I hope you all are enjoying the Christmas season, along with the weather I so associate with Christmas. My phone has a weather app on it and everyday is identical: Grand-Goave, mostly sunny, 81°. It does get down to about 70° in the middle of the night. I like that – nice and cool.
Preschool Mama
Doudley and Alexis are rather attached. Doudley’s mom is one of our teachers in Thozin.
That would be Alexis. She teaches the preschoolers in Sunday school and spends WAY too much time with them every morning in the school yard.
Morning Commute
Each morning (unless there’s been tropical weather) I drive through this river. It’s mostly a dry river bed with a couple of streams running down it. Can you imagine that there are times when it is actually full of water, from bank to bank?!!! All those mountains in the background are great rain catchers and they send the water down hill very fast. It’s very hard to imagine during dry seasons. While it’s dry, however, it makes my ride much more scenic and keeps me off the main road – which I really like.
My morning commute to the office…
Clinic
This week Angela had her hands full with some challenging cases. We are thankful to our Sri Lankan friends from the UN Camp for sending us doctors to help with the load of caring for the sick. We are looking forward to Bless Back Worldwide sending in a medical team at the beginning of the new year and Leah Fuller, RN will be returning to work full time in the clinics. Later in January, our friends from Mission USA and the Chapel will be with us to unload and reconstruct the mobile medical clinic that they sent for us recently. At that time we will get it stocked and organized, and begin using it. That will be a monumental day, for sure!
Nine of our students received dental care at the UN Camp in Leogane this week.
Christmas Gifts
This week is our last opportunity to purchase gifts in time for Christmas through MOHI’s online gift shop. Chickens, goats, donkeys, cows, beds, class parties, fruit trees and more can be purchased on behalf of a friend or loved one and given to children in the Thozin and St Etienne neighborhoods where we work. Click here to see how you can bless a child and a loved one with just one gift.
We have been blessed by the donations to build several homes this year for families that are still without a permanent home to live in after the earthquake. Thanks to teams from Mission USA and Bless Back Worldwide, two more homes will be built in January. If you would like to be a part of rebuilding our communities here in Grand-Goave and St Etienne, please contact us today.
The Michel family is enjoying the home provided for them by Bless Back Worldwide.
Love Our Church Family
For me, church is all about the people. I so enjoy the opportunity to love on everyone and worship together. Here are some pictures from this morning’s service in Thozin:
Children’s Ministry this morning in Thozin…
One of my favorite parts of the Sunday morning worship service. Lex learned this from Pastor Kerry Twing, “get out of your seat, find someone, give them a hug and tell them you’re glad to see them this morning!”
Sweet times of worship in Thozin this morning
Renee’s Christmas Journey
Being raised in a Jewish home, I didn’t grow up with any Christmas traditions. We celebrated Hanukkah. We lit the menorah each night for eight nights and, when I was little, my parents would give me a gift each day for eight days. I remember bragging to my friends that they only got Christmas gifts one day, but that I got Hanukkah gifts for eight days in a row. It wasn’t until I was invited to my friend, Lisa Jones’ home one Christmas morning, that I realized they got more presents in one day than I got in a whole year! I didn’t much mind, though, because I got to enjoy playing with Lisa and her siblings’ toys and I really just enjoyed being with them, mostly.
At the age of 18, I became a Christian – in my case, a Messianic Jew – a Jew who believes that the Messiah has already come. At this point in my life I came to learn that Christmas wasn’t about the gifts at all, but about the BEST Gift ever given – God’s Son Jesus, who was given to mankind. He was born of a virgin and lived as a human boy. He became a man and, at the age of thirty, was filled with the Holy Spirit and began performing miracles. Those who listened to Him learned to repent of their sin and follow Him. Upon His death on a cross and His resurrection from the dead, He provided eternal redemption for everyone who would believe in Him. This is what Christmas was really about. I never knew.
As a young adult, I learned from my pastor’s wife, Bev Long, that making Christmas cookies and a birthday cake for Jesus were some of her family’s Christmas traditions. I enjoyed taking part in this tradition with Bev, Patty, Debbie and Dee. We ate a lot of cookie dough and made a huge mess. It was tons of fun.
After Alexis was born, I read an article about the importance of establishing family traditions. So, I decided I would adopt Bev’s family traditions. This meant that I made cookies and let Alexis (as a 1 year old) play in the flour and dough. She was covered, head to toe. It was fun for her and I took great pleasure in that. The following year, I was VERY pregnant and on bed rest, so our developing traditions had to be put on hold for a bit. The following year, we moved to Haiti.
Lex was never much into holidays and once we moved to Haiti, I had already adapted to that way of thinking. I don’t recall ever being upset with him for not wishing me a happy Valentine’s Day or forgetting our wedding anniversary. They simply were never a part of our consciousness. We did, however, always made a big deal for our kids’ birthdays. We still do, but it’s mostly because THEY do and we know it’s important to THEM.
What about Christmas? This Christmas will, I believe, be our 14th Christmas in Haiti. Here, we have church activities on Christmas Eve. Sometimes it’s like a big talent show put on by the youth group. Other times, we have a night of prayer. Always, at midnight, we thank Jesus for His life and sacrifice for all mankind. Often times we have a meal together and get home very late…or early, as the case may be, on Christmas day.
In our home, no one wakes up early Christmas morning to open presents. On the contrary, we may take the opportunity to sleep in and may even take the day off. When the kids were little, I remember making a birthday cake for Jesus, asking Lex to tell the Christmas story, and sharing little packages of cookies with Alexis, A. Jay and a few of their special friends. As they got older, that tradition fell by the wayside. The celebration of Christmas was at the church on Christmas Eve and the kids enjoyed being a part of that – especially staying up until after midnight!
In Haiti, Christmas day is often spent visiting friends and relatives. Moms will often make an extra special meal, which means there is meat for everyone. Kids often go in search of their god parents, hoping to get a little gift or a couple of Haitian dollars from them, but in general, most kids do not view Christmas as a time to rake in the toys.
For missionaries on the foreign field, Christmas can often be a sentimental and somewhat difficult time, as families and traditions from home are missed. This year, our missionary compound will be open to missionaries serving in and around Grand-Goave. For those who miss baking, they can come join us Christmas morning, making all those special cookies they’ve made with their families over the years. We’ll also make a special dinner, although it’s not likely to be “traditional.” Perhaps we’ll make some new “Missionary” traditions, like swimming on Christmas day and always having BBQ ribs and grilled lobster for Christmas dinner.