Foolishness to the World

So...two months is a long time. Our little guy is is growing like a weed and eats 24/7! However the really great news is that ever since he was about 4 weeks old he has been sleeping 8-10 hours through the night, every night! We are attributing this to really good parenting... ;)

The name of this post is based on a quote that I love by Oswald Chambers. The quote is taken from his devotional book, My Utmost for His Highest.

"Am I wise enough in God's sight, but foolish enough according to the wisdom of the world, to trust in what Jesus has said? Or am I abandoning the great supernatural position of limitless confidence in Christ Jesus, which is really God's only call for a missionary?"

This challenge came across very harshly to me. The idea that everything that we already know, culturally believe and accept as truth from the world that tells us to follow our hearts and pursue life, liberty and happiness with our lives, is a lie to its core according to the word of God. And the truth about how we should be using our precious days here in this world is looked at as utter foolishness in the eyes of everyone around us. I am not sure how many people know this about this great little devotional book, but when Oswald wrote these words, he was in his late 30's, because he died at the age of 43.

To have understood so much about the nature of life and the true purpose that we are all called to at such a young age. I only pray that I am able to let loose of my own life in surrender to God in the same manner that he did, that I am able to separate myself from the worthless ties of a foolish world that knows not the love of God.

What the Lord has really put on my heart lately is how blind we are as teenagers to this truth. Working with the youth at our church, it is, at times, heart-breaking to see the amount of time and passion that is poured out into the meaningless trappings of this world. But it is not up to us to change the hearts of men, but God. This is a hard lesson to learn in spiritual leadership. To desire so much for those that you care about to grasp the truth that God has shown you, that will change their lives, and yet to know that all you can do is be an example and a gentle voice, because only God can bring true understanding.

Enough of the soap box, just wanted to get some thoughts off of my mind... ;)

So, for the last two months Anna and I have been busy preparing for whatever God in store for us next. We have also been watching God lay out the path ahead of us. We have spent a lot of time reading books and study materials on missions, cultural changes, raising kids on the mission field, fundraising and support team management, etc. It has been very helpful to have our Pastor, a former missionary himself, as well as a PhD in Cross Cultural Ministry, as a mentor and guide to assist in training us  and act as our mentor.

We have also been able to make plans for two trips at the beginning of next year to begin some of our training as well as get to know some of the people we will most likely be working with. In January, we we will spend three weeks in Cancun, Mexico where Back2Back Ministries (www.back2backministries.org) began working in August of this year. We will be able to get a first hand look at a B2B site in the midst of a start up. This is exactly what we will be doing in Haiti when the time comes, so this visit will be extremely insightful! Not to mention we are very excited to actually begin preparing for the work that we will be doing!

The second trip is a five week stint in Haiti from February 10th until March 15th. During this time, we will be spending one week with B2B and Jesus in Haiti (www.jesusinhaiti.org)  the organization the B2B is looking to partner with in Haiti. For the rest of the time, we will be staying with our dear friends, Jared and Jalayne (www.jjcoblentz.blogspot.com) working with them at their orphanage and learning what living as missionaries in Haiti will be like day to day.

Also, in the last two weeks we have put together our first support letter and have been working on sending them out. Most likely you have received one. (If you have not and would like to, let us know and we will send one out to you right away!) The primary purpose of this first contact with our potential support team was to assist us with the cost of these two training trips as well as to begin raising our prayer team and monthly supporters.

All in all, it has been an extremely busy two months and it is going to be an even busier beginning to 2011. We simply cannot wait  to see the continued blessings and provision that God has in store for 2011 and beyond!

Please be in prayer for us that God would bless this initial fundraising effort and that we would begin to put together our core prayer and support group for what God has planned next. Also please be in prayer for the country of Haiti as things are quite tense right now with the presidential  election runoff and government corruption. There has been quite a bit of rioting and governments buildings being burned down. We have no intentions whatsoever of changing our plans for or February trip and ask that you join us in praying for a peaceful end to the chaos that is gripping this heartbroken and devastated nation right now.

The Arrival of Kai Anderson!

