to attend the early service at Temple so we could squeeze in our last visit with our Haiti congregation in Nashville. What PRECIOUS people The Lord put on our JOURNEY at the First Church of the Nazarene (Haitian Congregation). In the early months of "church (s)hopping" they gave us a place to belong and worship with Haitians. It was an incredible blessing we never saw coming and never wanted to end. The friendships we were blessed with from Pastor Samuel and Nahomie are deep and wide. We have broken much bread together. Chris would meet regularly with Pastor Sam to share the joys and struggles of living authentic Christian lives in America and Haiti. And I have enjoyed many times of going deep with Nahomie. They have challenged us in our walk and made us better as we walked together. They have been huge cheerleaders in our JOURNEY. The Haitian congregation, the Creole class, lunches with our Haitian brothers and sisters will not soon be forgotten. We adore them ALL from Pastor Demassi and his wife, Francesca, Wadson & Mimi, Julianna (Joo-Joo), Brother Fenson, Nurse Betty, Mr. Marcel, Ma-too, Michele and Candice and their hubs. 

At the end of the service we were called up on stage to be prayed for. I can't even begin to describe that scene! The entire Haitian congregation were on their feet with their hands reaching out to us praying out loud (in Creole) offering up our time in Haiti to the great and mighty God we all serve. The tears wouldn't stop streaming down my face.

To end the day we listened to many ways The Lord worked in the life of Ryan O'Neal this summer as he spent 10 weeks serving, trekking, and loving on people in India. What awesome stories we heard with excitement as he shared with a packed house and we enjoyed some famous "Mr. Donny's Enchiladas" along with s'mores brownies and home made ice cream.

We received a home made picture for us to hang up in our place in Haiti along with a two page front and back letter from our friends Brandon and Amber Sprinkles. Oh. My. My. My... I cannot even begin to tell you guys just how encouraging it was!!! It's a treasure we will not take lightly or go without reading over and over again. We laughed and cried real hard as Chris read it out loud to us in the car on the way from Temple to Haiti church. What a precious gift this couple is to the world! Amber definitely has a gift of exhortation.

How blessed we truly are! Looking forward to some special times this week with friends and our Temple family on Wednesday night. We are busy, busy, busy packing up and getting ready to be OUT of the condo by THIS FRIDAY!! We will be traveling to Louisville to spend time with our family and faith family at Ormsby next Sunday. I'm sure it'll be another weekend full of emotions! So, that's it for now. Thanks for listening and praying and cheering for us. The spiritual battle is real. We cherish every single prayer and word of encouragement. Please leave a comment and let us know how we can pray for you.

P.S. Some day soon when the tears can stop long enough I want to share with you about our small group that we've been a part of on Wednesday nights. I want to paint a picture of what true fellowship and accountability look like. They have blessed us beyond words. But, I truly can't even say one of their names without just going to mush right now and I'm sure I've exceeded my time today on here . 

Confessions... 14 days out... (part II)

I wasn't done yesterday... but, it was WAY TOO long... so, here's the rest:

I like it when what we're doing makes people take a deeper look into where God is calling them out of the comfortable. Out of the ordinary. 

I love it that He wants us to be honest and to pursue His heart and character with all of ours.

I love it when I remember that apart from Him we are nothing.

I love it that He cares for the birds. And He cares for us.

I love it that nothing takes Him by surprise. Nothing touches our lives before it goes through His hands. 

I love that the Lord uses people in our lives to challenge us and call us into deeper waters.

I love it that you read this rambling blog of ours.

I love it that you pray for us and we can be honest about our fears and failures.

I love it that we are risking the ocean side by side.

I love Donald Miller... (and I even told him that once TO HIS FACE - a story for another day...) and his reminder at the end of his book that I am just a tree in a story of a forest... “He said to me I was a tree in a story about a forest, and that it was arrogant of me to believe any differently. And he told me the story of the forest is better than the story of the tree.” ― Donald Miller, A Million Miles in a Thousand Years: What I Learned While Editing My Life

I love the song "You Make Me Brave" that Brandon Williams shared with us during our week in Haiti last month. It puts my heart into motion so that you may understand what I cannot always feel, but what I truly pray by faith. 

"You make me brave. You make me brave. You called me beyond the shore into the wavesYou make me brave. You make me brave. No fear can hinder now the love that made a wayYou make me brave. You make me brave. You called me beyond the shore into the wavesYou make me brave. You make me brave. No fear can hinder now the promises You've made. As Your love in wave after wave crashes over me, crashes over me. For You are for us. You are not against us. Champion of Heaven, You've made a way for all to enter in"

Confessions... 15 days out

"Having purified your souls by your obedience to the truth for a sincere brotherly love, love one another earnestly from a pure heart, since you have been born again, not of perishable seed but of imperishable, through the living and abiding word of God; for

“All flesh is like grass and all its glory like the flower of grass. 

The grass withers, and the flower falls, but the word of the Lord remains forever.”

And this word is the good news that was preached to you." I Peter 1

Confessions from our comfy couch in our basement in Nashville:

I'm afraid that our family and friends believe we love the beautiful people and country of Haiti enough to pack up our stuff and leave everyone behind. Because we don't. We love Jesus enough to pack up our stuff and leave everyone behind. He is the only reason.

I am scared out of my mind to live in a third world country for 115 days.

I don't know if I can take the heat. Literally. No A/C for 115 days. How will I live without ice cream or Chick-fil-a sauce?

I don't know how I'll put meals on the table to feed my family that they'll like. I'm scared to shop in the market. I'm scared to hire a Haitian woman to help. I'm afraid I'll miss having my own kitchen and living room with all MY stuff.

Will I go crazy hearing a different language all the time, everywhere I look and not understanding it?

I'm afraid I'll forget why we went to begin with.

I'm afraid I will go through a real withdrawal from not being able to stream K-Love all day every day.

I don't even know how to prepare to live in a third world country.

I'm afraid living in Haiti will put our daughter's life in danger AND on hold longer. Afraid she won't benefit from the University there and she'll be behind in college again by another half of a year.

I'm afraid I'll hate going to bed by 9 PM because it's dark and waking up before 6 AM with the roosters.

I'm very much afraid that we'll be robbed, stabbed, shot or killed at some point in our journey in Haiti.

I'm afraid if we are that our loved ones will then hate Haitians.

I'm sad that we gave up our two cats and two dogs for this JOURNEY. I miss them still every day with crocodile tears in my eyes when I think about them at all.

I'm afraid that I'm too old for this. I'm afraid of getting the Chikungunya virus and being a big baby. I'm afraid of getting any other disease that could be easily treated in America. I'm afraid I'll have health issues that will keep us from serving.

I'm sad that I'll miss 115 days of being able to jump in a car and drive to get to Rachael and Quinton, Josiah and Katie, Rick and Linda, Bethany and Micaiah, Greg and Tammy, Thomas, our Ormsby family, our Temple family.

I don't like it when people tell us we are being radical. I don't like it when people think we are special. 

I'm afraid you think I'm brave. 

I'm afraid I'll be the only one who doesn't want to go back after this initial trial period.

I'm afraid I will love it so much I will want to stay forever.

Thank you for skimming this blog OR for reading every single word. (Bless your hearts if you do!) Please know we are mere humans striving to be obedient to His call on our lives. Let us know how He is calling you to be brave in your JOURNEY. I promise I'll read every single word.