26 in Pictures

9:05 a.m.
The island of La Gonave in sight.
9:21 a.m.
Check out this 'ti blan'!
9:23 a.m.
The adventure continues..
9:56 a.m.
Row, row, row your boat..
10:40 a.m.
If the wind is too strong, dock the boat and take some bikes..
10:47 a.m.
Scenery whipping by..


11:37 a.m.
Endless deserted beaches littered with shells..
12:57 p.m.
Boat ride out to the coral reef...
1:08 p.m.
Swimming with the fishes...
1:52 p.m.
Next stop, feeding program at a school nearby.
Bible Verse Colouring Books, a big hit with the kids!
Beautiful children..

Something for everyone.
 2:18 p.m. All tuckered out.



3:03p.m.
Homeward bound.

Christmas Holidays

School ended for the year and the holidays began...

"Let it snow, let it snow, let it snow!" blasted over the speakers at the grocery store and it did...


Well, sort of. 

Okay, we improvised a little.

Grandpa and Grandma finally arrived and were immediately put to work; fixing stuff, cleaning, cooking..




Jayden worked hard too! 


Okay, it wasn't all work.

On Christmas Eve we decided to take the afternoon off and visit a hotel 3 km away for a bite to eat. 

3 kms? That should take about 5 minutes right? 

Wrong! One hour later we were still fighting traffic.

As we drove we made a stop to purchase our Christmas dinner.. (or maybe not)

   

Although it took an hour to get there, it was worth it! 

The hotel was quiet, peaceful,  and beautiful....
 The food was good too!


After lunch we explored the premises. 
 


On an outdoor lounge bed the two brothers giggled and played.

From 2012

At the Christmas Eve service that night there was back row seating for babies..


When the sun had set and the sky was dark, candles were lit as we sang 'Silent Night'!



Dinner that evening was a potluck at a friend's house.

Sparklers and fireworks were part of the fun.


Tomorrow would be Christmas day...

Favourite Photos

With all the busyness of guests and teams these last few months followed by weeks of being sick, I feel I kind of missed blogging about some of those moments and memories that make life special.  No time like the present to catch up though, so here goes!

This is probably my all time favourite picture of Justin.
Taken in October, I just love how it captures his personality; mischievous and fun-loving!

This next one is actually a story in itself, but I will just touch on it briefly for now. Here are Palo, Wilson and a new friend Jedline. Each Saturday afternoon they come for lunch. You may remember the story "Loving in Deed and in Truth" where I wrote about the boys that came knocking on my gate all the time. Well now instead of knocking they come visit each week. We chat, eat lunch together and then memorize a scripture verse in Creole. It has become a very special time and they still regularly put me to shame with their kind gestures!

One Saturday afternoon we had the church youth group over to bake cookies. I had to pick them up from the church and in order for everyone to fit I had Jayden sit in the front with me. 

His little mouth rarely stops talking and this day was no exception. 

"Mom! The road sure is bumpy! If you drive too fast your head will hit the ceiling. Then when we get home you will have to go to the bathroom and brush your hair. (Never mind the bump on my head I guess). And if you're busy brushing your hair we won't have time to bake cookies. So maybe you should slow down a little!" 

I guess he has cause and effect down pat, but where does he get this stuff from? I wasn't going more than 10km/h and my hair is lucky if I spend more than 10 seconds on it in the morning!

Anyway, back to the youth group bake event, we sure had a lot of fun!

The first job was to sift the flour.
This is what we sifted out of only 4 cups of flour. 

Then we mixed up the dough.

And finally we decorated the cookies together; all the while listening to Christmas music and having a grand time! Jayden was right smack in the middle of the fun of course, keeping everyone entertained with his silly sayings.

The next few photos are of the DR.  Although I had contacted Dengue in Haiti, it takes a 5-7 days to develop symptoms so the first two days of our trip I was still feeling mostly okay.

Jason flew us over in a MAF airplane and I love this picture of Justin waving at the clouds.



Jayden all dressed up in his pilot uniform, just like his Daddy.



A beautiful shot of the kids sitting in the ocean.

Jason and Jayden's crab catching collection.


And two little pirates playing on the beach.

I just had to throw this one in because I love how the orange table cloth draws out Jayden's freckles here!

From 2012

Finally; these last two pictures are just funny! 

Justin and Jayden play really well together but occassionaly Jayden gets annoyed when Justin breaks his lego tower or sits on his train set.

To remedy this, Jayden, my great problem solver, made a 'jail' for his brother. Justin at first thought it was interesting...
But then when he realized his favourite brother didn't want to play with him, he was not very impressed.

Look at that face!

Looking Unto Jesus

November 25 (two and a half weeks ago)  

The stark glare of the overhead fluorescent lighting fills the empty room as I lay on the ER bed. Looking around all I see is white, bare walls. 

My head is pounding and I’m burning up with fever while my body aches and bleeds. 

Is this it? I wonder as a lone tear escapes and trickles down my cheek. 

Like the room, I feel bare and empty inside too. I can’t feel His presence. I can’t even recall a single Bible verse I’ve memorized. 

What if I die and that’s it? I wonder. What if there is no life after death? 

Between my doubt and confusion and tears I suddenly hear the words of Peter. “To whom else shall we go? Thou only has the words of eternal life.” It’s not a verse I’ve ever memorized but it repeats itself over and over again in my heart. 

As I ponder and cling to those words another verse that I’ve never memorized fills my heart. “I have prayed for you that your faith fails not.” 

Weren’t those the words Jesus said to Peter? Hope flickers and burns. 

Closing my eyes I remember the previously memorized words of Hebrews 12:2 “Looking unto Jesus the author and finisher of our faith;” 

My fearful, doubting heart fills with hope and peace. Whatever happens next Jesus IS the author and finisher of my faith and I can rest assured in that knowledge.

Home Again!

We are happy to report that we safely arrived back home in Port au Prince this afternoon! Will remains very tired and weak, but is also happy to be back. The doctor said that it will likely take several weeks before she feels back to normal, and not unusual for it to take up to 2 or 3 months!

This morning we took a taxi from Puerto Plata to Santiago where we were able to briefly visit with Sherilyn and Anthony as well as pick up a few things we had left behind. After running some errands in town, we were dropped off at the airport and took a small airline flight back to Port au Prince.

Thank you all for your prayers and emails! Your support these past several weeks has been greatly appreciated

Resting

Dear family & friends. Thank you so much for all your emails and messages! Although we may not have replied, your care, concerns and prayers meant a lot to us.

Yesterday found us back at the hospital for another blood test and hopefully today we will know the results to see if it is safe for me to travel back to Port au Prince this Friday. I've been very weak and tired, but between my husband and the staff at the small hotel we are staying at the care has been fabulous!

I am enjoying the R&R that we are getting here at such a beautiful place, but also anxious to get back to our "normal" life in Haiti! Jayden is also quite excited to get back to school!