He's here!

He was born Sunday morning at 09:43 at Memorial Hospital in South Bend, IN. He was 6Lb 13oz and 20" long and has his mother's dark skin, dark hair, and my blue eyes, along with my LONG fingers and toes! And since, when it comes to babies, everyone just wants to see pictures, here we go!


Kai when he was just 2 minutes old!

Checking out his new world on the scale

Still on the scale, showing us that at 45 minutes old, he can roll over!

Kai with Daddy and Aunt Laura

Kai con Tia's Lizy y Pris

Kai and a couple of his fantastic cousins!

The first of many, Four Generations of Conrad men.

After his bath, getting a nap

Con Abue Carlos

Kai and Daddy

Big Blue Eyes, just what Mommy wanted...

Nap time with Mommy

Nap time with Daddy

Getting ready to go home!

Kai y su prima, Eliana

Kai y su prima, Zua

Kai with Great Grandma Helen

We are so blessed with how wonderfully everything went. It was all, truly a wonderful answer to prayer!

Patience, Joy, and Vision

It has been nearly three weeks since the last update. It seems as though so much has happened, and yet so little has happened. It is an interesting feeling, to have no clue what is going to happen next or how your family will be provided for, but at the same time, to wake up every morning with complete peace and an expectant joy for what is to come.

Our last post was more of a look at remaining faithful and focused when your idea of the vision changes. The problem with God giving us a vision is that we always put our own human interpretations into it, and before we know it, we have plastered our own human ideas and plans all over the perfect plan and vision that God has laid out for us. The hardest prayer for me to pray is for God to close a door He does not want us to go through when I really want to go through that particular door.

In the end we know that His plan for our lives is far superior to our own, but that does not stop us from continually trying to wrest away control. This is especially hard in times where patience is the only avenue. This has been our avenue for the past three weeks. There have been some highs and lows, but patience has been the name of the game.

It is a challenge to come down off of the mountaintop experience with God ready to go and full of vigor and passion, and then have to sit and wait. But this is part of it. This is where the vision is refined and perfected. In the stillness, the quiet rest, the valley. To take control of the vision and push it forward on our own timetable is foolishness, to learn to wait on God and maintain the vision as God refines it before your eyes is what is necessary. If you can have that kind of patience, then I promise you, just as we have seen over the past three weeks, it is as if God is custom tailoring that vision to the needs you did not even know you had.

There are so many times when we just want to go it alone, to take the reigns and decide that if no one else is going to do it, well, by golly, I will get it done. This is the American Spirit. It is a great thing, it accomplishes things and drives greatness, it pushes us to excel. But it can be disastrous when used to force something apart from God's will and timing. What I am learning through this time, is that we have to hold on to that spirit, that drive, while at the same time, stop it in its tracks and allow God to prepare the way before we push to far ahead and make a mess.

I see it as an analogy of God building a bridge over a dangerous river. The more bold the vision, the more dangerous the river. How foolish would it be to jump on your horse of drive and spirit and run full speed across the three feet of bridge that have been laid and hope for the best after that? Unless your horse can walk on water (which with our God is certainly possible) this is utter foolishness. We must learn to patiently wait for the next part of the bridge to be built, and then we need to hook up our horse of drive and spirit to a wagon of supporters that will get behind what we are doing and slow us down if we get any more wild ideas about sprinting ahead.

So whatever your vision, be patient, wait for it, and when the time comes, it will be custom tailored to the exact specifications that God knew you would require.

An update on where we are now, we are looking at two organizations and have applied with both. We are trusting that Lord willing, we will be on the missions field next year some time. Once we have been affirmed by the organization that we are going to go with, we will begin full fledged fundraising.

We should hopefully know more specifics in the next two weeks.

Also on another note, Anna is ready to pop! Kai is just being lazy. Our doctor is telling us any day, any minute could be the time, so our bags are packed and I am almost to the point of sleeping fully dressed!

So hopefully by the next post, we will have more details for you on the organization as well as a new member of our family!

