women of four13

moving...

2010-12-29T17:32:00.000-06:00

no, not my house...(i sort of wish...would like to downsize...), but my blog.

i've worked on it for 9.5 hours in one day, and it only took that long because i was pretty clueless going in. but so far, so good.

if you haven't found the new home yet,
click here to check out the new place. it feels pretty good. so far.

see you there!

The Great Christmas Cookie Freeze!

2010-12-10T16:03:00.001-06:00

it is my pleasure to be participating in this *virtual* Christmas cookie party, hosted by my blog friend, edie! she has a blog life{in}grace that more and more refreshes and inspires me. i am thankful that our internet lives crossed, and that her inspiration is available to me via the web!

anyways, she decided to have us all *over* for Christmas cookie baking...we would share our favorite recipes, and ideally we'd all bake cookies all weekend! i jumped in with my gingerbread cookies because i seem to be somewhat inundated with gingerbread this time of year. it's a choice, and i love it.

i change gingerbread recipes as often as i change my hair style (and color), so i have to give credit where credit is due. i use the Pampered Chef gingerbread recipe when i make my houses, but i used the "Better Homes and Gardens Special Interest Publications: food gifts" for the recipe i used for my gingerbread men this year, (i bought it in october, but here is a link to their site with fabulous ideas! better homes and gardens.

so, here is the recipe, which i have made twice and doubled each time. i feel that you need more than a few gingerbread men...more like a gingermob, so i double. (and apparently it is not politically correct to make these gender specific, as you'll note in the title.) whatever. my favorite is still the men.

gingerbread people cutouts

1/2 c. shortening
1/2 c. granulated sugar
1 t. baking powder
1 t. ground ginger
1/2 t. baking soda
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon ground cloves
1/2 c. molasses
1 egg
1 T. white vinegar
2-1/2 cups all-purpose flour
royal icing (recipe follows)

i altered this recipe both times i made gingerpeople this year because someone (pretty sure not my husband) had used all but the last bit of white flour and didn't write it on the whiteboard that we needed more. so, i used a little white flour and the rest organic whole wheat flour. they came out very yummy and much more healthy. it's all good.

1. in a mixing bowl, beat shortening with an electric mixer on medium to high speed for 30 seconds. add granulated sugar, baking powder, ginger, baking soda, cinnamon, and cloves. beat until combined, scraping sides of bowl occasionally. beat in molasses, egg, and vinegar until combined. beat in as much of the flour as you can with the mixer. using a wooden spoon, stir in any remaining flour. divide dough in half. wrap each half in plastic wrap; chill dough about 3 hours or until easy to handle.

2. preheat oven to 375. grease a cookie sheet; set aside. on a lightly floured surface, roll half of the dough at a time until 1/4 in. thick. cut with 2-3 in. gingerbread people shape cookie cutters. place cutouts 1 in. apart on the prepared cookie sheet. (i had mine closer together and they were fine...)

3. bake for 7-8 min. or until edges are light brown. let stand for 1 min. on cookie sheet. transfer to a wire rack and let cool. pipe designs on cookies with tinted (only if you want tinted, the recipe instructs) royal icing. makes about 24 cookies.

royal icing
in a mixing bowl, stir together 4 cups powdered sugar, 3 T. meringue powder, 1/2 t. cream of tartar. add 1/2 c. warm water with 1 t. vanilla. if desired, tint with food coloring. beat with an electric mixer on low speed until combined, then on high speed for 7-10 minutes or until very stiff. add 2-4 T. of additional water, 1 t. at a time, until icing reaches desired consistency.

i provide the royal icing recipe, however i couldn't resist the wilton sparkle decorating icing this year!

i am also using bh&g packaging idea for these when i present them to my co-workers in a couple of weeks...

that's just a cd envelope (i got 100 for about $4!), with scrapbooking paper tucked inside and ribbon glued across the front! just wait an hour or two for the icing to harden...my poor little guy has a smushed face here, but i wanted to share and i have dinner plans in an hour! :)

happy baking! thanks, edie, for letting me share!

~kimberly

haiti on my heart

2010-12-08T19:50:00.000-06:00

if you have been following this blog here for more than a month or two, you know that haiti is near and dear to my heart, and where i spent the majority of my summer, and 100% of my vacation time for 2010 from my work...

what they are experiencing there over the past few weeks, but most especially days makes my heart hurt. literally. i can feel the pain.

since the outbreak of cholera there, (really started by the U.N. really? who knows...), to what appears to be another corrupt election, there has been unrest amongst the people.

now, there is rioting throughout the country. this is not rioting that our friends in les cayes hear about that is happening in port-au-prince...no. it is right in their ~~back~~ front yard. they are hearing constant gunfire, some of that sounding to them like machine guns...any and everything that can be burned in the streets is doing so...imagine trying to sleep with the sounds of unrest and the stench of burning tires....

people are dying. many of them. and if you do a google search, (at least as of 4 pm today) you will be hard pressed to find more than 1 or 2 news articles about what is happening there.

people are dying on the doorsteps of my friends. more than one. these are random acts of violence stemming from a frustration that is decades old. i can't blame them, but i can be saddened with the thought that they are only hurting themselves.

more than 2000 people have died from cholera in the past 7 weeks. more than 11,000 have dealt with the disease. it's not over yet. and, the rioting is making relief efforts for cholera ever more difficult. this disease may very well spread over the next weeks as a result.

who is being hurt by this violence? not those that the people choose to send a message to...no. it's the very people that are the weakest already. or the innocent.

if you pull someone out of the window of their car and beat them to death because you are frustrated with the election debacle, how do you know that they weren't just as frustrated as you?

my friends in haiti have had a rough life. now they are having extremely rough days. and they don't understand why God allows this. frankly, i'm having a hard time myself.

i know that He is in control. i believe it and i share it. but why the people of haiti can't get a break escapes me at this moment. i can still trust and believe, but i shake my head in lack of understanding.

when my believing friends in haiti don't understand, i can't even attempt to...

yes. haiti is on my heart, and my heart hurts. come, Lord Jesus. Amen.

It's a Stressful time!

2010-12-05T11:24:00.002-06:00

I'm currently lying on my bed looking out my window at the sun and a light snowfall thinking "wow, I have so much to do this week, and I'm still putting it off". This week is exam week, the final week of the fall semester. Along with six exams and a jury to keep my music candidacy, I am in charge of checking out 36 girls a they move out of the building for a full month.

I am quite excited for the Christmas break. Normally, it's a full month of laying around and doing nothing but relaxing. But, this break will be very different. On Monday the 13th, I have my first day of jury duty. When I found that out I was quite annoyed, but maybe it will be a good experience? After that, I am hoping to babysit as much as possible. [if you need a sitter for ANYTHING at all, please let me know!] The reason I am going to be babysitting so much is because I have been given the opportunity to go on a mission trip in March. I will be traveling to the Dominican Republic with an organization called Orphanage Outreach. I will be working with orphans most likely teaching English, and leading the music. I just decided to go on the trip this past week. The trip costs $600-800 plus the cost of a plane ticket. Basically, I need to raise almost $1600 before the end of February. Therefore, I need to do as much babysitting or work as possible to raise the money!

When this opportunity was first brought to me I was excited because it I know it is going to be such a good experience. But, then I started freaking out about everything that goes along with it. Raising the money really worried me. Being at school, I don't have the opportunities to raise money if I were at home. I prayed about it a lot and had my parents also pray about it to see if this is what God wanted me to do. Another main issue with the trip is that I am going to miss an entire week of school in the Spring semester. That is a lot of class, and it is especially at a bad time because my spring choir concert is the day I get back from the Dominican. I decided to talk with my choir director because this was going to affect our group the most. At first, she was hesitant but then we talked about why I was going and how important it was to me. God bless her, she said I could go. I promised her I would have all of my music memorized before I left and she said that she hoped it would be a great experience for me. That was basically the green light from God that I should go. That was the main thing that was holding me back from signing up and putting my deposit down. So, after a long conversation with Tom late one night, I paid my deposit and am now signed up to go!

This experience I hope will bring me more clarity in what I am to do with my life. I am hoping to grow closer to God and to help others grow closer in their relationship with God. Working with little kids is a great passion of mine, and I can only hope to do everything through God and really let Him speak through me.

Now, back to this week. Even with so much going on I am trying to not let myself be stressed. Instead of stressing, at night I'll watch an episode of Bones [my new favorite obsession] or continue writing my book. [Yes, I started writing a book, we'll see how it turns out]. Being able to just lounge on my bed for an hour or so and not think about the real world really allows me to take a step back and keep my stress level down. Awesome right? I definitely recommend taking time for yourself each day. Whether it be just driving in the car for 20 minutes at a time by yourself, or praying before you go to bed. It is so key, when there are so many people around to take care of or be there for, that you are taking care of yourself. Because, how can we help people if we ourselves are not ready?

This season is known as the most wonderful time of the year, but also the most stressful. Try to take some time for yourself each day to keep your spirits high and to keep yourself rejuvenated. God bless.

the days of december (okay, and a teensy bit of november...)

2010-12-04T07:09:00.000-06:00

just a few moments to give you an idea of what's been going on around here recently...

we had a lovely Thanksgiving in the Upper Peninsula of Michigan with my mom and dad. Kati and her boyfriend Kurt made the long trek from Delaware to be with us...dinner was especially yummy, and we had a great time!

more Thanksgiving photos....a family weekend would not be complete without a wrestling match between siblings, with dogs barking all around...

we left the U.P. early Friday morning in a snow storm to hurry home for our annual gingerbread house event! we have been doing this since the girls were very young, and we have wonderful traditions surrounding this now...lunch before as we gather our strength...much smack talk during the decorating...and a rousing game of charades at the end...

i've also been attempting to appease my inner creative kimberly, so i've been sewing, knitting, making Christmas cards, and also this Christmas banner....

the metal nativity fireplace screen is my favorite thing that we've brought back from Haiti...and the new stockings were a great find at meijer. this year when i unpacked the stockings we've used the last 14 years, they were, well...somewhat moldy. ewwww....not sure how that happened.

i wasn't prepared to make new stockings just yet, nor did i want to shell out $200 for stockings on a whim...so these cute things were on sale for $2.99 each! i dressed them up a bit with glitter initials from walmart, which were $1 each. when you have 9 stockings and a blended family, stocking identification is crucial!

i am *loving* my advent devotions this year, although they began before advent and will carry on after we celebrate His birth, as well. if you are looking for a way to get to know Him better, you may want to pick this up:
Jesus: 90 Days With the One and Only
amazing.

blessings, my friends.

December

2010-12-01T19:09:00.000-06:00

This is an evening post based on the subject of some great emails today. Wow. God is so amazing - all the time - but I think we choose to see (or receive) what He gives when we are thinking about it, or in prayer about it, or in communication with Him (actually listening instead of doing all the talking, right?)

So, because I am somewhat tired and emotionally drained from the events of today (mostly good, focusing on that), I am going to abbreviate this a bit.

Anyways, if you are my friend on facebook, you may have seen that I shared an "event" called "pay it forward" last night. It's about doing a random act of kindness for someone each day in December - so 31 of them. And, if you're not my friend on facebook, why not? But I digress...just friend me, ok?

So, I was pretty geeked about that. Then last night as I thought about how powerful that could be (the pay it forward dynamic), I got to thinking about how I spent the last month thinking about and expressing gratitude...to God, and to my facebook world. I realized that after a month of gratitude, random acts of kindness would just be a natural outcome, and that it was a beautiful thing.

THEN, as I was praying/driving to work (don't worry - I *mostly* pray with my eyes open when I drive), I also was thinking about how great this would be but with a startling realization that without a conscious effort, I could very possibly treat strangers very well, but forget to tell my husband how much I love him. That was quite convicting for me.

So, (a glimpse inside a crazy mind here), I sent an email out to some beloved sisters in Christ challenging myself and them to do one special thing for their husband each day during December. It could be cute, fun, cheap, an investment (money and emotional), or whatever....but just to do it and see what happens.

WOW! What a response! I can tell you that I received quite a few replies today that totally challenged me in return! What an awesome sisterhood we have here, girls!

So, please, please, please find a way to comment on this blog to encourage others. Women thank me all the time for encouraging them, and I don't say this in a boastful way but to tell you that I don't do much, but if we are all doing it for each other, we become a powerful force for good with each other. I know it's a little complicated with the free web hosting. The only thing on my Christmas list is the ability to get a domain and a new blog design that will hopefully allow for my flexibility in posting and your ease in posting comments. Do you know that in the 11 months that I have had this blog, it has been viewed over 3,500 times? WOW! That doesn't mean that everyone that viewed it found what they were looking for, but it's out there.

So, please prayerfully consider this challenge. Feel free to share this link, but if you can do it via email rather than on facebook (why aren't you my friend on there yet??? just sayin') that would be awesome because I am trying to keep a little mystery here for my husband, too.

So many thanks to those of you that replied today and your honesty. For those that need more encouragement after the attempt today, please look to God to fill you up and not an instant response from your husband. For those of you that aren't sure you can do this well, trust me when I say that what you do will be blessed and you don't have to worry about "well." (and, oh, by the way, if you haven't read Beth Moore's book on Insecurity, now is the time dear.) For those that don't feel they have anything to give, again, let God fill you up.

Please share your comments here, and anonymously if you need to do it that way. Some are looking for encouragement, others are looking for ideas,...

I love you my sisters, and I feel a revolution coming...let's make marriage important and relevant again in our society! Let's start by cherishing our husbands for one month.

kimberly

gingerbread and other things...

2010-11-14T13:56:00.000-06:00

can you say, "busy?" wow!...i have been incredibly busy recently, and hence the lack of posts here recently. so sorry...but it's all good stuff, so i will fill you in for a moment...

and though i've been busy, i have been especially appreciative of the beautiful morning and evening views out my back window...

(by the way, i've given up on capitalizing here...it's how i do email and most other things, but always thought this should be a little more "proper" but no more. that's it. i'm done.)

so you know about the book discussion group, and that's been great! we have had a great time getting to know each other and learning about ourselves, our insecurities (or not) and also how to be more compassionate when others are dealing with insecurities. we will continue meeting on monday evenings until the first of the year, and it's been a blessing! i am so thankful for this group of women, willing to open up, risk, and share.

in other news, i've also been doing some crafts. they just make me happy, and i have decided that i need to do them on a more consistent basis. one of the things that i recently completed is these:

aren't they just the best? there is a new little one expected in a month in my brother's family, and i thought that these might be a perfect "welcome to the world, but it's winter here in michigan gift" for the little one....

yesterday and early this morning i was busy baking a pile o'gingerbread for our annual tradition! every year since the twins were in preschool we have made gingerbread houses together using the pampered chef stone gingerbread molds! some years i haven't baked a single cookie, but come thick or thin, single parent, planning a wedding in 2 weeks, or planning to move on december 23rd, we've made these houses each year! i don't know that we've had *exactly* the same group any 2 years in a row, but most years our friends, john, barb, rachel and jacob have done them with us...usually followed up by a great game of charades. we have had other family join us, friends, cousins, a variety of boyfriends (not mine or barb's...), and it is always so much fun and a great big mess with sprinkles to be found on the floor well into the new year!

this year, (yesterday) the original mold that i have used since our very first year, broke as it slipped out of my hands when it was hot. truth be told, at the exact moment it was happening, i was more concerned about having to mix up more gingerbread than the mold itself.

but, the good news is that i had over the summer purchased an extra mold, so that was fortuitous. since you have to bake in the mold twice to get one house, it is quite a time-rich project....so i thought that i would speed it up by having an extra house mold. what i quickly realized is that each house only has 1 chimney, and since this mold broke down the chimney, i could still accomplish that goal. it's all good, and this mold still has many years ahead, i'm sure!

i've also recently taken up directing the Christmas (can't NOT capitalize Christmas!) choir at our church since our other wonderful director retired from that position several months ago. i figured that i could retrieve that skill from, oh, about 14 years ago and do it in the short term...we shall see.

i'm also serving on a task force for our church/school to help work through a few little difficulties around vision and mission.

oh, and the praise team.

yeah. and my job that is reaching one of it's most busy times since june...

right.

so, last week i worked 47 hours at the office, and had something every night of the week at 7 pm. that and sharing a car with my better half...

it's all good, right? i know that...but it leaves me longing for moments of boredom, or only a moment to sit and write here.

so, in my lack of posting, know (again) that i love doing this, but life is filled to the tippy-top right now with things that i love.

so, now i sign off with a half made meatloaf for dinner, and max's hair to clean up in prep for book discussion tomorrow night...and looking longingly at the fabric on my shelf waiting to be made into more Christmas gifts...sigh...

blessings my friends! may you be *almost, but not quite* as blessed with good things to do as i am...
~kimberly

missing this...

2010-11-10T18:28:00.000-06:00

i know that i haven't posted much recently...it is certainly not out of lack of desire to do so! i want to do this every day! however, i have successfully managed, in recent weeks, to fill every available moment with one of several things:
1) work
2) ministry (and not THIS ministry)
3) making Christmas gifts
4) family (but that's been slim to none, too....

right now (oh, by the way? giving up on capitalization here...i did it in emails before it was popular many years ago, but have always thought i should be more "proper" here. there's no time for proper.....) i am swamped at work, and that's until the end of the year. also, my church family has some needs that i am particularly gifted for, so "for such a time as this..." keeps coming to mind...and i have stepped up, as i hope you will do when your church family needs you.

that said, my days are full and my afternoons/evenings are as full or fuller. it's necessary right now, and all good, but i miss this!

i was so encouraged this morning to be able to speak at another mom's group. that and this is what i love. i'm not sure why i can't spend more time doing that sort of ministry right now, but God knows. i do it as much as i can, and that must be enough.

so, i have taken photos, but not uploaded them...done some crafts for Christmas gifts, but not shared them. i'm so sorry. i love those of you that follow, and those of you that choose to ignore your laundry to read up once in awhile. this is what i am so excited about right now. i will be back in more regular fashion, but it's going to be hit or miss for awhile.

what i won't give up despite the craziness is my morning devotions and workouts. nor my date nights with my hubby on wednesdays if we can squeeze it in (not much lately)...so right now, this is the thing that is not getting my attention. bear with me...

have a great night, week, and *hopefully* not month, before i catch up again...
blessings, my friends.
kimberly

Raising Responsible Kids....

2010-10-28T11:38:00.000-05:00

It is a much cooler (20 some degrees) and blustery morning this morning.

I had the blissful experience of sleeping until 6:27 am, at which point Max the 80 lb puppy told me it was time to get food in his belly.

So, well armed with coffee and fuzzy slippers I took to taking care of the dogs and doing my devotions. When it was light enough, I took the photo of the yard and the skies....definitely winter-ish.

I am excited this morning because I get to do one of the things that I love most, which is speak with moms about raising their children! Being a wife and mother is why I feel I was placed on this earth, with the additional gift of being able to share from my experiences to help and encourage other moms. What a great gig!

This morning I will be speaking to the dear mommies that attend MOPS (Mothers of Preschoolers) at Good Shepherd Lutheran Church. I will share what I have learned about raising my daughters, who at this point in their lives (almost 23 years, and the twins, 20 years), are very responsible, successful and happy most days!

If you have been reading recent posts, you will see what each of my daughters has had to say about growing around me...not always a walk in the park because I "lose it" just like everyone else. But, in the end, through all of history, most glorious, some painful, I think we had more wins than losses, and God has been so very good to us.

