Today was another good day. After a needed night’s sleep, we
awoke to sunshine and another hot day (think Michigan in August any other year
than this year). We have learned that we will need to drink water often to
replace what we sweat out. It reminds me of the days as a kid with no
air-conditioning – you can really appreciate it when you have it, but you adapt
to in not being there.
Today was a day of acclamation to our surroundings. We saw the grounds of MEBSH in Cayes, learned some about the ministries here, discovered where we would set up for the marriage banquet on Sunday, etc.
We also learned a bit more about each other and our Haitian friends.
We met Sean, a missionary that Cliff has talked about in past blogs. What a great guy who loves the Lord and has a real desire to minister to the Haitian people. He has been here 4 ½ years with his wife Heather and 4 kids, two of which we met today, Ellie (7) and Joey (?). (If you come to Haiti and meet Ellie or Joey, offer them roasted corn from the local street vendor and you will have a fast friend!)
We had a great conversation with Sean on a drive to the beach where he shared honestly about the struggles of ministry, but also his love for it and desire to earnestly continue doing it. He has a real heart for the bible
school and for his students - evidenced, for example, by pointing out churches where former or current students served. He also shared some insight into the Haitian people from a missionary’s perspective. What challenges he and others
face here! For example, how do you balance giving to the needy when you can give all that you have and there still be abundant need? How do you spend time wisely when everything takes 3 times as long to do as we are used to in America – that is, How do you care for your wife and kids, manage a ministry partnership with MEBSH and help a group of Berean’s get to the beach or Church, etc.? Real questions that are real quandaries!
He also shared his knowledge of a local bird (forgot the name – a bird that weaves grass baskets for nests) and how to kill them with a pellet gun – he is from good hunting stock in Wisconsin.
He and Pierre worked up a game for us to play…a team building exercise called, “how many foreigners can you pack into a missionary’s car”. Take a guess. Did you guess 12? You would be kinda right. It was a trick question. The complete answer is 12 foreigners after Sean and his two kids were loaded in. Here is how the game is played. Take two vehicles, split up into two groups and head toward the beach. Stop for gas and wait for your turn at the pump (20-30 min). While you wait, marvel again at the fact that no one has yet been in an accident (think four way intersection with no traffic light and plenty of traffic – think loosely defined lanes and anything from hand propelled wooden carts, to bicycles, to motorcycles, to cars and trucks, to dump trucks vying for right of way). Head out again and have a breakdown half
way up a hill. Discover firsthand why men gather on the side of the road. And finally, cram everyone into one car and head back to base.
If you are like me you will ask, “Did you win or lose the game?” You might think the answer is that we lost, but you would be wrong. We didn’t make it to the beach, but we did have Christ-centered fellowship with a brother in Sean, we learned more about the people of Haiti…it was a great victory! On top of that we learned sort of what it was like to ride in a tap tap (local transportation).
We had some time in the evening with Jean (think Jon with a soft j) and Marie-Lucie to discuss the conferences which was helpful. We learned that ministry looks in many ways the same across all cultures. Miscommunication, adapting to new information, working on the fly all take place here too. And it all works out in the end!
Pray for Jerry today. He preaches and also has the opening session to the marriage conference. Pray that the right people will come (there may be more than planned!). Pray that the food and supplies will last. Pray that the Gospel will be clearly communicated in the context of marriage, and pray that Jerry will have the energy he needs (sleep has been harder for
him).
Thank you for your prayers!
awoke to sunshine and another hot day (think Michigan in August any other year
than this year). We have learned that we will need to drink water often to
replace what we sweat out. It reminds me of the days as a kid with no
air-conditioning – you can really appreciate it when you have it, but you adapt
to in not being there.
Today was a day of acclamation to our surroundings. We saw the grounds of MEBSH in Cayes, learned some about the ministries here, discovered where we would set up for the marriage banquet on Sunday, etc.
We also learned a bit more about each other and our Haitian friends.
We met Sean, a missionary that Cliff has talked about in past blogs. What a great guy who loves the Lord and has a real desire to minister to the Haitian people. He has been here 4 ½ years with his wife Heather and 4 kids, two of which we met today, Ellie (7) and Joey (?). (If you come to Haiti and meet Ellie or Joey, offer them roasted corn from the local street vendor and you will have a fast friend!)
We had a great conversation with Sean on a drive to the beach where he shared honestly about the struggles of ministry, but also his love for it and desire to earnestly continue doing it. He has a real heart for the bible
school and for his students - evidenced, for example, by pointing out churches where former or current students served. He also shared some insight into the Haitian people from a missionary’s perspective. What challenges he and others
face here! For example, how do you balance giving to the needy when you can give all that you have and there still be abundant need? How do you spend time wisely when everything takes 3 times as long to do as we are used to in America – that is, How do you care for your wife and kids, manage a ministry partnership with MEBSH and help a group of Berean’s get to the beach or Church, etc.? Real questions that are real quandaries!
He also shared his knowledge of a local bird (forgot the name – a bird that weaves grass baskets for nests) and how to kill them with a pellet gun – he is from good hunting stock in Wisconsin.
He and Pierre worked up a game for us to play…a team building exercise called, “how many foreigners can you pack into a missionary’s car”. Take a guess. Did you guess 12? You would be kinda right. It was a trick question. The complete answer is 12 foreigners after Sean and his two kids were loaded in. Here is how the game is played. Take two vehicles, split up into two groups and head toward the beach. Stop for gas and wait for your turn at the pump (20-30 min). While you wait, marvel again at the fact that no one has yet been in an accident (think four way intersection with no traffic light and plenty of traffic – think loosely defined lanes and anything from hand propelled wooden carts, to bicycles, to motorcycles, to cars and trucks, to dump trucks vying for right of way). Head out again and have a breakdown half
way up a hill. Discover firsthand why men gather on the side of the road. And finally, cram everyone into one car and head back to base.
If you are like me you will ask, “Did you win or lose the game?” You might think the answer is that we lost, but you would be wrong. We didn’t make it to the beach, but we did have Christ-centered fellowship with a brother in Sean, we learned more about the people of Haiti…it was a great victory! On top of that we learned sort of what it was like to ride in a tap tap (local transportation).
We had some time in the evening with Jean (think Jon with a soft j) and Marie-Lucie to discuss the conferences which was helpful. We learned that ministry looks in many ways the same across all cultures. Miscommunication, adapting to new information, working on the fly all take place here too. And it all works out in the end!
Pray for Jerry today. He preaches and also has the opening session to the marriage conference. Pray that the right people will come (there may be more than planned!). Pray that the food and supplies will last. Pray that the Gospel will be clearly communicated in the context of marriage, and pray that Jerry will have the energy he needs (sleep has been harder for
him).
Thank you for your prayers!
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