Another Post

Another minute, another hour, another day, and another week has gone by since last we talked.   It’s hard to believe I’ve been here a month and a half already!  I already feel at home here and would miss Haiti terribly if I had to leave.  But thanks be to God I don’t.  I get to enjoy this wonderful country with its wonderful people for at least eleven more months. :)

 

These last couple of weeks have been pretty crazy and fun.  I’ve been living at the crèche now for at least two weeks and life here feels normal and more like what it should be as a missionary to a foreign land…living on a nice beach resort while doing mission work just didn’t quite feel right. 

Some things that have come out of living here are: since I take my bucket bath at the local showers I have started to make connections and friends in the community.  I have a place to practice my Creole and get to interact and enjoy some quality bonding time with the local Haitians around the cleanliness of our human body.   Also, I have made some of the Haitian nannies’ smile as they see a white American male wash his clothes by hand...not something you see very often in Haiti.  I’ve brought joy, or God has brought joy through me, to all the kids that live here because I live here with them.  I’ve had some great times of jammin’ to music with the kids around our charcoal grill as I make my dinner.   I have connected with more Haitians living at the crèche because I am no longer this white guy that comes in each day and then goes back to his nice resort.  I’m the guy that does things a little more like a Haitian and because of that I think it has opened a few more doors into friendships here. 

I bought two bracelets since being here and now all of the bracelet venders are showing up at my door asking me to buy some of their products.  How many bracelets does one man need? :P

Since moving here to the crèche I have felt like a judge, determining who is the offender and the offended amongst the kids…and at times having to punish the offender.  I feel like a big brother, a parent, a teacher, a best friend, an authority, a handy man(in very little ways) and just a man called here to show these kids Christ’s love.  The truth is, this is what I feel, and all these roles are part of who I am to the kids. 

Also in the last two weeks I had the privilege to be part of a going home party for a little boy and girl.  After such a long wait, their adoption finally went through and they went home to be with their family.  This definitely was one of my highlights of being here thus far.  I also had the opportunity to work alongside of a group that came here from Snyder Texas to do some works projects.  They did things like: repair both our water tanks, build a cooking shed, build a swing set, and paint our baby house for us.  They also brought encouragement to us along with a giant bag full of granola bars and snacks.   It was a huge blessing having them here for a couple of weeks.  It was sad to see them leave on Thursday.  

I have been wrapping up the story of Moses over the last week and the theme of that story, to me, is God’s faithfulness.   He remained faithful even when the Israelites strayed time and time…and time again.  God has remained and will continue to be faithful to me too.  There have been times where God could have said to me, “oh you screwed up so I’m leaving you to fend for yourself.” But no!  He doesn’t do that.  The verse the kids and I have been memorizing this week is this:  It is the Lord who goes before you.  He is with you.  He will not leave you or forsake you.  Do not fear!  (Deuteronomy 31:8) 

No matter what we do (or don’t do), no matter what kind of mistakes we make, God will NEVER EVER EVER leave us.  What a comforting thought.  This doesn’t give us free reign to do whatever we want knowing that He’ll forgive us, it’s quite the opposite.  It gives us free reign to do that which pleases God.  Think about this way: if someone has pledged their life to you, to never leave or abandon you, the last thing you’re going to want to do is going to destroy trust with that person.  No! Because that person is so faithful and honorable you want to bless and honor them back in return.  That’s how it should be with God.  Knowing that there’s nothing that will turn Him away we should bless Him with a full commitment of our lives to Him.  He is faithful to us, we need to be faithful and faith filled to Him.

Anywho…your prayers are definitely felt here.  I have had no other encounters since I think last I told you with little creepy crawly critters…except for that nasty centipede a few nights ago :p

Have a great night and a peace filled week knowing that Jesus is with you through everything.  Blessings my dear friends and family.

The Road Thus Far...

Hello World,
You're going to have to tap on the link to watch (yes I said watch) my latest update.  This also happens to be the surprise I mentioned in my last post.  I hope you all enjoy my newest and most fun Haiti update yet. 