Since I am doing this same talk for another moms group in a couple of weeks, and have done it a few times in the past, I decided to invest some extra time and recreate a couple of the tools that I used with my own girls. Here they are:

In an effort to raise responsible, organized and generous children, I borrowed a system that I had heard about for them to save their money. Any money that they received, they put 40% in spend, 40% in save and 20% in give. The vehicle for saving took many forms over the years....jars, envelopes, whatever was handy (always cute), and something they were excited about.

This is a replica of the chore charts they had when they were young. They got to pick from a number of tasks pictured on cards with a one word description (pre-reading skills), and they picked a certain number for the week. They would pull a card from to do, do the task and then place it in done. The tasks were always about being age appropriate, relevant to them at their age, and once done give them a feeling of success.

Also, in my increasing efforts to "go green," I didn't provide a packet of handouts for everyone, but instead am making some of the items I referenced available here for those that are interested. Please, help yourself.

I can't wait to hear how you help your kids grow up to be amazing! Leave me a comment and we will share our ideas.

And, if you know someone that would like to hear more about this, let me know. This is what I LOVE to do...

so long, insecurity

2010-10-25T20:28:00.000-05:00

WOW! What a great evening I just had with a bunch of amazing women! Tonight was our first night of a book discussion group on the book by Beth Moore, So Long, Insecurity, You've Been a Bad Friend to Us.

If you aren't able to join us, I still encourage you to pick up the book and read it. Even if you don't struggle with issues of insecurity, I am confident when I tell you that you are surrounded by females that are!

Anyways, eight women, some of whom didn't know others that were there, came to my house, some not knowing me....to delve into this book tonight.

I think that I can speak for each of us when I say that we are all attending for a reason...God placed it in each woman's heart to make time, arrange childcare, buy a book, and show up.

Some may be on the journey because there is something that God wants to show them...others may be on it to help the rest of us learn...others, just so that they can be role models to the young women that they encounter.

Whatever it is, I am SO excited to be a part of it and witness it! What a great 11 weeks this is going to be!

Ladies, thanks for enriching my life this evening, and for making Mondays a little brighter!

I look forward to your comments, insights, questions and thoughts here. Please note that your comment will not instantly appear, as I have to approve it before it shows up.

See you next week! (If you would still like to join us, just let me know...we are very informal...)

kimberly

you're responsible for you.

2010-10-25T19:28:00.002-05:00

i am the last, but not the least to post!! sorry i haven't been blogging lately. twenty credits, working the days i'm not in school, fundraising, and planning haiti mission teams really keep me busy!!

so i'm supposed to write about how my mother turned me into such a well-behaved young lady. well, seeing as i really don't remember much from my childhood, i found this blog post very difficult to write. [obviously, since i put it off for quite a while..] but here i am. writing it.

when she told me what she wanted me to write about, immediately one memory came to mind. well, probably just a memory because i've heard the story so many times, but even so, a memory.

my mom took my sisters and i grocery shopping one day. obviously when you're a kid you're either messing around, thinking about how bored your are, or looking at all the things you want to get while you're grocery shopping with mom. well, i knew what i wanted; a big bag of suckers. my mom always taught us to eat healthy so obviously she wouldn't buy me a giant bag of bubblegum suckers. so when we were waiting in line at the register, i just took them.

i guess at that age i wasn't really sure what was going to happen if i was caught and maybe i didn't even know what i was doing! i honestly don't remember what i was thinking besides how much i wanted a sucker.

so when we got home my mom realized what i had done. instead of just taking the suckers away and punishing me, she did me one better. my mother took me and my sisters alllll the way back to the store where she then made me return the bag of suckers and apologize to the cashier.

boy, was that the most embarrassing moment of my little life. it was then and there i realized one: that stealing was bad and two: that i needed to take responsibility for what i had done. she didn't just put me in a time-out at home. she made me go face the very person i had stolen from. although i'm sure i was ashamed and embarrassed at the time, but i am so glad my mom taught me that lesson.

i mean, i didn't just learn not to steal, but i knew from then on if i did something wrong it was only my fault. i couldn't blame someone else or just hide from what i'd done. you always need to take responsibility.

also, she definitely taught my sisters and i the value of money and responsibility with it. i think we were around 13 or 14 when my mom told us that from then on we were responsible for buying clothes that we wanted. she would take us school shopping once or twice a year and get us clothing, but if we wanted anything extra we needed to pay for it.

this taught me that i can't just ask for anything i want and get it. we had to earn things we wanted. i know so many people i've grown up with and gone to school with that don't have value in anything because their parents just give it to them. i mean, i can't even remember the last time my parents just gave me money because i asked for it. i'm not even sure if that EVER happened when i was growing up.

i just see all these kids today throwing money away like it's nothing and they're not even grateful for it! i am SO thankful that my mom instilled that in us at such a young age. i think that kept us grounded and thankful for everything that we did get. there are kids my age that are still asking mom and dad for money for everything they want. i take pride in the fact that i pay for my own car every month, i pay for my own clothes, i pay for extra fun things i want to go out and do with my friends, i pay for new tires, i could go on and on. i mean, i feel like if i didn't pay for it myself i just won't have as much value for it.

another thing my mom always taught us was to be polite. i can't tell you how many times my friends parents have commented on how polite i am. and they always say something like "oh i wish johnny here spoke to me as nicely as you do!" that always makes me sad. and to see how some of kids treat their parents. it's like no one's teaching their kids respect anymore. at tim hortons and at the movie theater i have seen some of the rudest children ever. they just yell and scream and speak to their parents like they're inferior. and i don't think they mean to or even know they're doing it! it's just how they've learned to get what they want. i just wish kids were still learning the kind of politeness and respect that i was taught when i was growing up.

i am so thankful for how my mom [and tom!!] raised my sisters and i. almost every time i go over to a friends house i am reminded of what amazing parents God has blessed me with. i truly believe that the way i was raised has had a HUGE impact on my performance in school, work, and my life. and now that i've started typing there's more i want to say! but i'm babysitting and i think she just got home so i've got to wrap it up. thanks for being just good parents mom and tom!! we love you!

"Did you do your best?"

2010-10-24T20:15:00.002-05:00

My mom asked me to post about how I thought I became a responsible and successful young woman. I've been thinking about it for the last few days, and it wasn't really a list or a specific lesson that came to mind.

I think the thing that has really made me successful and responsible is the fact that I was always encouraged to be proud of myself and my work. When I did great at something, like an assignment or a role in a play, I was made to feel proud of myself. When I didn't do so well at something, my mom always asked me, "did you do your best?" If I had, then I had no reason not to be proud of my performance.

I knew that my parents were proud of me, of course, but I was also taught to be proud of what I have done. In middle school and high school, my friends would tell me about how their parents were upset with them for grades they had gotten or how their parents pressured them into spending long hours on homework or something else. I never felt like I was being pressured, though. I wanted to do well because it made me feel good, because I knew that the things I did represented me. And I knew that if I tried my best I had something to be proud of.

Unfortunately, I don't know exactly how this sense of self-pride was instilled. I think it has something to do with positive reinforcement for good behavior and only asking for someone to do her best. I know a lot of kids that I went to school with resented their parents for nagging them about grades or activities or anything else, but I always felt like I was supported or steered gently in the right direction.

Sorry I'm not on Facebook anymore, everybody! I'll be back soon, probably. It was a crazy two weeks of school (four papers, an oral exam, and two presentations) and I needed to eliminate all the time-wasters I could. Don't worry, I did my best on all of them...

Doing laundry...

2010-10-24T13:21:00.003-05:00

Today I am sitting here while I have the most perfect batch off cookies in the oven. When my mom asked me to write about responsibilities or things I have found useful in my college career I honestly had no idea what to write on. But, then it came to me. I am a Resident Assistant [someone who looks over a floor in a Res Hall to make sure everyone is safe and following the rules, also someone to help create community and someone people can talk to about any issues] to over 200 people and I have some great insight on how my life is different from so many others.

Growing up, my mother always made us do our laundry and pack our own lunches. I tell people she has made us do that since Second Grade but that might just be an exaggeration. In a college community, knowing how to do laundry is a GREAT asset. I have seen dozens of freshman not know how to do laundry so I, or others, end up having to teach a group. It is incredibly useful to be able to do your own laundry. Another great thing that I was taught growing up was how to eat healthy. One might think, "If I talk to my son or daughter about eating the right things then they will be fine when they go to school". But to be honest, if you are not feeding your child the right kinds of foods growing up then they will have no idea how to stay healthy on their own. I was fortunate enough not to gain the 'freshman 15' but, I know so many of my residents that have already gained weight in 2 months because at our cafeteria there is always ice cream, cookies, and cake available. One can eat how ever much they want and there is no one to tell them no. If you instill on someone at a young age that eating healthy is important, it is less likely they will have an issue when they are on their own.

I think one of the most important skills to know when going away to college is knowing what your morals and boundaries are. I was lucky to have such strong parents that taught me right from wrong. But, I know many people that do not have those values. I have been able to keep a good head on my shoulders and make smart decisions for almost 2.5 years of school.

Something else that has been very useful for me is knowing how to cook/baking. Hanging out in a kitchen eating good food brings people together like you wouldn't believe. Especially college students. I bake at least once a week and I always have tons of people in and out of the kitchen asking if they can have some of what I made or just hanging out and talking. It really is a great way to get to know people.

I never really thought about how much what my mom has taught me has really affected how I live my day to day life. Everything I do correlates back to how she raised me and I wouldn't have it any other way. Yes, she was very strict but everything I learned from her has made me the person I am. Being strict really does work. But, don't be overly strict! Having skills that my mom taught me from when I was young has really helped me succeed at college. I can never thank her enough for all that she has done for me!

from my point of view...

2010-10-24T07:40:00.000-05:00

Life is beautiful this morning! I'm feeling (temporarily) on top of some tasks.

I've been working on my presentations about raising responsible, successful, happy kids and feeling incredibly blessed.

It's Sunday, which is beautiful just because of the day...soon to church to visit with family there and worship.

And, while it's gray outside, this is my view as I type this morning

Just so beautiful, in the way that beauty happens in the fall on a gray, wet day.

I am missing my better half like crazy, and I smile as I think of him this morning driving alone in Belgium. If you know Tom, this is not the sort of adventure that makes him all warm inside. But, it's adventure nonetheless, and I hope he is making the most of it.

So, that's my point of view this morning. Let's spend today focusing on the blessings, our successes (even if they are small in our eyes), the beauty that surrounds us, the One that created that beauty, and the adventures that lie ahead..

life{in}grace

2010-10-21T11:15:00.000-05:00

Please check out my very favorite blog these days...and be part of the 12 Days of Handmade Christmas if you are interested, by clicking here!

Livesay [Haiti] Weblog: Lessons of the "eat down"

2010-10-20T14:10:00.000-05:00

Livesay [Haiti] Weblog: Lessons of the "eat down"

Participation Needed Please!...

2010-10-19T19:31:00.000-05:00

If you are a faithful reader, (thank you!) you know that every once in awhile one of my three daughters (pictured above), posts on this site. I think the world of them, but of course, I carried them for many months, and have spent a considerable amount of time just hanging out with them, so of course, I think they are awesome!

But, besides just me, there's a few others in this world that have remarked about what a blessing it is to have one successful, gifted, happy child, let alone three! I am the first to admit, that we are very blessed, and in so many ways. There is something to be said for praying for your unborn children, even before they are conceived, and giving them to their Creator before you even meet them. And, I can't even begin to calculate the number of minutes, hours and days that I have spent in fervent prayer over them since they came into my life....

But, that said, I do believe that there are certain things that we can do as parents, mothers in particular, to raise children that are happy and successful...and seem to be responsible and just "get stuff done."

In the next several weeks I am speaking to two different groups of moms on raising responsible, happy, successful children. Not that I have all the answers. Or even very many, really. But, I do have some things to share that I did with my girls, that I believe in, and that sadly, I see lacking in our society today.

I believe that we as parents have a responsibility to do our best to teach our children to be responsible, and I want to share what has worked (and not worked!) for me to help parents do just that.

So, the test is going to be to see if my girls will venture out in this forum and write a little bit about how they were raised and what led them to be be the incredible young women they are today. I am going to email them to give them a heads up...but if you know them, you might encourage them too.

And, if you have your own tips or observations of my family that you've made over the years, I would LOVE to have you comment here. The more input I can get for these presentations, the better they will be!

fall photos...

2010-10-16T17:52:00.000-05:00

If you read my post from earlier today, you read that I wanted to do something...something!...

So, after I learned how to make a collage, I went out and took a few photos and played a little more.

Here is the result

And while I am happy with the collage, I am wishing that it was showing up larger...but, that's for another day, I suppose.

Here are some photos I took this evening...

The last few gerber daisies making an appearance...

The "Cinderella" pumpkin at sunset...

This was all sort of fun on a day when I was feeling rather confused about things...

Playing...

2010-10-16T14:41:00.001-05:00

I have been wishing so frequently recently, and praying fervently for the ability to have time to do all the things that I love to do more often...like...

studying the Word
making yummy meals
taking photos
ministry with women
hanging out with kids
blogging
knitting
sewing
decorating my home with things that i find at garage sales and thrift stores

And, I am trying to figure out what happens when selfishness, calling, passion and midlife crisis collide...

So, I've increased my intake of omega-3 fish oil (good for depression, anxiety and nice skin), started a new personal Bible study (Beth Moore...Jesus...a 90 Day study...), and researched blogging and photography some. Here's what I learned to do today...

I'm sure it seems simple, but I didn't know how to add a photo collage to my blog...and now I do! These are some of my favorites from Haiti, and my very first try, and for today, it makes me feel like I got to do something that I have been wanting to do.

As for the rest, I will keep wishing, hoping, praying, dreaming, and looking for opportunities.

Truth be told, I have just never given up on wanting to be the stay at home wife and mom with the big, old farmhouse (with awesome technology), and a place to do ministry.

For today, it's a photo collage.

loving fall...and the moments in fall...

2010-10-11T19:18:00.000-05:00

I posted a couple of weeks ago about realizing that I love fall, and most of winter, actually...that it's just February and March that really start to get to me. I resolved at that moment to start embracing each day and I'll just muddle through those other months when I get to them! That has worked pretty well for me so far! Of course, having great weather hasn't hurt either.

In the spirit of embracing fall, and due to the fact that I owned no fall decorations that were more recent than 1995, I worked with a friend on a couple of fall decor' projects. Here is one that took awhile, but will last many years.
I am pleased with how it turned out:

I have also been knitting quite a bit and doing a little bit of sewing, now that I have a borrowed vintage Montgomery Wards Signature sewing machine in my home! My parents bought me a Kenmore sewing machine when I first got married in 1984...it sewed my clothes and all sorts of little girl sundresses and fancy dresses, then faithfully sewed all sorts of costumes for various dramatic productions that my girls were involved in over the years from middle school through high school. During Stephani and Adrianne's junior (?) year, Stephani was chosen to be Dorothy in The Wizard of Oz, and Adrianne was the Scarecrow. Of course, the beginning of the movie was in black & white, so that necessitated making 2 Dorothy costumes...one in tan and white gingham (to replicate a "sepia" look) and the traditional in blue and white gingham. Well, late one evening, during the blue & white jumper phase, my faithful Kenmore died. Just died. It was a sad moment, 20+ years we had been together. Of course, the costumes were needed soon for dress rehearsal, and my life was crazy, as usual. I ran to our local Meijer store and purchased a sewing machine for $100. It finished the costume, and the ones for the subsequent senior year productions ( mean stepsisters in Cinderella comes to mind as just one that year...), but has done little since.

I mentioned to a friend my issue a few weeks ago (remember the canning tomatoes photo? One of those friends...and she let me know that there was an old sewing machine at church that I could borrow. I tried it for the first time yesterday, and it was a beautiful thing! There is a sticker on it that says that it was last serviced in 1988...I can tell you that when it stitches just a straight stitch, it is like cutting butter with a warm knife...so solid, even, and, well, secure...My only issue is that I cannot figure out how to wind a bobbin. Looking on the internet has not helped....so, that is my challenge for this week.

Anyways, I am loving doing these more domestic activities, and am looking forward to sewing more once I figure out the bobbin thingie! I want to make some cloth napkins this fall, so hopefully I will figure it out soon....

And, in other other news, I am so excited about the upcoming book discussion that I am hosting! I was so moved by this book over the summer, but really wasn't sure if I was supposed to widen the group of women that were exposed to it...I spoke a couple of weeks ago to a lovely group of women at a local church, and the day that I was praying about that speaking, I just kept hearing a voice that said to my spirit, "You need to invite them to the book discussion." It was so clear, and repetitive. So, that night, I told them that I would be offering my home as a book discussion group for this particular book...the response was good. Since then, the response has been awesome! I am so excited! Women that I don't know have heard about it, called or emailed me, and are coming in 2 weeks! Wow! When God tells you to do something, He clearly provides the way, doesn't He? I CAN'T WAIT TO SEE WHAT HE HAS IN STORE!

O.m.goodness.

If you are interested, here is the link to order the book:

The details for the meetings are:
Starting Monday, October 25th, 7 pm at my home. Comment, or email me for the address.
Bring the book, a pen/pencil/highlighter and a notebook
Let me know that you are planning to attend.
Invite a friend if so inclined.

I'm not stressed about the number of people that show up...God knows who needs to be here and He will make it happen.

Blessings on your fall-ish week! I pray that you are embracing this season!

kimberly

upcoming book discussion....

2010-10-05T18:09:00.000-05:00

Good afternoon...(it's not 7 yet, so it's still afternoon, right?)

I just wanted to post a special invitation about the upcoming book discussion group to be held at my house.

In short, this book changed my life, and I believe that not only should every woman (young and old) read it, but every human being. I realize that only leaves the male species...

You can read reviews of this book on Amazon if you'd like. All I can say is that since we live in a society where media dictates what we should look like, act like and be like, and since we almost all have issues from our past that have deeply hurt us, we have a responsibility to ourselves, our spouses, our children, and the young ladies that surround us to recognize what has made insecure, and our unhealthy reactions because of our insecurity.

This book and study will cause you to dig deep, ask some hard questions, do some quiet reflection, and, in the end, realize who you are and Whose you are. It's not just for believers, so if you know someone that could benefit, but is not a believer, by all means, invite her. Just let her know that we will open and close in prayer...other than that, we're discussing a book. (Oh, until the end, when there will be an invitation, but that's after many weeks together...)

Here are the details:

When?............. Monday evenings starting October 25
When??.......... 7 pm
Where?.......... at my house, in Oxford - if you need directions, comment and I will get it to you
What else?... no childcare - sorry
Needs?......... bring the book with you (order soon from link below), a pencil/pen & notebook

This is the link for a paperback...you can do hardcover, paperback, cd's, or kindle...you just need your own copy of the book. If you order from this link, a portion of your purchase goes back to our ministry...(it costs you the same, they just give me a portion.)

That's it! No arm twisting, as I completely believe that the women that are supposed to be here will be here. I just feel compelled to share this book, and wish that while in Haiti and reading it I'd had someone to discuss it with...that's where this all came from...oh, yeah...and a strong feeling that I was supposed to be doing this! :)

Comment with thoughts or questions. Let me know if you will be attending so I can plan accordingly...

Blessings!
kimberly

embracing seasons...

2010-10-03T15:15:00.001-05:00

Yes, it's true that I am not a big fan of gray skies and cold weather, but I am a fan of fall! And, I realized the other day that really, I just don't like the cold weather in Michigan in February and March. I can handle the rest! So, instead of bemoaning fall because summer is over, I choose to embrace fall, look forward the the changing trees and soon to be blowing snow, and will just hunker down and endure February and March when they get here!

Here are just a few fall photos that make me smile...

