We returned to Haiti last month. It feels good to be back! We’ve enjoyed seeing the kids and staff again. It’s always exciting to hear about what everyone has been doing while we were away. We’ve seen some of our friends from the states and look forward to catching up with others soon. We’re extending our stay in Haiti by a couple of weeks to help with a few unexpected things that came up.
We flew to Haiti on a DC-3 cargo plane from Ft. Pierce, Florida all the way to Jacmel, with several stops along the way. This was our first time flying into Haiti with MFI (Missionary Flights International). It was a good experience, and we plan to continue using their services.
Getting Settled
The house we rent had some issues that needed attention when we arrived. It took more time than we expected to resolve some water issues and clean up some mold and mildew on clothes and bags. We also found a lot of accumulated dust and “debris” in the house. In our haste to pack up and leave at the end of October, along with our hopes of only being away a short time, we didn’t prepare as well as we should have. Sadly, corroded batteries and other issues ruined some electronic devices. It took a good week to get caught up with all the cleaning needed after being away.
Catching Up and Getting to Work
We’ve really enjoying catching up with our Haitian kids and seeing how much they’ve grown in the months we’ve been away. They all grow so fast! The school year is wrapping up, and we’re seeing some impressive grades for many of our kids! We have 2 graduating from high school this year! Many have been anxious to get back into the computer lab and improve their skills (and play games, of course!) The funny thing about the games is that many are educational, like having to type letters before they get to the bottom of the screen.
Thankfully, both the Jacmel and Grand Goave / Thozin computer labs are up and running. Both sites have the new laptops that were donated last year! After many hours of research and testing, Randy found a solution to configure one computer and clone that setup for all other 14 computer lab laptops. That’s a big timesaver and a huge relief over having to set them all up manually and then clean them up each time we visit.
Formal classes began in Jacmel last Saturday and will go through the summer. Randy was also able to get the old Jacmel NComputing system back up and running as well. The kids still ask about playing learning games on the bigger screens.
Project, projects, and more projects!
Computer lab setup, daycare prep, network configuration, staff training, security camera setup, daycare maintenance planning, computer classes for kids, packing and moving, prepping for new missionary staff, Vacation Bible School planning, help with finances, Village Values weekend preparations…. We’re working through all of our tasks for this trip and making lists of tasks and supplies we need for events and projects later this year.
You may hvae seen our Facebook post about our visit to the Grand Goave campuses to work on some projects. It was great to catch up with staff there. We always enjoy the views from there as well. Here are a few pictures of the scenery we enjoyed. There are a few more pictures on our recent Facebook post that you can see as well.
Daycare Administrator Training
We spent three days teaching the Montessori Method of schooling to our 2 new Daycare Administrators. This is a new concept for most of Haiti. The Administrators are super excited to teach this to their teachers and then pass it on to the kids. The new administrators played with some of the toys, and Denise talked about how each of them can be used to teach the kids in the daycare. We are looking forward to the kids coming and being able to learn naturally, to each of their own abilities. We will start training about the daycare staff application and teacher interviewing process, and how to hire good teachers and train them to do a great job.
God is teaching us many lessons on patience, perseverance, and that He is in front of the process and knows how it all ends up. We pray that these daycares are a blessing to the communities they are in, and that they will help preserve the families they serve. Each of the daycares will be given the name of a bird. It so true and God’s heart that these little ones be taken care of.
Matthew 6:25-27 - Do Not Worry 25 “Therefore I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or drink; or about your body, what you will wear. Is not life more than food, and the body more than clothes? 26 Look at the birds of the air; they do not sow or reap or store away in barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not much more valuable than they? 27 Can any one of you by worrying add a single hour to your life?
We are setting up the same process at our Children’s Villages in Jacmel and in Grand Goave, a couple of hours away. A few weeks ago we were able to travel over the mountain to Grand Goave to begin setting up the daycare there for a planned opening in this fall. We stayed at our Ikondo facility pictured above and the daycare will be at the Thozin Children’s Village that is only a mile from Ikondo.
Haiti Status
We are thankful that the Jacmel area continues to be relatively peaceful. The gangs continue to cause problems in the capital region, with no clear pathway to peace there. We are still cautious when traveling, and have not run into any issues.
The people outside of Port au Prince are really feeling the affects of the limited about of fuel, food and supplies that are able to leave the capital area. There was talk about a transportation strike to shut down the country, but nothing has come of that so far. Strikes and protests like what was planned cause so many additional problems. No travel, no one getting to jobs. No one able to sell their vegetables or buy food, or gas, etc. There’s still no clear answer on how to resolve the issues people face here.
School Year is Almost Over
The kids are in their last semester of school for the year. Getting ready to start exams. We have a couple of kids that will be graduating this year. This is a huge accomplishment. With the end of the school year comes summer fun. We, as you can imagine, we are already planning our Vacation Bible School. We usually have a little over 100 kids attend. Not only ours but some of the children of our staff come and have fun as well. Last year we gave our older kids jobs to do to help and they did an amazing job. We will do that again this year. They rocked it last year and we know they will do it again! We are working with an amazing person in the states who is so gifted in creating these VBS’s for us every year. God has gifted her beyond what we could imagine. So, so thankful for our friend Pam. So much creativity and fun and learning about the Bible and Jesus. It’s one of the highlights of the year!
Extending Our Stay in Haiti
As with many things in Haiti, change is expected. This trip has emphasized that even more! We initially planned this to be a 6-week trip to tackle a variety of projects in Jacmel and Grand Goave. Soon after we arrived, we found that things had changed and that we needed to handle some delicate situations that had come up. Those issues took a couple weeks to get under control so we could refocus on our initial goals of the trip. We are thankful for God’s timing to have us here and help to and work through these challenges. In order to work through our scheduled projects and also address these additional matters, we were asked by our HAFP leadership team to extend our trip a bit. We were able to work out extending our time in Haiti to 9 weeks rather than the original 6 weeks we had planned for.
Prayer Points
- Please remember these requests in your prayers:
- Pray for peace in Haiti
- Pray that the kids stay focused on school and pass all their tests
- Pray for the Vacation Bible School teaching to have an impact of all those who attend
- Pray for safe travels for upcoming trips within Haiti and back to the States
- Pray for God’s guidance in navigating challenging situations with staff
Thanks for all your encouragement and support! May God bless each and every one of you.