What a wonderful day today was – the whole week, really.  Despite LOTS of drama, seemingly on every front, the peace of God truly ruled in our lives this week.  I LOVE it!!!

Manchester

Last Saturday I sent the bus to Port-au-Prince to pick up a group that was coming in on Tuesday.  RENEE!!!!!  Well, at least it wasn’t the opposite and they were waiting for us.  Right?  🙂  What can I say?  I was eager to see our friends from Manchester, CT.

I grew up in Mansfield (maybe 1/2 hour away from Manchester).  My mom and I would go to Manchester every couple of months for our “big” shopping trips.  Not only did they have downtown shopping, but they had the Manchester Parkade, which was all that in its day.  Uncle Max, Aunt Belle, Chuck and Spin also lived in Manchester and it was a big deal to get to see them, too. Although I haven’t lived in CT for decades now, there’s one thing (and probably ONLY one thing) that I remember from Main Street, Manchester.  There was a sign in the shape of a cross with “Jesus Saves” written on it.  Growing up Jewish, I didn’t have a whole lot of understanding of Christianity, so I always found that sign intriguing.  I’d heard that Jesus was born on Christmas, had been killed by the Romans (as my mother pointed out when I was upset that my classmates told me the Jews had killed him) and that something weird happened on Easter – what it had to do with bunnies and eggs I still don’t understand.  So, a sign that read “Jesus Saves” just made no sense to me.

Now, decades later, some of our best friends and supporters in CT are from that “Jesus Saves” location – the Full Gospel Interdenominational Church.  We absolutely love the Pastor, Rev. Kalinsky, her staff, the youth, the older folks, the babies…the WHOLE lot of them are such a wonderful family!  I have learned so much from their words, but especially from their actions.  They are a very disciplined and well organized ministry, yet their love for one another, their neighbors, the world and especially for the poor is so tangible and obvious.

They are a church that works, seemingly nonstop, at serving all people everywhere.  I LOVE that they love the people of Haiti and have partnered with us for many years. Rev. Kalinsky sent us some of her best, this week.  Rev. Jon & Adrienne Lautenbach and Rob & Kim Camire have been building shelves and organizing school supplies and other donations.

 

This morning, Rev. Lautenbach had the most encouraging message for the church in Thozin.  He read from Mark 6:45-51 and talked about the difference it makes when you invite Jesus into your boat.  He gave several physical examples…

• He told a dead branch to produce fruit.  Of course a branch has to be connected to the tree in order to do that (we can’t produce fruit on our own without being connected to Jesus).
• He took his shoes off and told them to walk.  We can’t be empty (without God) and go anywhere.

• My favorite example was the empty water bottle.  When he put it down in front of the fan, it was blown over.  After that it was fair game for anyone to stomp on.  Sometimes we feel like that flattened, empty water bottle.  But Jesus can reach down, pick us up and fill us with water.  In front of the fan, the full bottle was not affected by the wind, no matter how close he put it.  When he picked it up, threw it on the ground, and stomped on it, it wasn’t affected.  This is reflective of how our lives are transformed when we invite Jesus to be in us and with us every day and in every situation.

 

School Construction

Besides shelving going up, the widow grills and doors are being installed right now.  They look nice, will help keep the painted walls cleaner (kids keep climbing in and out of the windows!) and they will secure the first floor so that we can begin moving supplies into the building.  We are now preparing for school to open next month (Sep 2) in the new school building.  Yay!!!

Laptop Fun

We had a great week with Sora and James, volunteers from One Laptop Per Child.  They taught the kids how to play music on their laptops, how to set up a blog and they began to learn about reporting.  We’re so grateful for people who are willing to invest in these kids.

 

Medical

Leah Fuller arrived yesterday, in high gear.  She went straight from the airport to the clinic.  Bless Back Worldwide made arrangements with some doctors in Port-au-Prince to see a couple of our patients.  I spent some time catching Leah up on their situations.  She will be accompanying them to Port-au-Prince a couple of times this week.  She’s looking forward to hearing what the doctors think and being able to ask questions, so she knows how to follow up with them.  I’m glad Leah’s so eager, because she definitely has her work cut out for her this week.

Gama, Angela and Nathan arrived back in Massachusetts safely.  We miss them, but are so glad that they have a couple of weeks off to enjoy time together as a family. Jackie has kept busy entering data into the electronic medical records.  Tomorrow she will start working with Leah.

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Cayes Mirliton

The Missionary compound (aka Cayes Mirliton) was almost totally destroyed by the earthquake and tsunami in January 2010.  By God’s grace (and many generous supporters) we were able to build back better.  For the first time ever, Lex and I slept in the new missionary housing.  We liked being near by the team that is in and the quietness.  Lex enjoyed an early morning swim.  I enjoy walking barefoot on the tile floors (I just DON’T walk barefoot anywhere else in Haiti!).  We brought our cat, Saphira and her two week old kittens with us, too. We thoroughly believe that we are blessed to be a blessing.  It’s so awesome to see the missionary compound busy, not just with teams working with MOHI, but with local missionaries and children from the Hands and Feet Project, volunteers from Mission E4, One Laptop Per Child, Unleashed Kids, F1 Engineering and others.  Sundays are officially hot dog and french fries day here.  The ocean was full of friends in front of the compound today.