Canning tomatoes on a chilly Saturday morning with my friends Barb and Marge! Don't they look yummy? Bring on February...

This photo that Adrianne texted to me after an afternoon at the Renaissance Festival! (How can one still be so beautiful with a zebra face?)

This over my front yard early another Saturday morning....

(I WILL do that one day around my birthday.... )

And this view from my deck yesterday morning...rainy, but beautiful as things are starting to change color...

So, as I choose to embrace fall and the approaching winter, I think upon this verse, first from Young's Literal Translation:

"To everything -- a season,

and a time to every delight

under the heavens"

from The Message:

"There's an opportune time

to do things;

a right time for everything

on the earth"

Ecclesiastes 3:1

Which tells me that these seasons that I love (for the most part) are doing the right thing at the right time...and my changing focus and activities are also right, and to be a delight and God-pleasing, just as the seasons are....hmmm...might that also apply to bigger things in my life?

I believe so.

For now, it is time for me to be in ministry here in Oxford, MI...and while my heart spends a lot of time in Haiti, I know that there is a season for that, as well. And my time in each place may very serve the very purpose of preparing me for the other.

It's something to think about...

(And, as my heart has been in Haiti the last couple of days, one of the thing I am doing this afternoon is preparing a Haitian dinner...fried Plantains (finally found them!), Picklese (a spicy cabbage/carrot salad, and tuna with onions and Indian hot sauce...yum! It's also part of this season, and I will delight in it!) Here's a photo, added after dinner. Good thing I can edit my posts!

and, from 12 o'clock in clockwise order, we have Indian Hot Sauce (mixed with the hot tuna and mixed with ketchup for dipping plantains), hot tuna, fried plantains with Picklese (spicy cabbage salad on top), and a mango napkin holder made in Haiti, as well as a placemat made in Haiti by our wonderful cook, Ziane! Did my heart (and tummy!) good!

New Opportunities...

2010-09-28T20:29:00.001-05:00

God is so good. I know you know that, and I certainly know that. But tonight was such an affirmation of that again, and you know, He didn't have to do that...but He did!

I had the pleasure of speaking to a MOPS (Mothers of Preschoolers) group this evening that I haven't spoken to before. The church that they meet at is a mile from my house, and I've visited there a few times, was impressed, my girls went to youth group there for a couple of years, but other than that, I hadn't had any involvement.

Anyways, I was asked to speak tonight, and what a BLAST! I spoke on a chapter from this book:

The chapter that I spoke on is called, "Who are you again?....Oh yeah, the guy I married." And I spoke about maintaining a great relationship with your husband after having children.

It was a great talk! Lively discussion about all things related to maintaining a marriage with children around...all topics...(insert your own mental images here.) And I added the "flavor" of having 2 marriages with children around...!

Anyways, ( I am trying HARD to write this despite lively, sometimes heated conversation in my home office!)

One of the things that I mentioned was a book that I read while in Haiti. This book by Beth Moore:

I have been thinking and praying about starting a book discussion group about this book. I was waiting for clear direction over the past 6 weeks, and today I got it. All day, I kept thinking, "I have to mention a book discussion group for this book." It was clear. I needed to do it!

So, I mentioned it, sent around a sign up sheet, and 4 women said that they are interested! Praise God!

Now, I need to see who else is interested and figure out logistics. There are some women that need childcare if they are to attend this group. I don't know how to provide this yet, and I don't know if I can...but please pray about this; that either I can provide this, or that those moms that need this are able to make other arrangements.

Well, I've had 1,437 distractions while trying to write tonight. I hope it's coherent. And, if Monday nights at my house sound like a good place to hang to discuss self-esteem, then I am your connnection!

Have a great night!

telling the story...

2010-09-19T12:48:00.000-05:00

This morning Tom and I had the privilege of sharing a portion of our time in Haiti with our brothers and sisters in Christ at our church, Good Shepherd Lutheran! Since I took over 1200 photos myself, as well as countless videos taken by Tom, Adrianne and me, it was difficult to find a way to condense this into a 20 minute sermon message.

The way we decided to tackle this was to discuss what "we" (us and our Good Shepherd family) were involved in while in Haiti, during the sermon message and then discuss what is next during the 1 hour Bible study time. It sort of worked. :)

We divided the sermon portion into 4 sections: Carrefour duClos, Children of Israel Orphanage, Jacmel, concluded with some of the beauty of Haiti in photos.

During the Bible study time we (ok, Tom, really) got into more detail about next steps...what's needed in Carrefour, for CIO and in Jacmel. It was wonderful to hear some of the questions that people had about how to further help these specific areas through time, talents and treasures! There is such a love and passion for Haiti within our church! What a blessing!

In the end, I think that the Lord worked through the messages and was working in the hearts of the people that attended, which was our prayer. We pray now that people are moved to want to get involved through prayer, fundraising and trip planning so that multiple teams can be created and head down over the next two years...hopefully each specifically working on an area where the members are gifted and passionate...teaching the children, construction, helping the ministry in Carrefour, gathering cotton, knitting needles, fabric, and the list goes on and on.

There is a meeting next Sunday, September 26th at 12:30 pm where we will, under Adrianne's leadership, discuss, pray and start those conversations. If you'd like to attend, you can comment here or email me and I will pass on to Adrianne.

In conclusion, this was good for my heart today. It has hurt to not be there any longer and to not even be able to communicate as we desire due to all the "things" that get in the way...on our end, work schedules and commitments, on their end, lack of internet and electricity.

And, there is much for story to be told! We have so many videos and photos that help describe life there and the work that needs to be done. Tom and I discussed on our way home that it is our prayer to find a way to share more of what we experienced to those that have a desire to hear and learn. We will keep our hearts and eyes open for such an opportunity.

I am thankful that God provided this opportunity to us. I look forward to what we can do for Him next in this area to benefit the ministry in Haiti.

To Him be the glory.

ahem.

2010-09-12T16:31:00.001-05:00

Noun

ahem - the utterance of a sound similar to clearing the throat; intended to get attention, express hesitancy, fill a pause, hide embarrassment, warn a friend, etc.

hem

utterance, vocalization - the use of uttered sounds for auditory communication

Yes, I know it's been a long while since I posted, and there is a reason for that. You see, I only post when I feel I have something to say, which hasn't been lately.

Life is good...you know...going along with work, home, the approaching fall and things. But, each time I think about sitting down and writing something, which I LOVE to do, I think to myself, "But what have I done that anyone needs to hear about?" And, probably the answer is: nothing.

Of course, having nothing of substance to say does not stop millions of bloggers from spewing out words each and every day. But, I digress.

I am not all fatalistic in thinking that nothing means anything after being in Haiti, nor am I adjusting poorly (imho) to life back in the states. It's just that by comparison, it is difficult to put the daily events of my life in any sort of perspective with my life in Haiti.

And, that's a struggle for me.

There are still things that I am working on for Haiti, and still reminders that our work there had meaning:

Like this photo of beautiful Marie Ansha knitting! Warens sent this to me last week. What's so meaningful about this one is that she had a tough time learning while I was there. Not learning in general, as she was my most relentless teacher when I was trying to learn Creole, but when it came to knitting, she was having a hard time.

Several times when I went to the orphanage after I had taught the girls, I would see her with some knitting in her hands. I would say, "Did you do that?" She would shake her head no, and say the name of the girl that had done it. But, you see, she was always studying, looking at the other girls' work, and trying to do it.

My joy at seeing this photo can hardly be put into words! This is her work! This means that 3 weeks after I left, instead of just setting aside those knitting needles, she kept working and working until she got it! I am so incredibly proud of her, and of course, you can see the joy in her face!

I also got photos recently of the raised garden boxes that have taken form, and will soon be filled with seeds as the weather begins to cool to a temperature that will allow seeds to grow. And we received updated photos of the wall, which is progressing.

God is good in allowing me to see the progress that has been made since we left, but the joy is bittersweet as it tugs at my heart that I am not there now to help more.

So, please bear with me as I find my voice again. (Ahem.) It's not that there is nothing going on in my life, but that I struggle to find the same meaning in my every day life here. There are things that God is showing me, and it's all good, but it's in His time, and I have never carried around the same pocketwatch that He does.

In the meantime, I go about life working, cooking, cleaning and seeking His will.

Tom and I are preparing to do a presentation next Sunday on our time in Haiti, which will do me good, I think.

In the meantime, I'm just a little quiet, which is always necessary when listening for instructions.

"Be still and know

that I am God."

~Psalm 46:10

Peace....

baking as a release...

2010-09-08T19:24:00.000-05:00

in college i feel as if i let myself get so caught up in everything going on that i forget to take a breather and rejuvenate myself. so, this year i made a conscious decision to take care of myself and not let me get too stressed. now, one may ask how i would go about doing that..in my experience everyone has their own way of de-stressing. it could be just locking yourself away and listening to some soothing music; for others it could be going for a walk, or shopping away the stress. but, for me, it is purely baking. i love being able to whip up a batch of cookies or brownies to perfection. all of my stress releases when i am mixing the different ingredients and when i get to wash all the pans when i'm done. but, the best part of baking is when i get to deliver cookies to other people.

living on a floor of freshman/sophomore college students makes it very easy for me to hand out cookies. baking on the floor, the smells from the kitchen spread across the floor and a good amount of people end up in the kitchen to get a warm cookies straight out of the oven. seeing peoples faces light up when they eat a cookie, or when they tell me that it made their day...really ends up making my day. giving people just an ounce of happiness makes me so happy because i think my mission in life is to spread joy all over.

last night i had the crazy idea to try and make up a new kind of cookies. normally when i bake i make one of two things: my homemade chocolate chip cookies, or my double chocolate brownies. [it is a very rare occasion for me to sway from one of those two things] but, last night i wanted to try something else out! then...my creative juices got flowing.

last night i made peanut butter chocolate chip pretzel cookies. possibly the greatest invention ever. everyone that was in the kitchen kept hearing me say "okay, guys if they arent good just tell me. because seriously they could turn out terribly" and everyone kept responding "no, your cookies are always magic" [how nice! it makes my heart so warm inside!]

so, the cookies came out of the oven...looking quite decadent but i was still quite nervous of the flavor. everyone quickly grabbed one...and turns out, they were great! i was told that this cookie i had just discovered tasted like a Take 5 candy bar except missing the caramel. that is when i decided that the next time i make this cookie when they come out of the oven, i will drizzle caramel over the top to make it that much better.

having people appreciate the cookies that i make really made my day that much better. if ever i am stressed or freaking about something i know that if i take the time to bake a batch of cookies my mood will be better because of the smiles that i will put on others' faces.

i think this is something we all should be aware of. when we are stressed we are going to build up more stress or stress out others around us. take some time, however you like to de-stress, be with those you love, and have a cookie :). life will become that much better when we take the time to enjoy what is around us.

slightly unrelated but this song is on.... "life's not the breaths you take, but the moments that take your breath away" take this to heart. live life to the fullest, don't let stress get you down.

here is the recipe:

1 1/2 c of flour

1 tsp of baking soda

1 1/2 c of butter [room temperature]

1 1/4 c of sugar [can add more if desired]

1 c of peanut butter

1/2 tsp of vanilla

2 eggs [room temperature]

1/2 c of chocolate chips

3 c of pretzels [i used the mini pretzels, but rods work as well!]

1. Preheat your oven to 350

2. whisk together the flour and baking soda in a separate bowl

3. use an electric mixer to blend the butter, sugar, and peanut butter. until fluffy.

4. add the vanilla and one egg at a time, mixing completely before adding the second egg.

5. gradually mix in the flour mixture

6. add the chocolate chips at the end.

7. crush the pretzels in a bowl, form the ball of dough and dip one side into the pretzel mixture. then put the dough [pretzel side up] onto the cookie sheet.

8. put the cookies in the oven for about 7 minutes then rotate the pan for another 6-7 minutes.

9. let cool for about 3 minutes, then serve and ENJOY!

Please let me know what you think of this recipe...if it doesn't taste exactly right, please let me know! i am always looking to improve and i need my recipes perfect for when i open the bakery!

hmmmm....

2010-08-31T17:48:00.000-05:00

Well, I must say that I am a little out of sorts. The re-entry to U.S. life has really been okay, I think. I have had moments each day when I gasp at something that immediately takes me back to Haiti...usually it's a moment of stark contrast between life there and life here. Each day I am thinking of those kids and my "family" that is there, and that life for them continues to be difficult...I heard from Israelson today that they are averaging 3-4 hours of electricity a day, if lucky. That's hard. It's hard to be in that heat and be drinking warm water, soda or juice because your freezer can't keep anything cold, much less frozen, and there isn't even ice to be purchased. Life threatening? No. Difficult? Yes. It just gets old.

But, I digress.

I am in my second week back at work, and the people that covered for me while I was gone did a fabulous job! But, there are things that only I can do, and there are now 7 weeks worth of those things. What was carefully monitored for me while I was away is now lovingly (most of the time) being handed to me with little red flags waving from it. "Do me! Do me!"

Adrianne did an awesome job caring for our home while she was here and we were away...yet, there are things that you "house managers" know needs to get done in 6 weeks that weren't on her radar. I'm gradually taking care of those...

Tom and I now share a car...a lovely thing, really, but while there isn't a financial cost to sharing a car when both people work, there is a time cost. Tom is not leaving for work as early as he used to because he is waiting for me, and because he usually drops me off first. I, on the other hand, don't have that 15-30 minutes that I used to take in the morning to straighten up, throw in a load of laundry, water the plants, or put dinner in the crock pot. I refuse to give up working out...I've simply moved it from a 5:15 am start to a 5 am start. On the other end, instead of getting home by 5 pm and starting dinner, I am getting home at 6 pm, a little less optimistic about cooking anything at that point! Disclaimer: I plan my week's menu each Saturday and purchase my groceries for the week on Saturday or Sunday. It's not that I'm not prepared...it's that I'm tired. BUT, if YOU need a meal plan that will save you time and money, check out Leanne Ely at here.

So, this may sound like a lot of whining. I hope not. To me it's just a description of my reality, or season, right now. I'm not unhappy, but I'm a bit overwhelmed. And, my heart hurts. (Not literally for those in the medical profession that read this...)

I am just waiting for God to reveal His plan in all of this. Tom is going down to 3 days a week at his job, beginning this week. He's not working any less, he is just going to be devoting more time to Firmly Rooted Ministry, and boy, does he need to do that! There is so much to be done!

I also feel the pull to be in ministry...with him, for women, in Haiti, for children...all of it! But, at this point, I'm struggling to get dinner on the table and the laundry done. You know what I mean? I haven't been able to post on here, even though it's on my mind each and every day.

So....God's plan for me is clearly not to crash and burn, although at this pace it seems like a possibility. What could He want then? He has my faith and my ear...it's just that the plan is coming in a little gray and fuzzy to me at this point.

So, after all of this, you know the reason for the title..."hmmmm...."

There is still a house payment for an underwater mortgage, a car payment for the shared vehicle, and student loans...do you see my conflict?

So, I am still hmmmmmmm-ing. Not unhappy, not complaining, just a little bewildered. Certainly in anticipation of what happens next....and trying hard to keep one foot in ministry and the other in responsibility.

If any of you have wisdom, insight or clarity, I'd love to hear it. If not, if you could just remember me in your prayers, I'd be most appreciative.

In the meantime, this is what I am reading, uttering to myself, and saying in almost every sigh throughout the day:

"For I know the plans I have for you, declares the Lord,

plans to prosper you and not to harm you,

plans to give you hope and future."

Jeremiah 29:11

Did you catch that? He doesn't just whisper it, note it, or say it. He declares it! I don't know about you, but I take a declaration seriously. I am putting my faith in this.

In Him.

~kimberly

Ayiti. Days 36 - 37.

2010-08-24T20:11:00.001-05:00

I apologize for the extreme tardiness of this post! I did not have internet capability during my last several days in Haiti, and since then getting acclimated to "this life," (still not ready to call it "real life,) has not been as seamless as I had envisioned. No problems, just a lot to do, and a little tired at the end of the day...

Anyways, our last couple of days in Haiti were not without emotion and adventure. As I mentioned in my last post, saying, "see you later," to the kids at the orphanage was quite difficult. And they are constantly on my heart and in my mind.

The last morning that we were in Les Cayes, which was the day before we traveled, Yelline taught me how to make Fried Plantains. For those of you not familiar:

–noun

a tropical plant, Musa paradisiaca, of the banana family,resembling the banana.

its fruit, eaten cooked as a staple food in tropical regions.

Certainly not health food, but quickly became a comfort food. And, if one is ever out in Haiti, they seem to be a safe choice to order at a restaurant, as no bacteria could survive the double frying. I became a fan of that after I was sick. The other dish pictured here is just sauteed onions with tuna and hot sauce. A pretty yummy combination with the plantains! Since I do know how to prepare the plantains now, and was the recipient of a "plantain press," as a farewell gift, one would logically ask if I've made them since I've been home. Nope. Not out of lack of desire, but lack of plantains. I've been to 3 grocery stores and have not found them yet. I don't think there is a "plantain season" here in Michigan, so I will just keep looking. I've heard that people have seen them here...

Also, the morning that we woke up our last day in Les Cayes, there were huge downpours. I mean worse than before.

And I became a little concerned about our road trip to Port-au-Prince where erosion and earthquake damage leads (on a good day) to frequent sightings like this:

or this...

which can make for a very long and treacherous trip!

Fortunately, after we said "see you later," to Ziane, Sincia, Veline, Yelline and Warens, and hit the road, the skies quickly began to clear.

It took somewhere around 4 hours to get to Port-au-Prince, but once there, everything, and I mean everything, is bumper to bumper traffic, except for the middle of the night, when, according to Israelson, it's a little better.

Along the way, we saw too many tent cities to count, and too much earthquake damage to wrap our minds around. I took many photos, but you've seen them on the news, so I'll only share a couple:

Note the tent on top of the fallen building. There are not only so many tent cities, but also, just random tents everywhere. On top of other standing homes and businesses, in front of homes or businesses, or just along the side of the road.

The above scene is fairly common where there is earthquake damage...one guy with a sledge hammer trying to break what remains of his home or business into manageable sized pieces so that he and his friends/family can move them by hand, or in a 5 gallon bucket, to the road to be picked up and hauled away. Can you imagine? Their tenacity even now when I think about it, brings tears to my eyes. My logic would tell me, "I'll never get this done. 10 years. I'll never get this done." And yet, this is what they are doing day after day more than 7 months after the earthquake.

Our mission, once in PaP was to ship some bamboo, via FedEx, from Haiti to Belgium, for some work Tom is doing.

After an additional hour and several phone calls, we found the FedEx office near the airport. Someone from Tom's office had spoken to 2 people at FedEx International that assured her that "all" we had to do was drop off the 4 tubs of bamboo, the FedEx officials there would have Tom complete some paperwork, then we would take it to the Dept. of Agriculture Quarantine office, and drop it there. Then FedEx would pick it up from them, and take care of the shipping.

I know, you beat me to the punch. That's what was supposed to happen. However, nothing is easy in Haiti and everything takes much longer than your

mind can even conceptualize.

Oh, by the way, this is what the temperature gauge in the car said during all of this, and we had suspected for days that it was a few degrees off (lower) than the actual temperature outside.

But, I digress.

The woman at FedEx knew nothing. Did some checking. Nothing. After 30 - 45 minutes, still nothing. She suggested that we just take the bamboo to the quarantine place and start there.

Ok. Seems easy enough, right? Israelson had been told "about" where that government office was. Well, (say it with me now...), nothing is easy in Haiti. Just one scene along the way...

A sort of "clothing market" above...

And below, I saw, on more than one occasion, people digging through the trash heaps for something to eat....

