Kim’s Adventures in Haiti

What I miss about Haiti...

2011-08-10T10:57:00.001-04:00

The first week back in Canada was a whirlwind of finding an apartment, buying a phone, paperwork, packing up my stuff and moving into my new apartment. The last few days it's really hit me that I'm back in Canada for a while and I really started getting homesick for Haiti....
I know that I am exactly where the Lord wants me to be and that brings so much peace, but the tears flow from time to time and I let them, knowing it's all part of the healing process.

Bon Voyage Parties

2011-07-27T22:59:00.000-04:00

The last few weeks of my time in Haiti passed in a blur. I was out of my regular routine and trying to finish my "to do" list and enjoy some time with friends. One week I completely forgot it was Tuesday and missed ladies Bible study. The following Sunday the Pastor's wife asked if I would be coming the upcoming week because it was one of the ladies birthdays and she wanted to organize a small party for her. I agreed to try my best to remember. I arrived early at the school and noticed that A LOT of people were milling around and they all seemed to be very busy and no one would tell me what they were doing. I started to get pretty suspicious... shortly after I discovered that the entire church was throwing a surprise going away party for me.

The Ladies singing a song dedicated to me!


It was a Haitian party so of course there was LOTS of food!

And because you can never had too many parties, the Saturday night before I left, Randy and Karen organized another going away party for me.

The men on "grill" duty

One last chance to bond with Levi

One little girl that I will miss very much

Samuel and Cadeau enjoying some food

Some of the ladies

Overall I feel very blessed and loved. I will miss my community in Haiti, I was blessed to make some great friends who supported and loved me during my time in Haiti. You will all continue to be in my prayers.

Jacmel, Mwen fou pou ou (I'm crazy for you)

2011-07-14T10:48:00.001-04:00

Early Saturday morning (not as early as planned, but early nonetheless), Lesley, Julianna, Anne, Cadeau and myself left Port-au-Prince, headed for Jacmel. We managed to make it to Leogone without incident but shortly after things started to go wrong. The clutch stopped working and there we were stuck on the side of the road with a car that didn't move at all! So much for our plans for Jacmel. We had no choice but to wait for Lesley's husband to finish work and grab a ride back to Port-au-Prince with him. We called the hotel and cancelled our rooms. Just as quickly our plans were back on, we were able to borrow a car and before we knew it we were back on the road, praise the Lord for generous friends!

The rest of the trip was fairly uneventful and we were able to secure 2 more rooms at the hotel (one of our rooms was already taken in the 15 minutes it took us to find another vehicle). We settled into our rooms and after a quick lunch we were off to the beach.

Anne

Cadeau enjoying some pumpkin soup for breakfast!

Hotel Cap Lamandou

The biggest disappointment of the weekend, the pool was broken!

Lesley and Julianna

Overall, we had a great weekend. Enjoying the sun, air conditioned rooms, satellite television, delicious food and great company. A great getaway and one of the last things I wanted to do before leaving Haiti!

Vacation? Not yet...

2011-07-04T15:59:00.000-04:00

I know that everyone thinks that now that school is over, I'm sitting at the beach, sipping
pina coladas and getting a nice tan. I wish!!! I've been working longer days than when school was open! Yes, it's true that school is over for the year, but the work is far from over. There are lots of loose ends to tie up and I want to leave things in good order for next year. Last week, Alix, Schandey (new secretary) and myself met with every parent of the school and registered their child(ren) for next year. This week we are registering new students. This is always a difficult process as we are a popular school and always have more interested parents than we have spots in the school. Starting next year we will start charging a small fee and we were concerned that this would discourage parents but this doesn't seem to be the case at all. We finally had to start turning parents away this morning as the list was getting too long. Part of the registration process for new families is to visit their homes and see what conditions they live in. This is always very interesting, but also very difficult as many families live in truly dire situations. We will start the home visits tomorrow.

The Admin Team

Schandey hard at work

Alex is still smiling!

Registration

Graduation

2011-06-26T16:00:00.000-04:00

Here they come!

The Valedictorian

Passing the light to the Grade 5 class

Receiving their diplomas and awards

The gradating class

It's not a party without cake!

The after party!

Friday morning we had our first ever Grade 6 graduation. Many of the staff and teachers worked behind the scenes weeks in advance to make the day a huge success. The graduating class made speeches, sang songs, put on performances and overall kept us entertained. Together with their parents we celebrated their hard work and praised the Lord for all His provisions. Pastor Delfis was the master of ceremonies and he reminded parents that their children not only receive an education at Adoration Christian School, they are also given an opportunity to learn more about their Lord and Saviour. Praise the Lord for how He has provided for us throughout this year. Our school community has been greatly blessed.

Saying Goodbyes

2011-06-21T21:25:00.001-04:00

After four days of being sick in bed, on Monday I was finally feeling well enough to go back to work. All the teachers were busy working on their report cards first thing in the morning and I had the opportunity to sit and have a brief meeting with Randy. Near the end of the meeting Karen came and asked me if I could come and take a picture for her because she had forgotten her camera. As I entered the room to take the picture.... surprise!!!! Randy, Karen, Alix and the staff had organized a surprise going away party for me. I was so touched, there were lots of speeches, delicious cupcakes, cold drinks and perhaps a few tears (none from me of course).

Surprise!!

Alix sharing how much he appreciates my organizational skills:)

My tearful goodbye speech

Pastor Delfils reminding me about the important influence teachers have on their student's lives

Being surrounded by prayer

My gift from the ACS staff

Yummy!

Randy and Karen presented me with a gift from themselves and the organization and one of the teachers presented me with a plaque of appreciation.
I was so touched by the effort put into this party. Randy, Karen, Alix and the rest of the staff have tonnes of work to do these days and yet found the time to organize this party for me. Lots of kind and mostly true things were said and I felt very appreciated.
The last two years have had lots of highs and lows and I am so thankful that I was able to work alongside such amazing people who supported me and encouraged me in so many ways. I will miss them all so much!

Women's Bible Study

2011-06-18T09:58:00.000-04:00

Earlier this year, I mentioned to the pastor of our church that I was interested in starting a Bible Study for some of the young women in our church. He excitedly told me that there were some other women in the church who had approached him with the same idea. The next Sunday all the women in the church sat down and put our ideas together. I found out that the rest of the women were learning more towards having a Bible study for the women in our church, not the youth. I was willing to go with the flow. We found a time that worked for the majority of the women and planned our first meeting. In preparation for our first meeting I found a Bible study book in Creole, and asked Pastor Delfils to give me some feedback. The first Tuesday we met, I was ready. No sooner had the meeting started was I quickly informed that in Haiti women's groups were quite likely different in Haiti than in Canada. I smiled and informed the ladies that I was willing to follow whatever format they had planned. I quickly discovered that this was going to be more of a women's group than a Bible Study, before we could begin there were five positions that had to be filled ... present, vice-president etc. Unfortunately we couldn't find enough women willing to fill the various roles. After a moment of silence I was asked what my thoughts were, never shy in this department I told them that in Canada women's Bible studies simply studied the Bible and I shared with them the book that I had brought. They were skeptical but willing to try it out until we had enough women to fill the five positions. Despite being very intimidated, I even agreed to lead the first lesson. Many months have passed since this first meeting, and we are still studying the same book. The women love the book and take turns leading the meetings. The meetings have been a great time of fellowship, studying God's word, praying together and getting to know each other outside of the church setting. I look forward to these meetings and have loved getting to know these strong, kind and loving women. As last week was the last week that both Karen and I will be able to attend together, we took a group picture.

I will miss these wonderful women!!

And we're done... almost!

2011-06-18T09:29:00.000-04:00

It's official... Adoration Christian School is finished for the year! Sadly I missed it... the last week was full of meetings and then a nasty little bug kept me home for two days. I'm sad I wasn't able to participate in the last week of activities but am thankful that next week will be spent with the teachers as they correct exams, write report cards, prepare for the graduation ceremony and pack away their supplies for another year. I will also have one final chance to see all the students at the end of year assembly and graduation ceremony.
Over the next several weeks official government exams will be taking place. Similar to Canada (and many other countries), the government has standardized testing for Grade 6, 9, Rheto and Philo (final two years of secondary school) students. Unlike Canada, if a student does not pass this test they may not advance to the following grade and must repeat the grade until they are able to pass the test. The test covers material from the entire school year and much memorization is required. Students study for weeks and weeks leading up to the exam. As many of our students already have large gaps in their education, failing this exam causes them to be even further behind in their education. Next week our Grade 6 students will be writing. We pray that they will put forth their best effort and be able to demonstrate all that they learned in the past year. If they pass, they will be moving on next year to secondary school. They are a fun class and they will be missed greatly!

Our Grade 6 class

Listening attentively

A little distracted by the camera??

Waterfalls - Saut D'eau

2011-06-14T15:20:00.000-04:00

The road was pretty good all the way there

These women fascinate and inspire me!

The base of the waterfalls

The three musketeers, Jenny, Taressa, and Myself

Farmer's field

There are a few places I wanted to go before leaving Haiti this summer and Saut D'eau was high on my list. Last Saturday I had the opportunity to visit with my two roomies. It was amazing!!! After lots of rainy and cold days we were praying for a nice, hot, sunny one and we got it. The road there was relatively smooth and we found the falls after a few inquiries. The water was cool and refreshing. We sat in the cool water and enjoyed the gorgeous view. It was wonderful to get away from PAP for the day and enjoy the beauty that Haiti has to offer!

Cars and Computers

2011-05-26T19:13:00.000-04:00

Cars and computers are the two things in life that I always want to work and yet I want to spend zero time, energy or money keeping them in working order. When they are working I love them but when they are not I HATE them!!
Funny enough, both my car and computer have been on the fritz lately and I've had to do without them both for a week!
The plus of being without my car is that I am forced to exercise more, seeing as I have to walk a bit to get to some form of public transportation and if that cannot be found, I have to walk the whole way. Thankfully in the entire week I didn't have a car I only had to walk from the school to my house once (about a one hour walk), unfortunately it was after church, it was really hot and I was hungry and I think I may have suffered from a minor case of heat/sun stroke; a lot of liquids and a nap helped and I was as good as new in no time. The rest of the trips back and forth to work were on the back of a motor taxi which is a pretty nice way to go except that it's rainy season right now which means two things, 1) driving through LARGE puddles causes your shoes/skirt/pants to get splashed with mud and 2) the road are pretty washed out by all the rain and therefore are in pretty rough shape, I almost fell off a bike twice as the driver tried to negotiate his way out of a pretty large pot hole. I received my car back on Tuesday morning, exactly a week after bringing it to the mechanic and I must admit I was pretty happy to see it!
The computer is turning out to be a bit more dramatic. Despite having paid for 3 years of Norton Anitvirus it just decided to stop working a few weeks ago and of course shortly after I got a virus and the computer would randomly shut down on me and then refuse to reboot. I had to bring it in to be "cleaned" up. Of course this also took a week (which is really quite fast for Haiti). Thankfully when I was in Canada I purchased a personal computer for myself so I was able to transfer my information (after several hours of frustration) onto my personal computer and use it in the meantime. Now if I could only figure out how to transfer all the information back onto the old computer...
Ahhh... life has become so complicated with all the things that we NEED! Sometimes I wonder if we would be better off without them....

May 18th - Haitian Flag Day

2011-05-18T10:04:00.001-04:00

Today, May 18th, is flag day in Haiti!
The Haitian flag was created in Archaaie on May 18th, 1803 and has been celebrated on this day ever since. Since schools are closed today, we celebrated yesterday!

Alix and the teachers organized a short program to commemorate the flag. They started out by singing the special flag song. Then they marched around the front yard, waving their flags and singing another song. At the end they played a game that involved some fancy steps and if you messed up a step you were eliminated. It was really neat to watch and I even participated a bit!

Teacher Appreciation Day

2011-05-17T22:28:00.000-04:00

May 17th is Teacher Appreciation Day in Haiti and to honour our wonderful teachers we had a little celebration. We closed school a bit early, ordered pizza, had some ice cold drinks and lots of cupcakes! Alix prayed for our teachers and we enjoyed a time of sitting, relaxing and spending time together. We chatted about the awesome responsibility of being a teacher, how difficult it can be sometimes but also what an honour it is to shape the lives of so many little ones.
Today we praise God for teachers all over the world, teachers in Haiti and more specifically the wonderful teachers at Adoration Christian School.

