Praises in the midst of Pain

Please forgive me for my silence, I had much to process and sift through in my mind and heart.
The media is slowly growing tired of Haiti as the streets are being cleared of dead bodies and the remaining survivers have been saved. But for Haitians the aftermath of the earthquake is just beginning. They are slowly recovering from their shock and the reality of their future is becoming more apparent each day. Here in Canada I feel so far removed from what is happening in Haiti. I feel so safe, so clean, so well fed. I am thankful that my days are filled with visits with family and friends, public speaking events and slowly responding to the many e-mails I have received.
Before the earthquake happened I had planned on coming home this week for my dad's 60th birthday party as well as a friend's wedding. As these events approach I find myself thankful that I am alive and well and able to share in these happy moments. As Ecclesiastes 3 says, there is "a time to weep and a time to laugh". I have weeped much for Haiti and now I will rejoice with my loved ones for a time. I know when I return to Haiti I will weep again, for all that was lost, but will also rejoice with those who are alive and well and serving Him.
As for my return to Haiti... I am eager to return but not sure exactly when that will happen. I am trying my best to wait patiently for God's perfect timing.

Regular reports from my co-worker Randy continue to come in. He and our Haitian co-workers continue to remain busy. Praise the Lord, they have gained access to a water purification system and as long as they have a source of water they are able to provide clean water. From time to time they also receive food from other Aid Organizations and they are able to distribute this food to the communities where "our" families come from.

Here are some pictures of them hard at work.

They continue to have prayer services each night with their neighbours. This has proven to be a time of fellowship and worship.

Still Processing...

The events of the past week have not completely registered in my brain. One verse keeps running through my head, over and over again: "In his heart a man plans his course; but the Lord determines his step. " Proverbs 16:9. The days leading up to the earthquake were spent in meetings with our board representatives. We spent time praising and thanking God for all the blessing He had given us. We also spent time planning the future goals of Adoration Christian School. The day following the earthquake was to be the launch of our after school tutouring program and our first ever health seminar for our sponsored female secondary students. Now we're wondering which of our students are still alive and how we can possibly help them survive from day to day.
As difficult as it was to leave, I feel much peace about where I am. I feel that God wants me to reserve my energy for now, and emotionally deal with the events from the past week. When the relief teams have provided some stability to Haiti they will leave and that's when my work will begin once again. I don't know what work that will be, but I am willing to do whatever the Lord puts before me to do.
I am so thankful that my co-worker, Randy, is still in Haiti and that we have regular communication with him via e-mail and phone. He is deeply shaken but staying strong. He is focussing on ministering to those in his neighbourhood. Every night they hold prayer services on the street in front of his house, he and our Haitian co-workers are praying with others and showing the love of God through this dificult time. They are experiencing a variety of emotions at this time but are drawing strength from our Lord and Saviour. Their hearts are heavy with the grief they see all around them but they find hope in the fact that God has spared their lives and will direct their steps in the days to come.
We praise the Lord each time we hear of another staff or student who has survived. Many who survived are heading out of the city to stay with family whose houses were not destoryed and food is easier to find.
I am deeply moved by all those who called, e-mailed or "facebooked" me in the last few days. I'm sorry I haven't responded but I did appreciate your notes and especially your promises for prayer. Please continue to pray for Randy and our Haitian co-workers. Pray for their continued safety and on-going strength and wisdom. Pray that in the midst of all the pain and destruction they can be the Light of Christ to the lost and broken.

Home

It's so surreal to be sitting in my parents living room surrounded by family and friends. Wednesday morning we woke up and tried to make a game plan. Our most urgent desire was to find as many students and teachers as we could. On our way down to the school area we stopped by the Canadian Embassy to let them know that we were okay. At the school many people were stopping by to get information about loved ones and share what information they had. It was my first time seeing the school since the earthquake. It was a mess, I couldn't believe it. It was confirmed that one our teachers was dead but we couldn't get any news about Guerdson, our gatekeeper. Randy, Cadeau and Samuel went downtown to try and find him. I walked back to Randy and Karen's home with Jim and John (the two board members who were visiting). People were walking in mass droves down the main road. They were carrying bags full of their worldly possessions. It was strangly quiet. People were in shock, not sure what to do next. I went back to my house for some clothes and any food I could find. I unplugged my fridge to reserve my batteries in case we needed them later. When I returned I heard that there was a flight out of Haiti and Karen and Maia were going to try their best to get on the flight. I said that I wanted to stay but agreed to go to the Canadian Embassy to see what they were recommending. When we arrived at the Embassy they strongly urged us to leave. Upon further discussion I was convinced that I should leave with Karen and Maia. We had limited water and food and by leaving I would free up more resouces for others, as well there was nothing I could do in Haiti. I'm not medically trained and have no training on search and rescue measures. As the situation became more desperate it would also become more violent and our lives may be in danger. The embassy reluctantly allowed us to return home to pack a few essentials for the flight. It was so hard to not be able to say goodbye to our loved ones, as we pulled out of the embassy in the SUVs we saw them through the tinted windows but unfortunately they couldn't see us. We left PAP that night and headed for Santo Domingo. We were put up in a resort for the night. The next day we left for Montreal. The Canadian Army flew us out and took really good care of us. The Canadian Embassy's in Haiti and the Dominican Republic took really good care of us. We were travelling with Maia (Randy and Karen's baby) so we got special attention everywhere we went. Today Karen was able to speak to Randy on the phone. They received news on a few more of our loved ones. They are okay, and have enough food and water for a while. Please keep them in their prayers. I'm exhausted and not thinking too clearly right now. I'll write more tomorrow when my mind is a bit clearer.

