Home Sweet Home

November has been a busy month for us. It began with a strike by a few of the teachers at one of the Christianville schools. We have about 70 teachers and 11 of them decided the raise we offered was not enough. After being out for a week, they decided to come back, realizing that Ed does not negotiate with terrorists or teachers. Hopefully they know we were giving them the best we could afford.
On November 15 we attended our first wedding in Haiti. One of our employees got married. The wedding party (brides maids, flower girl, etc.) all wore white so it took a while to figure out who was the bride. As the bride was coming down the aisle, guests were still arriving and thought nothing of stepping in front of her to get to their seats! The best part was a funny little two-step the bridal party does as it comes down the aisle. It’s almost like a dance step and it takes quite a while for each one to make their way to the front of the church. It was a great experience.
In mid November we made a short trip to the States. Our Board of Directors asked us to attend the National Missionary Convention. This year it was held in Peoria, Illinois. It’s a very nice small city. We stayed at a lovely hotel and enjoyed some American luxuries like hot showers and fast food.
When we returned to Haiti our house was FINALLY empty and ready for us to move into! We never realized how important “home” was to us until we went without one for almost 6 months! Unpacking all our suitcases was like Christmas since we had forgotten much of what we had packed! The wonderful people at our church sent down a great house warming gift: a box full of goodies that are hard to get or very expensive in Haiti. Things like paper towels, breakfast cereal and onion soup mix are much appreciated when you can’t get them!
The house we’re in is very roomy and the only project we’re planning is some painting. Our “dining room” is a screened porch and we have a nice yard that one of the previous Directors landscaped with all sorts of tropical plants. Guess we’ll need to learn about gardening in this part of the world.
On December 10 we head to the States for the holidays. It will be great to see family and friends! We miss everyone so much. Some of the missionaries left yesterday for Christmas break, a few of us are leaving next week and some are staying in Haiti for the holidays. Doug and Amy, the guest house coordinators who are in the process of adopting a dear little Haitian boy named Dor, are staying since they can’t take their soon-to-be son out of the country till the adoption is finalized. One of our nurses, Jenn, is also staying and spending Christmas with some of the many friends she has here.
As we look over the last several months here, we recall many different experiences. Some good, some bad, some just plain bizarre. We still feel this is where the Lord wants us to be and we thank Him every day for his faithfulness.
As each of you celebrates the Christmas season, we hope you will be blessed with a renewed love for the Lord.