Little projects

Once upon a time, shortly after we moved to Haiti, we needed some storage space so I made a couple simple shelves.  Little did I know what that would lead to.  It started with me getting material to build some benches for the school.  The shelves were made from scraps from that project, a little stand for our water bottle and a 4 shelf corner shelf for books.  That’s when we really started to take note of how observant our neighbors are.  Most of them haven’t even been in my house, but they can probably tell you more about what’s in it than I can, just from standing at the door and looking.  Anything new or different catches their attention immediately and of course; they’d like one just like it.

Any piece of furniture with a door on it you can secure is called a ‘bifet’ (pron. beefet).  Everyone wanted a bifet.  I got along for a while just putting them off, and when that wouldn’t hold them off anymore, I broke down and made one for a friend.  The requests kept coming so I started saying they had to buy hinges and a lock and provide the wood. 

The first project was from the old man across the field.  He showed up with the headboard and footboard of an old bed and asked if I could make a table out of it.  

That one worked out to have almost enough wood.  I only had to provide fasteners (thanks Bart!).  Some things you don’t mind doing because you know there is no other way they could have gotten a table.  The best part came the next day when his wife showed up with a big, ripe mango and hot, sweet, Haitian coffee for us.  Out of their poverty….

About a week later one of the boys from my English class came up the path carrying a plank.  ‘Could you help me make a door for my house?’ he asks.  It wasn’t exactly what I had planned for that morning, but that usually doesn’t make much difference.  Up to the roof we go.  Pretty soon another boy (I say boy, but one is 19 the other 17) came to help and they got a good lesson on ripping 1 ½” thick hardwood with a hand saw (not electric) in the tropical sun.  

We got rained out about half way through, but he returned the next day with a piece of tin roofing and we covered the frame we built.

  

A couple days later he returned with a ‘sitwon’ (like a key lime) tree he had started from seed.  It’s now growing in my yard.

A couple ladies from church were here visiting and somehow got talking about needing ‘bifets’ too.  One of them showed up a couple days later with a big, rough sawn plank and admitted she’d be happy with just shelves. J  The other lady was here with her plank a little while later.  She wanted a ‘bifet’ about the size of our stove and I finally got her to understand that I couldn’t make anything like that with one plank.  A little while later her son shows up with another plank about 8’ long that is split up the middle about half the length.  This project isn’t going to happen any time soon! The planks by the boy's feet in the above picture are the ladies' materials. 

In the mean time, the boy that needed a door returned with a friend, a small board and 3 sticks about 2” in diameter.  Would you help us make a table?  It was Sunday afternoon and a nap was sounding really good!  But he was going to start selling candy as a little business on Monday and needed a table to display his wares.  I think these guys sometimes think up things to make just to see what other kinds of tools I have!  And this opportunity was more important than a nap anyhow, so up to the roof we go.  They’re pretty good helpers if only they could learn that the screw gun doesn’t have to be used full speed.  

About an hour or so later we had a little splay leg table 

and Dickson was in business.

 If you’re waiting for the big take home lesson from all this I’m afraid you’re going to be disappointed.  It’s mostly just a peak into another facet of day to day life here.  Sometimes it’s overwhelming to look into the face of the owner of something that is just flat worn out and see the hopeful look that maybe, just maybe, you can fix it.  Sometimes I just have to say I’m sorry, but most of the time we’ll at least take a run at it.  My neighbors are people of simple faith.  They trust God to make it rain so they don’t starve, and when they have a busted something or another, they believe I can find a way to fix it.  And more than once, the Spirit has shown me how to do it.  God really does have a sense of humor! Some things He brings just to give me a good laugh, but He always has the last laugh when He works it out to have just the right tool, just enough wood or whatever we need to do the impossible.

Every day is a gift from God!

Eliphait

Every day is a gift from God….

We first meet Eliphait about a year & a half ago down by the river.. He was a quiet sweet boy who came up to us.  We are white you know & maybe he saw hope in us. He shows us his neck, which is swollen on the right side.  No he didn’t fall, didn’t get injured, just Malad -sick. We saw him again when we returned to live here in Sept.  He just walked up & showed me his neck,  yes it was still there, looked about the same. I didn’t forget him, but just didn’t know how to help or where to go. I did talk to some Drs, but I was new here & adjusting & didn’t really know what to do. Then one day he sought me out – he couldn’t eat – he would vomit & he was having pain. So we had to try to help him – He was so skinny! 