Well, after driving and looking, calling for clarification, stopping to ask directions, for about 2 hours, I think, we had not yet found the Dept. of Agriculture quarantine building. It was now starting to get late, and we decided to give up for the day and head to the hotel. Tom had been driving all day, and at this point, our temperature gauge in the car looked like this

and was going up. (I soon realized that I had reached the point for that day where any more photos were just going to get me into trouble with my other passengers....so I just took one more

Israelson in the backseat, telling Tom that the temperature gauge is going up, while Tom is trying to climb a San Francisco type hill in bumper to bumper stop and go traffic with a manual transmission. See why I didn't take any further photos on this day???

We eventually found our hotel (directly across from a tent city. Hard.), and checked in. There was a pool, which was nice, but the food was not...so it was a hungry evening and next morning.

For a moment, though, in the morning, an internet signal on my ipod for a second and posted on Facebook that if anyone could find the address and email it to Tom, we'd be most appreciative.

Quickly, one of our friends, Jim, from the Grand Rapids area did just that! I proudly told Israelson. He quietly said, "Thanks. But in Haiti, it just isn't the same as the U.S."

Israelson was also worried about the car because it kept stalling and didn't accelerate well, so we found a couple of places and and found someone to take a look. He said that we were ok to complete our mission for the morning, but then he needed to replace the fuel filter, or something.

We drove more. Called more. Stopped more places to ask directions. The address didn't help us, as is typical there, I guess.

Finally, we stopped another place to ask for directions, and this man

said he knew right where we needed to be, and offered to go with us! So, I moved over into the middle of the backseat, and he jumped in beside me. I tried to put out of my mind that whole "never pick up strangers," and "keep your windows rolled up and doors locked while in PaP," thing. I just prayed. That we'd be safe, and that this man knew where he was going. The latter quickly became the more fervent prayer.

He took us down some roads that seemed impossible to hold government buildings, but sure enough, when we pulled in the gate that he pointed out, we saw large, large trees planted in perfect rows and several large, beautiful buildings. We all sighed a collective sigh of relief. One of us said, "Ok, this is good. At least if that building in front of us isn't it, at least someone can tell us which building to go to." (There were no signs.)

Israelson pulled up next to a couple of gentleman and explained what we were looking for. At the point when the man started shaking his head back and forth, then made a sweeping motion to the right with one arm, and a sweeping motion to the left with another arm, and then held hands very close together and moved them in a forward direction, it was clear to me.

We needed to head east around the mountains, back west around the mountains, and then abandon the car and crawl with the 4 tubs of bamboo through a very narrow tunnel to get to where we needed to go.

Disappointing.

However, God is good (all the time...), and mountains and kneel-crawling were not necessary. Just another 45 minutes in the car.

Finally, down an alley, we turned into another unmarked gate, found an overgrown lot with several empty looking buildings, one disabled vehicle, and were apparently "there." Israelson found someone to speak with, and sure enough, it was the right place! Yippee!

The right person to speak with, was NOT THERE, however, so this is what Tom looked like while we waited...

Our navigational system, (see prior photo) took his $20 U.S. dollars (all we had...), and hitched a ride home, a very happy man.

Once the right man came back after another 30 or so minutes, he informed us, that yes, this was the right place, but ONLY after the bamboo had been fumigated and certified. Sigh.

Tom knew that it had to be fumigated (to his credit), but the agency in Les Cayes had implied that it would all be taken care of at the same office.

Well, at this point we needed to be at the airport! We had spent another 4 hours on this wild goose chase. So we found a quick bite to eat, and Tom gave Israelson instructions on what he needed to do for the bamboo after we left. He also left him some cash to take of those things.

That was last Thursday, August 19th. Speed ahead to today.

Israelson successfully got the bamboo to the fumigation place on Thursday. It was due to be ready on Friday. Israelson took the car in to get the repair it needed. That took all day Friday. Israelson called about the hours of the quarantine place and was told they were open from 8 to noon on Saturday.

He picked up the bamboo from the fumigation place and went to the quarantine place. They were not open until Monday. That was yesterday.

Yesterday the car needed more repairs because the first guy messed it up more than he fixed it. As of tonight, Tuesday, Israelson is still in PaP, the car still doesn't work, and the bamboo still hasn't gotten to FedEx.

Please keep Israelson in your prayers. He works so hard, and this ordeal is especially taxing on him. He needs relief from the car issues, and some help in the work that he is doing. He is faithful to the Lord's calling and to his family. I am praying that he gets a break soon.

That's it for tonight. Whew! Long. Soon I will post about "re-entry" and some other updates.

I intend to continue to use the place to update you all on the happenings in Haiti, but some Michigan life will appear from time to time, too.

Blessings my friends!

kimberly

awake my soul.

2010-08-22T16:18:00.005-05:00

i have been re-awakened.

growing up, i got so used to going to church every sunday. sitting through the sermon that i never really understood anyways, going to sunday school to play with my friends, etc.

i understood that Jesus loves me and that He died for my sins. I knew that I had to believe in Him in order to go to Heaven, but it never really sunk in.

now, i'm not saying i was never a Christian. i'm just trying to say that i was never into it. and this was definitely not my parents fault. [maybe it had a little something to do with my dad forcing my sisters and i to go up to the children's message until we were THIRTEEN years old. waaaay to old to still be going up front for the children's message. i still resent that, obviously.] but what i mean is, i was a kid. i listened to what my parents told me and didn't really apply it to my life.

the only place i actually enjoyed church was in haiti. everything there is so heartfelt, so pure, and so full of praise and worship. i am also not saying that our church doesn't have that. it does, it was just done in haiti in a way that reached out to me.

in haiti, the worship is breathtaking. you can feel it in your bones. the Spirit just fills the entire church. you can't help, but to be moved. and it is impossible to ignore it or to sit still. even with the language barrier, you can feel what they are singing. and when they sing "Jezi", it's indescribable. the people there use all they have to worship our Lord. and it is absolutely beautiful to see and to hear.

haiti was the only place i felt something real. like Jesus was standing right next to me, loving every moment of our praises.

i absolutely love the worship i experience when i am in haiti, but it always bothered me that that is the only place i could feel like that. i always wondered if i was doing something wrong at home. maybe i was just letting myself get distracted. maybe i just needed to try harder to feel like i do in haiti.

so like whenever i have something bothering me, i took it to God in prayer. and man, oh man, when you pray, He really listens!!

last Sunday, i prayed on my way to church that God would open my heart to the worship i was going to experience. i prayed that he would give me the desire to be there and to crave His Word. i just prayed that i would get something out of the message and the worship.

last sunday ended up being the most spiritual experience i've ever had at good shepherd lutheran church. from the moment i walked in i was so filled with the Holy Spirit, it was impossible for me to ignore. i couldn't get enough of the scripture pastor t was reading, i didn't want to stop singing and it seemed like every word was written just for me to sing. the sermon was phenomenal in every way.

there were a few times that i had to close my eyes to keep myself from crying. i mean, it was powerful. and it was beautiful. and i was so amazed at the answer God gave me to my prayers.

for the past few sundays, i had been crying in church because i was missing the worship in haiti and missing watching the kids worship at church in les cayes. and then there i was practically in tears because i was so overwhelmed with God's love, His mercy, His awesomeness. it was incredible.

i left the service craving more. i needed more of God's Word. i needed to worship. all i wanted to do was talk about how amazing our God is!!

on wednesday, i went to st. paul's for pizza and praise. i was thrilled to go to a place where the sole purpose is to sing praises to our God! that was all i had been wanting to do since i'd left church on sunday.

this whole time, i was so excited to be feeling this want, but i was still so surprised at how quickly and how passionately i was feeling it! i asked God, and i received!

pizza and praise was beyond amazing. praise team was awesome, like they always are. and i got to sit in a pew filled with children the entire time. we danced really silly, we sang together, we goofed around, they sat on my lap; all things that i would have done with the kids at the orpha

nage if i had been there instead.

there was a moment when i just closed my eyes and sat still. i felt a kid on my lap and two squished really close next to me. one holding my hand, the other grabbing my arm. and i heard them laughing, singing, talking. and i imagined, just for a minute, that i was still in haiti. with my kids. and it was perfect.

but i think God was trying to show me something: i was so sad to come home and leave my kids behind. and i think i've been living too much in that sadness. i think God is trying to show me that there are kids here too. and just because i can't be with the kids i love dearly in haiti right now, i can still show all my love to the kids here. they need to see God's love through me as well. and i see that clearly now. i am so glad God shoved this in my face! i can still miss my kids and wish i was there, but i shouldn't just sit around and mope! i should be doing the same thing i would be doing with the kids in haiti! showing God's love to them every possible chance i get!

i know this blog post was kind of all over. i started with the intent of it just being about one subject and then sort of figured some things out about myself as i was writing and it morphed into something else. but all in all, GOD IS SO GOOD.

also, i know this blog may come off the wrong way to some people. please don't form a bad opinion about me and my faith if you don't understand, please ask me to explain in more detail. i would love to explain myself more and help you understand how i've strengthened my relationship with our God!

Ayiti. Day 35.

2010-08-17T20:56:00.001-05:00

Well, this is it. (or was it.) Our last full day in Les Cayes/Torbeck. Tomorrow, a day before we actually leave Haiti, we drive to Port-au-Prince with Israelson to try to ship something from Haiti to Belgium, via FedEx. Since we have no idea how long this process will take (things that would seem to be quick, often take a long time here), and because we don't want to miss either the shipping, or our flight on Thursday, we are going tomorrow, taking care of the shipping and spending the night in a PaP hotel. Getting a room was a challenge, as the hotel business is booming in PaP with all of the NGO's in town to oversee whatever it is they are doing...

So I am so sad to say goodbye, but also now (since I HAVE to leave) looking forward to the next steps.

Because I arrived in PaP with only 45 minute sleep in the previous 24 hours, I did not take any photos when I was there. I also thought I would get there another time between arriving and departing, but that didn't work out either. So, being there a day early allows me to see some things, and also for Israelson to show us the "nicer parts" of PaP...which he says are prevalent, but we never hear about in the U.S.

The photos below are from my last "work day" in Torbeck, which was yesterday. They have had a lot of rain, so our work on the gardens, which normally would have been delayed a day, were just more soggy.

You can see that we had a captive audience on Leonie's porch as we measured and marked out the spaces for the raised beds. The kids are SO excited to begin to garden! Our measuring, marking, etc. became a bit of a challenge as we didn't have a square, and as we realized that the guest house and Leonie's house aren't quite perpendicular to each other...so which house do you make it even with?? Leonie's!...her gardens, and her view from the porch!

During all of this, I was still especially thankful I had made room for these:

However, after about 5 minutes in the water, I realized that my right boot had sprung a leak. Let me tell you...having your foot in a dark boot, filling with water, on a 100 degree day in Haiti, is not unlike having your foot in a microwave! (not that I've ever done that, or recommend that you try this at home...) It was HOT and uncomfortable.

So, when we were done, this is what I did...

And the boots are now in Les Cayes to be given to someone that will find a way to patch them...I will have to find another cute pair of rain boots when I am back in the U.S., I suppose. RIP whale boots...you served me well!

-------

This afternoon we took Leonie, Yelline, Israelson, Ziane, Warens, Dominic, TP, Ziane, Veline, and some others to Port Salut for an afternoon on the beach, relaxing, and a nice dinner at the hotel there. We had a moment to thank them for their hard work and hospitality to us, their work with other mission teams, and the work and love that they provide for the children. It was a wonderful time, and there were not just a few tears shed....

On our way home, we stopped in Torbeck to drop off Leonie and to say goodbye to the kids. That was so hard. In fact, Ruth went into her room and on her bed and didn't want to come out because she said she was sad...but she did come out eventually....

We spoke to the kids and their caretakers, while Israelson translated. We told them that we love them so much...like we love our own kids...and even though we are leaving to go to Michigan, our hearts will stay with them. That we will pray for them each day, and that while we are in Michigan, we will be working to provide a better place for them...housing, a cafeteria, a safe place to play, and more. We told them that even though we will be physically far apart, our hearts will be together...

And, we told them to behave and do good in school...and for the caretakers to take good care of them while we are apart.

Then, there were big hugs all around.

If I could bring them all home with me, I would. Seriously. Every last one of them. But, since I can't do that, the next best thing I can do is pray for them and work for them while I am in Michigan to have a better life here in Haiti.

And...

I when I return to Haiti, hopefully soon, our reunion will be all the sweeter....

P.S. some of the girls showed me their knitting tonight and they are doing a GREAT job! We need to get them some more cotton yarn and some patterns....they love it!

Goodnight, my last night in Les Cayes...

Ayiti. Days 33-34. (photos)

2010-08-17T09:15:00.000-05:00

The little guy that got baptized...Robens...so sweet!

The baptism...

The family, godparents, Tom and Israelson...

Saturday evening revival...with new lightbulbs!...

Ayiti. Days 33-34. (or, 3 days before we leave Ayiti.)

2010-08-16T20:17:00.000-05:00

Yesterday into today we had our longest stretch with no electricity since we've been here. Usually we have been able to count on having one fan going in the evening as we go to sleep, but then it goes off between 2-4 am. You always hope that you are sleeping soundly at the point, and won't notice that you are sweating into the mattress and pillow! But, last night we lost power as soon as we went to bed, about 11:15 pm, and still didn't have it this morning when we left for Torbeck at 9 am.

I have a couple of things to say to you!

If you can:

1) walk to your refrigerator door and dispense water and/or ice into your glass,

2) be a little surprised with the electricity goes out and have that feeling of playing "pioneer"

3) turn the faucet and water comes out

4) flush your toilet whenever you wish

5) open your refrigerator and pantry and be able to make at least 4 meals without going shopping

6) count on your car starting when you turn the key,

...then give thanks, because you are blessed! These are things that no person in Haiti can do on a regular basis!

Well, I had hoped to post some photos from the baptism and the past couple of days, but they won't upload, so the post is just to remind you to give thanks!

Ayiti. Day 32.

2010-08-14T17:17:00.000-05:00

You may well have noticed a pattern of late...I haven't been able to successfully post one day at a time on here due to all sorts of reasons! So, today's is getting done this afternoon, and is a conglomeration of earlier today, yesterday and a wee bit of the night before.

Let's start with Thursday evening...this was the western sky from the roof in Les Cayes...I think it would have been a great night to have been in Port Salut!

And the next morning there was a brief downpour while the sun was shining, so I headed to the roof again...

A little later we headed to Torbeck and were pleased with the progress of the wall...

As I looked at it, I had the surprising really good feeling know that I had touched many of those rocks in the foundation...

Later in the day we headed east to Carre-four Duclos where Tom preached at a revival service. I took photos, but they only had one working lightbulb (100 watts...) in the church, and I didn't want to use the flash, so the photos are too dark. Today Tom picked up 5 new light bulbs and we will hopefully get them in before tonight's service!

We missed dinner, so on the way home we stopped at a place that Ketura told us about...they serve pizza and wine!

I was still a little nervous about my stomach and eating anything that Leonie hasn't helped to prepare, so I just had a glass of wine and passed on the pizza! And, Tom being the guy that he is and knowing that about 8 of the kids from the orphanage were spending the night in Les Cayes, did this:

Speaking of wonderful husband moments...this morning instead of going to Torbeck, we decided that we would stay in Les Cayes and I would start teaching some of the kids to knit. Not being an advanced knitter myself, the lack of my skill, the language barrier, and the ratio of kids to me was a bit challenging! They were so patient, and they needed to be with me!

Anyways, we soon realized that we had a little issue because I am right handed and 2 of the girls are left handed. One of them decided just to try it "my way," but Sincia needed to learn left handed. I found a video online that shows how to knit left handed, but alas, I still couldn't really help her. Guess which fellow lefty stepped up to the plate, studied the video and practiced for about 2 hours, and then taught Sincia?!

And, if you're a knitter, you will be pleased to know that he has a very nice, even stitch! I told him that he and I can sit and knit together this winter! :)

After about 2.5 hours of relative success, it was time to take a break...for lunch and the girls did some beading and jewelry making. I tried to take a nap, but was unsuccessful. Imagine my surprise when I went back out into the big room and was greeted with eager knitters! In fact, I quickly lost my spot on the bench and they were all very busy...

That was fun! I am leaving them lots of needles and some yarn, but depending on their interest continuing, some future groups might want to bring some cotton yarn with them!

That's it for this afternoon...baptism and revival news tomorrow!

Ayiti. More tent city photos.

2010-08-13T17:50:00.000-05:00

I had trouble uploading all of the photos that I wanted to share last night, so I am going to try again AND add a video...we'll see...

This is Charlotte, the leader of the first tent city we visited...

These are the showers in that same camp...the nicest that we saw...

Sydney gave this mom one baby bottle and then she held up 2 fingers and asked someone to bring her other baby to show us...twins! She definitely touched my heart, and is in my prayers....

This mom found a spot for her baby to rest on a cot, which is resting over a drainage ditch. She was sitting on the cardboard next to the baby...and in a photo that I took but didn't post, just a few feet further down on this wall it says, "We need food."

This photo is from the camp that was overall in the worst condition, and it is probably no surprise that this is where people were more desperate and we had our "little problem" with distribution. I realized that I only have video of that and no photos. Since we need to leave now for Tom to preach at the revival, I will try to upload that video later tonight or tomorrow.

And, now for a photo of Syndey, who demonstrated Jesus' love and pure grace everywhere we went. And, I have to say that everywhere we went, people were extremely grateful and so kind. They asked ME how I was...I still tear up when I think of that...

By the way, everything that was distributed was from Lutheran Church Charities based in Addison, IL. They have sent beans and also sent money so that Sydney and Pastor Marky could go to Port-au-Prince and purchase the other items.

More tomorrow...please continue to join me in prayer, and some form of action to help these people...

Ayiti. Sometime after Day 23 and before Day 29...part 3.

2010-08-12T21:36:00.000-05:00

On Monday afternoon we visited one tent (camp) city in Jacmel. At this first one, Sydney passed out baby bottles to the women that had infants. The numbers of babies and toddlers there was incredible, as was the number of pregnant women. Sydney said that it will be really overwhelming come mid-October, which will be 9 months since the earthquake.

If you have kept up with the news reports, you will know that since the earthquake, and especially in the tent cities, many women have been victims of sexual assault, so many of the pregnancies were not planned. Yelline and I also had a conversation about this and she said that many young women in hopes of gaining shelter, food, or other items, did things that they would not do under normal circumstances. Hence, there will be a lot of unplanned babies born, and probably many, many babies abandoned after they are born.

On Tuesday morning Syndey asked if we were up to helping her distribute supplies to some more camp cities, which of course, we were. We loaded up her SUV with a couple of boxes of sandals and some 110 lb bags of pinto beans and headed out.

These next photos don’t really need too much explanation. If you have read Tom’s messages lately, you know his view of the NGO’s (Non Government Organizations) and their impact here. Suffice it to say that the help that was offered from the world to Haiti is not reaching the people in the greatest need. The sites that we visited did have tents or tarps, some form of restrooms and showers, and water. Other than that, the people were left to fend for themselves.

And, when you look at these photos, I want you to picture yourself either in this tent, in 95-105 degrees, sitting on a cinder block, in the dirt, or walking the streets. There are no other options. Common sense tells us that there are many people, and probably most of them children, dying in these camp cities. I saw children that were ill, many with rashes, many with the rust color in their hair, which indicates malnourishment. This is a human crisis of huge proportion.

Many of the tents are falling apart...they weren't designed for a 7+ month stay....

This little girl latched onto me as soon as I got out of the
car...and didn't let go until we left....