Doors Slam, Windows Crack

In the darkness of a cool room, with a hazy mist out the open window, creeping in to chill my feet seems to be opening my mind right now. This is my favorite time of year here in northern Indiana. Fall! Harvest time, apple cider, squeeze grapes, CinnaClove Nut Crunch candles, bonfire's, cook out's, hunting season, Soccer Season, ND Football, Sweatshirts... you get the idea.

So what does this cool air have my mind wondering about you ask? How does God move? In what ways does He speak to us? Does he yell sometimes? Does He whisper sometimes? If we miss what He is saying to us, what happens then? Are we putting God's plans on hold or does He find someone else to fulfill His plan, someone who is listening more closely for His voice? I am sure we have all asked these questions at one time or another. The question is why is it so easy to hear Him at times, and so difficult other times?

Every time you venture out in your life of faith, you will find something in your circumstances that, from a commonsense standpoint, will flatly contradict your faith. But common sense is not faith, and faith is not common sense. In fact, they are as different as the natural life and the spiritual. Can you trust Jesus Christ where your common sense cannot trust Him? Can you venture out with courage on the words of Jesus Christ, while the realities of your commonsense life continue to shout, “It’s all a lie”? When you are on the mountaintop, it’s easy to say, “Oh yes, I believe God can do it,” but you have to come down from the mountain to the demon-possessed valley and face the realities that scoff at your Mount-of-Transfiguration belief (see Luke 9:28-42). Every time my theology becomes clear to my own mind, I encounter something that contradicts it. As soon as I say, “I believe ’God shall supply all [my] need,’ ” the testing of my faith begins (Philippians 4:19). When my strength runs dry and my vision is blinded, will I endure this trial of my faith victoriously or will I turn back in defeat?

This is from my favorite devotional book. This paragraph from Oswald's classic "My Utmost For His Highest" is a pretty fair representation of real life, of our life after our week on the mountain top. That week, it was very easy to hear God's voice, loud and strong and sure. But the question was general. So now we have specific questions, and we have lots of them! So how do you decipher God's answers for each of the 263 questions that you have to answer in order to move forward with the vision He has already given you?

Do you continue on in your faith when your worldly common sense is screaming "It's all a lie!, What Are You DOING!?!?!?" When the answers you thought you already had wrapped up change drastically or disappear completely?

Or do you "endure this trial of faith victoriously"? Do you choose to see the window God cracked for you three stories above the door that just slammed in your face. Sure it would have been nice to walk in through a nice big door, that was wide open, but what would you learn about your faith in doing that? Wouldn't it be great to see that cracked window three stories up and use the talents and abilities that God has given you to scale the side of that opportunity, dangerously pursuing His vision, recklessly going where you see God providing a path, and having to rely on Him solely to be able to get to that cracked window.

What a story you will have to tell of God's faithfulness and strength. I think we usually fall apart about when the open door slams. If not then, it is when we see the cracked window and say, "there is no way I can climb that high." How right we are. Without God, we can't climb anywhere. It is through the fire that we are tested.

1 Peter 1:6-7 (New International Version)

6In this you greatly rejoice, though now for a little while you may have had to suffer grief in all kinds of trials. 7These have come so that your faith—of greater worth than gold, which perishes even though refined by fire—may be proved genuine and may result in praise, glory and honor when Jesus Christ is revealed.

For Anna and I, we are coming to realize, if we are to be able to handle life on the spiritual battlefield of missions, we must be trained. Spiritually trained. What better way to refine our faith than through trials and grief. We have seen much of this over the last two years. We will see much more. However, in all this, we know that our God is greater, our God is stronger, He will provide as He said He would. In these promises, we stand with no doubt whatsoever. In His love, we abide, in His strength, we rest, and in His grace, we share, because He has called us to, the same as He has called you to.

Please pray for us as we continue to seek God's direction for the organization where we are needed most and that will be a good fit for us. Pray for us as we begin to put together our fundraising materials and begin meeting with potential ministry partners, and pray that God would use this time in our lives to prepare us in every way possible for the road ahead, whatever that might be, and wherever it might lead.