Home?

2011-05-17T09:54:00.002-04:00

I count myself blessed to have two homes. I love that every time I've traveled during the past two years I'm always headed home.
Friends and family often ask if I find it hard to adjust to two such different places. To be honest, I don't. My two homes are very different and yet I know what to expect in each one. If I was at my parents house in Canada and we ran out of water or the electricity went out, I would find that really strange, and yet when this happens in Haiti I barely notice or react. If I was in my home in Haiti and I needed to sleep with three blankets and thick socks in order to keep warm, I would be very unsettled.
There are different realities in each place, both places have their pros and cons and as much as I miss one when I am in the other, I find the transition to be fairly smooth.
Having said all that, I know that MOVING back to Canada will take more of an adjustment than simply visiting Canada for a week or two. I will miss my friends and colleagues here SOOOOO much and I dread not seeing them every day and being a part of their daily lives. I will miss the beautiful weather and ever sunny skies. I will miss speaking Creole and learning new expressions. I will miss students greeting me with a kiss on the cheek every morning. Of course there is lots I will not miss; huge potholes, people I don't know staring at me and touching me, no electricity, dust, dust and more dust!

Canada

Haiti

I have just returned to Haiti after a few days in Canada. During this time I was able to participate in my mom's 60th b-day party, I attended a church service at my church in Toronto, I visited my former and future school, and I visited a community that I hope to became a part of when I return. All of these opportunities affirmed my decision to return to Canada next year. It will be hard to leave Haiti but I am so thankful that I am blessed with four great and supportive communities to return to!

Happy 60th Mom!!

2011-05-08T21:37:00.000-04:00

Tulips - in honour of spring and Dutchness

My nieces and nephew

The Gringhuis family

Sisters

If you can believe it, one of my mom's bridesmaids is wearing her bridesmaid's dress from 38 years ago!!

Sharing the Top 10 things we learned from my mom...

Mingling...

Easter Weekend

2011-04-29T10:20:00.000-04:00

This past weekend I had the opportunity to visit Les Cayes. We stayed at Cadeau's cousin's house and I was able to experience life outside of Port-au-Prince for a few days. It was restful and relaxing and we were able to visit both Gelee Beach and Port Salut Beach.

Cadeau and his cousin at Gelee Beach

The house we stayed at

My special shower:)

Cadeau's cousin and his family

On the road back from Les Cayes

Port Salut Beach

2nd Controle

2011-04-09T11:11:00.000-04:00

Friday we offically closed the door on the 2nd controle (semester) here at Adoration Christian School. Exams have been written and marked, report cards written and received, tears and high-fives shared, awards presented, and parent/teacher meetings completed. Overall a job well done, thanks to our amazing teachers with a tiny little bit of direction from Alix and myself.
Friday morning we had a meeting with all the parents. In an attempt to begin to build closer relations with our parents, Randy and I met with each parent as they were leaving, getting some basic information from them. We hope to have more communication with parents in the future, and not only in regards to report cards and student success.

'Bon Travay' Awards

Alix organized and facilitated the entire meeting with the parents for the first time!

Some of the teachers

First Place Awards

We are thankful for a pretty good turn out of parents

Making a few announcements

Connecting with parents

Interviews

2011-04-09T10:24:00.000-04:00

In the past week we have interviewed for three different positions at the school/centre. I have to admit that I have always loved interviews, even when I am the one being interviewed. I don't know exactly why I find interviews so interesting. I guess it's because they are such a quick study of human character. In a space of 20 - 45 minutes an important decision needs to be made, do we want this individual to work with us, to become part of our staff, to become someone we trust, care about and share our lives with? This isn't a lot of time to make a decision that will affect us and others. Once you've hired someone it's not very easy to 'let them go', so it's important to make the right choice. There are very few job opportunties in Haiti. Everyone we interviewed is currently unemployed, many of them have not had a job for several years, others have never had a formal job in their life.
I find it very interesting, watching a person's mind work as they try to formulate answers to our questions, to try and say what we want to hear, when they aren't all that sure what it is that we want to hear. Of course a big part of interviews is not what the candidate says, it is often more important what they don't say and what their body language says about them. Sometimes they don't make eye contact during the entire interview, sometimes they give the shortest answers you have every heard, oftentimes they have no questions about the job or even our organization, sometimes they are super bubbly, other times they appear to be in pain, most are confident that they are perfect for the job. After each interview we reconvene and discuss how it went, most times we are unanimous but sometimes it's interesting to hear how another person had a completely different take on the same interview.
All this being said, I am happy to announce that we have two new staff members starting on Monday and another hopefully starting shortly after that. I'm excited about working with them and seeing how they fit into our community. We are truly blessed to find such great people and hope that we will be a blessing to them and they will be a blessing to our community.

Emotional Exhaustion

2011-04-09T09:47:00.001-04:00

My blog silence is not due to a lack of excitement around here, as always we rarely have a dull moment. However, not all excitement is blog material. Some things are too personal or too private to share. We've been through a few difficult weeks. Whenever a group of sinful human being try to work together there is bound to be some interpersonal conflict from time to time. Well, the last few weeks we've had more than our share. This can be very discouraging to deal with. Some people handle conflict with grace and humility, others handle it with anger and hostility. As directors of the organization, we've been busy mediating and encouraging resolution. As always, there are many lessons to learn, about ourselves and about human nature. These experiences, although unavoidable, are also painful and exhausting. I'm also learning that stress often manifests itself in physical ways. I have absolutely no energy these days. None. I get home, sit on the couch, and can't convince msyelf to do anything, not even things I usually enjoy like cleaning and organizing:) (I'm not joking) Even thinking of doing anything besides sitting in one spot with my feet up makes me feel tired.
It's times like these when I cling to scripture. One passage has been very encouraging to me lately.
Psalm 27
1 The LORD is my light and my salvation— whom shall I fear?
The LORD is the stronghold of my life— of whom shall I be afraid?
2 When the wicked advance against me to devour me,
it is my enemies and my foes who will stumble and fall.
3 Though an army besiege me, my heart will not fear;
though war break out against me, even then I will be confident.
4 One thing I ask from the LORD, this only do I seek:
that I may dwell in the house of the LORD all the days of my life,
to gaze on the beauty of the LORD and to seek him in his temple.
5 For in the day of trouble he will keep me safe in his dwelling;
he will hide me in the shelter of his sacred tent and set me high upon a rock.

Please pray that I may truly be able to live out these words. That my heart will not fear, that I will be confident, that I will seek a dwelling in the house of the Lord, that I will gaze on His beauty and seek Him in His temple.

Good News!!

2011-04-04T14:23:00.000-04:00

In the previous post I mentioned my decision to return to Canada. What I didn't mention was one of the major reasons that helped influence my decision. I had previously applied to a Master's program at the Univeristy of Toronto, but as of Friday I still hadn't heard if I was accepted or not. Saturday morning I went to pick up my mail, when I received it I simply shoved it into my bag and went back home. When I arrived at my house I noticed that I had received a fairly large envelope from UofT! I figured the size of the envelope was a good sign but quickly ripped it open anyways. Sure enough, I was ACCEPTED!!! I must admit I'm pretty excited! While I was waiting for their response, I kept trying really hard not to get my hopes up but one day I caved and went on-line to check out the courses offered, just reading the course descriptions got me all excited (I'm such a geek like that I know!!)
Starting in September I will be a part-time student in the Department of Curriculum, Teaching and Learning Program, specializing in Comparative, International and Development Education. I'll still be working full time teaching so I will plenty busy, but I'm looking forward to it.

It's getting time to be moving on....

2011-03-29T16:07:00.000-04:00

When I arrived in Haiti in September of 2009, I came to work at Adoration Christian School with a two year contract in hand with a possible one year extention. I had applied for a leave of absence from the Toronto District School Board for one year and was approved, and after my first year in Haiti, they granted me another year's leave.
I am such a planner that the minute I set my foot on Haitian soil I started to think about when I would be leaving. I have a real problem living in the moment I know. In fact I think I often miss out on life's greatest moments because I'm always looking forward, ignoring all that is around me. However, in January 2011 I had to really start getting serious about the length of my stay in Haiti, the board of ACS and the TDSB wanted to know my plans.
After much prayerful consideration, I have decided to return back to Canada and back to the TDSB. In some ways it was an easy decision in other ways it was a hard decision. I feel that my work is almost done here at ACS. I am currently working alongside and mentoring Alix to take over the role of school director. He is learning quickly and each month takes on more and more responsibility. I have no doubt he will do a great job and it's such a relief to leave the staff and students in such capable hands. There will always be more work, there will always be more needs, but for me, for now, I am ready to return to Canada, to my friends, my family and my job. I will miss the people here in Haiti A LOT and therefore I am trying really hard to live in the moment over the next few months. I will leave Haiti sometime in July and therefore my time here is quickly coming to an end. I'm trying to visit all the places I haven't yet been, I'm trying to send quality time with all my loved ones, I'm trying to enjoy the sunny days the warm breeze, my beautiful apartment... I'm trying.

Back to Boring!

2011-03-21T16:10:00.000-04:00

After almost four weeks straight of visitors, the last few days have been a bit quiet! I have to admit that this past weekend I had to rest up a bit, I LOVE having visitors here but they are always so high energy that after they leave it takes me a few days to recover:) I must be getting old.
After my sister Amy left, we had three board members, Steve, Carina and Hilary come for a visit and Steve's son, Cam, came along to take some pictures. As always my favourite part of having visitors is seeing things fresh, with new eyes. Carina has been coming to Haiti for many years, and therefore, she more than anyone can see the progress that has taken place within our organization. She pointed out the growth of the teachers and how strong a team we have to work with. She noticed little things, like more posters on the teachers walls and more discussion during staff meetings. Steve as always was full of energy and encouragement. For Hilary, it was her first time. She does the bulk of the work for our sponsorship program and it was great that she could finally meet some of our students face to face, instead of only seeing their faces on her computer screen. Cam took a lot of great pics (as you can see on the previous post) and through his lens you can see so much of Haiti.
Elections happened Sunday with very few incidents. We closed school today (Monday) because there is NEVER school the day after elections (so we were told). Although we hate to give in to the fear that governs so much of this country, we gave in this time and decided to tackle a few projects that are hard to complete when school is open.
The next few weeks we will be on edge a little bit, waiting to see how things play out politically. The results should (key word here) be announced at the end of the month. Overall it'll be busines as usual for us, but we'll make an effort to keep extra food and water in the house and our gas tanks nice and full.

Land of Contrast

2011-03-21T09:49:00.002-04:00

Pictures courtesy of Cam Langendoen

Ile a Vache

2011-03-14T17:52:00.000-04:00

When Amy was here we were able to visit a small island near by Les Cayes, called Ile a Vache. It was a nice time of relaxation, sun and sand.

Amy enjoying some time on the bus

Abaka Bay Resort

Last night

Port Morgan Resort

Around town with Amy

2011-03-10T20:19:00.000-05:00

Petionville

Shopping on Pan America

Coffee Shop

Metal Smith Village

Baby Shower!!

2011-03-10T19:41:00.001-05:00

My dear friends Lesley and Diego recently had a beautiful new baby named Julianna. Jenny, Amy and I hosted the baby shower for Lesley and little Julianna on Sunday afternoon.

Julianna and her aunt

What a cutie!!

We all took turns holding her

Brush your teeth...

2011-03-04T13:08:00.000-05:00

Randy and Karen have a friend who is a dentist. She volunteered to come by our school and provide some information for our students on how to care for their teeth, and as an added bonus she gave each student a new toothbrush and a tube of toothpaste. It must admit that it brought back some fond memories of "swish", I know all you country folk know what I'm talking about! I wonder if they still have "swish" at some schools? I hope they do, it was so pleasant to swish around some flouride in my mouth for exactly one minute and then listen to 30+ students spit into their cups all at the same time. Someone always spilled... oh those were the days! Anyways, I've gotten way off track. This morning I followed Paola and her assitant around to each class and was surprised at how well the students listened and how happy they were with their gift of toothbrush and paste.

Thanks Paola! We appreciate it!

Out on good behaviour

2011-02-28T08:43:00.000-05:00

Friday and Saturday the team made more cupboards than I thought was possible...

this may not sound exciting, but when your sports equipment, school supplies, food and cleaning supplies look like this....

you may understand my excitement!
Since the team has been flying through the jobs on their work list we decided to let them out on good behaviour. Saturday afternoon we took them up the mountains to Baptist Haiti Mission for lunch. They loved the view, the clean, cool air and of course the company.