I can tell you that from what we have seen here in our time, the church based groups seem to be doing the best job of getting help where it needs to go. Many other large organizations drive the best SUVs in the country, carry no supplies, and have their windows rolled up with the A/C on. It’s so blatant that I am embarrassed at times.

Every camp city has a leader, and at each one, we stopped and Sydney explained who we were, where we were from and what we wanted to do. They had a great system (in all but one case) of helping us distribute the supplies and were very appreciative. Sydney also go their names and contact information so that she could follow up with them again.

You can't see it from this angle, but there is no bottom on his cast. I have a feeling that he was injured in the earthquake and has received no follow up care since. He is literally wearing his cast off.

This is when I had the opportunity to help distribute sandals.
We did not have enough for everyone...

these are the bare feet of the woman that helped us "police" the sandal distribution. she wasn't angry, but wanted me to know (and document) that after all that, she is left with no shoes....

I have to say at this point that I was continually amazed and impressed with Sydney’s loving, caring spirit with the people she encountered. She always had a smile, a laugh, and kind words to say to everyone she met. She is the church in action, and she had a great impact on me. Even in the one situation that got a little out of hand, she laughed when she got in the car and said, “That one was a little problem!”

This camp city is right next to the open water...on the south coast of Haiti. If there is a hurricane, or even a strong tropical storm that hits here, I hate to think of what will happen....

The children of Haiti, as a rule, have little to no toys.
These children were playing jump rope with a twisted up tshirt.

There seem to be 2 photos that won’t upload this evening, (one that was the "little problem," and another) but I’m almost out of battery on my laptop, so I am going to save them for tomorrow. But, these photos tell you enough this evening.

This was a great experience for me, but heartbreaking. I do not know how we expect people to live like this, and the fact is, many are not. The church seems to be the most successful at giving aide, and we need to step it up. Children are dying.

Ayiti. Sometime after Day 23 and before Day 29...part 2.

2010-08-12T13:24:00.000-05:00

After Sunday School, church and a church meeting on Sunday, we came home and this was the meal that was waiting for us! Oh. my. goodness. So much delicious Haitian food!

A little while after lunch, Sydney and Pastor Marky invited us to go to the beach with them in Jacmel. Along the way, we saw another one of the Lutheran churches in Jacmel:

This is one of the churches/lay pastors that will soon be available for churches and people in the U.S. to support. Pastors and lay pastors in Haiti receive no salary. Within the past 2 years, one lay pastor died of starvation...we are working to change this! I am going to be working on this with Pastor Marky for the Lutheran Church of Haiti, and will have updates and availability as soon as I can.

The beach was not what I expected! While we have seen Gelee Beach between Les Cayes and Torbeck that has a row of restaurants and bars along the beach, there was a much bigger operation going here and so many people, we had to search for a place to sit. It was great!

Howard went in the water while Tom and Pastor watched him...meanwhile Sydney and I got to know each other a little better. We also had some plantains and fish...and of course, there was a Prestige (Haiti beer) for everyone but Pastor, who soon would have to do another church service. He had an energy drink. :)

Church that evening was another great experience! So much passionate singing and joy! Towards the end of the service, we heard a little thunder, saw a little lightning, and the wind picked up. As it did, the almond tree growing next to and over the church roof began to drop almonds on the corrugated roof, which was pretty noisy! Since we were the only ones that had a car to drive to church, several people got up to leave...it would soon be a muddy walk home!

But, many people stayed, and soon the downpour began! More thunder; more lightning. I did lean over and ask Tom about the safety of being in the woods in an open air building with a metal roof in lightning...he assured me that since part of the roof was plastic, it was fine. Right. I just decided that if lightning struck at that moment and it was my time to go, there was no better place to be!

Since no one was going to be walking anywhere soon, the praise band started with the more "upbeat" music, which included Pastor Marky alternately playing the keyboard or the drums, depending on his choice at the moment. The singing was amazing, some people were dancing, others were talking and laughing...this went on for close to 30 minutes I think, but I really lost track of the time...before the rain dropped off and people made a hasty exit while they could.

Sydney then told us that Pastor had a meeting, so we could drive Howard and some of the church ladies home. Tom said, "How will I know where to let them off?" Sydney said, "Howard will tell you."

So, we started off in the dark, still raining, muddiness...Tom turned onto the main road and headed towards Pastor's home. I should note at this point that Howard had had a very long day playing with Tom, swimming at the beach, and then sitting in another hot church service. He was very quiet. Tom got to a particular intersection and said, "I don't know if I'm supposed to go straight here or go left." I said, "Ask Howard. " "Howard???" Tom yelled to the third row of seats. "Yes?" Howard replied in a rather sleepy voice. "Am I supposed to turn left here or go straight." No response. "Howard?" No response. It was now a very quiet car, although I think there were at least 7 people in it. So, Tom started to turn left. Suddenly, a very loud chorus of Haitian women said, "NO! NO! NO!" So, he went straight, and they sighed and said, "Oui." Our new navigation system worked just fine after that!

The next day Pastor Marky told us in the morning that he had a 3 day Executive Meeting in Port-au-Prince, and wouldn't see us again before we went back to Les Cayes. We said our goodbyes, and then had some restful time. In the afternoon we decided to go for a walk in the neighborhood where Pastor and Sydney's house is. After walking down the street just a little ways, this is what we saw:

A house that had been completely destroyed by the earthquake. While Port-au-Prince was featured in the news reports because of the huge number of people impacted in that densely populated area, there were several other cities and towns that also sustained substantial damage. Jacmel is one of those places.

We saw several homes partially or fully destroyed, and then we saw this one:

fully intact, and by the way, for rent! It also has this view:

Absolutely beautiful!

So, we were struck not only by the damaged homes and not damaged homes, but also by the intermixing of poverty and great wealth in the same neighborhood.

In the next post I will share with you the visits to the tent cities of Jacmel....

Ayiti. Sometime after Day 23 and before Day 29....part 1...

2010-08-11T21:04:00.000-05:00

Good evening from a warm and sticky Haiti! I am sorry for the lapse in posts...last week when there was internet I couldn't post and when I could post, there was no internet. Then, last Saturday, Pastor Marky Kessa, the President of the Lutheran Church of Haiti, and his wife, Sydney, made a surprise visit to Les Cayes! They arrived just as we were starting to meet with a team that was here from Jenison, MI about construction plans in phases at Torbeck for the orphanage.
During one break in the meeting, I went into our bedroom for a moment, and there was a knock on my door. I said, "Hello?" and a strong voice said, "It is the Presidente. Are you packed and ready to go?" I opened the door and said, "Go where?" Pastor Marky said, "Jacmel. We need to spend some time with you before you leave Haiti! Besides, your husband needs to preach at my church again."
So, we packed a few things and left a bit later.
Jacmel is also on the southern coast of Haiti, probably about an hour east of Les Cayes. However, there is no road that goes even remotely that direction. So, to get to Jacmel from Les Cayes, one must drive north across the mountains to almost Port-au-Prince, then take a turn off that heads southeast, back across the mountains, to Jacmel. On a good weather day, with no mudslides or car/truck accidents on the 2 lane roads, it takes about 4 hours.
We arrived in time for dinner Saturday evening, and shortly thereafter got settled in our room for the night. The night was peaceful and uneventful.
The next morning we arrived at the church back in the woods off one of the main roads in Jacmel at about 8:10 am, and Sunday School for the adults had already begun. There is no Sunday School for the children of the church during the summertime. There were a good number of people there, and they were learning what seemed to be parts of the Small Catechism by rote memorization. Here are a couple of photos:

This is the church at the entrance...

This is a side view. The entrance is on the left of the photo, the altar at the other end.

Sunday School.

2 of 3 tents 20 feet from the church...for members that lost their homes in the earthquake.

Pastor Marky and his wife, Sydney.

Howard, their very cute 8 yr old son.

About 20 minutes before Sunday School was over, people started filing into church. And they kept coming, and coming. When I thought the church could hold no more and even the ushers were shaking their heads, more people came in and squeezed into these pews. I couldn't count how many were in church finally, as I was seated in the very back...but I'm guessing maybe 300. When I looked over my shoulder outside, there were at least another 50 to 75 people sitting on small child sized plastic chairs, (some of them broken) outside the church. The photo above was my view from the back. Note the lack of "personal church space" for these people, and it was easily in the 90's during the service.

Tom preached and Pastor Marky translated. Amazing message. They are a great team!

Two women accepted Christ during the service. Here the pastor and lay pastors are praying over them.

There is so much more to write, but I will have to save it for another time. I have been in bed all day with some sort of stomach bug, but thankfully the Cipro is helping. Hopefully we will have electricity and internet tomorrow. I have so much more to share from our time in Jacmel.....

~kimberly

"waka waka. eh eh."

2010-08-08T16:15:00.004-05:00

lately i haven't been able to get the girls at the orphanage off my mind. it seems like anything and everything reminds me of them.

on this trip, i had a closer relationship to the girls than any of my other trips. i feel like it always takes the kids a week to warm up to you; that's why i was so excited we were able to have such a long time with them this time! and since my last trip was only a few months ago, it didn't take quite as long for them to warm up!

i remember the night that they finally let julie and i in completely. it was the night of sarah's birthday. [i already wrote a little about it in my last blog post.]

we were all playing the "my name is.." game. we were having so much fun; we must have played for an hour or so. then we slowly started moving towards the house so we could leave, but we didn't want to go! we ended up playing with the girls on the driveway for another hour, at least! then, not sure how it switched to this, we started singing different songs with the girls. it would just be bits and pieces of different songs. julie and i would sing a little bit to see if they girls knew it or not, then they would sing a little bit of another song to see if we knew it. we were mainly singing disney songs or hannah montana. there was a little bit of beyonce or rihanna mixed in too. the girls just loooved it when we knew the same songs. and it was so cool because that was one thing that the language barrier couldn't interfere with. music is the same wherever you are. i think that's what helped bring us all together.

then it slowly moved from singing to dancing, and by this time it was started to get dark. so dina, matilda, and ruth were on a mission to teach me how to dance. [which is pretty difficult for me anyways] they decided "waka waka" would be the best to teach me! so sure enough, after about fifteen minutes of diligent teaching and a LOT of laughing, i knew how to dance to the chorus of "waka waka"! the girls LOVED it. i'm not sure if they were laughing because they were so exicted i'd learned it or if they were laughing at my dance skills. [i'm leaning towards the latter...] but either way, it brought our relationship to a whole different level.

they also taught me how to dance to a different song, i think it was shakira as well. all i know is it went, "oh boy. i can see your body mooooving." hahahha. man, they were like rolling on the floor watching me try to dance to that. it's just amazing to me how much fun we can have together and how much we can understand about each other even without speaking the same language. God is so awesome.

what's even cooler, is that throughout this entire time, one of the girls was videotaping. it was dark so you can't really see anything, but all you need is the sound to understand how much fun we were having together. it was so awesome to go home and realize all of that was captured on video rather than just my memory. so whenever i miss those girls and those times we had together, i can still close my eyes and imagine i'm still there with them.

after that night, the girls couldn't get enough of us. we were like attached at the hip! we had new games and new experiences with the girls everyday! they were so much more interested in talking with us than before! it seemed like before that night, the girls would talk to us in creole, knowing that we wouldn't understand most of what they said and really not caring that we didn't understand. but then they changed. they started saying things using the creole they knew we knew and helping us to understand what they were saying! they started asking us about our lives at home; about boyfriends [the nonexistent ones julie and i have], about where we live, if julie and i share a room, anything they could think of! it was so cool knowing that they finally let us in enough that they cared about us!

then i had a pretty funny conversation with ruth, who i became very close to over the course of my trip. she started asking me if i was going to cry when i left and i said yes of course and that i didn't want to leave. ruth, being the goofy, beautiful girl she is said, "well, if you don't want to leave then don't." and i laughed and told her that i had to finished school before i could stay here for good. i told her i would be coming back next summer and i would stay for the whole summer. and what did she say? "i'll believe it when i see it." that comment made me laugh because of how wise such a young girl is, but it also made me really sad. i mean, these kids see people on mission teams come and go. i'm sure many of them promising kids things they can't always keep. it broke my heart to think that ruth would even wonder if i was telling the truth or not, but what else can she do? this is her life, watching people come, play, love, and leave. she hasn't been shown any other way to think about people traveling to haiti.

but i told her to just wait and see. i'll be back for good soon enough. and i can't wait till she sees that i wasn't lying.

Ayiti. Day 23.

2010-08-05T21:11:00.000-05:00

This is an update for yesterday and today...and I wanted to share with you a photo of three beautiful women that prepare the amazing meals that we eat everyday.

From left to right, Sincia, Veline and Ziane. Here they were shelling peas and cleaning spinach.

They often start one meal as they are finishing up the last meal. I am so thankful for them and the wonderful things that they prepare for us!

Here is my view during my devotions last night...

This morning, Ketura left for Port-au-Prince at 2:30 am. I, unfortunately missed saying goodbye to her...then Amanda, Megan, Ashley and Kelly were taken to PaP by Israelson and Tom at 6:30 this morning. I did manage to say goodbye to them, but it was close. I was sound asleep!

Around here this morning we did some housecleaning, and I did some much needed organizing of our stuff...one can only stay so organized in a suitcase. Actually, Tom is living out of a suitcase and 2 laundry baskets...Leonie graciously gave up some closet space for me, so I do have many things hanging up. Still, I was not organized.

At lunch time, Yelline and I went to Torbeck. I started on the porch with the kids, and thought that since I don't know enough Creole yet, playing Uno would be a great thing to do!

I quickly realized that we weren't really playing Uno...as I saw this:

Yes, our folding chair / table has two different kinds of cards. Uno and Skip-Bo. I have not played Skip-Bo in many years, but being the proactive person that I am, I knew that they had that game and had grabbed the instructions from Les Cayes! So, I started reading the instructions...all is well, right?

Well, not so much. Claudine was doing her best to help me, but as far as I could tell we weren't playing a version of Uno OR of Skip-Bo. Fortunately Yelline came by just then, and I explained my predicament. She spoke to the kids and they told her that we weren't playing either...we were playing Casino. Then she proceeded to explain how to play Casino to me, and the royalty and aces had great significance. I told her that we didn't have those...then she shrugged and said, "Well, then. I don't know. Good luck." Haha! It went on for awhile, and then I pulled out the Creole/English flashcards and we started practicing those.

I love working with the kids on the language because they don't get taught English until middle school, and even then, they have a great desire to learn. So, we had a great time quizzing each other and practicing pronunciations for quite awhile. They are great teachers!

A little bit later, the girls noticed that I badly needed a pedicure, and I got one, with the most attentive "staff" I've ever had! Here is what it looked like by my toes...

There was much discussion about color choice and proper application...I loved it, and now have pretty pink toes!

When the sun had become not quite so direct, Yelline and I decided to clean up the land that had been cleared for the raised beds. We quickly had help raking, scooping, and dumping!

It was still quite warm, but fun for everyone involved and got done within about 90 minutes.

This evening the internet and power finally came back on after almost 2 days without. It has been nice to spend a few minutes catching up with family that I have wondered about for the past couple of days! Glad to hear that everyone is well!

And, Tom and Israelson returned back just a little while ago. Tonight, Tom and I begin our first evening alone here in Haiti, without any of our family and friends along. While I miss them, this is the time that I have been anticipating...some much needed time to talk, pray and see how this all "feels" to us, and to discern where God may be leading.

We appreciate your updates and your prayers!

kimberly

Ayiti. Day 21.

2010-08-03T21:54:00.001-05:00

Today it is 3 weeks since I arrived in Haiti, and I have less than 3 weeks until I leave. That is bittersweet for me. I love my time here, and am beginning to get glimpses of what God might have for me to do on a bigger level while doing what He lays before me each day while I am here.

I have to be honest, I'm missing this every once in awhile...

Certainly, I am much more aware here of the difference between wants and needs, but sometimes amidst the hard work and high prices I let my mind wander to a quick trip to Target...today for the air conditioning if nothing else! :)

Last Sunday some girls from the church and orphanage danced to a song that the Praise Team sang. I was surprised to learn that the song was by Beyonce, but it is beautiful. You may want to look it up and/or listen to it. Here are the lyrics:

Took me a while but I'm finally here
So I just wanna testify, make it crystal clear
See I've been picked out to be picked on
Talked about, out my friends mouths
I've been beat down til He turned my life around

Seems like I always fall short of being worthy
Cause I ain't good enough but He still loves me
I ain't no superstar, the spotlight ain't shining on me
Cause I ain't good enough but He still loves me

I used to wake up somedays
And wish I'd stayed asleep
Cause I went to bed on top of the world
Today the world's on top of me

Now everybody's got opinions
They ain't been in my position
That it breaks my heart
When I hear what they have to say about me

Seems like I always fall short of being worthy
Cause I ain't good enough but He still loves me
I ain't no superstar, the spotlight ain't shining on me
Cause I ain't good enough but He still loves me

And I'm not perfect
Yes I do wrong
I'm trying my best
But it ain't good enough

Shunned by the world
If I don't succeed
Cause I ain't good enough
But He still loves me

If you ain't worthy just raise your hands
And let me know that you understand
That we are all so blessed to be loved, loved

Stand for him or fall for anything
Cause through his eyes we all look the same
What will we do without pain?

Seems like I always fall short of being worthy
Cause I ain't good enough but He still loves me
I ain't no superstar, the spotlight aint shining on me
Cause I ain't good enough but He still loves me

I'm not perfect
Yes I do wrong
I'm trying my best
But it ain't good enough

Shunned by the world
If I don't succeed
Cause I ain't good enough
But He still loves me

I'm not perfect
Yes I do wrong
I'm trying my best
But it aint good enough

Shunned be the world
If I don't succeed
Cause I ain't good enough
But He still loves me

No, I ain't good enough
But He still loves me
No, I ain't good enough
But He still loves me

No, I ain't good enough
But He still loves me
No, I ain't good enough
But He still loves me
(But the Lord still loves me)

Here are a couple of photos

And those lyrics, with the somewhat haunting melody, sung by Haitians in this hard world, where their praise is so sincere, and the dancing by those young girls, some of the orphans, well....it was an experience I won't soon forget. I believe that Tom videotaped it, so hopefully if he hasn't posted it yet, he will be able to soon.

Ketura worked so hard with those girls....and we could hear the Praise Team rehearsing hour after hour. And Leonie and her friend from church made the costumes. All of the time and intention that went into this made it a so special.

Ok, back to today...

After some necessary team time this morning, we went to Torbeck a little later than usual. The girls did some activities with the kids and Tom, Leonie and I took first steps on making the raised beds. Here are some photos from those hours:

This is our "Before" photo. All of that rebar had to be moved before we could do anything...

Measuring and re-measuring. For those of you familiar, we are using the Square Foot Gardening method, with a few necessary adaptations for our situation and available materials.

Level? Nope...very low and uneven ground. We moved the yarn (yes, the yarn I brought for the knitting projects) to a place to show the workers how much soil to fill with.

This method took us quite awhile, and it was just about the hottest part of the day. We knew it would be easier if we could make some sort of 4x4x4x4' frame to mark the places of the 5 raised beds, but after much discussion, there was not any material available to do so. Tomorrow morning we are going to see if Leonie has any scrap (that word is unheard of here, we use everything!), fabric that can be cut to the appropriate size and then laid out to mark the beds. I am hoping so...I wish I had something big enough to use that I had brought with me....

Ayiti. Day 20.

2010-08-02T21:26:00.000-05:00

Well, today has been different than every other day in the time that I have been here! I did not spend more than 5 minutes outside, I did not go anywhere in the truck, and I did not take a single photo! Three things that were different!

