April Update

The weather in Haiti is interesting. Temperatures range between warm and hot and rarely, if ever, drop below 20 degrees Celsius. 

There are two seasons: rainy or dry. In the rainy seasons, clouds form in the late afternoon and rains pound the city at night; sometimes for mere minutes, sometimes for hours. Rainy season brings cooler temperatures, but also mud and mosquitoes. 

In the dry seasons there are endless days of sun and warmth and the mosquitoes all but disappear, but are replaced by dust and drought. 

The seasons are very fluid; it will be dry for months and suddenly, without warning it’s rainy season again. Then, just as abruptly it ends, replaced once again by dry, sunny days. Every year, which months are rainy and which months are dry seem to be different. 

What is also interesting is that there is no winter. I’m not meaning no snow or the likes, (obviously) but the fact that there is no barren period in the vegetation. Leaves fall down and as they die are replaced almost instantaneously by new ones.

Right now on our property the ground is caked with leaves.

Yet, as I look up at the trees, new flowers and leaves are already replacing the old ones.

We are thankful to report that everything is going well with our family. 

Jason has been busy flying and organizing various projects. One of his recent flights included transporting a girl who was badly burned after the house she lived in exploded.

Her family had a business selling gasoline in small jugs on the side of the road, but took the barrel containing the fuel into their house for safe keeping at night. Something went horribly wrong one night when the barrel caught fire with the girl trapped inside. Jason was part of the MAF team who helped transport here to the capital for further care. 

With some of the local airlines having issues, Jason has also been busy trying to organize alternate transportation options through MAF for missionaries needing to get to the capital for dentist/doctor appointments or flights out to North America. 

I took the liberty of downloading some of his recent photos off his cellphone:

Through the church we attend, Jason has also gotten involved with  helping a group of young, trained men, with funding and logistics for outreach trips to other parts of Haiti. The group known as the Timothy Leadership Training Group has gone on several trips now and came back full of stories on how God worked through them as they shared His Word with others. Isaiah 53:7a says How beautiful upon the mountains are the feet of him that bringeth good tidings, that publisheth peace; that bringeth good tidings of good that publisheth salvation; You can read more about their story in our newsletter that we hope to send out in the next day or so.

Besides my regular duties of wife and mom, and some of the additional roles I’ve taken on as hostess, I’ve also been busy helping Denise increase her cooking and baking skills. I’m thankful to share that she’s catching on quickly, and it’s a very enjoyable time for both of us! I will surely miss her and her family when we leave this summer. 

 I’m also thankful to report our three boys are doing well! Jayden has morphed into an avid reader and I love watching his skills in that area grow so rapidly!

He also loves to read and play with the neighbour kids.

Justin is growing rapidly; both physically and mentally. It's a joy having him around and he has a great sense of humour which keeps us laughing a lot! Him and his brother are also getting along much better now, thankfully!

Alexander is now ten months old! He still sports that super sweet smile that makes your heart melt, but under that endearing exterior he’s also showing signs of being a mischievous little monkey. Even with 5 different straps and belts he still manages to wiggle out of his high chair and he has quite the little stubborn streak too!

Now that I have a little more time on my hands, I'm back to taking pictures of sunsets. Below are two that I've recently taken from our property.

The last one portrays a lot of emotion. I don't normally dwell on the fact that we live behind high security walls topped with cruel looking razor wire, but when I studied this picture, it just struck me how far mankind has fallen. 

 A few days later, I read this: 
Thou therefore endure hardness (hardship), as a good soldier of Jesus Christ. 2 Timothy 2:3 

For we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places. Ephesians 6:12 

Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or peril, or sword? 

As it is written, For thy sake we are killed all the day long; we are accounted as sheep for the slaughter. 

Nay, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him that loved us.

For I am persuaded, that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor powers, nor things present, nor things to come, Nor height, nor depth, nor any other creature, shall be able to separate us from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord.
Romans 8: 35-39