Earthquake

Late yesterday afternoon I was in my kitchen preparing some food when the entire house started to shake like crazy. I ran around in shock for a bit and then decided to go outside in case the entire house collapsed. I stood on the street until the ground stopped shaking. I went inside and started cleaning like a mad woman, I saw water all over the place and realized that one of my toilets had broken in two and was leaking all over the place. I turned off the water flow and then my phone started ringing. I heard that the school had collapsed and that as far as anyone knew everyone got out okay. There was a lot of people there because we had a basketball tournament going on. I walked over to my friends house down the road and we sat around waiting to hear more news. Every time there was an aftershock we ran outside to the road. Randy and Karen finally returned home with some of the guys who work with us. We still haven't heard from one of our staff members and none of the teachers or students.
The streets were chaos, people running around trying to find loved ones. Others were sitting in small groups praying and singing. Last night was spent sitting around in shock, not sure what to do next. We all slept at Randy and Karen's house, right by the door so we could run out on the street if necessary. After a while we all moved outside and slept on mattresses in their yard. We slept little and now it's morning once again. We're buying food and water and trying to decide what to do next. Please pray for wisdom and strength.

Flamingos

Ever since I heard that there was a lake in Haiti with flamingos I have wanted to see them. On Saturday Randy and Karen organized a trip with the guys from school and I was able to make it back to PAP in time to join them. We were taken out in these old boats that leaked like crazy so one person had to constantly bail out water. The lake is quite shallow so the boats are pushed forward by a long pole that reached the bottom of the lake.

We basically followed the birds around the lake. When we got too close they took off above us. It was pretty magnificant to see.

Adventures in Belladare... vegetarians beware!

I was invited to join my friends Lesley and her husband Diego on a visit to Belladare, where Diego is from. We planned on taking my car which was still in the shop so Monday morning I stopped by the garage to see if I could persuade them to hurry up. By 12 noon I was once again in possession of my car and by 1pm we were on the road. We were not quite half way when we started to hear a grinding sound whenever we descended the mountain. We became nervous that the brakes were not working so we decided that we had to return home as the rest of the road was quite rough and isolated. Tuesday morning early we started out once again, this time with Lesley's truck. The ride was pleasant although for the last hour the road was quite rough and rocky.
While in Belladare we spent quite a bit of time visiting with Lesley and Diego's friends. I was also able to meet up with one of our teachers (pictured below) who is also from this area.I have always secretly wished to see how a chicken is killed and prepared from scratch and I was granted this wish while in Belladare. I even helped a bit by helping take off some feathers.

Most of our time was spent enjoying time with Diego's family at the house, playing dominoes and talking.

We were able to explore the area a bit. Below is a lake that is stocked with fish.

Here we are on our way to a river that is popular for swimming and/or bathing. I did not partake as it was quite chilly in Belladare the entire time we were there.

I especially enjoyed spending time with Diego's little brother. I found out that he did not do well on his last report card, so I switched to Teacher mode and taught him a math lesson. It sounds mean but I think he actually enjoyed the attention. We'll see how he does on his next report card:)

Overall we had a great time. I was hoping to inprove my Creole but only learned a few new words. I was however reminded that I need to keep learning as there are many words/phrases that I don't yet know. I was able to experience a Haitian New Year's Eve which involves going to church for HOURS (we only went for one hour) and then we tried to introduce some Canadian traditions such as counting down from 10, drinking champagne and shouting "Happy New Year". January 1st is a big deal here in Haiti as it is the date that marks their independence from France. They always have pumpkin soup because the French Slave owners used to drink it a lot but never allowed their slaves to drink it. We visited several homes and drank a lot of pumpkin soup. It was nice to get out of Port-au-Prince for a short while. Our trip home was uneventful and I feel rested and ready to go back to work tomorrow.