Sunday we were all able to worship together at The Presbyterian Reformed Church of Delmas. In the afternoon Randy took the team downtown and today is back to work! no rest for the weary...

Lean, mean, shelf building machines!

2011-02-25T08:25:00.000-05:00

Well, I must say this team may be small in number but they are HUGE in the amount of work they can accomplish, and still find time to play soccer with the kids at recess.

The office building we are renting has some interesting alcoves and we are in need of some serious storage... so they have been enclosing some areas and building shelves. I can't believe how much they've gotten done in only 2 days! Today, I left the school early because I was kicked out of my office so they could install a new desk for myself and Alix, and I'm hoping tomorrow they will finish off the storage room for the school supplies. Things are starting to get organized around here and that makes me REALLY happy!

Bored...?

2011-02-23T12:16:00.000-05:00

I hate to admit this on my blog but.... I've been a bit bored lately! Can you believe it?? Things that once were so exciting and new are becoming routine and mundane. So thankfully we have some visitors here right now to liven things up a bit.
Yesterday we had a team of three guys from Southern Ontario arrive to help us with a few work projects around here. Frank, Derek and Marc got right to work this morning building a storage room with shelves for all our food supplies We have quite the long job list for them and they can't go home until it's done so they might not be sleeping, showering or eating...
Of course I'm kidding, we really try to emphasis with visitors that although we appreciate their help and hope they can complete some projects while they are here, we want this to be a time of learning, sharing and building relationships. Despite the language barrier, visitors in the past have established some great friendships with our staff and students here, many friendships continuing for years through e-mail, phone calls and repeat visits. Visitors also are provided with opportunities to expand their understanding of a different culture, what poverty truly is and what we are doing here in Haiti to address this poverty.

Marc

Frank

Derek

We would like to thank the two brave wives and mothers of young children who agreed to allow their husbands to leave them home alone for 9 days! We pray you survive without them and we will do our best to keep them safe and return them to you in one piece, most likely a bit more suntanned (or burned), probably a bit tired, but also with lots of stories and pictures to share with you.

Oh where is my camera?? (sung to the tune of "Oh Where is my hairbrush")

2011-02-14T16:47:00.002-05:00

So I haven't updated lately and to be honest it's because I don't have pictures to share. Several things have happened but I didn't have my camera with me!!! I know I should be fired from the blogging world.

So, for a quick update (without pictures), we closed the school on February 3rd, the day the CEP announced the results of the Nov. 28th election (we're quick like that here in Haiti) The results could have potentially caused rioting so we closed the school to avoid being stuck with 150 students at a school surrounded by road blocks preventing them from returning safely to their homes. Thankfully the results were received calmly and we were able to return to life as we know it on Friday. Of course, Thursday was the day we had planned our girl's seminar (second time we had to cancel in two years!) We rescheduled for Friday but were unable to contact many of the girls so we had less participants than we anticipated, however, our guest speakers did an amazing job and the girls were very appreciative of their words of wisdom and the small gifts they received! (Thanks Joanna, Anne, Deb and Jane!)
As well, these three lovely ladies along with 15 other visitors descended on our school and painted like mad! They were able to paint the entire inside of our school building! The hallways and classroom were in need of a facelift and the whole place is super cheerful now! What a blessing. I helped paint for a bit and when my hair was completed covered with paint (thanks Samuel) I headed out to prepare for a Girl's night which was also a fun time! (Thanks Karen) - again no pictures sorry!
Last and not least we had another day of meetings with the teachers to discuss future plans for Adoration Christian School and Centre. It is always interesting to 'pick their brains' and hear their ideas on a variety of topics. They really are our greatest assets and we are thankful for the input they provide us.
Apparently some of the staff found my camera the other day and did a photo shoot, so I do have some pictures to share!

Let the games begin!

2011-02-07T10:05:00.000-05:00

I often write about the great staff we have been blessed with here at Adoration Christian School, and indeed they really are. We have a great team, but our team has one problem - TIME; we're all very busy and therefore we rarely have time to enjoy each others company. The teachers rarely spend time with the staff and vis versa. So we decided to have a team building day. Randy, Karen and I prepared some games/activities and we ordered in beans and rice so the cooks could participate as well. We had a GREAT day. We laughed, we fought over chairs, we made fools of ourselves and we bonded!

Bible Trivia

The team that almost won:)

Alyn is SERIOUS about games day

Dodge Ball

Huckle Buckle...

Musical chairs

Down to the last two - can you guess who won??

Meetings

2011-01-28T07:38:00.000-05:00

I know most people don't enjoy meetings and find them a waste of time. I on the other hand am a total geek and really enjoy meetings. The past few weeks we've been having lots of meetings and they have been very beneficial, many discussions have taken place and much has been accomplished.
We as an organization are going through some changes and are re-evaluating our mission and vision and strategies for moving forward. We strongly value our community's input and therefore have been meeting with them and providing them with opportunities to share their ideas.

GIRLS ONLY!!!

2011-01-28T07:16:00.000-05:00

January 13, 2010 was the day we had planned a special day for the older girls in our school community. The invitations had been sent out, the party favours bought, a special speaker booked, the activities planned, and I was excited! Of course the earthquake put a major dent in our plans...One of my first thoughts after the earthquake was that we wouldn't be able to have our "girls only seminar" as planned and I was really disappointed. Over a year has passed and although I haven't forgotten, other things are keeping me busy these days and the idea kept moving further and further back in my mind.... The other day Karen mentioned to me that our 'guest speaker' was going to be back in town and maybe we should see if she would still be interested in speaking. We figured it couldn't hurt to ask, so we did, and she agreed!
So once again, the invitations went out and preparations started anew...

The Invitation

Invitations ready to be given out

The event takes place next Thursday, I'll be sure to post pictures!

Party Time!

2011-01-24T20:01:00.001-05:00

Despite the hardships and difficulties of 2010, we ,the staff of Adoration Christian School, have much to be thankful for. And what better way to celebrate God's blessings than with a party? This past Sunday we gathered together at Randy and Karen's house to enjoy each other's company and celebrate the many blessings the Lord has given us.

What better way to start a party than worshipping together?

Lots and lots of delicious food

The girls having fun

Goofing around with Samuel

Maia found someone who likes getting into trouble as much as she does:)

The guys chowing down

The kids

Blessing

2011-01-21T13:32:00.000-05:00

After the earthquake, most Haitians struggled to stay alive and didn't have the 'luxery' of 'taking a break' or even having a time of rest. Even more luxerious was having a chance to sit and talk about what they experienced with a psychologist. Many counsellors and psychologists visited Haiti after the earthquake but they were in high demand and there wasn't enough of them to go around. Last week Dr. Ed showed up one morning with a lovely group of people from New Brunswick. They all spoke French and worked in a variety of medical fields. They came to work at another organization but asked if they could tag along with Ed for a few days. One of the team members was a Haitian/American psychologist who had left Haiti twenty-two years ago. He was staying in Haiti for two weeks and asked how he could support us. We asked if he would be willing to meet with our staff members and provide them with some counselling. Of all the weeks of the year for him to come, it was the same week as the one year anniversary of January 12th, the day the earthquake happened. Coincidience? I think not...
All of the staff were interested in meeting with him and over several days he was able to meet with each one. He took the time to pray with every staff member and encourage them in their work. He was such a blessing to our school community.

Picture Day

2011-01-21T12:06:00.001-05:00

Since I experienced little success with class pictures, I decided to focus on the teacher and staff instead. Below are the fruits of my labour:)

The Men

The Guys

The Women

Everyone!! (except for Manman Manise:(

We have been blessed with an amazing staff. We appreciate the efforts they make every single day. Despite sickness, personal difficulties and the general hardships that are part of life in Haiti, they come to work with a smile on their faces and give 100% for the glory of God. It is an honour to work alongside them.

Silly Me....

2011-01-20T15:28:00.000-05:00

One of my goals this week was to take class pictures. I thought it would be nice to take the pictures in front of the new logo. I got myself organized and managed to get through all the classes and was feeling pretty proud of myself, until I uploaded the pictures onto my computers and realized that they weren't very clear. I figured it was the sun shining on their faces that made the photo unclear.

Take 1

I decided it would be better to take the pictures under the tent to cut down on the sunlight.

After uploading these pictures onto my computer I saw that they had the SAME problem. At this point, I decided to build a small barricade to keep out the sun, to no avail...

Take 2

At this point I was becoming a bit exasperated with the whole idea of class photos.

I decided to try one more time... I moved upstairs and took a thick blanket and covered all the windows. I took a few samples this time before calling all the classes (I'm getting smarter...) I had the SAME problem again. I gave up... I decided that my camera is garbage and that was that! Then I noticed that all the pictures were unclear in the exact same place... A coincidence?? I think not. I turned my camera on and looked at the lens, sure enough there was a nice big smudge on the lens... brilliant! At this point I was too afraid to interupt the classes once again to ask for another photo shoot... I think I'll wait a few days until they forget and then try again:)

Janurary 12, 2011

2011-01-13T20:50:00.000-05:00

I had no idea what to expect yesterday, the one year anniversary of the earthquake. I spent the morning reading through my blog and looking at pictures from last year. I shed some tears remembering those we lost and praying for their families. I was unsure how the day would unfold... I was able to attend several worship services all over the city and everywhere we went we saw people praying, singing and worshiping God. There was mourning and there were tears but overall there was a sense of peace, and thankfulness to be alive. I was able to go to the lookout point overlooking the city and pray with some friends over the city. We prayed for those who were mourning loved ones and for the future leaders of this country. As I sit here tonight I remember the pain and sadness of last year. I remember the days and weeks of shock and not knowing who was dead or alive. I remember how lost and scared I felt. But today, one year later as I look back I know without a doubt that God is good, He is gracious and He gives us what we stand in need of. As I drove around yesterday I saw that Haitians know this more than most... their faith in Him is a testimony to us all.

Facelift

2011-01-11T12:14:00.000-05:00

Now that we're settled into the new building and our first semester of school is finished, we decided to give the place a facelift. The 'guys' and several sponsor students got busy painting and we are pretty proud of the new look we have! Our new location is situated on a busy road that leads to the airport and we have a lot of traffic driving by all day long so we also hired local artists to paint our name and school logo on the front wall.

Scraping off the old paint

The BEFORE Picture

Hard at work painting

Looking good!

Local artist were hired to paint on logos

The AFTER Picture

Random Pics

2011-01-10T11:03:00.001-05:00

Visiting a Catholic Mission in Cite Soleil

Can you tell that Maia is SO HAPPY that I am babysitting her??

My mom and I hard at work!

Look at these happy smiles!

Cap Haitian

2011-01-01T12:47:00.000-05:00

My parents, Cadeau and I were able to travel to Cap Haitian for 3 days. We took a small, 17 passanger plane. After only half an hour in the air we landed safely.

We stayed at Mont Joli, a nice quiet hotel, located on the side of a mountain.

Here is the steep hill we had to climb each time we came to and from the hotel. When it rained it became quite slippery.

The second day we decided to check out the citadel. We had quite the entourage of help as we climbed the hill leading up. We declined the offer of donkeys but they accompanied us anyways, just in case we got tired and changed our minds. (which we didn't)

Unfortunately it was quite a cloudy and foggy day so the view wasn't great, but on the bright side, we didn't get a burn or sweat too much.

Exploring the citadel.

Mom received some "help" on the way down.

Exploring the city of Cap Haitian. It had a more European feel to it than PAP.

Haitian Christmas Dinner

2011-01-01T11:29:00.001-05:00

We decided to have a traditional Haitian meal for Christmas; rice and beans, chicken, creole sauce, potato/beet salad, and a lettuce salad. We invited some of the Adoration staff and friends over and cooked up a storm. It was a wonderful time of celebrating Christmas and fellowshiping with our Haitian "family".

Playing Dominoes before dinner

Christmas Program

2010-12-29T20:09:00.000-05:00

The Special Education class had the best performance as usual!

Most of the students' parents were able to attend!

Exam Week

2010-12-29T19:55:00.000-05:00

Even Kindergarten has exams in Haiti, here they are busy with their "colouring" exam

The Grade 2 class busy writing exams

Evenz hard at work as always!

Opinions anyone??

