Construction Update
All the outside plastering is completed now. Yay!!! It was exciting to see all the staging come down and get moved indoors, as the masons begin finishing the ground floor rooms (kitchen, conference room, activities room, science lab, library/computer lab, storage and the four-office suite).
Front of the school
Christmas Gifts
We have had so much fun giving out Christmas gifts this year! We haven’t given out any Barbie dolls or Hot Wheels (at least not yet), but we’ve given out lots and lots of food, goats, chickens, fruit trees, sneakers… And the wonderful thing is that each child lit up as if we’d given them the latest popular (and very expensive) toy being advertised for the season. Each child was truly thrilled and grateful. Here are a few of their pictures…
Footwear, fruit trees, chickens and food…Merry Christmas!
Christmas and Culture
This will be my 13th Haitian Christmas. Being raised in a Jewish home, I don’t have any fond childhood memories of Christmas traditions. As a young adult I enjoyed learning the “baking Christmas cookies” tradition with my pastor’s wife, Bev Long and her children. I pursued it further back in Connecticut with Jennie Heald and her children. When Alexis turned two, I was all excited to continue this tradition in our family. We had great fun that Christmas, as Alexis and the kitchen turned into a winter wonderland (flour everywhere!) We put up a Christmas tree that year and bought lots of gifts for both of our kids. That was both the beginning and ending of our somewhat normal, American Christmas traditions, for the next Christmas found us in Haiti.
Here in Grand-Goâve, most of us never dream of a white Christmas. We don’t have a Walmart nearby and most people in our area just don’t have the means to purchase Christmas lights and trees and pile beautifully wrapped presents underneath them. Yet, there are many other similarities between Christmas in Haiti and Christmas in America. It’s a time to visit loved ones, a time of joy and reflection, a time to love on children, a time of deep spiritual meaning…
This morning my husband’s Christmas message focused on love and sharing. He shared about Jesus being the King of all kings. He could have been born in a palace or a fancy hotel. But God chose to bring him into the world in the most meager circumstances. Jesus gave up all that He had for our benefit. Lex encouraged us to also be givers. It’s not a time to impress the wealthy or powerful, but a time to give to someone in need. Find someone who has no social status and bless them with some food or an article of clothing – along with a smile and hug, of course. Don’t do it for others to see, but do it as an act of kindness from God’s heart through your hands. No matter where we live in this world, no matter our social status, if we ask, God will bring someone across our path that we can be a blessing to. And in this way, we can honor Jesus for His birthday, too.
Lex, Alexis, A. Jay and I wish all of you a blessed and joyous Christmas! Alexis decided we’d send you all a white Christmas…
Christmas at BLB
Be Like Brit Orphanage
We are looking forward to sharing Christmas dinner with our friends from the Hands and Feet Project and Be Like Brit. This will be the first Christmas dinner at Brit’s orphanage. We’re so excited about the orphanage’s opening next month. The Gengel family has been through so much and have invested their lives into this project. Gama has done a tremendous job of overseeing all the work on a daily basis. Paul Fallon’s presence each month over the past years has also enabled the construction to be completed. We are so proud of everyone involved in building this building. We look forward to the new year and seeing children coming to be raised in a loving atmosphere at Be Like Brit.
One more picture for you…
The girls from the Hands and Feet Project, here in Grand-Goâve, assisted Angela in praise and worship this evening.
