July 25, 2007
Nou bezwen etudie creole anpil!
Well our visitors are gone, we really enjoyed our time with them. It's crazy how quickly you can become good friends with people. We found that we had a lot of connections with them, we played dutch bingo over and over again, the connections were crazy!!! Before they left though they were able to help Randy with fixing up the weeping tile at Coram Deo, on Sunday we attended Quisqueya with them, the singing that Sunday was really powerful... I don't remember all of the songs but I do remember singing "Worthy is the lamb who was slain" what a beautiful line! Sunday afternoon we went out to a village with Karen the contrast between city and village is unreal. And after we got back Rand and I did our first geocache with our guests. One of the guys is really into it and does it all the time back home and he found out that their was one in Port-au-Prince so we checked it out, it's kind of a neat thing.... maybe Rand and I will have to start planting them everywhere... hee, hee. Monday we spent the day with the Hopps up at their place near Kaliko. We had a really enjoyable day with their family, what a blessing to have been able to spend the day with them. Tuesday morning the visitors packed up their bags and headed back to beautiful British Colombia. Since then I've been spending a lot of time with my bed with some kind of bug which is upsetting my stomach, today was a lot better than yesterday but still not all the way better, hopefully a good nights rest tonight will do the trick. We started our language training this morning. We are going to start doing two hours every morning, we each have our own tutor, boy it's intense! Our brains feel fried after two hours, it's A LOT of thinking. Mwen pa konne si mwen kab fe li! And this aft there was a group at Coram Deo leading a Bible story for the kids, I wasn't their but Randy said the kids enjoyed it. They learned about the Samaritan women at the well and they got to do some coloring.
Well God is and continues to be good to us, life is not always easy but we are continually learning and being reminded to rely on the Lord for our needs, no easy task! I read this poem today that I thought was really neat so I'm going to share it. The things that sound easy usually aren't very easy at all....
TEACH ME TO LOVE
There was a time when in my daily prayer
I asked for all the things I deemed most fair,
And necessary to my life -- success,
Riches, of course, and ease, and happiness;
A host of friends, a home without alloy;
A primrose path of luxury and joy,
Social distinction, and enough of fame
To leave behind a well-remembered name.
Ambition ruled my life. I longed to do
Great things, that all my little world might view
And whisper, "Wonderful!"
Ah, patient God,
How blind we are, until Thy shepard's rod
Of tender chastening gently leads us on
To better things!
Today I have but one
Petition, Lord -- Teach me to love.
indeed, it is my greatest and my only need --
teach me to love, not those who first love me,
But all the world, with that rare purity
Of broad, outreaching thought which bears no trace
Of earthly taint, but holds in its embrace
Humanity, and only seems to see
The good in all, reflected, Lord, from Thee.
And teach me, Father, how to love the most
Those who most stand in need of love -- that host
Of people who are sick and poor and bad,
Whose tired faces show their lives are sad,
Who toil along the road with footsteps slow,
And hearts more heavy than the world can know --
People whom others pass discreetly by,
Or fail to hear the pleading of that cry
For help, amid the tumult of the crowd;
Whose very anguish makes them cold and proud,
Resentful, stubborn, bitter in their grief --
I want to bring them comfort and relief,
To put my hand in theirs, and at their side
Walk softly on, a faithful, fearless guide.
O Saviour, thou the Christ, Truth, ever near,
Help me to feel these sad ones doubly dear
Because they need so much! Help me to seek
And find that which they thought was lost; to speak
Such words of cheer that as we pass along
The wilderness shall blossom into song.
Ah, Love divine, how empty was that prayer
Of other days! That which was once so fair --
Those flimsy baubles which the world calls joys
Are nothing to me now but broken toys,
Outlived, outgrown. I thank Thee that I know
Those much-desired dreams of long ago,
Like butterflies, have had their summer's day
Of brief enchantment and have gone. I pray
For better things
Thou knowest, God above,
My one desire now -- Teach me to love.
By Louise Knight Wheatley
Well God is and continues to be good to us, life is not always easy but we are continually learning and being reminded to rely on the Lord for our needs, no easy task! I read this poem today that I thought was really neat so I'm going to share it. The things that sound easy usually aren't very easy at all....
TEACH ME TO LOVE
There was a time when in my daily prayer
I asked for all the things I deemed most fair,
And necessary to my life -- success,
Riches, of course, and ease, and happiness;
A host of friends, a home without alloy;
A primrose path of luxury and joy,
Social distinction, and enough of fame
To leave behind a well-remembered name.
Ambition ruled my life. I longed to do
Great things, that all my little world might view
And whisper, "Wonderful!"
Ah, patient God,
How blind we are, until Thy shepard's rod
Of tender chastening gently leads us on
To better things!