I had a good friend coming to Haiti to work in a hospital with a team in Jan.  We met with the team & had him evaluated. Much prayer was offered up on his behalf. The diagnosis was TB. Better than it could have been – you treat TB with meds for 6 months & your good! He would come by our house often & say Hi – he would come over on Sunday & go to church with us, he would come & just sit. We would pray for healing which seemed slow in coming… but finally after about 4 mo on his TB meds his neck started to decrease........ but then he started to run high fevers & have swollen feet. We would go visit him then, getting lost as we go up ,up, up the big mountain path to his house overlooking the river. 

He became sicker & his mama came one day & said he can’t even walk. He needed a visit to the hospital. Well we never did find out what was wrong because after about 3 days, before any diagnosis was made, she took him home. Yes don’t get me started… I wanted answers. I’m a nurse – what is wrong with our friend. I even emailed some Dr. friends in the states.

Then this Tuesday eve someone came to our door & said “Eliphait died this afternoon !!!!!”  It can’t be true… I had just witnessed a miracle in another girls life today – her life was given back to her from an evil spirit!! 

 God is so good, how could this have possibly happened??

I will try to relay the funeral to you –

We went to visit his mama; up, up, up the mountain early on wed morning. It was about 8am.  I just had to see her. The chairs were set up for visitors would be coming.

The domino table was there too. One old man followed us up the trail – he immediately sat down at the table & the games started. SLAP goes the dominoes. This is what happens at funerals – games being played, usually music blaring on a speaker, food & drink- yes homemade rum –kleren.

As we sat in the chairs, someone offered coffee & bread.. Haitian style.. small cups with sugary sweet coffee. J Mama,  dressed in white-talked to us telling the details. Tears in both our eyes. He had been to the TB clinic Monday for his monthly meds.  The Dr’s looked at him – nothing new. On Tuesday she cooked him lunch – rice & banans   She had work to do – the garden needed weeded –this was their livelihood & survival .

“Thank you mama – it was good” were the last words he spoke to her.

She came back in the house & he was ever so still....... He was with Jesus.

She was frantic – she shook him, she pulled his fingernails...... he was with Jesus..

She was wailing... He was with Jesus   

How could this be??? The shock & grief of a mama. She had 6 other children who had died before him.. How could this be???  Her youngest, her baby, who was supposed to be getting better..

 Bondye konnen   GOD KNOWS .. that was the answer from her friends.. the only encouragement they offered.

Someone came to gather the laundry & take to the river to wash & then returned to hang on the bushes to dry…

Slap goes the dominoes

Soon we were invited to come in the 2 room house to “sit”. The one room, which was where we had always gone into, was where Eliphait ‘s body was laying . We went into the other.. 2 blankets lay on the dirt floor & we sat down beside mama. As tears once again streamed down mama & my faces.. she once again retold the details..

Slap goes the dominoes

This is where she will spend probably the next couple weeks. Friends or family will stay with her & “take care “of her.  Tho I don’t hear many words of encouragement, & not see hugs, & touchy feely going on..Life is hard here.. Death is common..This is life..

Slap goes the dominoes

As we pray with her...hug her...try to share Gods love...Pray for His Peace, the only true comfort .We will return in the afternoon for the “funeral”

4pm was the time for it to be. As we once again head down our side of the mountain & up, up ,up her mountain, the word comes to us that the casket that was gotten was 3” too short! They use a small stick to measure the body & take to the casket store.. well, it was too small. So another trip to town about 2 hours away & then we will proceed. The community was here waiting… sitting on the hillside..

Slap goes the dominoes

The casket finally arrived & the service commenced. Singing & wailing. Praying & wailing. Reading & wailing…..

The dominoes were silent!

Then off we went, back done the mountain to the above ground tomb near the river bed. The bottom of the tomb was dirt & the casket had problems fitting in the space-…. finally after much kicking, shoving & pushing, it made it in & then the end was sealed with a cement wall…

We went on home with much sorrow in our hearts, but knowing this sweet precious boy was healed & resting in the arms of Jesus!

So I remember...Every day is a gift from God....

Every breath is a gift given to me by our heavenly Father......What I do with it is up to me..

Once again the spirit asked me to

   “pour yourself out for the hungry and satisfy the desire of the afflicted, then shall your light rise in the darkness and your gloom be as the noonday.”    Ish 58:10

2001 - 2013

You will live forever in my heart!