But, at the same time, I feel it was a very productive day. I don't have the end result yet, but let me tell you about the meetings that I participated in today...

If you remember from an earlier post, click here to read it! we stopped in at the local Heifer International office (only 2 in Haiti, one happens to be a 2 minute walk from where we are staying...), and made an appointment for this morning.

When we got there, we were greeted a National Director for this area, and his associate. I explained my relationship and experience with both Heifer International and the Children of Israel Orphanage, and explained that I just wanted to see if there was anyway that we could get them connected.

In short, there seemed to be a lot of "God-incidences" involved.

To summarize:

A series of meetings have recently been held on how to best help Haiti through Heifer
A few more meetings are happening this week.
From today through August 15, 2010, they are accepting grant proposals to fund projects in Haiti since the earthquake. (note "today.)
These proposals will be reviewed by a group of individuals from 12 countries on behalf of H.I. into September.
During September the projects to be funded (anywhere from $3,000 to $50,000 per year) will be chosen.
These projects will be implemented beginning in October 2010.
Oh, and it just so happens that this National Director found out after the earthquake as he was helping to distribute food, that he has 2 nieces that are being cared for at the orphanage. Remember that birthday party for Sarah a couple of weeks ago? Yup...her and her older sister, Ruth. Hmmmmm....

So, the grant proposal form isn't quite finished yet, but he has promised to email it to us this week. We already have some ideas for our project, but if you have some ideas, please feel free to "comment me" with them!

_____________________

Since today has been my very first headache day in Haiti, and it happens to be a migraine, I took some time this afternoon to rest with my eyes covered. No worries, while it isn't completely gone, it is feeling a little better, so thanks in advance for your prayers! A migraine in this heat is not the best, but I'm grateful that it isn't any worse.

_____________________

On our way to Heifer this morning, a vehicle passed by us with a familiar logo on it...it was the logo of the Gaskov Clerge Foundation. I was familiar with this foundation through a contact by the name of Cosy Joseph that I befriended on Facebook...or maybe she befriended me...it's been over a year, so I can't remember.

I knew that she, with the GCF had a medical team here in Les Cayes, and then I saw the vehicle with their logo pass by. I mentioned to Ketura what they do, and since Ketura is training to be a Physician's Assistant, she thought that they should try to meet. I sent Cosy a message on her FB wall and set up a meeting for this evening!

She and Dr. Charles came here to Leonie's house, and as it turns out, Cosy grew up right around the corner, knew Pastor Israel, of the church and of the orphanage! (Are you seeing some familiar themes here?)

We did not have long to meet, but enough time to exchange stories and missions. Cosy is running a few conferences the next few days and invited Ketura to attend, which she plans to do...perhaps on Wednesday!

Also, I asked them to talk with Israelson for a moment about his medical issues that he has been struggling with, and he is going to meet with one (or more) of their doctors tomorrow!

We have all agreed to keep in touch...Cosy and the foundation are making plans with an architect NOW to build a world class medical center in this area! Ketura and I both got goosebumps, and this is what Ketura has been praying for and working towards...her future dreams here in Haiti!

When she comes with teams, the bring 60-70 doctors, and over the course of a week or so see about 3,000 patients! This is BIG work that they are doing!

So, as I said earlier, nothing is for sure, but with God all things are possible! Could it be that these connections made today will help to further develop the mission and work of the Izidor family here? And, could the work of and connections of this awesome family help these other organizations? Perhaps...and I pray it is so!

I am so thankful to have been involved in such a small way, and pray that I can be involved in bigger ways in the future...

In other news...if you don't keep up with my husband's updates at his site, firmly rooted ministries, let me tell you that he has been joking with me lately that he isn't exactly sure what God specifically wants his future to be here in Haiti. Regarding that the other day, he said, "I mean, I know I'm pretty good at moving rock, but I thought there might be more...." Don't you love his sense of humor? And God's?

Well, last week while he and I were moving rock (I'm pretty good at it too...), he said, "I have this feeling that I should be doing some sort of devotions with these workers." (The ones working on the wall that we are moving the rock for.) I told him to mention it to Leonie...she said, "YES! YES! My husband always used to do that with the workers when he was alive." And, she headed right over to talk to them. Then she motioned Tom over to join them and he did his first devotion.

Today he did another, and he talked about how the materials used to build can be the same, but the difference is in your foundation...rock or sand. At the end one of the workers asked him (in Creole) if he could do that with them every day, and the other workers agreed! Tom also shared his granola bars with them, and they were extremely grateful...

So, while today was different, at least for me, it feels like it was a pretty good day! Please keep all of these items in your prayers if you don't mind...

blessings...
kimberly

Ayiti. Day 19.

2010-08-01T19:32:00.000-05:00

Yesterday I posted, but only about the concert because it seemed to be the only thing on any of our minds around here! Yes, there was a certain level of excitement, but no one was particularly thrilled with the performers or their music, so quickly the house shaking all night long and diesel fumes coming into the house and giving headaches to many of us became the conversation rather than the excitement of having our very own backstage passes!

Anyways, yesterday morning began with a devotion with our team in which Tom went through the Salvation Diagram with everyone, but particularly for the team member that had prayed the night before to accept Jesus as her Savior! What a beautiful thing! To see the tears that she had over the sadness of her former life and the hope offered by Jesus...truly a miracle!

After that, the women on the team, with Ketura and a few of guys went to the Les Cayes Hospital to hand out onesies to the moms of the new babies and to give messages of hope to those moms and some of the other patients and families that we met.

Some of the babies that we visited were not newborns, but were sick. And the most difficult part of this visit for me was when the hospital staff told us that the 2 children were in front of us were abandoned...and hadn't eaten anything for awhile....They were clearly two children with special needs...and my heart broke for them. And immediately, as the tears were welling up in my eyes, this washed over me, "Yes, they have been left here, but I have not abandoned them, and I know the number of hairs on each of their precious heads."

Oh, my friends! I hurt for a country where a parent with a child that has special needs has no ability to care for him or her...and, in fact, the country cannot care for these children either.

In my time in Haiti I have seen so much joy and hope, that sometimes I am ashamed of all that I have the the many times that I grumble. But, in that hospital yesterday, I did not see much joy or hope. We went through several different sections that had people of various ages and with differing illnesses or injuries. They did not appear to have hope, and these are the people that could afford to get to the hospital...

There are times that I allow the weight of all that I am seeing and experiencing to permeate the surface, and it weighs heavy. I have to allow our Father's words to me yesterday fill my heart more and more..."....I have not abandoned them, and I know the number of hairs on each of their precious heads." Please join me in praying, and if so moved, finding a way to continue to help these people of Haiti. They are precious in His sight, and we are called to be His hands and feet.

Yesterday afternoon we took the girls to Port Salut. It was nice for me to be able to take in the beauty of Haiti after the emotion of the morning. We swam, had dinner and stayed for sunset. Here are a couple of photos that remind us that He is here....

Have a peaceful evening and a wonderful first week of August!

kimberly

p.s. if you haven't read Adrianne's recent post about her time in Haiti, please take a few minutes to do so.

Ayiti Beauty.

2010-08-01T08:47:00.000-05:00

I haven't had much opportunity to just post for you a glimpse of the beauty of Haiti, so I thought that I would show you just a few things now...

(not sure what kind of tree this is...when I asked Israelson he said, "I big tree." thank you.)

The sun is beginning to set at Port Salut. This was last night...beautiful! And the photo below was taken a little later...

Tom and I have been discussing the importance of taking mission teams and visitors to see these beautiful places while they are here. It is important for them to see not only the work that needs to be done, and to do some of that work, but also to see the amazing beauty of this country and the blessings that are here. As the Isidors say, "We work hard and we play hard."

I hope you find these as beautiful as I did...

The concert outside my window....

2010-07-31T22:00:00.000-05:00

Well, the day (night) has finally arrived...several of you have seen Tom's photos or videos, or my comments about the upcoming concert here in Les Cayes.

Just when the rain was stopping, about a week ago, this began on the soccer field, right outside our bedroom window:

I asked Tom what he thought they were doing, and about 2 hours prior to this photo being taken, he said he thought they were going to put new lines on the soccer field.

Lots of pounding ensued...

Next, this:

Then this...but this is when they made a mistake, so at 10 pm the other night, they started taking part of it apart and changing it...all night....

And....this was yesterday.....a rehearsal and sound check that started about 5 pm and went until 4 am today...

And tonight, as I type these words, the concert is beginning. My bed is shaking...below is a photo I took a couple of hours ago:

See the people on the right of this photo? They can see into my bedroom window....

And, what is most surreal is that all of this light and sound is powered by huge generators (under my window), but the rest of the city, as far as I can see, is dark...no power.

Late breaking news...I think they just lost their sound during the first song...oh, no...Tom came in from the roof (our seats...) and reported that it is pouring...i couldn't hear it for the generator, but now I hear the thunder and the rain is coming through the window...what will this do to the concert????

To be honest, I did pray for rain, but only after they got an hour into the concert so that I could sleep before 4 am....(more thunder...)

Look for an update soon....

oh, my soul is singing.

2010-07-30T22:47:00.010-05:00

i am sitting here in my living room alone wondering where the time went. it honestly feels like yesterday i was sitting upstairs debating with julie on if i should bring my cowboy hat or not.

but it wasn't yesterday. my fifteen days in haiti flew by like they always do. i feel like the time went by so quickly my mind couldn't hang on to all the beautiful things happening around me.

and now i'm here with a broken heart. and this kind is hard to fix because i left most of it in haiti where i belong.

it's hard to explain what i'm feeling right now. i feel sad, but that's a given. i feel lonely without israelson, my parents, and those beautiful children i left behind. i feel like i want to tell everyone about it, but i don't want to talk. i feel eager to start planning my next trip to haiti.

i remember sitting on the plane on the flight back to michigan crying because no part of me was ready to leave and i was thinking how ironic it was; just two weeks earlier i was on a plane on my way to haiti crying tears of joy because i was finally going to be home again.

these past two weeks were the best of my entire life. i have never been so perfectly happy. God found a way to surprise me with His awesomeness every single day. i'm going to do my best to explain my experience in haiti, but trust me, it's hard to find the perfect words to describe how incredible it was.

i'm looking over my journal from the past two weeks to try and remind myself of all the things i want to share with you. it's kind of funny to see my writing day to day. almost every day starts with "today was the best day" or "today was the most perfect day". i didn't even notice i was doing that. every day is perfect to me in haiti.

so first of all, before we left our house i was appointed the "team leader". how exciting!! i just really wanted to see if i could do it alone since i hope to work with mission teams coming to haiti in the future. it was a lot of fun! everything went really smoothly. mom and julie started calling me "TLA". (team leader A)

the first day in haiti was so refreshing. after planning for so long and counting down the days, to actually be there was awesome. i also finally got to meet ketura!! she is such a sweetheart and so filled with the Spirit. she is such a beautiful woman. and she's so buff!! we also finally got to see leonie again! after having her with us for so long in michigan it felt like i hadn't seen her in forever! i just love being around the Izidor family. they are so beautiful and overflowing with God's love.

one thing that really struck me as we traveled from port-au-prince to les cayes was that while i am SOSOSO thankful that our kids at the orphanage aren't living on the streets, i feel guilty for not giving other kids in haiti the same things i give to the kids at CIO. i mean, of course i love the kids at the orphanage and would give them the world if i could, but i realized that besides my first trip to haiti, i haven't done much outreach to the community in les cayes.

that is one thing that i really really want to work on more next summer while i'm working in haiti. i mean, the kids in the community of les cayes need to hear the Gospel just as much as the kids at the orphanage do!! i just feel really guilty for not realizing this sooner.

anyways, throughout the week i witnessed some beautiful things and experienced things i never have before!

one thing that was so simple, but yet so beautiful was our walk to the beach. not just that it was pretty scenery, but it was who i was walking with. the entire way there sarah (a little girl i connected with right away on my first trip to haiti) and a girl named francesca held my hands as we walked. they would lead me around puddles or tall grass, but no matter how far apart we needed to walk from each other to avoid the obstacles; they wouldn't let go of my hands. then all the way back to the property jean junio was glued to my side. jean junio and i have had a special relationship since my second trip. he is the most handsome boy you'll ever meet. his smile just radiates God's love. and it was so incredible simple, but so perfect at the same time.

one day, we went to torbeck to hang out with all the kids while mom and tom worked on the wall. we all went under the cabana to sit, play games, and sing. then it started pouring rain. and when it rains in haiti, it really rains. we must have been sitting there for two hours. at one point, i was sitting on the end of a lawn chair with four kids sitting on the rest of the chair, and three on my lap. sounds uncomfortable, but i didn't want that moment to end. those kids bring so much joy to my soul; it is unbelievable.

then mom and tom said it was time to go so julie and i had to run over to the car. we were in the rain for maybe thirty seconds and we were completely soaked when we got in. then we watched jean junio take five kids at a time underneath a tablecloth back to their houses so they wouldn't get wet. tom picked up the rest of the girls in the truck and drove them back.

it is so refreshing to see kids that care for one another as much as these kids do. they are always looking out for one another and always there for each other. it's amazing.

one day we sorted clothing that was in the storage room. we packed tubs of clothes for the kids at the orphanage and tubs for people in carrefour duclos. (which is where our sister church is)

handing out the clothes was such a surprising experience for me. i know that if i lived with 14 other girls i would be fighting for the clothes that i liked, but the girls would watch us pick an item of clothing up and then they would tell us who they think it would fit. there was no fighting at all. it made me realize just how much we take for granted in the states and how selfish i am. here they are, kids who rarely get new clothes and they are all making sure that each of them got a decent amount of clothes. seeing that really made me contemplate how i deal with things in my life.

the most beautiful thing about this trip was obviously the kids, but it wasn't just that. it was how they opened up. this was my fourth trip to the children of israel orphanage and i've always had tons of fun playing with the kids and loving on them, but this time even the shy kids showed their personalities.

claudine is one of the girls at the orphanage. she is so beautiful and so sweet, but she's always been quiet around me. i thought that was just her personality. maybe she was just shy. i remember vividly the first time i heard her laughing; i mean, really laughing.

we were sitting under the cabana after sarah's birthday party and she was doing my hair. a few of the girls and i were

playing the "my name is..." game. you basically just say "my name is..."and name whoever you want! some of the girls were saying "mulan"; there was a "cinderella" every now and then. then someone said "my name is king kong!" and with their accent it sounded like "ching chong". so i said, "you're name is ching chong?" i thought claudine was going to fall over she was laughing so hard. it just melted my heart. and after that she was talking to me all the time!

it was just so cool to see that the kids were really finally starting to get comfortable with me. which made me fall in love even harder.

before we knew it, it was monday and our first day of VBS! the week of

VBS went by so quickly! what was so amazing was that so many things popped up that julie and i didn't even think about. for example, on tuesday we were supposed to use water balloons in our game time, but they wouldn't fill up because there wasn't enough water pressure. you would have thought that that little problem would ruin the game for the day, but it didn't! julie and i just came up with a different game using blown up water balloons rather than filled with water. and the kids loved it!! i was even surprised at how quickly julie and my minds were working to solve the different problems thrown at us. i mean, we figured out a different game and how it related to our scripture lesson in literally two minutes! i would have expected that to normally take quite a while, if we came up with a new game at all!

another thing that seemed to just jump out at me was the power of God's Word and prayer. julie and i tried to do a devotion and pray together every morning before we started our day. there were two days that julie and i were slacking on our devotion and prayer together and it was SO apparent throughout our entire day. those two days that we didn't begin with thanking and praising our God were the hardest days we had to deal with. we found ourselves losing patience with each other and with the kids, both of us were just in bad moods; it basically just sucked. and then we both realized it. we prayed together and it was like instantly everything was better. i mean, you could feel the atmosphere change around us. it was like God was sitting right there with us.

that was when i really began to realize how crucial it is to immerse yourself in God's love and His Word, especially when you're there. without it, it's hopeless. we weren't able to share His Word with the kids like we should have been, we weren't getting along with each other, we just didn't even want to do anything. as soon as we gave it all to the Lord in prayer, it was lifted from us. i mean, talk about powerful!! after that we did a devotion every day together and we started every day with a prayer together. it was the most refreshing, empowering time of the day for me. and i'm so glad that God helped me to see just how important it is to revolve everything around Him, especially in haiti.

now for the next ten months as i plan my trip for next summer, i know what i really need to work on. and that's my relationship with our Lord. without a strong, committed relationship with Him i will never survive four months in haiti. i am so looking forward to my spiritual growth in the coming months!

i will continue to post more blogs with little stories and experiences that happened over the course of my trip, but i think that this is enough information for you to process for now.

it's exhausting and a little overwhelming to try to explain everything in just one sitting. (although it has taken me four days to complete this post) so as i start to process the rest of my trip i will post stories that i know you all want to hear.

overall, this was the most amazing trip to haiti i've been on. it was so beautiful to have all of the kids open up to us and i think that's ultimately what has made it so hard to readjust here. i am home when i'm there with them so now coming here seems so weird and uncomfortable. (coming home to an empty house helps too)

some of you may be wondering when i'm going back to haiti! well, let me tell you! i have been talking to yelline isidor and nora leon about traveling to haiti for about four months next summer. i plan on leaving for haiti the second week in may and coming back towards the middle or end of august. i can't even explain how excited it am!!

i will be working with the mission teams that travel to the orphanage while i am there. i will help plan what their projects are for everyday and i will work along with them over the course of their trips! i am also hoping to plan three mission teams myself. nothing is official yet, but i am hoping to take a team down when i travel to haiti in may, julie sabo may be a team leader and bring a team down in the middle of june, and i am still looking for a third team leader to bring a team down in july or august.

if anyone is at all interested in being a part of any of these teams please let me know!! as soon as i get the okay from yelline and nora i will try to start planning these mission trips!

also, i am already saving up for my trip next summer. i would love it if you would keep me and my plans in your thoughts and prayers! if you feel called to donate to my trip that would be AMAZING. you can either contact me about a donation or tom with firmly rooted.

"Then I heard the voice of the Lord saying, 'Whom shall I send? And who will go for us?'

And I said, 'Here am I. Send me!'"

Isaiah 6:8

i just want to thank everyone who has been constantly supporting me with all of my trips to haiti and back. i can't explain how much it means to me to know that i have family and friends backing me up with prayers and love!! to be working in haiti and think about all the love and support i have here is overwhelming! i love each and every one of you and i thank God for you every single day!

Ayiti. Day 18.

2010-07-30T19:33:00.000-05:00

Well, we have internet and electricity right now, so I will get this done quickly, I hope! We have had minimal access to both for the past 4 days, so it's been a bit of a struggle...there was one post that after 2 days of trying to upload it, it still never happened, so I deleted it.

The last few days have been much less rain, and much warmer. If the people of Haiti are complaining about how hot it is, and say they feel like they are going to pass out from the heat, I think it's ok for me to say it's warm!

We've spent the last few days showing Tom's girls and their friends around Les Cayes and Torbeck. We have spent some time with the kids of the orphanage, done some rock moving (today), and did some great planning yesterday for the upcoming gardens, etc.

Tomorrow we are going to visit the maternity ward at the local hospital. Amanda and her group have made little onesies to give to the babies and Scripture messages for the moms. It should be a great visit!

On Sunday morning, a group of young girls from the orphanage and the church will be dancing to a song that the praise team will be singing. Ketura has been working with the girls and we can't wait to watch them! Leonie and her friend from church made all of the outfits that the girls will be wearing...can't wait!

