In August Sandy Miller came with Jim Enslin.  Sandy and I finalized clean out of her belongings and had a massive sale.  Sandy runs a “yard sale” of sorts here and offers clothing, donated suitcases and household items at affordable prices to the staff.  Everyone seems to really enjoy the sales, and this is something I plan to continue. Of course, I will need the help of Sandy because she is a shrewd haggler and she needs a reason to visit.  While Sandy and I were busy with cleanout and the sale John and Jimmy worked on the Clinic waiting area.  Originally it had a shallow overhang so they extended it, so that it shaded more of the actual seating area.  After that project was complete, they then worked on the kitchen food storage area which was getting rat infested.  Together with Eric Helgamo they devised a rat proof room, which they have now dubbed “The Rat Vault”.  At the end of their visit John and I went home for a planned furlough of two weeks.

 We returned two days before hosting the annual board meeting.  That week we started seeing pockets of manifestations (rioting & protest).  Tensions were high because there was a fuel shortage.  This added to the fact that there was also “opposition party" groups against the current president who were paying people to riot and protest.  The fuel shortage was just another tool for the opposition party.  After the board we hosted a medical team from Canada.  When it was time for them to leave it seemed as if exiting the country might become a problem.  Safety wasn’t as big of a concern as the blockades on the roads.  So many blockades caused for even more shortages and travel was reduced to a minimum.  The team got out safely and shortly there after we decided that for the sake of the mission it was best for us to take another leave.  At this point we were just wanting to conserve fuel, water, food etc. for the Orphanage.  The school was closed (after only a few weeks of being open for the year) until further notice and no adoptive parents or teams could come so it was best just to go to the states. Well, that “short” trip back on Oct 3^rd turned into over a month.  We returned to Haiti November 10^th only to stay a little over a week and then be strongly advised to leave again.  At the advice from a source at the US embassy we decided things might get to the point it would actually not be safe to be here if things went from bad to worse. 

We are now back again in Haiti.  We returned December 1^st.  Things seem back to the “normal” they were months ago.  There are lots of rumors as to why things are better but I’ll leave that to one on one conversions. All I know is I am very thankful to be back and happy to start working with the locals again through the Bijou program.  One of my biggest worries was for the Bijou people during these hard times.  The extra money they make creating jewelry and other items is sometimes all the money that they had during these troubling times. 

Time has given John and I time to reflect and get some other minor details worked out in Florida. As well as some home maintenance that needed done. We are so thankful for everyone’s continued prayers and support. We expect a group here the day after Christmas so we plan to stay here for the Holidays and are excited to see a Haitian Christmas. Going forward we are going to try and get an update done at least once a month even if it’s short. 

One final silver lining to returning we received our crate with household supplies and our bed Monday Dec 2^nd.  The day after we got back. Gods timing is perfect! 

Johnny had a flight scheduled for June 10^th for a short trip to Florida to pick up a few items we had to leave behind (see our last post) and to retrieve the computer.  However, because of manifestations that were going on that week, we had to reschedule her trip to June 24^th.  Welcome to Haiti, you always have to have a plan B and usually a C and D for that matter.

I spent the better part of a week getting the new computer setup and everything transferred over from the old one.  Finally, back to normal on the computer front!

The second week we were here, we hosted a group from St. Paul’s church in Chicago, Illinois.  What a great group of people!  They did enough work for 3 times as many people and they were just a joy to be around!  Since then, there have been a number of adoptive parents that have stayed with us while visiting the orphanage and the children they have been matched with.  Many prayers going out for parents, children and staff that they can get through all the proverbial red tape and get the children to their new homes!

We are settling in to life here slowly but surely!  The language is coming very slow.  Johnny is doing a much better job learning the language!  I feel like I am the perfect example of “you can’t teach an old dog new tricks”!  I am having a much more difficult time trying to pick up the language.

More to come!  Please sign up below to be notified of new posts!

John was non-stop working trying to leave the house and cars in working order to put his mind at rest and to take some burden from the kids. He also was tirelessly working on finding healthcare coverage and a new phone plan. Side note here… Paying your phone off does not necessarily unlock your phone, which we are finding out is harder than it sounds. And finding international insurance to cover a pre-existing condition is financially not going to happen.  So, we will have insurance but not covering any of our pre-existing conditions i.e. Johns headaches and my fibromyalgia and rheumatism.

I found myself trying to put the luggage together and determine what was essentials for the first trip.  Fifty pounds may seem like a lot however, the suitcases are roughly 8-10 lbs. empty, so needless to say you start trying to figure out the lightest way to carry things which may mean you need to unwrap something and throw out the cardboard box.  As well as packing I found myself trying to find new ideas for the local artisans.  

Sunday before leaving we figured out that we did not have a paper title to sign over to Morgan for our car it was an e-title which meant we had to be up and to the Tag office before leaving town and to top things off Sunday evening was a short night’s sleep landing in bed around 1-1:30.  That was just the beginning of our issues Monday.

Arriving to the airport just a tad later than we wanted we headed to the check in counter.  The gentleman asked us “how many checked bags”.  We responded “3 each”.  Problem #2 – we can’t take 3 checked bags into Haiti.  However, I was told by customer service weeks in advance that yes we could for a fee of $150 each bag over 2.  So, we immediately called Morgan since she had just dropped us off and had her turn around to come get the extra two bags. So all my diligent packing of each bag was null.  We opened a few bags and made quick decisions (some of which were not good, LOL) and sent the extra home with her so we could get at a later date.

A little frazzled we went to check in our luggage and found out I had accidentally thrown out my boarding pass while throwing out other trash. After finding my boarding pass int he trash, we headed to the security check.  Fortunately it was only 15-20 minutes.  

We had plenty of time now to sit a few minutes before boarding.  When our section got called we headed to the line.  John was able to get through fine however, they stopped me.  The computers were down for the whole airport (all the airlines) so the were manually checking everyone off as they came through.  They asked me when my return flight was, and I responded that I didn’t have one.  They pulled me aside and told me I had to have a return flight otherwise I couldn’t board.  John was already through the check point so I had to call him back.  We aren’t totally sure why he was not stopped.  So we both got on our phones and tried to book flights back.  However, however since the computers were all “down” no one was booking flights.  I also tried calling in but they couldn’t do that way either.  So we both started praying….we knew if we were meant to be on the flight then only God could do it.  Within a few minutes after praying the guy asked for our passports and entered our info into the computer and gave John and I clearance to board.  Halleluiah!!

Now we are in Haiti and have been busy everyday with prepping for a team to get here this Saturday May 4^th.  We’ve moved a lot of furniture cleaned out some storage areas and have made a few shopping trips.

The first trip we spent $131 on our personal groceries for a few days before everyone arrived.  The picture shows what we were able to get for that amount.  It might be interesting to some to see what you can get here.  A few things aren’t that much more expensive, however for the most part things are approximately 1 ½ times more than in America depending on where you live.

Then within two days were jumped to 73% funded.  Which means we can now make plans to make the move to Haiti.  We still need the 27% however a huge burden has been lifted and we feel that shortly we will be exactly where we need to be. 

If you have not yet partnered with us and made a commitment, please think about doing so within the month so we know how to budget.  We will be dependent upon all our donations for food, medical, transportation etc.

Moving forward John has given work notice and his last day will be April 26^th and we plan to move in May.  Arriving just a few days before our first group. 

Our plans are to be in Indiana March 28^th-April 1^st. Sunday we will be at Lake Area Christian Church in Fremont^, to give our testimony and speak about Three Angels and our role with the mission.

In 2017 John and I decided to join the mission’s team at Port Orange Christian Church which is our home church now.  Our first trip with POCC was to the American Indian Christian Mission out in Arizona.  The mission there is a Christian boarding school just off the reservation.   It was a phenomenal experience.  AICM needs volunteers and missions’ workers all the time, and when we were out there, they did have openings, however John and I just did not feel that it was the fit for us and what we had to offer.

The 2018 year started with the mission’s team planning the year and what trips were to be included.  AICM was first on the list and John and I were very excited to be returning.  However, things changed quickly!  We got word from Sandy Miller with Three Angels Children’s Relief in Haiti that she really wanted a group of us to come and do some work there. So, after a unanimous vote we decided to put Haiti on the list and the plan was to go in April which only gave a couple months’ notice.  Well of course we were on board considering we wanted to see all the missions we supported and investigate each of them.  

The trip in April began and God wasted no time directing us to what he wanted.  We soon learned that Sandy, the guesthouse manager would be retiring and there was a need for another manager.  Not too sure this was what we were supposed to do we prayed about it and decided to forego our trip later in the summer back to AICM and return to Haiti on our own to see what life was really like living there and not being there with others on a mission trip.

That trip was one of the worst experiences and the best experiences all together.  I truly feel in love with the people and the land on this visit.  I was hooked on the mission and the work that needed to be accomplished there.  However, God wanted to show us just a little bit of the trials we would face.  John and I both were sick with food poisoning by mid-week and to top things off the country was in turmoil.  Riots and manifestations were breaking out all over Port-au-Prince and the surrounding area.  John and Eric (the in-country director) were literally stuck across town and could not get through the barricades people had set up.  As I laid in bed so sick not able to even sit up, I was getting messages sent to me from John explaining his situation and asking for prayers for their safety to get back.  Well, John and Eric did finally make their way back with an escort from the haitian swat team and packed Sandy and I up and we headed to the Helgemo’s for 3 more days until we were able to get to the airport safely and get a flight out of the country.

During this time, I was really questioning what in the world was I thinking!  I thought I really didn’t like this at all, and why would I do this…. but then God reminded me that he never said things would be easy only that he would be there for me.  I started thinking why do I give up when things get a little hard?  Isn’t that why this is a Mission field?  There were many other thoughts that invaded my head through the course of the day however, I realized this was still the plan God had for John and I and now more than ever this is where we should be.

After this trip I returned two more times in 2018 to Haiti. In October with Sandy for two weeks.  During that two weeks I had a two-day class on card making teaching the women some new skills.  The second trip was two weeks in November, to host an adoptive couple.  They were there for their first bonding visit which is protocol when adopting out of Haiti.

https://www.threeangelshaiti.org