It's a matter of the heart!

When you spend your day rootin’ weeds out of your garden, there’s lots of time to just think.  I don’t have a real theme or even much of an idea what all we’ll talk about this evening, but we’ll start out with a philosophical look at weeds and how they resemble evil trying to penetrate our hearts. 

When I walked into my garden this morning there were weeds everywhere!  Growing between rocks, rooting through rocks, twining around other plants, growing so close to desirable plants that they couldn’t be pulled without damaging or sacrificing the other plant.  I even had a grass that the seed had landed in the cut top of an onion set that rooted and grew, attaching itself to the onion set so perfectly that they looked like one plant!  It had been a couple weeks since I’d really done much more than water the things that need water and go on to something else that seemed more important.    My garden looked a lot like my heart because I hadn’t been paying attention to the regular maintenance it needs either.  Satan has been busy keeping us occupied and distracted so there just didn’t seem to be time for our regular devotions, my personal quiet time and even our prayer life had waned.  

A typical stack of phones to be charged on
Tuesdays and Fridays!

The result looked a lot looked a lot like my garden this morning, the weeds of pride, impatience, anger, frustration, envy and a multitude of other things had rooted deep and twined all around making a pretty big mess of things.   I had allowed myself to try to carry the whole load alone, and had become this angry, short tempered person that could be very content locked up in his house all day!If one more person had asked me to charge their cell phone…..well I just don’t know what I’d do but I know I wouldn’t be very nice about it. 

I had intended to write this last week and if I had, it would be entirely different.  In the mean time, satan has really come after us.  We are involved with a young girl that is struggling with an evil spirit, and that seems to be at the root of it.  It’s been a daily battle with that, where we seem to be losing ground to the enemy.  We hadn’t been off the mountain for almost a month and the isolation was beginning to close in around us.  Looking forward, there was relief in sight because friends had loaned us a car and we headed off for a couple days to celebrate our 33^rd anniversary. 

Visited the 'Apparant Project'

 We had a great time exploring the city, 

Lunch at 'Delicious Burger'

enjoying the food 

and soaking in the beautiful blue Caribbean. God has truly blessed me with an incredible partner and it was sweet to get away and be reminded that we really do live on a tropical island! 

We returned early Sunday morning for church and the graduation celebration for Every Child School. It was a good time, but refreshed as I was the monster of pride and anger didn’t go away easily.  I could put on my happy face for the people, but inside the battle was beginning again.  Monday was a typical busy day with kids helping me build a fence around the property wanting to use the tools, asking questions and making comments I didn’t understand.  I knew this was something personal I was going to have to deal with, just me and God!  I’m writing this in first person but Cheryl and I were both feeling the attack. Tuesday morning confirmations started coming that is was a personal sanctification issue.  Something He wanted to change in me.  First thing in the morning I got an email from a brother who shared a dream he had with me in it, displaying how pride and anger get in the way of ministry and evangelism.  I’ve been studying I Peter and the verse that stood out was 5:5-7

 ‘Likewise, you who are younger, be subject to the elders. Clothe yourselves, all of you, with humility toward one another, for "God opposes the proud but gives grace to the humble." Humble yourselves, therefore, under the mighty hand of God so that at the proper time he may exalt you, casting all your anxieties on him, because he cares for you.’

As I was meditating on that thought, Cheryl was catching up on some mail and got 3 references to Isaiah 58:10 - 

 ‘ if you pour yourself out for the hungry and satisfy the desire of the afflicted, then shall your light rise in the darkness and your gloom be as the noonday.‘ 

The day turned out to be unusually quiet, just me, the weeds and my thoughts.  As I chopped and dug, there was some serious weeding going on in my heart!  I wish I could testify that my heart was as clean as my garden by the end of the day, but some behaviors have been identified and we have a new awareness of getting our eyes off ourselves.  I will confess that some of the weeds in my heart were rooted deep and allowing them to be yanked out didn’t feel real good.   But that work has been done, now it’s up to me to allow the scars to heal and keep them from resprouting.  Armed with a smile on my face, a song in my heart and a renewed attitude of prayer I’m ready to re-engage the battle.  Sorry to dump on y’all, but I needed to get that off my chest.  We’ll be back soon with more pics and hopefully a more upbeat message.  God bless you all for your prayers and support.