PS. Kai is due in three weeks, so pray for Mommy and Kai as well!

Signs

So the past week has been quite eventful for Anna and I...

We are now firmly convinced that now is the time that the Lord has been preparing us for and that we are going to be going to Haiti.

Let me share the journey that has led us to this conclusion:

As I write this , I have to admit that I am so filled with joy that I hope that my eagerness does not come across as anything more than a total surrender to God's will in our family's life.

Anna and I have felt called to missions since before we met. After getting married in 2008(in Monterrey) our calling had not changed, but God had made it clear that it was not the time. In 2006 I had been given a wonderful opportunity to begin a job at a very good company where I had the possibility of making very good money. It was for this reason that I believed that God had put me there so that we would be able to send others. So for the last 4 years, that is what we have done and it has been wonderful to see the fruits of our gifts and God providing for us when we given more than we could afford. Throughout this time, we knew still that at some point God had a place for us on the mission field, not just to send but also to go.

Also over these years we placed offers on two houses. Both times we offered more than the asking price. both times we were beat by competing offers. We took this as a sign from God that we were to stay mobile and live in our apartment. After seeing our very good friends go to the mission field and have to deal with selling a house was plenty of motivation for that. However we still figured our trip to the mission field was a ways off.

In June of 2009, my cousin Kyle passed away. For all practical purposes he was my brother in many respects. He grew up in the farmhouse next door to my brother and I. The three of us along with my other cousins were always extremely close, dinner every Sunday after church, bonfires in the evenings, we went to high school together, college together, we married around the same time. Kyle and his wife Chelsea became two of my wife and I's dearest adult friends spending many evenings together and going on many trips together. When Kyle died last June at the age of 23, leaving his 22 year old wife a widow, it was the the most difficult time our family had ever gone through. It was a life changing thing, to see death move so rapidly, without warning, and to realize how short our lives really were. This was the catalyst God used in our lives.

After this, my heart began to grow restless, more so than usual. Shortly after losing our friendships with Kyle and Chelsea, our best friends left us as well. However, they left us for the mission field. We were so happy for them and while we knew that they had been called, we were wondering when we would be as well. In a span of five months, we lost our four closest friends in the world. This was very humbling and God used this time to allow us to grow and mature. Shortly after this we led our young adult Sunday School in the Francis Chan book study on his book Crazy Love. It was my cousin's death and this book that began the transformation of our hearts from American Dreamers pretending to wait for God's call, to actually preparing our lives for the call so that we would be ready when it came.

In May of 2010, Anna and I along with our cousin's Alyssa and Phil, some very close friends, the Silveus' and our Pastor, took a trip to Haiti to spend a week with Jared and Jalayne. This was one of many short term missions trips I had been on, but it was the first that I had put together and lead. This was also the first trip where I was not thankful upon returning home to the States, I was disgusted. Disgusted at the excess which I saw, the waste and greed, the pride, the apathy, the bubble. These were all new feelings to me as all of my previous trips I had been ready to return home and thankful to be back in America.

Shortly after this, in June of this year my pastor asked me to preach at our church. The Lord guided me to speak on the American Dream vs. God's will for our lives. The Lord so convicted me on this sermon, we immediately sold our second vehicle because it was not a necessary thing. At the same time, I continued to struggle at work to find value in a career that did not directly impact the lives and hearts of the lost.

Three weeks ago, Anna and I traveled to Ohio with our friends who went to Haiti with us. We went to visit Eric, Jared's brother. Eric was in Haiti with us in May. We have always joked with Eric and his wife Brianna that we would end up working in Haiti together because they also feel called to missions. The weekend was filled with the same talk and was a very nice weekend of relaxation and spending time with friends. After our return home, Eric texted me and told me that he had a dream that we had moved in next door to them, he could not remember where it was but I knew immediately that it was Haiti.