On Monday we have our appointment with Heifer International, so please keep that meeting in your prayers...

Amanda, Megan, Kelly and Ashley in the truck!

Thanks for your prayers! Please email or comment and let us know how you are doing....we miss information from home!

Blessings...

Haiti. Blog.

2010-07-30T08:35:00.000-05:00

Hi all...

I just wanted to quickly let you know that I tried for 2 days to upload a blog post, without luck. We have had very little electricity and less internet...

Just know that all is going well, we are all fine. It is very, very hot...when the Haitians are complaining about the heat everywhere you go, I think it's hot.

Please know that you are all in our prayers! We would appreciate it if you would continue to keep us in your prayers. AND, any email updates that you could send to connect us with what's going on in your lives would be so great...we feel a little out of touch...

Blessings...
kimberly

Haiti. Day 15.

2010-07-27T21:45:00.000-05:00

Wow. I have been here for 2 weeks, and it just seems like yesterday that I arrived! I have learned just a little Kreyol (or Creole) so far, but am getting slightly move brave about trying it out.

I need to stop posting on Facebook in the morning what our plans are for the day, because about 75% of the time, they change! I have been saying for the past several months that God is going to use this time to teach me some life lessons, and perhaps being a little more flexible is one of them! I am able to go with the flow here, let's hope that I can apply these lessons at home!

This morning Leonie and Yelline told me that there was a lot of work to be done to prepare for the arrival of Amanda, Megan, Kelly and Ashley....laundering the bedding, doing more laundry, adding beds to the room, etc. They said that it would be "all hands on deck," (well, not really those words, but I got the meaning of their words...) and I jumped in to help!

After laundry, etc., Yelline needed to make her monthly trip to the market area in Les Cayes to pick up supplies for the orphanage. I offered to go along and help. Kim, from NY went along too, although this wasn't her first trip to the market area. She asked me if I had been before, I told her I had not, and she told me to be prepared. Whatever that means, right?

So, here are some photos from our trip to the market:

This is most of the food needed for the orphanage for one month....

And back at the orphanage, everyone helps unload!

Well, Adrianne and Julie have made it safely home, and Amanda, Megan, Ashley and Kelly have made it safely here! God is good!

Good night my friends!

Haiti. Day 14, continued...

2010-07-27T09:48:00.001-05:00

Last night, after dinner, we did our devotions. Tom talked to us about the following passage from Isaiah 55:

so is my word that goes out from my mouth:
       It will not return to me empty,
       but will accomplish what I desire
       and achieve the purpose for which I sent it.

¹² You will go out in joy
       and be led forth in peace;
       the mountains and hills
       will burst into song before you,
       and all the trees of the field
       will clap their hands.

He spoke about this in reference to Adrianne and Julie and the months of planning that they did for their time with the orphans, and all of the prayer that they did together in preparation for that. Also, he spoke about how much of themselves they put into all of their time with the kids for the past two weeks.

He spoke then about the passage above and reminded the girls that God's word never returns to Him empty, and that their efforts will be blessed.

Finally, Tom told them that as they drove to Port-au-Prince this morning, and then flew out and home today, they should look down on the hills and trees and try to imagine them bursting into song and clapping their hands in response to the work of God.

What a blessing.

Here are a few photos from the goodbyes at the orphanage last night....

Adrianne and Julie reading a farewell note, written by Ruth (pictured next to Adrianne above) all written in English....

Girls and a couple of boys...group photo...

So beautiful...the love between the girls and these children.

What a blessing...

Haiti. Day 13-14.

2010-07-26T21:54:00.000-05:00

Yesterday morning we worshipped in Les Cayes. It was nice to worship with the orphans again, although after two hours into the service, and temps outside over 90 degrees, most of the young ones were asleep on us by the end!

After the service, we met up with the awesome team from Buffalo, NY! They are just in town for 4 days to do medical clinics with the orphans at Torbeck and children on the island of Ile La Vache.

When we go to Torbeck, Tom and I ventured out to our rock-moving area. Below is a current picture of the area that we moved the rocks to:

There is always something for which to be thankful. I am thankful that I only had to move those rocks and not dig that trench!

Here is where faith is put into action! The medical team needed more supplies...the girls went with Israelson and Warens to get them in the most expeditious manner. I warned the boys and prayed the whole time...they were fine!

This is a photo of the childrens' daycamp that has been going on at the school in Les Cayes since last week.

Today it didn't work out to go to Torbeck to work...long story...but instead in the afternoon we went to the waterfall. An hour+ drive into the mountains, and if you look carefully at this photo, the last third of it was on a one lane, deeply rutted road. For much of this part, we didn't go more than 3 mph.

But, after the rest of the harrowing drive, and a bit of a walk, this was the view! Worth it!

Yep. Definitely worth it!

This is the view down stream. Tom was here last week, and he said that all of the rocks were "walkable" then. So much rain!

And, on our way back on that one lane road, this is what we encountered....uh oh! We were able to back up some and he was able to get around us eventually....

I have more photos to share, but will do that another time as they are taking awhile to upload tonight, and I'm going to spend the rest of my evening saying, (not goodbye) but, "See you soon!" to Adrianne and Julie! They will be leaving at 3 am to begin their journey home.

Have a blessed evening...

Haiti. Day 12.

2010-07-24T19:55:00.000-05:00

Today began with a quiet morning, which was nice. I did some laundry, got caught up on some reading as well as some computer things that I have been working on. It was cloudy all day, but no rain, and the clouds seemed to keep the temperature a little lower. I think it was probably only in the low 90s, but I haven't checked. Tomorrow it is supposed to be up to 100 again.

At about 10:30 am, Ketura, Israelson, Adrianne, Julie, Warens and I headed out to Torbeck. The girls just hung out with the kids, Israelson dropped us off and ran some errands, and the rest of us did brief health check ups of the kids. I was the record keeper, and we established charts for them based on today's information. We took their temperature, pulse, respiration rate, Ketura listened to their lungs, checked their eyes, ears, nose and throat, did a visual check of their scalp and skin, and we weighed them. It took us about 2 hours to do all the girls.

We then went back to Les Cayes, had lunch and headed back to Torbeck to do the boys. (We didn't realize how long it was going to take, or else we would have packed a lunch.)

And, as Moise was waiting for his turn, I was playing with him and Samuel. We were saying each other's names, and then I poked Moise in the tummy and said, "Elmo!" and he made this face, which looks remarkably like Elmo!

I have to say that I am continually so blessed and amazed and impressed by the love of Jesus that the Isidor family shows for these children. I know that I'm not an expert by any means, but I have to tell you from my experience, these children, boys and girls, are so well developed, happy, and that they feel loved! They would not be able to over time continue to show so much unconditional love and pure care and concern for others if they were not unconditionally loved and cared for each and every day. What a blessing this family (every member of it) has been in the lives of these children.

I am so thankful to be a part of this...

Haiti. Day 11. (hey! that was today!)

2010-07-23T22:18:00.000-05:00

Today was the last day of VBS, and fortunately there was no rain! However, due to the wet grounds, they still met on the front porch. This photo is of a game that they played where the person in the middle had to pick someone and try and make them laugh. They had a great time!

Today's theme was the helmet of salvation, and they got crowns to decorate! They took a lot of time and care with these. It was fun to watch them!

This is Cassandra wearing her crown and singing, "Alleluia."

Right after VBS we stopped by the office below. I had spotted it my first day here, and it seems that they only opened an office in Les Cayes within the last month so no contact had been made until today!

The man in charge of that office was out at a meeting, so we spoke with his secretary. She does not speak English, so Ketura spoke with her and asked her the things that I requested. As it turns out, this secretary's mother was an Izidor, and she and Ketura have never met, but are related, so we had to take a family photo!

We have a meeting with the gentleman in charge of the Les Cayes office on August 2nd. We have been told that they are not currently accepting any new projects, but that there may be something that they are doing that will be more of an emergency project, and it's possible we could have the Orphanage included in that...we will see. This definitely felt like a God-sighting! Please pray that our meeting on 8/2 goes well and that perhaps the Orphanage can be part of the Heifer International Project!

Since it was the first partly sunny afternoon in awhile, we went back to the beach, where we were somewhat of a spectacle. I don't think that the Haitians lay out in the sun much...after we had sort of a crowd gathering around us, we decided we didn't need to lay out that badly.

The other day when we came to this beach the water was that beautiful Caribbean blue/green. Due to all of the rain, which caused the soil to wash right down the deforested mountains, for as far as we could see, the water was muddy. No swimming, and so sad.

After we packed up, we went to sit along the tables by the beach. Tom bought me a fresh coconut, for $1, and here I am drinking coconut milk! :)

Ok, the power is going out in a minute...gotta run! This took me over an hour to upload! Can't lose it now!

Haiti. Day 10. (which was Thursday.)

2010-07-23T21:08:00.000-05:00

Well, as you can see, it's been wet. Before Bonnie became a hurricane, she hung out over Haiti for awhile...she was depressed, and just couldn't seem to get herself moving for the last few days.

So, on Thursday, instead of being able to do VBS under the shelter of the tiki hut due to all of the water and mud surrounding the tiki hut, they decided to do it on Leonie's front porch, which is where the girls stay.

Tom and I had to make a gravel "bridge" for them to even get from the driveway to some higher ground in order to make it to the porch.

Below you can see most of the children with their chairs on their front porch. I have some video of the boys carrying their chairs down and if I can post it, I will. The older ones always help the younger ones, but the younger ones never ask for help and always try to do it on their own.

Below you will see Sarah's completed "Breastplate of Righteousness."

Tom posted video on Facebook of the kids singing...it's beautiful if you get a chance to listen.

After VBS, we stopped at the market to pick up a few things for lunch. Israelson picked up his favorite, Cheetos, and Adrianne and Julie were so excited to purchase 1 apple each! Produce is so expensive here....having fruit or vegetables at even one meal a day is a luxury. Soon, we will have the land cleared to plant some vegetables for the orphans and the family. Already they have planted corn, peanuts (they make their own peanut butter!), tomatoes, sweet potatoes, and what appears to be some type of squash to me, but no one is quite sure.

Last night Ketura, Tom, Adrianne and I went salsa dancing again. Adrianne is getting to be good. As is Tom. There is no dancing hope for me. I do not have the spiritual gift of dance.

Have a great night! Hopefully tomorrow I will be able to post today's photos (had a God sighting!), and maybe even do tomorrow's too! That would be awesome!

Haiti. Day 9. (which was Wednesday)

2010-07-23T19:25:00.001-05:00

Sorry for the lack of information and photos recently. We have spent most of the past two days without electricity, and when there was electricity, time without internet. It's all be good, but I'm a little behind in the posting department. I will try to catch you up.

Wednesday was Sarah's 10th birthday. She is one of the orphans, and we used that day to coincide with a picnic that we wanted to have with all of the orphans. We had VBS in the morning, then a light lunch. In the early afternoon many preparations were already underway for the dinner at the end of the day. Below you see fried plantains for a crowd!

And in the next photo, the local limes are much smaller than what we are used to purchasing at the grocery store. It takes a lot of lime zest to get enough for the salad it was added to...

Tom took a moment to rest, but wasn't alone for long! "Blanc" hair is such a different texture, that someone always wants to touch it.

Tall palm tree. And, the clouds were starting to thicken.

The girls planned picnic games. The first of which was a 3-legged race...much fun! Then the sack race, which was run in several heats. The only appropriate caption that immediately came to mind for the photo below was, "which of these things is not like the others?"

Then there was the water balloon toss...

It soon began to rain and we moved under the shelter. Most of the kids were soaking wet from water balloons and the squirt gun fight that followed, so that mixed with the mud was fun for all! Under the shelter we had a talent show where children and adults alike told jokes, riddles, or we even had a group of girls dance to a Gospel song they have been working on with Ketura.

As the talent show ended, dinner was served! Hamburgers, macaroni salad, fried plantains and french fries! Yum!

It was a very good day!

Things I'm Learning in Haiti.

2010-07-22T08:21:00.000-05:00

I was thinking that I would wait and post this when I have a more substantial list, but I decided that then I might never do it. So here are just a few of the things I'm learning:

1. There is always a reason to sing.

2. Family first. No matter what.

3. Never waste anything. There is always someone who wants what you do not.

4. There is plenty of time to work. Take time to visit with your friends.

5. Being kind to a stranger doesn't cost you anything.

....there are plenty of stories behind these lessons. This is the life that I see lived out in Haiti each and every day.

While we in the U.S. think that we have so much knowledge, we would do well to take some lessons from the people here.

Haiti Mornings.

2010-07-21T08:30:00.000-05:00

This is the window behind my bed, here in Haiti.

This is the soccer field outside my window, behind my bed, here in Haiti.

These are the concrete walls that magnify every sound, surrounding the soccer field, outside my window, behind my bed, here in Haiti.

This is the rooster that takes his wake-up call job very seriously, from 4 am to midnight, within the concrete walls that magnify every sound, surrounding the soccer field, outside my window, behind my bed, here in Haiti.

and I wouldn't have it any other way.

2010-07-20T21:18:00.002-05:00

Today is tuesday, the second work day of our camp! I have not been out in the sunlight for two days now except when I walked to the longhouse for dinner. Let me tell you, I am slightly unhappy right now! It has been a great day though despite no sun, we sold a lot in camp store and I was able to get some things done that I needed to! The main reason I am posting is to say, I burned three large pans of brownies today. How unfortunate is that?? I'm quite upset with myself. I mean, probably not that uge of a deal besides the fact that they are for program. But, if i want to go to culinary school...and I just burned brownies...probably not good. Although, my only defense is that they were out of the box. And I haven't made brownies out of a box in....years. So..I guess that is my excuse? Even though at Group Cares we don't make excuses..

I hope you all have had a blessed day! I know it is probably hot there but just take it in, accept it, and think about how in a few months it will below zero! So cherish this weather! God bless!

Haiti. Day 8.

2010-07-20T21:10:00.000-05:00

This morning we headed out to Torbeck for the second day of VBS, and more moving of the rock. Here are lovely photos of the rock movers.

(I told Tom how lucky he was to be able to take his shirt off!)

And after 2 days and about 5 hours of work, we had the first pile just about done!

You will notice (perhaps) that there are still some large rocks left where our pile had been. When I asked Tom about those he said, "Those are big. They will require 2 people to move them." I am thinking that in that particular equation, I am not considered 1 full person, and that's ok with me!

This afternoon, Israelson, Tom, Adrianne and Julie went to Carrfour to deliver the clothing and shoes that we had sorted the other day. They met Pastor Jean Claude at a storage building that he has, and gave him the items to distribute to those in need. We noticed at church on Sunday that there were about 8-10 children that just hung around outside the church during the service. They watched and listened when we went out on the church steps after the service and were singing some praise songs. One little boy about 7 years old was only wearing 1/2 of a jersey shirt, and nothing on the bottom. He wanted to be by use, but kept hiding behind a tree, post, or other children. These children (or at least some of them) would not come into the church because it is not culturally acceptable for them to come unless they are dressed in nice clothing. It's like Easter dress every Sunday in Haiti. It makes me sad that they don't feel that they can come in, but at the same time, I don't know how to change a culture, but only do things with them outside the church as we did, or invite them to things like VBS as we have done in the past.

While they were all away, I met with my first group of knitters! It was a small group because, as Leonie explained, it was not only raining, but a woman in the group had just found out her son-in-law had died, and they were all in mourning. But, with those that were there, a good time was had:

Warens joined in because he does many handicrafts and was already thinking about what he could make and sell. Smart young man!

Well, this is enough for today, I think. In our evening devotions we are studying Psalm 139, which is awesome. Tonight I will go to sleep thinking about verse 6, the part about how, "such knowledge is too wonderful for me, I cannot attain it."

Tomorrow we are having a birthday party for Sarah, one of the orphans! Tomorrow is her 10th birthday. We are going to play games and have a cookout, and instead of a cake, Adrianne and Julie are going to make a birthday crown for her to wear. Should be a great time!

Blessings and peaceful rest to you this evening, my friends. Thanks for the prayers!

Photos from Day 7.

2010-07-20T18:40:00.000-05:00

Pile of rocks to be moved.

Boots that made walking through water, mud and vines possible.

First day of VBS.

Port Salut.

Yummy lobster dinner at Port Salut.

Port Salut at sunset.

A very good day.

Haiti. Day 7.

2010-07-19T20:25:00.000-05:00

Finally, this morning, we were blessed to have no rain and sunny skies again. We set off for Torbeck and arrived there at about 9 am. Julie and Adrianne went with Ketura and Warens (translators) to do VBS with the orphans. It is so nice that the girls are bringing VBS to the orphans because since they had to relocate in Torbeck after the earthquake, they miss many of the opportunities they had with the church and school on the same property that they had in Les Cayes. They are certainly enjoying the interaction!

While they went to do that, Tom and I went to the back of the property to move rock so that they building of the wall can continue. When the rock is delivered, it is just dumped in a pile, It then needs to be moved by hand to a place along where the wall will go so that it is handy.

(I tried to insert a photo here, but it is taking forever tonight, so I am going to skip it and just post photos when the internet is faster.)

Tom and I moved close to half that pile of rocks in about 2 hours. It was hot and wet work.

The girls did a great job with VBS, and when they finished, we all hung out on the front porch for awhile with the orphans while we waited for Israelson to come back and pick us up. When he returned, about 1 pm, he had 15-20 bags of cement that were each 100 lbs. To my husband's chagrin, I moved 2 of them from the truck to the house. Not at the same time, but still.

After lunch in Les Cayes, we decided to head out to Port Salut, which has to be one of the most beautiful places I have ever been. We had a lobster dinner at a hotel on the water, and then went swimming and just walked around awhile taking in the beauty.

We started heading home when it started getting dark, about 6:45 pm. Tom drove home through the mountains and we had a great conversation with Ketura and Yelline on the way home, while Israelson, Warens, Adrianne and Julie rode in the back of the truck.

Ketura shared with us that when she was in college, in a geography class, the textbook had only one photo of Haiti, and that was in Port-au-Prince, and was a photo of a garbage filled sewer. She said it just made her so sad, because so much of Haiti is beautiful, like we saw this evening. I asked her if she spoke up, but she said that she didn't because the professor knew she was from Haiti and didn't ask her for her opinion.

That got me to thinking...how many of us would like to have our country represented by only one photo of a horrible spot in an inner city? Perhaps one way to change the world's impression of Haiti is to show some of the beauty as a more balanced approach, instead of just the poverty. If I were able to post photos right now, you'd see some true beauty!

We also spoke with Yelline about the trash that is just everywhere in Haiti. She and Ketura agreed that it didn't used to be like that as recently as 20 years ago, but when the people of Haiti were dissatisfied with their government, they decided to show their dismay by throwing their trash on the ground and in the streets. This has raised an entire generation of children that believe that their garbage should just be thrown on the ground when they are finished with it. Yelline shared that every single day she has to speak with the orphans about using a trash can, and that it's a very hard lesson to teach. She also has them go out every day and pick up the trash on the property, as well as dead leaves, etc. in Torbeck so that they start to appreciate living in an environment that is clean. I give her a lot of credit. She says that she knows that it is only with a small group of people that she can make this change, but that it's better than nothing.

There are so many times when I am here that the "starfish" story comes to mind. "It made a difference to that one." That is why we do what we do...

Well, without photos, that's it for now. Sort of bland...sorry. Sometimes it only takes a few minutes for a photo to load and other times it takes 10 - 15 minutes, and I just don't have the patience for that tonight, I guess. I am tired from the work we did today...tired in a great way, but still tired, and am going to bed soon.

Blessings!

Haiti. Day 5-6.