Today I have but one
Petition, Lord -- Teach me to love.
indeed, it is my greatest and my only need --
teach me to love, not those who first love me,
But all the world, with that rare purity
Of broad, outreaching thought which bears no trace
Of earthly taint, but holds in its embrace
Humanity, and only seems to see
The good in all, reflected, Lord, from Thee.
And teach me, Father, how to love the most
Those who most stand in need of love -- that host
Of people who are sick and poor and bad,
Whose tired faces show their lives are sad,
Who toil along the road with footsteps slow,
And hearts more heavy than the world can know --
People whom others pass discreetly by,
Or fail to hear the pleading of that cry
For help, amid the tumult of the crowd;
Whose very anguish makes them cold and proud,
Resentful, stubborn, bitter in their grief --
I want to bring them comfort and relief,
To put my hand in theirs, and at their side
Walk softly on, a faithful, fearless guide.
O Saviour, thou the Christ, Truth, ever near,
Help me to feel these sad ones doubly dear
Because they need so much! Help me to seek
And find that which they thought was lost; to speak
Such words of cheer that as we pass along
The wilderness shall blossom into song.
Ah, Love divine, how empty was that prayer
Of other days! That which was once so fair --
Those flimsy baubles which the world calls joys
Are nothing to me now but broken toys,
Outlived, outgrown. I thank Thee that I know
Those much-desired dreams of long ago,
Like butterflies, have had their summer's day
Of brief enchantment and have gone. I pray
For better things
Thou knowest, God above,
My one desire now -- Teach me to love.
By Louise Knight Wheatley
July 19, 2007
"Home Sweet Home"
Well we have arrived safely back into Port-au-Prince. We had a very enjoyable month in Canada, lots of visiting and catching up with family and friends which we really enjoyed. Thank you all for your words of encouragement and prayers we truly appreciate it all. We also realized while we were in Canada that quite a few people do check our blog.... so we are going to try to update a little more often to stay better connected.
Since we've been back it's been busy. We have some guests who flew in the day after us from Abbotsford B.C. As we get to talking we realize that we have some close ties with them. One of them had my mom in their wedding party as a bridesmaid! And the other one went on a mission trip to Mexico with my brother in 2000, what a small world we live in! so we have been introducing these men to Haiti we of course made our first stop at Epi d'or, had to get some good "Haitian" food in them after a long flight from Seattle :) Nothing like a burger and fries! And then Randy took them to Coram deo and introduced them to Karen B and the gang their. Today we started off the day with Karen picking up a 53 year women, who had had a stroke on Sunday, and brought her to the General hospital downtown. It was a crazy drive to the hospital... lots of little marketplaces to go through as well as lots of traffic. After we got back to Coram Deo we met up with Pastor Hopp and his wife and their three children, yup you guessed it we met them at Epi d'or as well. Pastor Hopp and his family just moved here at the end of June and are missionaries from the OPC church. What a blessing to have met their family. Randy and I are really looking forward to getting to know them better, their oldest son already invited me to his birthday party next week and informed me that I could bring Randy along as well and that I didn't even need to bring a present. They are such sweet children.
It's been really good to be back, it's wasn't easy to leave family and friends again but we know that God has work for us here in Haiti. It was such a blessing though to have been able to come home after being away for only three months. God has been been and continues to be so good to us!
Since we've been back it's been busy. We have some guests who flew in the day after us from Abbotsford B.C. As we get to talking we realize that we have some close ties with them. One of them had my mom in their wedding party as a bridesmaid! And the other one went on a mission trip to Mexico with my brother in 2000, what a small world we live in! so we have been introducing these men to Haiti we of course made our first stop at Epi d'or, had to get some good "Haitian" food in them after a long flight from Seattle :) Nothing like a burger and fries! And then Randy took them to Coram deo and introduced them to Karen B and the gang their. Today we started off the day with Karen picking up a 53 year women, who had had a stroke on Sunday, and brought her to the General hospital downtown. It was a crazy drive to the hospital... lots of little marketplaces to go through as well as lots of traffic. After we got back to Coram Deo we met up with Pastor Hopp and his wife and their three children, yup you guessed it we met them at Epi d'or as well. Pastor Hopp and his family just moved here at the end of June and are missionaries from the OPC church. What a blessing to have met their family. Randy and I are really looking forward to getting to know them better, their oldest son already invited me to his birthday party next week and informed me that I could bring Randy along as well and that I didn't even need to bring a present. They are such sweet children.
It's been really good to be back, it's wasn't easy to leave family and friends again but we know that God has work for us here in Haiti. It was such a blessing though to have been able to come home after being away for only three months. God has been been and continues to be so good to us!
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