On Monday night, August 23, Anna had put together our first prayer meeting for our church. Anna and I along with Sheila and Joyce got together and talked and prayed for about two hours. We specifically prayed that night for our Pastors and their wives. We knew that Pastor Randy had been praying for a long time to raise up missionaries out of our own church and send them. I know for a fact that God used that prayer meeting to allow my week to go the way it did and that is what began us down this road that would lead to Anna and I becoming the answer toour own prayers for Pastor Randy.

On Friday, August 27, 2010, God opened the door. After the worst week I had ever been through at my job, after losing the ability to stay positive, which for me has never happened, EVER. God released me from my job. Immediately there was an overwhelming sense of freedom and excitement for what God had planned next. We began to pray in earnest about what God wanted us to begin pursuing. I began looking for another job and immediately felt God closing that door. This came in the form if a job opportunity in a related field that I would have been able to get without a problem, and Anna asking me if I really wanted to go back to doing what had made me so miserable for the sake of our own human security. My answer to that question was "Absolutely Not!" After continuing to pray and talk with Anna, we began replaying the last year and spotting God's preparation for what had taken place on Friday. We began to recall dreams people had about us and shared with us, visions, prayers, words from God. All of these things pointed directly to being sent. After praying more and telling my wife's parents and her sister (Pris), her sister's first response was to ask us when we were going to Haiti. This was the first sign we had for Haiti and continued confirmation that now was the time God had been preparing us for.

On Saturday evening we told my parent's along with my Aunt and Uncle and Grandma who were visiting from out of town. After dinner we were walking to our cars and Uncle Greg asked to pray for us. During that prayer on Saturday night he prayed for God's will to be made evident to us, and that God would specifically give my parents peace about this through dreams. Later we found out that the Lord gave my Mom a dream that night, a vision of praying over Anna and I, sending us out. It was made even more unique in that in her dream Kyle was there with us and he was also praying over us to send us out. My mom said it was a reminder that eternity is so close.

On Sunday, it just so happened that our church was hosting our missionaries to Nepal, Dan and Sheryl Ingle. We had Sheryl in our Sunday school class and Anna and I were able to ask several questions about specific concerns that we had about things that were concerns for us, the two most prominent were about taking a baby to the mission field, which they did, and second about working with friends in the mission field, which we were considering and they highly recommended.

Then during the service, Dan spoke and was talking about Genesis 26: 19-21. This is where Abraham drills a well that is to provide for his family and sustain them (i.e. my job) but after a while a neighboring clan claims it is theirs and what was once meant to be a blessing of provision turns into a cause for bitterness, anger, and fighting. So God tells Abraham to let it go, to walk away, and to go to a new place. he Lord spoke directly to our situation with this message.

After church and Sunday dinner with the family we were at home and I went to Anna and asked her if she was really ready to be a missionary. I was having doubts. She said "Yes! Why are you doubting?!" I said"I don't know, I just want to know for sure that this is what God wants!" At that moment, my phone started ringing. It was Jared and Jalayne calling us from Haiti, at the very moment where I was crying out to God that I just wanted to know for sure that he wanted us to go!

We spent the next hour on the phone with them. We told them that we felt now was the time that God had prepared us for, that we were being called to go to the mission field. We told them about the specific things that we felt God was calling us to do and that we were seeking God's will for where we should go, but that wherever we were going to go, we wanted to be needed for our specific abilities. Jared and Jalayne began sharing with us that just that week, they had told their board that they NEEDED, not just wanted another couple to join them in order for their long term ministry to continue. They had also told their board that they could no longer handle short term groups as they needed to focus on the orphanage and the groups, while wonderful and needed took up to much of their time from what they were there to do. They also mentioned their need for website help...all of these things lined up perfectly with the talents and abilities we knew God had already prepared us to serve with. On top of all of this, they told us about a house they were looking at that just happened to be a duplex built for two families! Our conversation with them was yet another sign of the continuing faithfulness of God as we continued to seek His will for this next step of our lives.