2010-07-18T19:58:00.000-05:00

I tried 3 times yesterday to do a blog update, but between no electricity and no internet, it just didn't work out. I am going to post fewer photos (I hope) with this post and hopefully it will be successful. Much of the last 2 days can be summed up in this photo:

Yesterday while it was raining we sorted and organized some of the supplies in the supply closet here. We divided the clothing and shoes between items to go to the orphans and caretakers in Torbeck and items to go to Pastor Jean Claude and other local pastors to distribute to those that they know are in need. One thing that we learned from Yelline and Leonie is that they are careful about the distribution because they want to make sure that it 1) goes to those that have the greatest need, and 2) they have the orphans turn in their clothes and shoes that are not usable or are too small so that they learn not to just toss those things that they are no longer using. There is a huge problem with garbage and waste in Haiti, and they are trying to teach the orphans not to just throw aside that which they no longer need.

Here are a couple of photos of distributing the items:

Julie and Adrianne were careful to see which items would fit particular children. Julie is with Cassandra in this photo, and Adrianne is with Lorianna, I believe.

This is Angeline. I took this photo because she always has this beautiful smile on her face, and I noticed that each time she received an item of clothing she had this same smile on her face as she put it behind her on the bed.

The imitation Crocs are great things to send down for the orphans because they are light to bring in suitcases, protect their feet from glass or metal on the ground, and don't stay wet. The children have to show that their shoes are broken or too small before they get a new pair.

In the next photo, Samuel was hiding his shoes under the bed in hopes that he would get some new ones. It didn't work out the way he hoped. Again in 3 months he will have another opportunity, or if his shoes break before that time.

One observation that we made was that there was no clamoring among the children for items. They sat patiently and waited for something that might be for them, and in fact would see items and suggest a child that the item might fit, or something that a particular child might like to have. They were so giving and thankful for what they received, that it was very humbling for us.

After they had their items, some of the children tried everything on and others just went about the task of starting to care for their new things. Above, you see Matilda carefully folding her items and placing them in her suitcase. Because the children are in temporary housing, they keep their things in suitcases, tubs or baskets.

We soon went out on the porch and sang with the children until it was time to leave. We began singing with them some of the songs that Adrianne and Julie will use with them in VBS starting tomorrow morning.

Last night it was time for some fun away from the house! Ketura took us to

Ketura teaches salsa dancing in Indianapolis to earn some income while she is a student at Butler, so we decided to get a lesson from her! No, I still can't dance, even in Haiti, and even with private lessons...but it was fun for all of us!

No, Tom did not get wet in the rain. That is sweat. It was quite a workout!

Well, as you can see, the posting of pictures is going quite well, so I'm just going to finish up with a few more updates from today.

We had decided to attend church this morning in Carfour. (I took a photo of the sign at the church this morning...still don't know how to spell it...if you don't know the story, let me share quickly...3 years ago when we built the church, Joanna Eden was painting the church name on the front. She was just about finished when some men from the village were standing around looking concerned...they then told us that the village name wasn't spelled correctly. So, we asked how it was spelled, painted over what she had just finished and she did it again...then, almost finished, and a little larger group of men looking concerned again...same thing...in the end, the name had to painted over 3 or 4 times to be spelled differently, because they couldn't agree themselves!) So, every time I want to write it, I can't remember which way it goes, but I guess they are all correct to someone! :)

If you attend my home church, you know that my family struggles to get to church on time almost every Sunday. I guess being in a different country doesn't matter! The truck wouldn't start, then the tires were low...we ended up being late for the start of the service. There was a young man leading a song, and Leonie wanted to tell Pastor that we were there, so she went up to talk to him while we entered the church. Leonie chatted with him for a minute or two, and then took Tom aside and spoke with him. After Tom sat down by me, he said, "Guess what?" I looked appropriately inquisitive, and he said, "I'm preaching!" It was awesome! First Julie and Adrianne sang, "All I Need" by Bethany Dillon:

It was so beautiful! I have a video that I will share when I have more bandwidth. Beautiful!

Then Tom preached on the text Exodus 4:31, in which he spoke about how we worship God not out of compulsion, but because He is a God who is intimately concerned about us like He was the Children of Israel while they were enslaved in Egypt. Ketura translated in such a heartfelt manner. It was beautiful to listen to and to watch.

After church we came home and had lunch, and then while it rained, everyone rested for awhile. Resting on the Sabbath is taken a little more seriously here than in the U.S., and we also had no electricity for distraction.

A little later Adrianne had the idea that we should go to the beach. She rationalized that if we left in the rain, that by the time we got to the beach, the rain would have stopped. It poured buckets on our way there! But, as sure as I type these words, by the time we got to the beach, it had stopped and we went into water warmer than I have ever felt at a beach before! We had a great time because there were high winds and very big waves crashing over us! It was wonderful, and I'm so happy not only that she had the idea, but that we listened and went!

Thanks to my other awesome daughters for posting yesterday. Soon I will write more on this, but I have to tell you that after decades of prayer for my children, even before they were conceived, I am so thankful to God for the beautiful women they have become! Everyday I give thanks for each one of them, their individual gifts, their individual beauty, both inside and out. And, I continue to remember them in my prayers that God would guard their hearts and lead them in His ways. It is good to be a mommy to them....

Blessings my friends as you sleep tonight and begin your work week tomorrow. Please keep one of my dear friends in your prayers...we were made known of a situation this evening and were blessed to be able to place a phone call and pray with her. God knows her heart and her needs. Please just lift her and her family up, knowing that He knows and will provide. Thanks.

~kimberly

Trying to figure out what God is thinking..

2010-07-18T00:09:00.013-05:00

This summer has really been more of a ride than I ever expected. When I left for training back on May 23rd I was thinking, alright about 6 different states this summer doing maybe 4 camps and ready for anything. But I really got more than I could even dream of. By August 6th, the day I fly home to Michigan I will have traveled through 18 different states going from Charleston, SC all the way to Spokane, WA. not kidding. I have driven over 6,000 miles this summer and from coast to coast. And I would not trade it for the world. I have had some very rough few weeks but I guess that comes with the job? This summer for me was about figuring out who I am and what I'm supposed to do with my life. And I think I'm maybe.... .00002% of the way there. But it's progress! First off, I never had realized how much I had lost my passion for singing until I went to training for two weeks. I was able to play and sing music with such talented people and I really got to experience my love for music again! It was amazing. And I do not want to let my passion go away again. I can't lose this drive that I have. God has started to show me that I am not supposed to be living my life at CMU or Michigan for that matter. I really believe that I am supposed to be somewhere else experiencing more of the world and really seeing what I'm supposed to do with my life. I hae been struggling with what to do for the fall semester for a few weeks and have decided that it would be a good decision for me to go to CMU so that I am in school but, if things keep going they way they are looking I will be auditioning and different schools in different states to try and see if I could go anywhere for the spring semester. But, again, I really have no idea what the big man's plan is for me. We'll just have to wait and see!

Back to the summer.....

I have had the greatest time getting to know my crew! There is Mindy, who is the crew manager of my team. She is in charge of assigning all the crews and vehicle assignments for the week. It's a crazy hard job and I honestly don't know how she does it! She is from Arizona and totally loves it there!

She has become such a good friend of mine and I really don't know what I would do without her! We talk about a ton of stuff and she has been so great for me this summer :).

Next is CJ, my Materials Manager. He's so cool. He lives in Indiana and has decided to become Cowboy James this summer. He is in charge of delivering materials to sites when they need it and he is in charge of the Site Coaches who work directly with certain sites to help get projects done!

he is also a really cool guy. We listen to all different kinds of music together and we talk about choir because he used to be in choir. He's a legit good singer!!

Unfortunately, one of my crew members was asked to leave after our first camp because our boss was not confident in his abilities. But, my crew got a new Program Manager named Ed! He goes to Valpo, where Kati just graduated from!

Ed's job is to be the tech guy during the programs. He runs the sound and lights and also takes pictures at all of the sites of all the crews!

Those are the three people I have been spending my whole summer, and driving across the country with! We make a pretty good team! We definitely have our rough days but, we get through it. :).

At training I had the opportunity to meet the greatest person ever. This person quickly became my best friend and now knows more about me than I think anyone does. She is absolutely incredible and I have never known anyone quite like her. Her name is Lhoren and she lives in Texas [and she will never let you forget it].

This girl is my best friend and we have promised each other that will never change. We have a bond that I don't think I can explain to anyone and we click more than I have ever clicked with anyone! We're already planning our trips to visit each other in December/January so we can meet each others families. I seriously love her. She's wonderful and such a blessing to my life.

then, finally there is this really cool guy I met at training. Now, you are all probably saying wow Stephani, another guy. But, this time I did not go in to this experience expecting to find someone, it just happened! He is from New York and is awesome! His name is Kyle, and he is one of the nicest guys I've met in awhile. He is not on my crew so I haven't seen him since June 6th, and I will probably not see him until December. But, he is just a good guy to have around to vent to because he understands the stresses of summer and its just nice to have someone who gets what's going on in life.

I honestly don't think my summer would have gone as well without him to confide in and vent to.

But, there is also another Kyle that all should be aware of! He and I decided that we are moving to Nashville together when he gets back from China. He leaves for China in August and he is going for 15 months doing mission work of some sort. He is one of the talented musicians I had the opportunity to play with and turns out we are pretty awesome together. I can't wait for Nashville with him!

I have been blessed with so many christians in my life this summer that I can't thank God enough! This summer has put me through many trials that I never thought I would deal with but I am stronger because of it!

Tomorrow starts my second camp even though I only have 2.5 weeks left of working. My crew has had a very unusual summer setting up two other crews camps for them and volunteering an entire week at Week of Hope. So, this is only our second camp when some of the summer staff is already done with camps! But, this week and next week will be packed full because we are doing back to back camps! Meaning, we finish this camp on Saturday, pack up, drive 2 hours to a new school, set up, and register groups the next day! All of which would normally happen in 3 days is going to happen in less the 24 hours. That is, if we don't decide to sleep at all! Please pray that we get enough sleep this week and that we are strong and can handle anything that comes up! Thank you and God bless!

Oh, and we get to see some pretty incredible sites while we're traveling as well. Like the Grand Tetons...

I'm here! It's hot!

2010-07-17T18:41:00.002-05:00

This is officially my first blog post from Wilmington, Delaware! Some of you probably know that I am starting a graduate program in American Material Culture at the Winterthur Collection, which grants a Masters' degree through the University of Delaware. Well, that all begins next week... Here's what I'm doing now.

I moved in on Monday, July 5. My mom, Aunt Barb, Kurt (my boyfriend), and I drove out here in a two-car caravan that took about 13 hours total. For the record, I don't recommend the Pennsylvania Turnpike for anything. Over the next two days, we moved my things into the house, shopped, and failed miserably in keeping cool. We had heat indices over 100 degrees, so that was an impossible task. But it was so special to have some of the people I love the most with me for my big move!

After Mom and Aunt Barb left, Kurt and I worked on making me an official Delaware resident: driver's license, license plate, parking permit, etc. Little did we know that all of those things required other things (like bills to my new address) that I wouldn't have for weeks. I tried to speak to a Chase banker about making online payments, when I learned that the three Chase office buildings in downtown Wilmington don't actual house any bankers... The nearest friendly Chase banker is in Trenton, New Jersey. We also learned that Wilmington has a pretty disappointing library. It was a dismal few hours, with a heat index of 107, so we called it a day, went to the RedBox, and laid around in the air conditioning all evening.

Wilmington is a strange city... There is a downtown area full of office buildings, mostly housing credit card companies (check your next bill, it will probably be from Wilmington!). There is a nice residential area on either side of the beautiful Brandywine Park. For those of you from SE Michigan, there is a shopping district similar to the Great Lakes Crossing area in Auburn Hills, or the Lakeside/Partridge Creek area. None of these areas really seem to have much overlap, though, and there aren't really simple ways to get from place to place. It's a little strange to live "in a city", too. I live in a nice little neighborhood, full of townhouses and other multiple family homes built in the early 1900s, but our property manager said that we shouldn't walk around at night alone, especially in the aforementioned park. So I have been very wary of the areas I go into and what I do when I'm by myself, which I suppose is probably a good habit anyway. Still a weird feeling, though.

In the past week, my two roommates have moved in, which has been an experience all its own. My first roommate to move in is Shoshana. She is from Berkeley, California by way of Atlanta and Chicago. She is a kosher Jew, which I have learned a ton about in the last few days. She is very open about her faith and her practices, and I look forward to learning more about what she believes. There is a synagogue directly behind our house that she plans on attending, so I may go visit there with her sometime.

My other roommate is Ariel, and she just moved in two days ago while I was at dinner at my Uncle Todd's in Baltimore. I haven't had much chance to talk to her yet... Unfortunately we have window air conditioners in the house, so we have to keep our bedroom doors shut all the time. She seems really nice, though, and all three of us share an affinity for The National, and we are already planning a trip to go see them in September!

Finally (this is turning out to be very, very long), I am visiting a new church tomorrow! I know I mentioned on here before that I wasn't sure about being Lutheran anymore, but I found a church called Good Shepherd that is ELCA just a few minutes away! So, I am going to start my church visiting tomorrow and see how it goes. I'm looking forward to worshipping in an ELCA church!

Ok, I know I sort of just stopped talking about what Kurt and I did last week, and I know there is something I forgot to write, but I will update again soon. Let's be serious, it's not like I have much else to do until Thursday...

(I'll post pictures next time, too!)

Haiti Evenings.

2010-07-17T08:49:00.000-05:00

One of the unexpected blessings of staying in Les Cayes, and the extra blessing of sleeping in Leonie's bedroom is the sounds that we get to hear in the evenings. Leonie's room is right next to the church. I've been hearing these lovely sounds all week as I went into our room in the evening and decided that I had to find a way to share some of this with you.

I think that this will work, but you have to promise me that you will wait until this evening (or again this evening if you listen now) and properly set your stage. (I tried to post it last night, right after I recorded it so you could be here with me, but there wasn't enough bandwith to upload the file...)

Picture yourself in your bedroom, it's completely dark, hot and humid. It's not time for sleep yet, but you lay down just to rest and cool off for a few minutes and this is what you hear...click the video to hear it (there is no video, silly, you're in a dark room, remember?):

Some evenings it's the women, and some evenings it's men. All different and just so beautiful in the dark. I hope you enjoyed it!

Haiiti. Day 4.

2010-07-16T19:30:00.002-05:00

Today started out a little slow for me because there was another meeting this morning. Since it was quickly too hot to do anything physical, I spent some time on the computer working on a few projects and catching up on a few things. I also did some reading. It was nice to have some time alone and without a list of tasks to accomplish...for awhile. By lunchtime, I was ready to be with people again and get some stuff done!

We headed out to Torbeck with Genet and Yelline (Stephane and Gregory's parents for those of you that know the little boys that stayed with us for awhile this past winter), and Julie and Adrianne. There wasn't enough room in the car for everyone, so Adrianne and Julie hopped in the back, then Yelline joined them, and I decided that I wasn't going to be the only girl in the car, so in the back I went! It was a good trip out, and I enjoyed my time back there! We noticed some dark clouds approaching, but as has happened every other day so far, we thought that they would pass.

Once we got to Torbeck, Genet and Yelline went about the business that they needed to attend to, Julie and Adrianne went with the orphans, and Tom and I picked up shovels!

Our task was to level out the new gravel driveway that has been under construction for the past several weeks. When the dump truck comes to deliver dirt or rocks, it makes ruts because the driveway is still not packed down. So, every week or so it needs to be leveled out. This was our task for this afternoon. Unfortunately there was no camera available to capture this moment when I was finally working, and I was a vision to behold, let me tell you.

After about an hour of working on that, it started to sprinkle just a little bit. We kept working, and eventually the rain fell a little harder. Tom and I put the shovels away and moved to the front porch of Leonie's house to wait for it to blow over. The rain became more and more steady, and there was a bit of a cool breeze that came with it. We were pretty excited! We noted that so many of the plants here have really large leaves, and the sound of the rain hitting these leaves is a bit different than what we are used to. Our view from the porch was beautiful:

and...

But it then became obvious that the rain wasn't going to blow over anytime soon, and in fact the thunder and lightening really kicked up. It was great to be out in that, but under the safety of Leonie's porch.

The rain comes off the roof through that pipe, and I am anxious to get some sort of container to catch that rain to save for the garden at times when it is dry.

Anyways, after about 45 minutes of rain in increasing intensity, we decided that we needed to get the orphans into their homes (they were under a structure that looks like a tiki hut), and get the girls ready to head back to Les Cayes. I missed several great photo opportunities because I didn't want my camera to get wet, but to see the older boy orphans carrying the younger ones on their backs in a little train with a piece of plastic over the entire train, was just so precious. Eventually, everyone got to where they needed to be, soaking wet, and with big smiles.

Since we couldn't have anyone ride in the back of the truck on the way back to Les Cayes, Tom and I were in the front of the truck (stick shift) with 3 backpacks, 4 camera cases and a guitar while Adrianne, Julie, Israelson and Dominique were in the back seat that is made for 2. Lots of laughing on our trip home!

Once we returned to Les Cayes we realized that it had rained just as heavily here. This is what the driveway looked like:

and the soccer field:

No soccer, or walking, tonight.

A great day, all in all.

And, I was very happy to have had these:

Tomorrow morning we will get back to what Tom considers a normal schedule, which is breakfast, then out to Torbeck to work. We will come back here for lunch, then hopefully spend some time in the park (where the playground is if you remember the picture) and sing with children that are there.

One last note, at different times today someone mentioned to Tom or I separately that it was Friday. We both commented to each other that we had no idea that it was Friday, and how nice that was for us. :)

women of four13

moving...

The Great Christmas Cookie Freeze!

haiti on my heart

It's a Stressful time!

the days of december (okay, and a teensy bit of november...)

December

gingerbread and other things...

missing this...

Raising Responsible Kids....

so long, insecurity

you're responsible for you.

"Did you do your best?"

Doing laundry...

from my point of view...

life{in}grace

Livesay [Haiti] Weblog: Lessons of the "eat down"

Participation Needed Please!...

fall photos...

Playing...

loving fall...and the moments in fall...

upcoming book discussion....

embracing seasons...

New Opportunities...

telling the story...

ahem.

baking as a release...

hmmmm....

Ayiti. Days 36 - 37.

plan·tain

awake my soul.

Ayiti. Day 35.

Ayiti. Days 33-34. (photos)

Ayiti. Days 33-34. (or, 3 days before we leave Ayiti.)

Ayiti. Day 32.

Ayiti. More tent city photos.

Ayiti. Sometime after Day 23 and before Day 29...part 3.

Ayiti. Sometime after Day 23 and before Day 29...part 2.

Ayiti. Sometime after Day 23 and before Day 29....part 1...

"waka waka. eh eh."

Ayiti. Day 23.

Ayiti. Day 21.

Ayiti. Day 20.

Ayiti. Day 19.

Ayiti Beauty.

The concert outside my window....

oh, my soul is singing.

Ayiti. Day 18.

Haiti. Blog.

Haiti. Day 15.

Haiti. Day 14, continued...

Haiti. Day 13-14.

Haiti. Day 12.

Haiti. Day 11. (hey! that was today!)

Haiti. Day 10. (which was Thursday.)

Haiti. Day 9. (which was Wednesday)

Things I'm Learning in Haiti.

Haiti Mornings.

Haiti. Day 8.

Photos from Day 7.

Haiti. Day 7.

Haiti. Day 5-6.

Trying to figure out what God is thinking..

I'm here! It's hot!

Haiti Evenings.

Haiiti. Day 4.