2010-12-15T11:55:00.000-05:00

I have been told (and I must agree) that I can be somewhat opinionated. During the political unrest and various riots, I have tried unsuccessfully to refrain from forming an opinion. However, as you can see I have not publically voiced my opinion. In the three days I was house bond due to burning tires and blocked roads, I had plenty of time to read many thoughts and opinions on how Haitians chose to respond to an election that was clearly fraudulent. Due to my lack of French most of what I read was written in English and therefore mostly by foreigners trying to understand Haiti and make a judgement on the situation. It's human nature to see a situation and compare it to what we know. Too often as foreigners we try to compare situations in Haiti to "similar" situations in our 'home' country, but situations that appear to be similar often are not, due to many layers of culture that are not easily apparent. This is my long winded explanation on why I have written nothing about the elections or the ensuing reactions. In my opinion, there are enough opinions out there, I don't need to add my own:)
Regardless, this week has been calm and the weather has been very unusual for this time of year (there may be a link between the two:) It's been rainy, cloudy and cool. The school has been open all week, and the students are busy writing exams. Next week we'll have our Christmas program and parent/teacher meeting.
After that.... Christmas break! I am tired and very ready for a break. My parents hope to fly in next week and stay for two weeks. I am very excited that they are coming. Although it's not their first time in Haiti, it will be their first time they will stay with me, and we will travel a little bit.
I've been really bad about taking pictures lately. I do however have a picture of Cadeau and Jenny making me a delicious meal!! It's a rough life:)

2010 Haiti Elections

2010-12-01T08:26:00.000-05:00

I know that many people who are emotionallly invested in Haiti have been following the news of the elections quite closelly. I wish I could say that I have an insiders view of the goings on here in Haiti, but really I've been searching the internet and international news just like the rest of you. I do have the slight advantage of listening to the radio here and hearing the "word on the street" reports. However, this is often more frustrating than anything else. Yesterday one radio station announced that there was going to be a big manifestation (riot) at noon. We waited, as there's really nothing else to do, and noon came and went with no problems, at least in our area. The 'word on the street' is often exaggerated and often causes unnecessary panic.
Yesterday the school was open and about 30-40 students came. Today there are more. As a staff we decided to keep the school open every day, we've instructed all staff and students that if there are problems in their area or on their route to school, stay home. If everything is clear, come to school. We hate to close school only to discover that there are no problems, we've lost too much time as it is.
If you are interested in reading an 'on the ground' account that is not terribly biased or overinflated, check out this blog. I find it very interesting and it resonnates with what I've been seeing and hearing. As well, the author is willing to go where things are happening, whereas I tent to avoid any place where things are happening.
http://goatpath.wordpress.com/
We are waiting for the election results to be announced. It sounds like regardless of the results, this announcement will cause some more unrest. We'll just have to wait and see.

Back Home

2010-11-30T09:18:00.000-05:00

I think I may be moving to the Dominican Republic... I love it there. Except for the small problem of not speaking Spanish, and not being able to communicate at all... It has all the good things about Haiti, great temperature, palm trees, ocean and beaches with the added bonus of lots if great stores with even better prices! It was worth the 13 hour drive (we had a 4 hour delay at the border - it was market day)
To put it mildly, I had a great time away this past weekend. I don't want to bore you with lots of pictures of the amazing resort, partly because I didn't reallly take any pictures. I was so busy relaxing that I forgot to take pictures...
Our speaker was Rev. Paul Mpindi, the French Team Leader of the Back to God Hour. He spoke about Spiritual Power, he really challenged us and gave us lots to think about and work on.
The resort was great, I ate too much, lazed around the pool and walked along the beach. Some more adventerous people went to visit a cave in the area (I choose to relax by the pool some more). It was neat to meet some people who live and work in the DR and get to know some poeple from Haiti a bit better.
We didn't check the internet all weekend so when we arrived at the Ministry Centre in Santo Domingo, we all whipped out our computers and plugged into the "world" once again. We heard about the elections and decided it was safe enough to return to PAP. The trip home went well with almost no wait at the border. We saw the residue of left over burning tires on the road but didn't see any riots, although we took a longer route home as we heard some areas were still having problems.
It's Tuesday morning, the school is open and about 30 students are present. Many other schools are still closed, the government hasn't officially closed anything today but poeple are still afraid and many stayed home. Many taptap drivers also stayed home creating difficulties for people to find transportation. We'll take each day as it comes and decide whether to keep the school open or close it.

We're still alive and well....

2010-11-24T12:51:00.000-05:00

Met Asselhomme and the Grade One class playing a game outside

The Special Education Class doing streches on their new mats (Thanks Gwen and Andre!)

Add caption

I figured it was time to write a quick note to let everyone know that we are alive and well here in PaP. If you've been following the Haiti news, you'll know two things already. Cholera is quickly spreading through the city, leaving quite a few dead. As well, there have been riots in the north (Cap Haitian) and downtown PaP, and they will possibly get increasingly worse as the election day approaches. If you are worried about me please don't be. I'm right where the Lord wants me to be, and that's the best place to be.
It's been an exceptionally busy time lately and I've been working some long hours, but overall I'm doing well. I complain a lot but I shouldn't, I work with an amazing staff that despite very difficult circumstances work very hard and continue to impress me time and time again. I keep reminding myself to praise and encourage them more and thank them for the work they do.
Despite the many troubles around us, our school community is relatively doing well. Many of the teachers have been ill lately, and one has been in the hospital for several days. Cholera has not yet hit our community, but we continue to educate about prevention and treatment of the desease. We count our blessings as well as mourn with the communities around us who are struggling and suffering from this desease.
There have indeed been riots downtown PAP but they have not yet affected us here. We will close the school at the first sign of trouble, especially if the government instructs us to do so.
On a very positive note, the CRC staff in Haiti have a spiritual retreat each year and they are always kind enough to invite me. This year it is in the Dominican Republic and it takes place this weekend. If the borders are still open and they let us through we are going to enjoy a long weekend at an all inclusive resort studying scripture and relaxing!!! I've been looking forward to it for quite a while. We hope and pray that the elections go well this weekend, if there are any major problems we may decide to extend our stay in the DR until they pass. This way, we don't have to be evacuated there, we'll already be there!!
To any Americans who may read my blog, happy thanksgiving!

Presbyterian Church of Delmas, PAP

2010-11-17T12:34:00.000-05:00

Pastor Octavius praying with the congregation

Leading Worship

During the transition to the new building, our church wasn't able to meet for a period of time due to a lack of location. Thankfully we still have our big tent and were able to set up a portion of it on the lower half of the school yard. Sunday was my first time being able to attend the service since it reopened. (I signed up to teach Sunday School at Quisqueya Chapel and they were at the same time).
It was a great time of worship and studying God's word, with the added bonus of patè and really sweet juice. The Hopp family (Ben and Heather) have a team visiting this week and they were able to join us on Sunday, we even had the benefit of a guest preacher! This same team has been working at our school, setting up some pre-fab homes on the roof of the school. Pictures to follow I promise!

Introducing Alix Jean Pierre

2010-11-17T10:58:00.000-05:00

As I mentioned in an earlier entry, this is a year of transition for myself and the school. Alix, our former grade three teacher, is working alongside me this year with the purpose of taking over the role of school director. Alix has worked in education for a long time and has a good understanding of the Haitian education system. So far it's been great working together and we are learning a lot from each other. I asked him if he'd be willing to do a short interview so I could introduce him to my 'readers'. Below are my questions and his answers:

Can you tell me a little bit about your family?
I have a big family, I have a wife, and five children, two girls, and three boys. I love my wife with all my heart. God had blessed our family with beautiful children. We are Christians and members of the church. We share the same faith, and know that Jesus Christ is our Saviour.

How long have you been in education?
I started working in Education in 1993. Before this, I tutoured several students but officially starting working in the classroom in 1993. During my career, I’ve worked in variety of schools.

What do you like the most about education?
I see that our country has a lot of needs in Education. There are many children and adults who need assistance in learning how to read, it’s important for them to read in order to function in society and change their lives.

What is the most difficult part about working in education?
Education in Haiti has a lot of difficulties. There are people who have jobs in schools that aren’t aware of their responsibilities. Many teachers don’t get paid regularly, and therefore some of them don’t work with all their hearts. This hurts the students. For Administration, there are many schools were administrators don’t take their responsibilities seriously. They run their school any way they like, they don’t follow curriculum, and the government doesn’t do a great job of supervising schools.

How long have you been with Adoration Christian School (ACS)?
For two years.

What are your future hopes and dreams for ACS?
I have big plans for ACS, I would like for all the teachers to work in a professional way, and to work together as a team. I would like the school to expand to include a secondary school; when our students graduate they will be able to stay at our school and not be sponsored elsewhere. I would like to there to be a professional school here as well. I would like ACS to have another sister school in another part of Haiti, to help even more people in Haiti. I would like if we could organize teacher seminars once or twice a year to help teachers improve their teaching.

What are your hopes and dreams for Haiti?
My dream for Haiti is for Haiti to change, in all areas. To develop further and for all students to be able to go to school, for adults who haven’t had a chance to go to school, to have education programs for them, so they can live better each day. If everyone can read and write, the country will develop better and faster. I would like for myself personally to help a lot of people in education.

Klinik Medikal ak Dans

2010-11-11T11:35:00.000-05:00

Dr. Ed explaining a medication to a teacher

Dr. Ed. consulting with a patient

The two lovely nurses who assist Ed

Cleaning some teeth

For the last several years, we've had the pleasure of working with Dr. Ed and his two lovely assistants, Esther and Martine Every time we move he's been gracious enough to follow us wherever we go. When we were blessed with our new building, he got busy setting up two rooms to use for his clinic. He's been open for a few weeks now and continues to provide both medical and dental services to the Delmas 31 and surrounding communties. He is also kind enough to see our students and teachers and even myself from time to time! We are certainly blessed to have him work alongside us.

This is Haiti...

2010-11-10T15:04:00.000-05:00

I have two stories to share that took place the last two days that made me stop and think, "this is Haiti!".
(this first story is gross so skip it if you love animals or get grossed out easily)
Yesterday, someone came running over to talk to me with a very concerned look on his face. With much animation he told me that a street dog in our neighbourhood had died and someone had dumped it on top of a large pile of garbage right outside of our gates. He told me that the smell of the dead body was really unpleasant and then proceeded to ask if I would please burn it to get rid of the smell. I told him that this was beyond my area of expertise and that I didn't feel comfortable doing that! I haven't ventured outside of the front gate since, in fear of catching a glimpse of the dog in the pile of garbage. (it's not our garbage for the record, there are MANY piles of garbage all over PAP)
Today, as I was leaving a grocery store with my car full of groceries for the school, I realized that one of the tires of my car was a bit on the low side. Because my car was loaded quite full I decided I should get some air for my tire on my way back to the school. I stopped at a "shop" at the side of the road that offered this service. I got out of the car and a young boy came up to me and asked how he could help me. I explained what I needed and he proceeded to start the generator for the air pump. I was quite surpised that a kid so young knew how to do this. He then proceeded to release all the air from my tire, leaving it completely flat. When he realized that he had flattened my tire completely he politely told me that the machine was not working and therefore he could not refill the tire with air for me. He then left me on the side of the road with a completely flat tire. At this point I started to get animated, I yelled that he had to get the machine working and fix my tire NOW! Of course, a white woman, flailing her arms yelling in Creole quickly gathers a small crowd. Some of the other shop owners came over to defend the boy, saying that he didn't know the machine wasn't working and that I shouldn't be concerned because the owner of the shop had left earlier to buy a peice to fix the machine and would be back shortly. They mentioned that perhaps I should just replace the flat tire with my spare tire. I gave them a dirty look and explained that would require me to take ALL the food out of the back of my car in order to get to my spare. They all nodded their heads and agreed that it would be better for me to wait for the owner instead. After I finished ranting and raving about how unacceptable this was, I decided to try and relax and enjoy the moment of quiet, think of it as a short break from the usual business of the school. I sat down on a cement brick and proceeded to get to know another 'shop' owner who was trying to calm me down. He was an artist, he showed me some of his work and told me about his business. We enjoyed a moment of friendly convernsation and shortly after the shop owner returned. He fixed the machine, filled my tire and I was on my way once again. (he still charged me for the air, after all that!)
All in a day....here in Haiti!