The following night, Monday, we met with our Pastor and his wife. Randy and Tammy, before taking over as the lead pastor of FCC 6 years ago, had spent 6 years working with Project Abraham in Costa Rica. Before that they worked in church planting and did many other missions related things. Randy now sits on several missions boards and still serves as an encouragement for missionaries by traveling to meet with them and ministering to them as part of his duties at FCC as well as outside of FCC. We also knew that he and Tammy had been praying for many years that God would raise up missionaries from FCC to send out. We wanted to meet with them to find out if they thought we were ready, to get advice, perhaps constructive criticism, or whatever the Lord wanted us to hear. We prayed that if the Lord's will was for us to go, that He would confirm it at this meeting in an absolute and abstract way that we would not be expecting.

After an hour and half of talking and asking questions and eating some great pizza, God answered that specific prayer, specifically. Not only did they support us with their words, they got out their personal checkbook and wrote us our first support check. In no way were we prepared for this, in no way were we prepared for the Lord to speak so clearly and definitively. We had our answer.

Over the past 10 days, this list that includes more items than detailed here and continues to grow every day of confirmations from God, friends, family, and the spiritual leaders in our lives lines up with going to the mission field now and that place being Haiti.

We have continued to pray for specific signs from God and continued confirmation and affirmation from the Lord if this was truly his open door. Every time, our specific prayers have been directly answered by the Lord over and over again.

We know that there will be ups and downs, mountains and valleys. There already have been even after such clear direction from the Lord. But as I read in Oswald Chamber's classic, "Do not let the valleys steal away the vision God has shown you on the mountain top." We have no intention of losing the vision God has given us, only asking Him to take it, mold it, and make it His entirely.

We can't wait to see what our Awesome God has planned for us next!

A New Day Dawns

The posts below are imported from our Blog from May of 2010 detailing our one week trip to Port au Prince with Jared and Jalayne. Little did we know the seed that the Lord was planting in our hearts...

Let me begin with saying that both Anna and I have known that we were called to missions since before we met. We simply did not know when or where. For the last four years, I have had a good job that we believe God had given me in order to provide and send others to the field. For the last year we have been wrestling with whether God wanted us to continue in this or if He was moving us in another direction. I became increasingly unhappy in my job and God continued to tug at our hearts, stronger and stronger.

Over the past four days, God has moved! Big Time! Friday he released me from my job. The 36 hours following contained 25-30 specific signs and answers to prayer, including dreams, pointing specifically to the fact that this was the time we had been prepared for. This was His call. It was our turn to go!

Never have Anna and I experienced the peace and joy that comes with this new total reliance on God. It is not until we truly have no control over our lives that God can truly move.

This morning the Lord spoke to me through Psalm 73: 21-28, When we are grieved and our spirits are down, we are no more than brute beasts, because He is always with us, He guides us with His council. Then He reminds us of the lost, the lost that we are called to save! The passage ends with:

"I have made the Sovereign Lord my refuge, I will tell all of your deeds."

We will tell all of his deeds. Wherever He has called us to go. We are overjoyed and excited, resting in the knowledge that He has prepared us for such a time as this. We do not know how He will work this out, but we know He will, beyond a shadow of a doubt. We believe in His faithfulness, in His Truth, and we claim it today, resting in His Grace.

Please pray for us as we continue to pursue the path that God has begun to open doors for. Pray that He will continue to guide us and show us His will and that we will not be deterred from the commitment that He has placed in our hearts.

Thursday

The day started early as usual, the sun comes up around 5:30, by 6:30 the sun is so hot coming through the window, sleep is no longer an option...The morning started as usual, showers, breakfast and reading, everyone at their own pace. By 8am we are painting and out in the yard working. The morning went fast as we continued to prepare the grounds of the orphanage for grass, it has come so far! Look:


We worked hard until 11 and then had lunch with Shedna and her sisters and Mom.


After lunch we went downtown and did some shopping...no pictures of that, but we had a lot of fun!

Then back to the homestead for dinner, which the lovely Evelyn prepared for us!


While we were waiting for dinner, we were spending time playing with Melisa, Shedna, and Rosalonda, three sisters that Jared and Jalayne are helping take care of. Their Mom is 21 and has five kids, Rosalinda and Shedna are the youngest at 2.5 yrs old and 15 months. They are both about a year behind as far as physical and mental development. Shedna has just started walking on her own and Rosalonda barely has energy to cry, it takes everything she has to keep her head up most of the time, she is the size of about a three month old baby.