  
The Road Thus Far...

Orevwa!!!

One Month Of God's Faithfulness

WOW!!!  It truly has been a crazy week.  I’ve experienced this week just a little bit of what it means to be a Haitian.

I moved from my nice, cozy, air conditioned, electricity all day, running water 24/7, unlimited WIFI access, and an actual bed apartment on the white sandy beach to the crèche.  Here I have only a limited amount of water which contributes to showers only a couple times a week…unless I do a bucket shower.  The electricity is limited to a couple hours at night and subsequently no air conditioners.   I have a charcoal grill to do my cooking on and a nice tile floor or a broken down futon with large holes in it for my bed.  Instead of waking up to the sound of my alarm at around 7am I will be waking up now at about 6am to the sound of children running around and playing.   Also, I get a ton of company here at night. I’ve been visited by geckos, mosquitoes, gnats, flies, big nasty spiders, and last night I had a friendly cockroach decide to climb up my arm.  So, it’s been a little bit of an adjustment (and it will continue to be) from the American living I am used to.   However, it is giving me more of a glimpse of what Haitians go through on a daily basis.  Making food takes twice as long.  Cold showers are a treasured thing…at least I’ve been told.  I haven’t had one yet since moving in here.  And then seeing as how there isn’t a washer or a dryer I will be learning how to wash clothes by hand.     

Nonetheless, despite all of the changes and differences one thing hasn’t changed…and that’s God’s faithfulness.  This week I was reading through the story of Moses and time and time again God proves faithful and true to the Israelites.  I have felt like the Israelites ever since I’ve been in Haiti.  Moving to an entirely different country where the culture is totally different than anything I am used to isn’t always an easy thing.  Yet, just like how God proved true to the Israelites through every circumstance, He has done so with me as well.  Just some examples of His faithfulness within this first month here: God has provided finances for me to be here.  He has given me creativity with what to share with the kids every day.  He has helped me adjust to the totally new everything here in Haiti.  He provided a fridge, a microwave (boo radiation…but I’ll use it some :p) a soccer ball and a basketball, a dirt bike for me to use, a coffee pot (probably the most important item ;) and most of all, He has given me peace about everything here and He has shown me that He never leaves or forsakes His kids. 

After Moses and the Israelites crossed the Red Sea they (millions of people) worshiped and praised God.  Last night, as I sat on the rooftop I read Exodus 15 which is titled The Song of Moses.  It is an amazing chapter and an amazing song about how God is faithful to those that follow Him.  I want to share a few of those verses with you. 

Exodus 15:1, 2, 6, 7, 11, 13, 17, & 18

“I will sing to the Lord, for He has triumphed gloriously; the horse and his rider He has thrown into the sea.  The Lord is my strength and my song, and He has become my salvation; this is my God, and I will praise him, my father’s God, and I will exalt him.  Your right hand, O Lord, is glorious in power, your right hand, O Lord, shatters the enemy.  In the greatness of your majesty you overthrow your adversaries; you send out your fury; it consumes them like stubble.  Who is like you, O Lord, among the gods?  Who is like you majestic in holiness, awesome in glorious deeds, doing wonders? You have led in your steadfast love the people whom you have redeemed.  You have guided by your strength to your holy abode.  You will bring them (your people) in and plant them on your own mountain, the place, O Lord, which your hands have established.  The Lord will reign forever and ever.”

This song blessed me a tremendous amount…and I hope it does with you.  I would suggest to all those that haven’t read through Exodus in a while to do so.  It’s a story we’ve heard a thousand times, but there is so many truths and if you’re like me, one looking for God to prove Himself faithful, then it’s a great book to boost your confidence in Him. 

So to wrap up, it’s been one month since I’ve been here.  The time has gone by so fast.  And since it has been a groundbreaking month I thought it would be fun to do something different on my blog.  So, within the next couple of days up to a week, be looking for a surprise on hereJ  I’m sure you will enjoy it…whatever it is ;)  

Stay strong my friends and know God IS faithful…no matter what you are going through.  So until next time my fellow soldiers…

My new room :)

Three Weeks Gone like...*snap*

So as I sat down on the beach to write this update a little Haitian boy walked in front of me, dropped his pants, and started to create pictures in the sand as he performed his God given function of urination.  :p lol

Anyways…week three is over!  The time truly has been flying by.  This week has been a week of testing…testing my patience, my willingness to be flexible, my strength (both emotional and spiritual), and testing my trust in Christ. 

As you know, God has called me to Haiti to work with the kids here as a Bible class leader and as an activity director.  Well, I think Satan has been trying extra hard this week to get me discouraged.  Almost every day this week, my “normal” routine was interrupted or canceled…without any control on my end.  The activities that I had planned for the kids were stopped due to injustice of the innocent and consequently my after school Bible times didn’t happen.  I felt in my heart this week what it truly means to have anger over the injustice of the innocent.  However, God is faithful and even in the difficult and stressful times He takes care of His kids.  

As I said I had a trying week, but my God does all things well.  Remember (I tell this to myself as much to you) Satan isn’t scared of the sheep.  He’s scared of the shepherd.  So as long as we stay with our shepherd, Christ, the Devil cannot touch us…and therefore anything he tries will fail miserably.   

I miss you all and I look forward to sharing with you next week how God proves true and faithful once again.

In His almighty service,

Shane

P.S. I know this was a super short and not very descriptive post…but that was intentional.  Please pray for me for strength, grace, and for forgiveness. 

God's Faithfulness

 Hello World, (Or at least everyone that reads this)

I’ve officially been in Haiti for two weeks now.  The time has gone by so fast…on one hand.  On the other, it feels like the days are so incredibly long.  Either way, two weeks have gone by since I landed here in Haiti.  A lot has happened since then (as you may know if you read my first weeks adventure). 

There became some regularity in my schedule this week as I started my “job”.  However I’ve definitely learned that for anyone who is going to live in Haiti you must be flexible.  This week I had the privilege of doing after school Bible stories and classes with the kids.  I have never done anything like this before so it was a whole new adventure for me in planning and trying to figure out what I was going to teach the kids…keeping in mind that these kids know limited English making me limit my vocabulary to small words and trying to use a lot of interacting games and such.  But, as God called me here, He has been faithful to provide…to provide thoughts and ideas for my time with kids.

There was a running theme this week with the kids and that was love.   I didn’t plan that because of Valentine’s Day.   I actually forgot about Valentines until the actual day :P Anyway, God gave me a lesson for each day starting with how God is our good heavenly father and is always available if want or need to cast our cares upon Him.  We had a fun object lesson casting (throwing) our cares at Jesus.  We ended the week with the story of the Good Samaritan.  Throughout the week we also had fun trying to memorize John 3:16.  I used funny voices with all the kids when practicing the verse.  It was a definite success as the kids learned the verse.  (Thanks Bailey for the goofy voices ideas).  So, I would sum this week up with saying God has been faithful because I have no idea what I’m doing.

 

This week has also been a week of missing family and friends.  Over the last week the reality of me being here for a year has been setting in.  I do enjoy spending time with the kids, however am starting to miss evenings around the table playing cards, late night with close friends, COD rampages with Andrew, and just an all around hanging with good friends and family. However, I keep reminding myself that God has me here for a specific reason and that is evident in how He keeps providing for me in my time here.  God owns the cattle on a thousand hills (Psalm 50:10) and as Corrie ten Boom prayed when she needed finances, “God, please sell one of your cows.” So aslo God has sold a few cows for me….and just another one went to market this week :D  The Lord has been faithful and will continue to do so for me…because I know this is where I am supposed to be.

Some other fun things that I did this week was: We (Me, the kids, and a couple of the Haitian nannies) went down to the public beach a couple days ago and went swimming in the ocean.   Every Friday night the kids have a movie night.  So last night we all watched Toy Story 2. I got to play basketball in a coliseum style basketball court with a bunch of Haitians.  And as some of you know because of Facebook and Twitter, I got to be part of a mobile Oreo.  Squished between to Haitians on a Moto I got to ride into Montrouis (the town where I live).  It was quite an experience. 

There have been ups and downs this week…as there will be every week.  However amidst the downs I can definitely say that I love my God because He is faithful and He does take care of His children.

Orevwa loved ones!!!

....and some photos from the first couple of weeks in Haiti.

Dinner with my roommates. 

Some of the girls at the Creche.

Tap Tap with Nick and Ryan

Bible study before the Super Bowl :)

Trying to get a coconut...which we did get, eat, and drink. 

100 Things I love

I got this idea from a friend who did this on her blog. I thought it’d be fun to steal the idea and do the same thing here.  So, thanks to Jessika, you’re all about to read 100 Things I love…

Long, hot showers

Music: Playing and listening

Indie, dubstep, and hiphop/dance music

Family

Cards: Hillbilly Rummy, Rook, and Blackjack

Snuggling with a loved one

Campfires in the summer…or on the beach under a star lit sky J

Hiking…especially on mountains

Kayaking

Spending time with friends and loved ones

Children                                               

Spending time worshiping God with fellow Christians

Art: music, drawing, water painting, and tattooing

Traveling/road trips with great friends

Romance/marriage

The leading of the Holy Spirit

Laying in Hammocks under shady trees

Snowboarding

Paintballing

Running

The thought of one day having a family to love and be loved by

Dreams and being able to dream

Freedom

Spending time in the outdoors: Camping, canoeing, hiking, kayaking, the woods, the mountains, rivers, and lakes

Rock climbing and repelling

Christmas season: being able to snuggle around the Christmas tree with a nice, tasty, cup of eggnog

Rope swings

Cliff jumping/diving

Driving

Creating…music, plays, paintings, poems, or stories

Creative writing

Love letters and poems to loved ones

Toms shoes

Late nights with close friends

Improve comedy

Hearing God stories

Jesus

Cloth shopping

Carmel milk tea with tapioca balls

Experiencing other cultures

 New Year’s Eve parties

Wake boarding and water skiing

Swimming when it’s really hot out

The ocean

The desire for things

Love, honesty, and loyalty

Colorado/The Rocky Mountains

Late nights of Call of Duty

Wrestling

Memories

Reminiscing past times and looking at old photos.

Building forts out of blankets and pillow and then snuggling beneath them to goofy movies

The Vow (Movie)

Bluegrass jams

Late-night-uncontrollable-slap-happy-times

Signs (Game)

Bacon!!!

Turkey wraps, Jalapeño and Cilantro Hummus with pita chips, and guacamole

Beards…even though I can’t grow one;)

Watching kids sing and dance

Ours-The Bravery (Song)

The Vampire Diaries

The deep dark ocean and the fish that live down there

The universe and outer space

Star gazing

REI…favorite place to shop

Jammin’ out in the car

Vintage style clothing

Tattoos

National parks, state parks, and campgrounds of any kind

Mountain biking

Triathlons                                                                                     

A creator that has everything under control and therefore makes me not to have to worry. 

The Bible

A mother and father who love me

The feeling you get you when you see a loved one smile because you did something to bless them

Sending people care packages….I think I have more fun putting them together then they do receiving them.

Playing the guitar

Running and diving into bed on those cold winter nights

Sledding accidents (I know kinda cruel)

The feeling and smell of clothes that just came out of the dryer

Random acts of kindness

Camaraderie

Capture the flag in the mountains

Early morning hikes up mountains

Sitting on the beach in the early morning watching the sunrise…or at night watching the sun set

Vintage photography

The feeling of mud squishing between your toes

White wintery days

Fancy dinners

Snow crab….Mmm Mmm good :)

French Fries

Learning new things about people that I never knew before…especially if it’s something goofy

Good quotes and great Bible verses

A Peanut butter & Jelly sandwich made with white Wonder bread, crunchy peanut butter and homemade raspberry jelly

Anonymous acts of generosity

Cooking food late at night

When you know someone loves you and they give you that smile that says exactly that…I love you

AND…The feeling of coming home after having been gone for awhile

Bonjour Friends

Bonjour (good morning) dear friends.  Or, if you’re reading this after the lunch hour then bonswa! (good afternoon/evening.)

I bet a lot of you have been waiting in eager anticipation for this first week’s full update on my life in Haiti…or maybe you haven’t ;)  Either way, I had a pretty amazing week.  There were certainly downers in the week but the Lord is faithful and I was definitely more blessed than anything else.

This week, as you probably could have guessed, consisted of a mish-mash of “firsts”.  I bought my own groceries for the first time.  I rode a Tap Tap (One of the main forms of transportation) for the first time.   I went on a rescue mission for the first time.  I ate a pig-goat-squash-applsaucey-goop for the first time.  And because of that, I spent all night up every hour with the runs…for the first time. (I know some of you didn't want to know that) I played Ninja with a group of Haitian kids for the first time.  I rode a Taxi Moto all by myself, and paid for it with Haitian Gourdes…for the first time;)  I made my own home cooked meal in my own apartment for the first time.  I moved into an apartment for the first time.   I already referred to my apartment as home for the first time.  I played soccer with a group of big and very buff Haitian security guards for the first time.  I thought I was legitimately going to get mugged for the first time.  I had to/ have to plan and create my own after school plans, activities, and bibles stories for the kids for the first time.  I got to ride on the roof of a car for the first time.  I got to be part of a specially selected group to decide which meal would be best for my first meal that I was to make myself on my Hot Plate (which I just used for the first time).  The verdict chosen by the elite group (me, myself, and I) was good ole Ramen Noodles.  And I saved this for last because it is my personnel favorite; I got called a gay witch doctor for the first time. :p  So as you can see I’ve had a lot of firsts this week.  It’s been a great week of learning how to live in a totally different world then the one I’m used to.  It’s a great learning process though.  The more I have learned and experienced the more I feel settled in and comfortable. 

I wanted to elaborate on one of the “firsts” for you.  This was my highlight and just such a blessing to me.  Giving Hope Rescue Mission (the organization I’m with) does rescue missions every so often.  Once in a while they will receive a call asking them to come pick up a kids or kids that can’t be taken care of, or that has been rejected or abandoned.  Sometimes on rescue missions the missionary(ies) have had to pull children out of dumpsters, ditches, and even on one extreme case from an altar.  GHRM has rescued and saved so many kids over the last few years since they've been a ministry.   As I mentioned a few times already I had the privilege of being a part of one of these missions.  Last Monday we received a call asking if we would come to a nearby hospital and pick up two kids.  My thought is, “hmmm…we’re going to a hospital.  This can’t be a good situation.  I wonder what happened.  Did someone try and murder the kids?  Did someone try and beat them?  Did they have some deathly disease?”  These were the thoughts racing through my mind.  So, as we walked into the hospital and I got to see what a hospital in Haiti looks like, my thoughts again were, “Yep!  No one can be in a place like this and be in good health or doing very well.”  It was grungy.  The floor was grimy.  The sheets looked stained.  There were clusters of people everywhere waiting on the one doctor to see them.  It just seemed like a place where germs and disease breed and are not healed.  So after about twenty minutes of waiting the kids were brought to us.  I was so surprised!  Alex and Darlene were two eight year twins who were in perfect health and what was even so much more amazing and filled my heart with joy were their beaming smiles.  From the time we picked them up, to the entire half hour care ride, and even to after we dropped them off at crèche, this boy and girl were just rays of sunlight. Since then, every day when I have been over to the crèche they great me with their radiant smiles and joyful spirits.  They can’t speak English and I can’t speak Creole, but I was so impacted and blessed by these little kids.  I would say that their smiles and delighted spirits blessed me more than any words would have.  So that was my first rescue mission experience and the highlight by far of this week.

I just wanted to thank everyone again for your support…whether it is through prayer or finances.  You guys are what is making this trip possible.  Keep checking in and I’ll keep updating you weekly.  Blessings =)