TOMAS

2010-11-05T12:04:00.000-04:00

We've been laying low the last few days, waiting for Tomas to hit us here in Haiti. Late Wednesday afternoon one of the teachers mentioned that he heard on the radio that schools should close for Thursday and Friday. Of couse all the students and the rest of the staff had already gone home for the day, so it would be difficult for us to inform them all about this change of plans. When I got home I called my co-director and we discussed the pros and cons and another friend called to say that the government was now strongly recommending that all schools remain closed for the next two days. So we got on the phone and started calling all the staff to inform them. The gatekeeper agreed to go to school early to inform students and their parents when they arrived that they needed to return back home. I went down to the school as well to help out. When we arrived there were no students and the gatekeeper said that most students didn't bother coming because they had already heard that schools were closed. We spent the morning, cleaning up loose pieces of tin that could easily be snagged by the wind. Several staff members worked on the big tent that was set up in the back yard, making sure it was tightly secured. The government then announced that all businesses should close at noon. We went home and took it easy for the rest of the day. It rained on and off the remainder of the day with some strong winds coming through from time to time.

Today (Friday) it has been raining gently all morning with the occasional wind but nothin severe. We've recieved word that areas in the south were hit bad and low areas surrounding PAP have experienced flooding. It appears that we may be alright for the most part here, but time will tell.

I'm staying home again today and taking it easy. The internet is actually working so maybe I'll get caught up on some work and write some e-mails. It feels like a snow day, it's even actually a bit cold (26 degrees), I'm swearing my warmest clothes and huddled under a blanket!

Mountains beyond Mountains

2010-11-02T08:16:00.001-04:00

Mountains beyond Mountains

Cadeau trying to "help" Jenny up the moutain:)

How GREAT is our God!!

Almost at the top....

Monday and Tuesday of this week are holidays here in Haiti, and although I had a mountain (pun intended) of work waiting for me, I decided I needed to get out of PAP for at least a day and enjoy some nature. I convinced Jenny and Cadeau to accompany me on a hike in the mountains. We packed a picnic lunch and started off with no real plan in mind. We drove for a while and then parked the car and started hiking. It was wonderful. The cool breeze, the warm sun, the flowers, the view, the fresh air, the silence, the smell of pine trees mingled with smoke from a wood stove... a little slice of heaven right here in Haiti. Jenny and I stopped and smelled every flower and admired every view. Cadeau was slightly less enthusiastic and more focussed on getting to the top:) It was a lovely day and I'm glad I didn't spend it sitting in my office

Cholera...

2010-10-25T20:54:00.000-04:00

Well, we're trying to stay calm about the cholera epidemic around here. I've read a lot of literature about the disease and passed along information to our staff and students, about prevention and treatment. The difficulty is that so many people can't afford to buy soap and bleach and treated drinking water, which is why it is spreading so quickly. I don't worry about myself, first of all I am able to take precautions and secondly, if I do get sick I have access to medical care and rehydration solutions. What I do worry about is one of our students or one of their family members getting sick.
Please pray for those in the medical fields, that they will be able to treat those who are sick, and that needed supplies will get into the hands of those who need them. We'll try our best to stay upbeat and work in our school community to educate and provide for their needs.

First Day of School

2010-10-21T21:56:00.000-04:00

Morning program

Breakfast time!

Molina and Manman Manise distributing breakfast

Getting new books

Here's a few pictures to keep my readers happy.
Also I special thank you to all our sponsors. We really truly couldn't do all that we do without you!

And we're back!!

2010-10-20T21:12:00.002-04:00

Due to a maintenance issue on Blogspot I'm not able to upload any pictures tonight but I'll try again tomorrow.

But the good news, is that we've finished our first three days of the 2010-2011 school year! So far it's been a success. The building we found to rent is a huge blessing, we do not yet have electricity, running water, or keys to the doors but we're thriving nonetheless. We hired two new teachers this year and they are fitting in well with our team. Randy and his many assistants are still working hard on getting the building set up and functioning. Benches are being built, dividers made and invertors and batteries hooked up.
There is a slight change in my job this year. I will be working alongside Alix, one of the teachers, this year as he learns the role of School Director in order to take on this role by himself next year. It's been wonderful collaborating with him and working together as a team. As the year progresses, I will step back more and more as he steps forward and takes on more responsibilty. Alix is a great fit for this job and has already taken a leadership role in many areas.
As for our Adoration team, we will be seperated for a time. Randy and Karen are expecting another child and have decided to return to Canada for his/her birth. Karen has already returned with Maia and Randy will be leaving next week. Therefore I'm flying solo again for a bit.... please pray that all goes well in their absence as it is quite overwhelming keeping everything running on my own and there is potential for unrest in the near future due to the upcoming election.

Back in Business (almost)

2010-10-14T22:00:00.000-04:00

We have some good news to share! We have a school building. It is actually an office building, but for the next two years it will be converted into a school, clinic, church and community centre. The teachers and students are relieved that we will be opening our doors soon and I couldn't be happier. The teachers, Randy, Karen and myself have been busy all week organizing books, setting up classrooms and making plans. The classrooms won't be painted and we don't have electricity but we have tables, benches, blackboards (once the paint dries), a few books, some GREAT teachers and some really enthusiastic students, so we're all set!

Our first staff meeting of the year

One of the classrooms almost ready for the first day of School

The front of the building, lots of space for morning program and recess time!

The back of the building, Grades 4 -6 are downstairs

Happy Thanksgiving!

2010-10-11T16:26:00.001-04:00

Unbeknown by most Americans, we Canadians celebrate Thanksgiving the first weekend in October, and this year my first item of thanks is that I am in Canada celebrating with my family, breathing in the sweet crisp air and watching the trees change to red, orange and yellow.

The reason I'm back in the great north is not actually to celebrate Thanksgiving but to witness my baby sister get married. It was a beautiful location, gorgeous weather and a wonderful time of celebration. Welcome to the family Andre!!

As per tradition, this weekend I reflect on all the blessing in my life. This year I realized that what I am most thankful for is the adversity and hardship of this past year. It has been a difficult year for our organization; the earthquake, being evacuated, losing loved ones, starting over, losing our temporary location... I also had some really low times personally. However, God has used these hard times and turned them into blessings. When we re-opened the school after the earthquake, I saw that our staff was more dedicated and we were a stronger team, working together, encouraging each other and united in purpose. Every morning after devotions we had a time of sharing, laughter and simply enjoying each others company. I was not personally in Haiti in July when we were refused entry into our temporary location, but the teachers told me about the experience. What stood out for me, was the respect and admiration our staff expressed towards our organization's response to the situation. We never pray for adversity or hardship in our lives, in fact we usually pray for the opposite. We pray for good health, safety, and success and I'm not saying we shouldn't pray for these things. But this thanksgiving, it really struck me that we often grow the most and reap the most rewards from the difficult times in our lives; when we and our faith are tested and we have a chance to see first hand ,God working things out for His good.

Inscription

2010-10-05T22:33:00.001-04:00

Visiting a one room house with thirteen children

This woman lost her leg in the earthquake and yet agreed to take care of a child who is not her own

For the first time ever I was involved in the process of “inscription”. In Canada I guess we’d call it “registration” but here it's just not that simple. Every year we have a few spaces for new students to attend our school program. Because our school is free, and many parents are not able to pay the monthly school fees due to financial restrictions, you can imagine how difficult a task it is to choose new students for our school. Every year, the process changes and every year it is just as difficult to say “no” to the many families we must turn away. This year we formed a committee (sounds impressive but really I was just hoping to share the work with othersJ ) Each person had to visit ten homes and several days later we reconvened to make some difficult decisions. I took along some of our visitors on my visits so they would be able to see a typical home/tent/tarp that our families live in. I don’t visit students’ homes all that often and so this is interesting for me as well. It’s also very hard, emotional and amazing. It’s hard to see the dire situations that so many people in Haiti are living in (pre and post earthquake). It’s emotional to see mothers and fathers with so little proudly showing you their home and inviting you to sit and chat. It’s amazing that families with so little have agreed to take in children of friends and/or family and agree to care for them although they have no little of their own. It is a truly humbling experience. Today I met with the rest of the committee. We managed to whittle one list of 21 down to 6! But of course, now we have the task of calling parents and telling them that their child/children did not find a place in our school. We would love to help every family in Haiti, but we have to recognize and respect our limits.

Some pics

2010-09-29T20:12:00.000-04:00

Taking it all back down....

Met Evans hard at work!

Me and Baby Carl (he says hello to Al, Ruth and Keith)

Prayer meeting with staff and several students

We're thankful to have a few visitors here right now (Nicole and Steve)

Long overdue...

2010-09-27T21:28:00.000-04:00

Sorry for the silence... our situation changes daily and I didn't want to broadcast any news only to have it change the very next day. What I can tell you is that last week we retrieved all our textbooks from the previous property which made me very happy as I and the teachers could start to prepare for the upcoming year. As of Friday we received permission to remove our stuff from the temporary property, in fact work started today. Of course it is bitter sweet, we are happy to be able to remove our stuff finally, but it's sad to see all the hard work of our staff, students and many Canadian volunteers be taken down so shortly after it was put up. The whole situation is difficult and has caused us much grieve. We continue to pray for the situation; that hearts would be softened, and broken relationships mended.
But, moving forward... what's our next step? Well we have found two potential places to relocate. Both have pros and cons and today we explained the possibilities to the teachers to receive their input. In the interest of time, we need to make a decision soon. School is officially supposed to start on October 4th, we realize that we won't be opening on this day but hope to lose as little time as possible. We are going forward with plans, buying textbooks, meeting with staff, registering new students and visiting students' homes.
On a more personal note, I had a scary experience on Friday afternoon. I was driving to my colleague's house when out of nowhere a crazy wind started whipping dust around on the street. Next some heavy rain started to fall. I really thought nothing of it, but as I neared my house and the rain came harder and the wind picked up, I decided to stop by my house quickly to close the windows. As I was standing on my front porch I saw my neighbour's large water container fly off their roof into my yard. My patio furniture was blown up against the wall of my house. Once inside I could barely close the front door behind me. I struggled to close all the windows, but one section of my house doesn't close, it is only iron bars so the wind continued to whip through the house. Things were falling off the wall and being blown around, it brought back a lot of memories from the earthquake and even once I was out of the house it took a long time for my heart to start beating normally once again! Many trees fell during the storm and many tents were destroyed... it's so difficult for those in Haiti. They deal with one disaster after another!
Not much else to report at this point. Our team is doing well for the most part and staying positive through it all. The Lord is great and greatly to be praised. We praise Him for all that He is doing and we are honoured to carry out His work here in Haiti.

Working Out

2010-09-15T15:30:00.000-04:00

Sorry no more news about our current situation. Keep praying... and I'll let you know as soon as I know anything!
In other news... I taken a keen interest in working out these days. Before the earthquake I had joined a gym in the neighbourhood, however I was mostly interested in the large track they had behind the building. It was wonderful to be able to walk to my heart's content, not having to worry about chickens, goats, large stinky puddles of water, large vehicles whizzing past and people trying to get my attention. After the earthquake the track become a "displaced persons camp" and it was no longer pleasant to walk on it. This year I decided I was going to join the gym again and try the weight lifting thing. That lasted about two days, it's just so boring, even with my i pod. So now I'm trying out the aerobic classes. At first I was really intimidated because the classes take place in the center of the room and many of the men working out like to take breaks from working out to check out the aerobics class (the class is mostly made up of women:) After the first class I quickly lost my nervousness, I was so busy sweating away and trying to keep up with the rest of the class that I didn't have time to notice who was watching. Due to the heat here, halfway through the day most people start to feel tired and lethargic and I'm no exception. I do, however, find that working out at the end of the day gives me an extra energy boost and I feel much more energetic the next day. I'm hoping I'll keep up the routine for the rest of the year, only time will tell.

Encouragement

2010-09-13T07:48:00.000-04:00

Unfortunately, there's no news yet on the school building situation. We still don't have our stuff, and we still don't have a new building. We remain in good spirits all things considered...
Due to lack of an office I've been taking it on the road:) On Thursday I drove around and met up with the teachers in various places. I visited several homes and met teachers on the side of the road! Later, several of the teachers came to my house to discuss several ideas for next year and begin making plans. As always, the teachers are a huge source of encouragement to me. Although they are upset about the situation that we are in, they keep reminding me that the Lord will provide for all our needs. We prayed together and looked to One who is the source of all hope. We continue to move forward, and hope to open the school in October as originally planned. We're doing what we can for now and leaving the rest in the Lord's hands. Thank you for your prayers! We feel surrounded by support both here and overseas.

Situation

2010-09-08T13:52:00.000-04:00

As per my previous post, we are in sort of a difficult situation these days. We are not yet able to access the previous property which is frustrating on several levels. First of all I don't have an office (once again!) and although I'm thankful that Randy and Karen have provided me with a corner of their living room for the time being, it's just not the same as having my own space to work in. Thankfully, the most important school materials were removed from the property immediately (student files etc.) and a lot of my work is stored on my computer so I have enough to work on but there there are still a lot of materials I'd love to be able to access. Hopefully sometime this week we will be allowed back on the property to retrieve our stuff. We are making the best of the situation and working away on what we can in the mean time. The teachers are eager to help in any way so once I get myself organized I will get in touch with them and put them to work. As well, we have started to register the school and organization here in Haiti which we have wanted to do for a long time and now we have a chance to work on this.
Despite the difficulties, it's still good to be back. I'm loving the heat and it was great to see all the teachers and staff so shortly after I arrived back and pray with them. Please pray for much wisdom and patience at this time.

Request for Prayer

2010-09-07T10:59:00.006-04:00

A Request for Prayer

Dear Friends of Adoration Christian Centre:

Due to a situation that is outside of our control, it appears that Adoration is going to have to find a different location for the upcoming school year which begins in October.

The temporary site that we were using was owned by Pastor Charles of the Presbyterian Missino to Haiti. Because of a falling out with the church, Pastor Charles has withdrawn his permission to use the property. At this point Randy is hopeful that all the buildings and materials will be recovered. The news of this development is a great disappointment, as many relationships have been severed, and for those who worked so hard to erect the offices, residences, classrooms, playground, bathrooms, kitchen and the tent.

However, the teachers and staff have been a source of encouragement for Randy and Karen and Kim! They are confident in the Lord's goodness, and that even in this, the LORD has a plan. He has always come through for us, and He will again.

We ask for your prayers in resolving this situation, either through a change of heart for Pastor Charles, or that God may lead us to another property where everything can be re-installed. We stand with the decision the Prsbyterian Mission to Haiti board had to make regarding Pastor Charles Amicy, and with the decision of the overseeing Presbytery of the PCA. To read their statement on the situation please visit their website at www.presbyterianmissioninhaiti.org. We continue to work with Pastor Ben Hopp, OPC missionary, and Pastor Octavius Delfis, PCA Pastor. The work of the church will continue, as we prayerfully and humbly move forward. Sometimes it seems like life in Haiti is one crisis after another, and it is true, the Devil is hard at work! On the other hand, our work has been so greatly blessed, and many people have been able to witness the love and power of our God, that we stand in awe of His works.

As much as possible we will try to keep our supports up to date on the developments. Thank you for your continued concern, support and prayer.

Yours in Christ,
CDIA Board and Adoration Team

Back in Haiti

2010-09-02T13:28:00.000-04:00

It's good to be back. I flew into PAP, Haiti on Tuesday afternoon and except for arriving without my suitcases the flight went smoothly. Yesterday, Randy, Karen and myself sat down and they filled me in on all the happenings while I was away, we also started to plan the month of September. This morning we had the opportunity to meet with the teachers and pray for the upcoming school year. We have been blessed with such an amazing staff, we are so thankful for all the gifts and talents they bring to our organization. The previous week was the final week of school for this school year and the teachers have officially started their vacation time!! I'll be keeping busy during September getting ready for next year, getting new uniforms, buying new textbooks, hiring new teachers making schedules and all the other fun stuff that needs to be done before school opens for another year. Sorry no pictures quite yet... when something exciting happens I'll be sure to post pictures.

Teacher Workshops Part II

2010-07-27T15:27:00.001-04:00

I'm sitting in the Ft. Lauderdale airport, very thankful for the free internet they provide. The eight hour stop-over may not be so bad after all!
I want to go back in time just slightly, back to the week of Teacher workshops, I really didn't do the week justice with the short entry I made. The week was amazing, everyone involved was challenged and enjoyed a wonderful time of fellowship. The Haitian Teachers eagerly anticipated the arrival of the Canadian teachers, as they had already had the privilege of working together the summer before. Despite a much changed Port-au-Prince, the Canadian teachers were quickly put at ease as they saw familiar faces and smiles and received familiar hugs. Friendships begun 12 months ago were deepened and many more memories were accumulated. Ruth, Al and Keith (the Canadian teachers) came with some great resources and some even greater ideas to share with the teachers. Al challenged the teachers to make Math fun and shared a variety of ways to do so. The last day of the workshops he encouraged them to demonstrate what they had learned and the result was encouraging to us all. Ruth, came with boxes of fun art treats and the teachers showed off their creative sides with paintings, shapes made with clay and beautiful decorations for their classrooms. Keith made us sweat, literally. He had us running, jumping, and having a lot of fun. It was really neat to see the teachers getting involved in the games and showing their oh so competitive sides. My favourite moment from the entire week was when the teachers finally understood how to play kickball (aka soccer baseball) and the team in outfield stopped trying to get a homerun:)
The last day was filled with laughter, a goodbye solo, tearful thank you speeches and lots of words of blessing and love. It truly is amazing that after only two short weeks together a very strong bond was established between the teachers.
Friday we were quite the subdued group as we reminised about the good times we had and we looked at all the pictures that were taken over the week.
The few short days after the team left were a whirlwind of activity as I tried to tie up loose ends before heading out myself. And now... I'm really looking forward to a rest, and time with family and friends.

More Teacher Workshop Pictures

2010-07-24T17:31:00.000-04:00

Teacher Workshops

2010-07-21T16:24:00.001-04:00

As always, when there is a lot to write about, there is no time to write!

The Canadian Teachers arrived Friday and we spent a nice weekend together. Saturday we drove out to the metal smith village to check out the iron-work and then up to Petionville to buy a few souvenirs. Sunday we worshipped at First Presbyterian Church and drove around downtown. Having been to Haiti before the earthquake, they are able to discern the difference between pre- and post-quake sights. Despite a heavy rainfall all afternoon, there was a group of guys who were very eager to play some basketball with the teachers and therefore played for two hours in the rain. It was a bit more like water polo than basketball but they had fun.

The workshops are going very well. The teachers came with more ideas than could possibly fit into four days so they are whittling down their ideas and cramming as much as possible into each lesson. The teachers have learned a lot about math manipulatives , played a lot of great fitness games and even got a chance to work with clay. The time has flown by so far and it’s hard to believe there is only one day left!

Games Day

2010-07-16T18:48:00.000-04:00

Games day was a hit! Despite a last minute change... thirty minutes before we started the ministry of health stopped by to give all the students free vaccinations. I begged for them to come back another day but this was apparently the last possible day. So we put the games on hold for a bit, but still manged to have enough time for all the groups to visit each game station. The kids had a blast and so did the teachers!
Monday we start the teacher seminars so the students also get a week vacation, not a bad deal for them!

No News = Good News

2010-07-14T17:42:00.000-04:00

Has it really been 10 whole days since I last blogged? tsk, tsk, tsk what a bad blogger I have been. If you are at all interested in my excuses they are lame... no internet at my house still (time to switch companies right?), being super busy these days (I'm all by myself) and a general lack of interesting things to share.
I have been "manning the fort" for the last few weeks by myself. Randy and Karen and Maia are enjoying a well deserved break in Canada and therefore I'm flying solo. So far so good, but then the time's not up yet so I shouldn't get too cocky, and to be completely fair, I'm not totally on my own, I've got a great staff helping me out.
Tomorrow afternoon we also have a team flying in so I've been busy getting ready for them. They are three repeat visitors, teachers who will be facilitating teacher seminars with the teachers here. It's somewhat rare to get repeat visitors so the teachers are excited to see "old" friends as opposed to getting to know new ones.
Friday the visitors are in for a big trip, we are having a "Games day" at school. They have no idea what a day of somewhat organized chaos awaits them!
I am also getting ready to leave soon. July 27th I fly back to Canada for some rest and relaxation, a wedding, some doctor visits and hopefully lots of time with family and friends. I may even squeeze in some shopping...
So that's the news around here. School is going well, the students don't seem all that upset about going to school during the summer months, and although it's been HOT the heat broke slightly yesterday with a very brief rain shower. I'll upload some pictures of Games Day and the teacher seminars soon I promise!

Caught between two worlds

2010-07-04T18:11:00.000-04:00

When I tell people from North America that I live in Haiti I usually receive one of two reactions: 1) Wow that's so amazing, what's it like? or 2) Wow that must be so difficult? How do you like it?
To be honest it's a bit of both, amazing and difficult. But what's even more true is that living between two worlds is also amazing and difficult. When I'm in Haiti, I often wish I was in Canada. I miss my family and friends, I crave certain foods that are not available here, I dream about having the freedom to walk outside by myself the list goes on and on. When I'm in Canada I miss the warm temperatures of Haiti, I miss my friends here, I miss the chaos and energy of life in PAP, I miss rice and beans, and fried plantain (I really, really do!), but mostly I miss being able to buy a cold drink from my car window without ever having to leave my car!
Its truly amazing to be able to be apart of two very different, very wonderful cultures. I get the best of two worlds. I find the best part of traveling is the anticipation leading up to the trip. Right now, for example, I'm counting down the 3 1/2 weeks until I leave for Canada. I daydream about all the great things I will be able to do when I'm 'home'. I get excited about seeing my family and friends. What would normally be mundane and boring in Canada is fresh and exciting again because it's been so long since I did it. Then at the end of my time in Canada I start to look forward to coming back to Haiti, seeing friends and settling into my routine here once again. So you see, it's not so bad, you don't need to feel sorry for me, in fact you should really be jealous of me! Of course not everyone can live between two cultures, and not everyone would even enjoy it, but for me, for right now, it's a good fit.

World Cup

2010-06-30T17:30:00.000-04:00

Sorry for the silence, my internet is still not working and I`ve fallen out of the routine of updated every couple of days. I`ll try to get back into the routine, since I`ve had a few complaints!!
Along with most of the world, Haiti has gone crazy for football (AKA soccer) and the world cup. Now I`m not much of a sports fan but even I have joined in the hype. Football fans in Haiti are divided over two teams, Brazil and Argentine. Stats vary from person to person, but Brazil has considerably more fans than Argentine. (maybe 70 - 30) When either team is playing, the streets are eerily empty, so we`ve begun to plan our trips for during these times, it cuts your travelling time in half, if not more!! The first time I drove on the streets during one of these games I became alarmed by a large group of people crowded together on the `sidewalk`, upon closer inspection I realized there was nothing to be concerned about, they were all crowded around one TV trying to watch the game.
In the spirit of the world cup, I`ve decided to become a diehard Argentine fan. I put a lot of thought into this decision, I didn`t want to cheer for Brazil because it was just too popular and I didn`t want to follow the crowd, on the other hand I didn`t want to cheer for a team that no one else was cheering for. (boring) That being said, my idea of being a die-hard fan may be different than most people`s; I have an Argentine jersey which I wear every time they play, I bought a flag to hang on the outside of the office and I`ve watched one entire game. For someone who NEVER follows sports this is a big deal. The teachers find my enthusiasm quite amusing, since I rarely know the score of the games, they say that I`m faking my love for Argentine. One of my friends gave me a keychain with an Argentine flag on it. The other day I was in a hardware store and I had the keychain in my hand, the guy working behind the counter became quite excited to find a fellow fan (remember we are the minority) and wanted to sit and discuss the teams prospects. I smiled and nodded for a while but I really just wanted to purchase what I came for. After assuring him several times that I too think they will be the champions he let me go. Now when I go into hardware stores I hid my keychain! When either Brazil or Argentine wins there is usually a celebratory parade in the streets. If Brazil and Argentine play each other I think I`ll make myself scarce when the game is finished, either way they`ll be some pretty unhappy people around here.

Memorial Service

2010-06-22T18:05:00.000-04:00

Yesterday morning was a pretty special one for me. Every since the school re-opened we've wanted to have a memorial service to commemorate those we as a school community lost in the earthquake. But up until now we haven't had a place to have the ceremony, the classrooms are too small and the yard is just too sunny! As much as I love the sun, even I can't sit in the sunny yard for more than a few minutes at a time without feeling quite uncomfortable. So this past weekend, a large tent was set up on the temporary property. A group of men worked VERY hard Friday and Saturday to put it up and cover the ground with gravel.

On Monday morning we were able to have the memorial service. It was a time of grieving, healing, and a time to reflect on all that God has done for us. Randy spoke about Job and how he was able to say "God gives and God takes away". A lot of tears were shed but it was a beautiful time of remembering those who we loved, celebrating their lives here on earth and rejoicing that they are now in heaven with their heavenly Father. We were also very thankful to have Jim and John here, they are the two board members who were here at the time of the earthquake.

Samuel, Guerdson, and Mackson we miss you.

An update finally....

2010-06-17T19:08:00.000-04:00

No internet or electricity has really cramped my blogging style. I have new batteries at my house and I have to admit that I got a bit cocky... I was running the fridge off them and loving having a cold drink at the end of the day, until I realized I wasn't getting any electricity, so I put a quick stop to that and turned everything off! back to fans only and only when we're sleeping, but alas it wasn't enough. The batteries lost all their power and we went a few sleepless nights without any fans. Fans are interesting really, they simply blow the same hot air that is all around you but somehow it manages to cool you off considerably, so much in fact that I REALLY noticed the difference when I didn't have one.
So things are really falling into a routine once again, no exciting teams coming to visit and giving me lots to write about. The school property is almost complete, the toilets are almost ready to use and hopefully sometime this week we will set up a large tent to house the waiting room for the medical clinic, the church and any other large events we hope to hold.
We have visitors this week, the same two board members that were here during the earthquake. They were evacuated with us and now they are back to see Haiti post-quake and see all the exciting events at Adoration.

New pictures!

2010-06-10T17:44:00.000-04:00

The new toilets are almost done! No more port- o-potties.Lunch: rice with our new vegetable sauce courtesy of Ontario Christian Gleaners.

The new playing field. The offices are at the end and the classrooms are on the right.

The First week

2010-06-06T22:09:00.000-04:00

The first week of school is complete! It went quite well all things considered, most of the students showed up and the teachers put them right to work. The students apear happy to be back in school and they are already up to their usual trouble making. The floors of the classrooms are covered in small rocks which keeps them nice and dry but it also provides the students with a lot of ammunition to throw at each other! The toilets are half built and the land is mostly leveled. We are glad to be "back in business".
I have a temporary roommate right now and my social life has improved greatly. She is working with CRWM (Christian Reformed World Missions) and their staff has invited us to several dinners and today we were even invited to go swimming. I might try to convince her to stay longer than her planned month.
The internet is barely working these days which is SUPER frustrating. I can't upload pictures unless I visit someone with better internet. I'm feeling quite uninspired to write right now but I can't miss out on the opportunity to use the internet. It's been a good weekend and now it's time to have a good nights sleep and prepare for another busy week.

First Day of School!

2010-06-02T17:47:00.000-04:00

I have three very valid reasons for not posting earlier this week. 1. My internet is not working for longer than five minutes at a time and therefore won't upload pictures. 2. I've been very busy with the re-opening of the school. 3. I've been feeling quite under the weather and when I get home I go straight to bed.
Now that I'm done defending myself, let me tell you about the first day of school! It went off with only a few small hitches. The students are very eager to be back at school and arrived on time. Most arrived with their uniforms and much excitement. The classrooms work beautifully and the yard is a great size for the kids.

Here are the students and their parents waiting outside for the gate to open and let them in.

A Day of Firsts

2010-05-28T18:23:00.000-04:00

Today we used the new kitchen for the first time! We also ate a delicious vegetable sauce courtesy of Ontario Christian Gleaners for the first time! We had running water for the first time. And last, but not least, a backhoe arrived on the property for the first time!
Today's weather was very unusual for Haiti, it rained almost all day long. The teachers and myself weren't too concerned as we had a lot of work to do indoors. Yesterday, we purchased a lot of books to replace the books lost in the school or in family's homes and they all needed to be taped and plastified (to help them last longer). So we worked on the books and set up the classrooms for Monday morning. The men hired to work on the property continued to work on leveling the land by hand, despite the falling rain. By mid-afternoon we had given up any hope of the backhoe showing up and the rain wasn't letting up, so we started to pack up and decided it was time to head home. Then, out of the blue the backhoe showed up!! I've never been so happy to see a vehicle in my life. This guy didn't mess around and got right to work. We all watched and cheered him on as he quickly started leveling the land! What a blessing! What an answer to prayer. Now the land will be leveled and the gravel put down and there won't be mud EVERYWHERE when 120 kids arrive on Monday morning. YEAH!!!

One of the classrooms, ready for students.

The water tower (and Samuel).

The backhoe busy at work.

Several of many supervisors.

Last, but not least, the new office! I love it. A HUGE thank you to the many team members who helped make this a reality! We really appreciate all that you've done. And another HUGE thank you to all those of you who donated money to enable us to pay for everything!

Almost Done

2010-05-24T18:47:00.000-04:00

Finally some "almost done" pictures of the site. If only the backhoe would arrive, then we'd really have something to show!!
We will officially be starting school on May 31st! Only one week behind our original plan (not too bad:) If the toilets are not functioning by then we'll have to rent a port-o-potty. Right now I run to the hardware store around the corner almost once a day to buy something and use their washroom! We always seem to need another paint brush or tape about half way through the day:) However, once school starts, I think it will be a bit obvious if I try to sneak into "Ecko Depot" with 120 children in tow!
The Haitian government has announced that all schools must run through the summer and take September off for vacation. We want to honour the government's wishes so we will be doing the same. It will be HOT during July and August, but our hope is that the majority of the students will be able to complete their current grade and move on in October when we re-open again.

I spoke too soon!

2010-05-24T18:23:00.000-04:00

Friday was day three of no electricity and I knew that my batteries would never survive. My roomate is out of the country right now and the idea of going home to an empty house with no lights was a bit scary to me, so Randy and Karen invited me to stay over at their place. No sooner had I settled into their couch to watch a movie and the electricity came back on. I figured I'd still stay the night seeing as you never know how long it will last. Strangely, we've had electricity ever since, all day Saturday, and now it's Sunday afternoon and we still have it. This NEVER happens in Haiti, and most definitely NEVER in my neighbourhood. I really hope this doesn't mean we won't get it again for 2 weeks! (I'm such a pessimist)
On another more serious note, security is starting to become a problem these days. There are a variety of reasons for this, first of all, there is A LOT of money flowing into Haiti these days. There are more NGO (Non-government organizations) than you could ever imagine driving around the city with their brand new SUV's and they are spending a lot of money. The temptation is just too much for some and kidnapping has starting once again, not as bad as when I was here before (2005-2006) , but it is something to be concerned about. Secondly, there is supposed to be an election in November of 2010 which is fast approaching, however, President Preval has announced that he would like to stay in power for a bit longer (into 2011) until things are a bit more stable. After the earthquake, Preval wasn't as visible or supportive of his people as he could have been and he is therefore not very popular right now. There have been manifestations (riots) throughout the city for a few weeks now and some have become violent and innocent bystanders are sometimes robbed or hurt. As well, during the earthquake many prisoners escaped from prison and are back on the streets once again. Lastly, people are still living in tents, the promises of aid are not coming as fast as they would like and some are getting angry. Needless to say, we are being extra cautious. Normally I don't like to write about these sorts of things on my blog, I know that I have lots of loved ones back home who worry about me a lot and when things get worse here, they worry even more. The reason I'm writing about it is to ask for prayer. I know without a shadow of doubt that I am in the arms of the Lord and I don't worry about myself. However, right now, Haiti needs security, they need investors to come and invest in Haiti to create jobs and change the economic situation here. If this unrest continues investors will move on to other countries and things will get worse here instead of better. Right now, Haitians need NGO's to help them get back on their feet, but in the long run, Haitians need jobs and that requires business people coming here and starting factories etc. Please pray for security to return to Haiti.

No EDH!!

2010-05-21T13:17:00.000-04:00

When you begin to take something for granted, it is often taken away from you so you can appreciate it more:) For many months now we've been receiving electricity every night for approximately 6 hours. This is enough time to charge our batteries and keep our fans going through the night. The batteries at my place are nearing the end of their life, so we've been rationing their power for a while now, but the last two nights we haven't received any electricity and even rationing isn't working any more. Only fans are permitted at this time and tonight it'll be a miracle if even they work! Some people have generators which they can use to charge their batteries, but we don't have one at my house so that's not an option. When I drove by Randy and Karen's this afternoon I heard a generator running and discovered that they had borrowed a generator for a few days, and therefore have power right now which is how I am able to write this post. Ah the joys of Haiti.
One another note, the Ontario team left today and we will miss them. They were a great team, enthusiastic throughout, even with the heat. They were able to accomplish A LOT! Unfortunately I didn't take any pictures today because I thought there was no electricity, therefore no computers or internet. Next week I'll try to update some pictures. A lot of painting has been completed and it's starting to look GOOD! I've met with the teachers each day this week, which has been good. Unfortunately we had to push back the opening day of school until May 31st, so next week will also be full of meetings and preparations, without the joy of actually seeing the student's faces. All in God's timing, I know! This will likely be my only post this weekend, so until Monday!

Sweating the little stuff, literally!

2010-05-19T17:29:00.000-04:00

Dave and his assistant(s) are busy making new tables and benches.Samuel and I are sweating it out, painting inside the offices and bedrooms. My new desk in my new office! The water tower is nearing completion. (It's upside down don't worry.)Martin is busy trying to fix the generator so he can keep welding the water tower. The generator kept overheating, I can't imagine why:)

Dave is smoothing out the cement floor of the medical clinic.

The backhoe never showed up, which is a disappointment and a blessing at the same time. The disappointment is that the property was never leveled and we don't have washrooms, therefore, we won't be able to open school the day we had hoped. The blessing is that the team has done a lot of little jobs that would probably never get finished due to lack of time i.e. the tool room is organized and ready to use, benches and tables have been built, office desks and bookshelves have been built and A LOT of painting has been done. I can't believe how much painting, we have done. Several students from Adoration have come everyday to help paint. To be completely honest, they come in hopes of being able to "play" with a drill or some other tool that makes noise, but they usually end up with the job of painting and despite getting paint all over themselves (literally) they seem to enjoy it and work pretty hard. It has been HOT lately without much of a breeze, which causes us to sweat like crazy. It's been one of those weeks when you don't mind at all that you don't have a hot water tank:)

Weekend etc.

2010-05-17T17:48:00.000-04:00

On the weekend the team took a short break on Saturday afternoon to visit Forth Jacques and the Baptist Haiti Mission. We had a nice lunch and then explored the fort. It was sad once again to see how much it was damaged in the quake.Sunday morning we had a great time of fellowship at First Presbyterian Church. The team appreciated the fact that the sermon was translated into English for them. After lunch they decided to play some basketball, Haitians vs. Canadians. Despite my repeated offers to play for either time, I was assigned the job of cheerleading with Maia. We had fun cheering on the Canadians, but despite all our efforts they only won one of the three games.

Things at the new property are not going exactly as planned. (oh Haiti....) The backhoe that is needed to level the property as well as dig out the septic tank, has yet to arrive. This puts things at sort of a stand still as far as the big projects go, so everyone is busy making tables, benches and putting the finishing touches on the offices/kitchen/bedrooms and of course painting.... there's so much painting to be done. The teachers came into today and I got them started on a variety of jobs. They are always happy to see each other and helped out a lot today.

Team #3!

2010-05-15T11:43:00.002-04:00

If you don't think of blogging as competitive, you've never worked with Randy and Karen! When it comes to blogging, we never like to be too far behind each other. Yesterday morning I attempted to write an entry but the internet was not co-operating, so I went down to the property to do some painting, last night I checked Randy and Karen's blog and they had two new entries! This morning I checked again and they had another one! Now I'm three entries behind, I thought about doing three small entries this morning just to keep the number even, but decided instead to just have one great big one:) So here goes:
We have a new team here right now from Ontario. Martin, Rick, Howard, Harry, Dave and Dave. They are a pretty energetic bunch and are eager to knock a few items off Randy's to-do list. They have only been working two days and along with their Haitian co-workers they have accomplished A LOT.

My new office is starting to look pretty good.This is a pre-fab home that we will be using for the medical clinic. Dr. Ed is eager to start up his clinic again, and we are thrilled that he'll be returning to work with us.This is the future kitchen, there is an overhang to keep the sun out and a nice new stove. Manman Manise and Molina will enjoy this new location.Here is a picture of the yard. On the far left is the medical clinic, the white building in the middle are the offices and on the far right are the classrooms.

Karen had an opportunity to meet with some of the sponsored secondary students this week. Their schools have been functioning for a little while already, so we wanted to meet and review our expectations for them. Many of them have been volunteering at the yard in the afternoons, which we really appreciate. As we are hoping the school will re-open in one week, they will be responsible for coming by each week to help keep the school clean.

Overwhelming blessings

2010-05-13T17:46:00.000-04:00

Teams are a blessing to our work in many ways, one of those ways is with all the wonderful donations they bring to us! When I am back in Canada people are always asking me what our needs are, I'm always hesitant to reply because it is difficult and costly to send things to Haiti and whenever possible we like to buy local and support the economy. However, we are still Dutch and have a hard time saying "no" to FREE stuff:) Therefore, when teams come they often get donated school supplies and tools that are often hard to find here and expensive to ship. The last two teams brought us a tonne of great school supplies, so much in fact I only have to buy a few things before school re-opens!! So if you gave any school donations to either the Manitoba or Ontario team, I'd like to say a HUGE Thank you to you! Your donations will be well used, I'll upload some proof once school starts. As you can see from these pictures, my assistant Maia and I have been quite busy sorting through all the supplies and getting them ready for the teachers and students to use!

Teacher Meeting

2010-05-12T17:51:00.000-04:00

I've never been so excited about a teaching meeting as I was today! Today marks the beginning of a new stage, at least for me. Next week the teachers will be working at the new school every day, preparing lesson plans, setting up their classrooms, buying textbooks and generally getting ready for the re-opening of the school. Today's meeting went well, we discussed many things and made an action plan for next week. It was also a good time of fellowship, catching up on each others' news and enjoying each others' company once again.

To get them back into the swing of things, I even gave them a homework assignment! I guess I'm still a teacher at heart:)

Before and After Pics - Go Team Manitoba/Port-au-Prince!

2010-05-07T11:12:00.001-04:00

WOWSERS!!!

2010-05-06T14:40:00.002-04:00

The Manitoba team leaves tomorrow. We'll be sad to see them go but we're very happy with the work that they were able to accomplish along with our Haitian staff and volunteers. We now have three storage sheds, a room for the kitchen, two bedrooms, classroom dividers and a small wall to keep the rain out of the classrooms. With a bit of paint, some rooms will be ready to use. Next week, we have another team arriving from Ontario and starting Monday, a team here with the OPC, is also helping out on the property. We still have a bit more work to do before school can reopen but we are well on our way, and I'm pretty excited!

Misc,

2010-05-05T12:25:00.001-04:00

Here is a picture of the Manitoba Team. They sure do clean up nice! From the left: Calvin, Nick, Anne, Rob and Frank. They are standing in front of the collapsed Presidential Palace.Sunday morning, we had a the privilege of worshiping with First Presbyterian church once again, as we now have a location to meet. It was great to reconnect with other church members and fellowship with our Haitian brothers and sisters.

Okay folks, check this picture out carefully. Yes, that really is me doing some "real"work. It was nice to be on the work site for a morning and be a part of the process if only for a short time. Now we just have to decide what colours to paint the school, any suggestions?

The fruits of my labour. These will be the future classrooms.

This is the living quarters for the property supervisors as well as the enclosed part of the kitchen.
As you can see the team is really making progress on the new property. We hope, Lord willing, to start up the school before the end of the month of May.
I thought in previous posts that I had clearly explained, the new property versus the old property but I've received some questions, so I'll briefly explain once again. The school collapsed making the previous property unsafe to use for school. We use the old location to distribute food each week but do not use the grounds or building for anything else. We wanted to start school as soon as possible after the earthquake but there were very few places for rent and buying land here is always a difficult and time consuming process. One of the pastors from our church offered to let us use the land he had purchased, for the remainder of this school year and the next. By September 2011 we need to vacate this property, which is why we are building a temporary school out of wood and tin, that can be disassembled and all the materials used over again. The new property will be used for all the same programs as before, the school, the church, the medical clinic and the youth programs. We praise the Lord for providing this property for this period of time.

Hard at Work

2010-05-03T09:48:00.002-04:00

The team has been busy putting tin up on the remainder of the classrooms, the kitchen and the living quarters.This is picture of the living quarters for the property supervisors.
The SUPERVISORS!!!

The team from Manitoba is doing great. Despite the heat and lack of shade, they've been on the roof every day, nailing up the tin. The first few days they finished the roof(s) and are now working on building storage sheds for all the tools and school supplies, as well as walls for the kitchen and living quarters.
Saturday morning they worked for a bit and then we headed up the mountain. We had a nice lunch at the Baptist Haiti Mission and then headed up to Fort Jacques. We forgot that May 1st is a holiday in Haiti, and on holidays, Fort Jacques becomes one major party. We decided not to join in the party, as it was a bit on the rowdy side, so unfortunately the team wasn't able to check out Fort Jacques.

Team Adoration!

2010-04-29T12:48:00.002-04:00

Team Adoration is back together again! Randy, Karen, Maia and Kim are all back in Haiti and enjoying the wonderful hot weather!
In addition, we have a team here from Manitoba (Winnipeg and Carmen areas). We are thankful they arrived safely this morning WITH all their luggage (always a bonus when they are bringing us tools, school supplies etc.)
Here the team is standing in front of the kitchen and the house where the property supervisors will live.

Below are the new classrooms as well as where the church will meet.

The office and the classrooms.

These pictures are the new BEFORE pictures and I'll be sure to upload more pictures as the progress unfolds.

Sales Pitch: "When Helping Hurts"

2010-04-20T12:28:00.000-04:00

Over the last few weeks and months we as an organization have decided to read a book entitled When Helping Hurts by Steve Corbett and Brian Fikkert. Our hope is that we will be able to take the ideas presented in this book and apply them to our work in Haiti.
I HIGHLY recommend this book to EVERYONE. Regardless of whether you are personally involved with missions overseas or in your own community, you will walk away from this book with a lot to think about. The book addresses how we define poverty and how we seek to alleviate it. Too often we start with the best of intentions but end up doing more harm than good. The book addresses broken relationships as a result of sin, avoiding paternalism, effective short term missions and business as mission.
It is not a long book, and it does not claim to be all-encompassing. It's an easy read, covering the basics without going into a lot of detail.
In addition to the book, the Chalmers Center has webinars that you can download for free from their website. There is a power point presentation along with audio; going over the main points of the book. There are even webinars relating specifically to Haiti and the relief effort that is taking place post earthquake. Here's the link if you're interested
http://www.chalmers.org/when-helping-hurts/webinar/schedule.php

Unexplainable...

2010-04-20T12:09:00.000-04:00

Sorry for the silence...
I know that I promised pictures of the finished work of the team, I unfortunately don't have any but if you haven't yet checked out Randy and Karen's blog, I highly recommend it as they have some more recent pictures of the site.http://randyandkarenlodder.blogspot.com/
As for the silence, sometimes life in Haiti is unexplainable so rather than trying to explain it, I choose to keep silent. When North Americans visit Haiti they usually comment on the obvious joys and difficulties of life in Haiti; large nice houses, warm weather, beaches in driving distance, beautiful mountains, overwhelming poverty, rough roads, HOT weather, unending delays the list is endless...
Although all this is true, there are many more joys and difficulties that cannot be easily explained or seen and only someone who has lived in Haiti for any length of time could ever begin to understand. The last few weeks have been difficult for me, for a variety of reasons, all of which seem trivial and insignificant when written in black and white but are real and significant to me.
Please pray for unending patience and a renewed sense of peace. More importantly pray that through my weaknesses His strength will be revealed.
"But he said to me, 'My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.' Therefore I will boast all the more gladly about my weaknesses, so that Christ's power may rest on me." II Corinthains 12:9

On a happy note, we have another team arriving soon from Manitoba. They will continue to work on the new property and we hope that the school will be able to re-open sometime in May. Myself, the teachers and the students eagerly look forward to that day!!

Long weekend

2010-04-05T13:36:00.000-04:00

I'm sorry I never published the finished work of the team yet! I've been by the site two times, but didn't remember the keys either time so I couldn't get in. I promise I will go and take pictures for the blog.
Easter weekend has come and gone. I appreciate a designated time to specifically focus on Christ's death and resurrection, although we should remember His sacrifice all year long.
It was a very relaxing weekend for me, I great time to slow down and relax. It is wonderful to have teams here, but it is also very busy. This weekend was a chance to catch up. I was able to connect with a friend from Toronto, meet another friend's children who live here in Haiti, do a little cleaning/organizing, visit with friends who just returned to Haiti, attend two English church services and even squeeze in a trip to the beach. Overall, a great weekend. As well, it's been wonderful having Karen here, I'm sad she's leaving Tuesday already! I can't wait for her and Maia to come back permanently!

Almost finished...

2010-03-31T18:57:00.000-04:00

The team has been working REALLY hard. Every day I stop by with lunch I can't wait to see what they've accomplished.

When I stopped by today, the cement floors had been laid, and the walls and windows were almost done. I look forward to stopping tomorrow to see the finished project.

The team was also able to assist with a food distribution this morning. They helped pass out the food and met many of the families who will be benefiting from the work that they are doing.

We are so thankful for the work that the team has been able to accomplish during their time here. We are thankful they had good health and good spirits throughout. We will definitely miss them when they leave tomorrow!

We are also very thankful for the safe arrival of Karen Lodder. She arrived yesterday and will be here for one week. Lord willing, she and Maia will return to Haiti permanently at the end of April.

We praise the Lord for His many blessings and ask that you continue to pray for us as we move forward in our work here.

Serious Progress!!

2010-03-29T16:21:00.003-04:00

Often in Haiti, things do not go exactly as planned. Since the first day the team arrived they have been waiting for a front loader to come and level the entire yard. As of today, it still has not arrived. This truck did arrive however, and ran out of gas directly in front of the gate, nicely blocking the entryway:)
As you can see in this picture, the team has been hard at work!! These are the future offices, one for the pastors, and one for the school.
I am sure thankful for these guys willing to put up a hot tin roof in this heat!!
We were able to borrow a cement mixer, the next step is laying a concrete floor for the offices.

Weekend

2010-03-29T10:25:00.006-04:00

We decided the team had worked hard enough to enjoy a treat! Friday night we were invited "up the mountain" to a friend's house for a swim and some pizza.Here John and Eric are enjoying a well deserved break.

We played a card game called "Golf" I was tempted to post the final scores but I don't want to embarrass anyone:)
Saturday morning the team begged us to let them work some more. We grudgingly agreed. Half of the team went down to the new property and kept building while the other half fixed the road in front of Randy and Karen's place so it's passable once again.

Group shot, from the left: Derek, Derek, Eric, Randy, Peter, John
Saturday afternoon we did some sight seeing. We went downtown to look at what is left of the palace and the parks that have been overtaken with tent cities. Next we went up to Fort Jacques.
I was very saddened by the damage that Fort Jacques sustained. For anyone who's been to Fort Jacques before, this is the spot where many groups get a group shot taken, you can see that the outside wall that we usually stand in front of or sit on is completely gone.
This is the inside of the Fort. I'm so saddened by the destruction because there are so few historic sites left in Haiti and I don't hold out much hope that it will be rebuilt.
Overall the team is doing very well. They are surviving the heat and sun amazingly well. They are all in good health and spirits. It's great to have them here. The one thing I most appreciate about teams is the opportunity to see Haiti through fresh eyes. The longer you're here the easier it is to forget what an amazing place Haiti is and how amazing the people are who live here. It's nice to be reminded of that from time to time.

Tools? check!

2010-03-26T17:05:00.006-04:00

The team's missing suitcases have arrived and that means tools! Riding in style!
Here the team is having a morning meeting to discuss which tools to bring to the site.
Life in Haiti is difficult on vehicles, we are borrowing a truck from a neighbour and it requires a lot of assistance to get started each morning.
This is the side wall, where a lean-to will be built, most of the classrooms will be against this wall.
This is the future site of the offices, one for the school, another for the pastors. The team is attempting to level the area in order to lay a concrete pad.
This is the back wall of the property. There will also be a lean-to built here as well to provide additional classrooms.