But they are so precious! Here is a picture of Melisa, the oldest...


And here is a shot of Shedna, the 2.5 year old that we have been able to spend the most time with...


And here is little Rosalonda...


We then spent the rest of our evening talking and playing Hand and Foot! This will probably be the last post until Saturday as we have an 8 hour layover in Ft. Lauderdale and will try to do a final post from the airport.

Here a couple great pictures of the faces of our team!

Kyle and Mindy Silveus

Andrew and Anna Conrad

Philip and Alyssa Wertz
Eric Coblentz

Dr. Randy Smith

And of course, Jared and Jalayne, with Shedna!

Tuesday and Wednesday

The girls and guys split up to continue the painting downstairs. It, of course, turned into a competition to see who could finish their rooms first. We won’t mention who won because it’s not important J (written by a girl). This took most of the morning.

After lunch, we toured a local market to get an idea of where people buy their clothes and groceries. We also went to the boys’ orphanage to spend time with them and see the facility. They gave us a tour of their rooms, taught us some of their favorite games, and walked down to the river with us. We had a blast spending time with them!

We came back in the evening to eat a meal prepared by a member of Jarad and Jalayne’s church- it was amazing! We ended the night by playing cards and resting from the eventful day.

Today, we divided into teams again for the day. The girls completed painting the downstairs rooms, while the guys continued the never ending task of cleaning up the yard. When the painting was finished, the girls took a break from the fumes and joined the efforts outside. The yard is covered with rocks and debris, which we realized this morning was home to 2 tarantulas. Jalayne is hoping they’re the same sex. ;)  

We worked to clear the rocks and trash in an attempt to get the yard ready for grass to be planted. The backyard has a beautiful mango tree that provides a lot of shade, which will someday be a wonderful place for the girls to play. In the meantime, our muscles were hard at work. We will sleep well tonight!

Monday

The mornings here are beginning to find a routine; a lazy wake up, a breakfast of champions (granola bars, fruit snacks, Crispex, or oatmeal and bible reading or various devotions. Then a plan is mapped out for the day.

Today, the girls were set to paint and the guys a total HG TV revamp of the yard.

There were four rooms that needed to be painted. The walls had severe cracks that had to be patched as a result of the earthquake.

The cleaned up the rubble in the yard from the earthquake. They stacked cement blocks ( remains of the walls that collapsed in the quake) that were salvageable and loaded the rest in the pickup truck to be moved. They also raked weeds, rotten mangos, and various other things into a pile and set them to fire.....nothing like a bon fire in 100 degree weather!

And of course, boys will be boys. They were so proud they killed a lizzard and a rat and caught a snake!

It was a physically exhausting, but most rewarding day....one we all agreed should be treated with pizza and french fries at the Visa Lodge!

Church, City Soleil, and Downtown Port Au Prince

We started out the day going to Jarad and Jalayne's church. It was great to worship with our Haitian brothers and sisters in Christ. We were warmly welcomed, and even heard an English rendition of "This is the Air I Breathe," which was the beginning and end of what we understood in the service!

After lunch, we gathered about half of the supplies we brought down, and loaded up the truck to distribute the items. We gave some of the tarps to a local Doctor who provides services to a tent community. The tarps will be used to cover the ground inside the tents which is now very muddy after every rain. We were able to walk around the community and meet some of the people living there. Many of those living in the community had lost their homes in the earthquake, but others are living there due to intense fear of staying indoors.




The other donations were brought to a church in City Soleil where they will be further distributed as needed. As soon as we pulled in front of the church we were swarmed by children giving us thumbs up and fist bumps. We spent time playing with the kids and holding them. Each person had at least three kids hanging on them or jumping on them at any given time! It was awesome to show love to these kids.




We were also able to drive through downtown Port Au Prince to see the worst of the devastation. This experience can not be put into words but this is a glimpse of what we saw:



The President's Palace: